This is a long entry...
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Kuantan at night was so lifeless for I felt like there was only me roaming around its streets and buildings... How silly I was to think that the malls, Kuantan Parade and Kuantan Megamall were opened for 24 hours or at least until midnight... As soon as I entered the malls, most outlets and stores were already closed... Because of that, I had no more place to go and spend the night... I felt so all alone...
A few years ago when I was doing my TESL pre-degree program, after my Nokia N-gage phone was stolen, I decided to travel alone to Kuantan and retrieve my MUET slip from the office of Kolej Matrikulasi Pahang (KMPh)... It was rather spontaneous... I didn't bring anything with me... Not even spare clothes... I just felt that I needed to get out from Lendu and be alone to clear my head from what had been happening lately that time and the things I'd done to deserve it... I bought the tickets, hopped on the bus and went straight to Kuantan... It's funny how I never thought of going home to Terengganu...
After a few hours on the bus, I arrived at the main bus station of Kuantan around 7 o'clock... After spending months in Kuantan in KMPh before entering UiTM, I knew at that time there were no more buses left to take me to KMPh and the taxi would cost me RM30... Shit, I had no place to crash tonight... So, I thought maybe I could just roam around the malls and watch a movie or something... Shittery Shit, the malls were closed... and there I was, alone in a lame city, walking aimlessly on its streets, thinking that if I was unfortunate enough, maybe someone would rob me after sticking a small knife into my gut... Terrific... How smart of u Fahmi...
I headed back to the bus station for I thought I could crash in its Surau... on my way there, suddenly a guy went pass me before stopping about two meters from where I was and stared into my eyes like a crazy person... Shittery Shit Shit... maybe I am unfortunate enough and I would die here tonight being stabbed by a crazy guy, I thought to myself...
"Kau ambil dadah eh?!"
He shouted at me...
"Ha?"
I replied briefly, expressing a sense of confusion...
He repeated his accusation, "Kau ambil dadah eh?"
and justified it...
"Aku nampak kau jalan tak tentu arah dari tadi... Terhuyung hayang cam mabuk! Kau minum arak eh?"
Great~ another accusation...
"Tak la..." I denied them...
"Kau Melayu kan?? Apa nak jadi dengan anak Melayu sekarang... Ambil dadah, minum arak, berjudi, main perempuan... Sedih aku..."
"Whatever la..." I mumbled...
"Ha?"
"Takde pape..."
"Kau nak pergi mana ni?"
"Stesen bas... nak pergi surau..."
"... ... ... ... kau biar betul..."
"Betul la... nak pergi surau..." I hid the fact that I was actually going there just to sleep...
"Kau tak betul ke? Dah gila? Aku bercakap dengan orang gila?"
What the hell?? First, I was high... Second, I was drunk... and now I'm crazy?? "Ye la bang... Cakap la pape pun..."
"Kau belajar lagi?"
"Yup..."
"Kat mana?"
"UiTM Melaka"
"Kau jangan nak tipu aku ya... Aku ada adik kat sana... Sekarang ni bukannya musim cuti... Kau buat apa kat sini?"
"Nak ambil slip MUET kat Matrics Pahang"
"... ... ... Kau takde kelas ke?"
"Sekarang tengah cuti study week la..."
"... ... ... Kau ambil course apa??"
"TESL..."
"Ha??"
"TESL..."
"Apa tu??"
"Jadi cikgu Bahasa Inggeris..."
"Owh... bagus bagus... Hmm... UiTM Melaka ya... Kawan aku pernah belajar UiTM jugak... Lepas tu dia kerja kastam... Gaji masyuk beb... Beribu-ribu setiap bulan... Kalau kau grad nanti, kau jadi la kastam... Cerah sikit masa depan tu..."
"Baik la bang..."
"Takpe la... aku pergi dulu... Kirim salam kat imam surau..."
He left me there near the bus station wondering, "What the hell was that all about??"
Anyway, I crashed in the Surau... Apparently, I was not the only one crashing there... About 10 people were sleeping on the floor with sejadah's as pillows... I tried not to wake up everyone and picked a spot and then just went into slumber... After a long trip from Melaka and a long walk to the malls, I was obviously... tired... zzzz...
The next morning, I went to the minor bus station and took a bus to KMPh... Getting into the matriculation college was damn easy... The guards didnt check my ID or anything but instead they just let me pass the gates... I went straight to the HEP office... but shittery shittery shit shit! That day turned out to be a public holiday and the office was closed... I had to wait until tomorrow...
So I decided to pay my former roommates and classmates a visit... Thank God they hadnt graduate from that matriculation yet... They were shocked to see so suddenly and allowed me to sleep at my old bed... Nothing changed at that moment... My bed and locker were left untouched... The limited edition Avril Lavigne poster that I put on inside the locker was still there... My mini packed Milo was still there... I'd left that place for a few months and no one bothered to search my locker... Cool~ I spent the night there... and yeah, I didnt shower... I had no towels...
The next day, early in the morning, I left the room before everybody even woke up... Well, I felt bad for not saying goodbye but I had to hop on the earliest bus back to Melaka... After I retrieved my MUET slip, I got out from KMPh through the gates... Getting out was way easier than getting in... Then, I waited for the bus to take me back to Kuantan... I waited and waited for the bus but there was no sign of it coming... Therefore I made a dumb decision... I decided to walk all the way to Kuantan... and Kuantan from there was about an hour bus trip long... Dumb Dumb Dumb... Luckily after about fifteen minutes walking, a bus to Kuantan finally showed up... I was sweating like hell when I went up the bus... Other passengers must had thought that I was a lost Indon trying to make his way to the city...
As I got off the bus, I went straight to the main bus station... On my way there, something caught my attention... Beside a road, a bearded man wearing jubah and serban was going about being able to revive a toyol... He lifted up a thing covered with kain batik and claimed that it was a dead toyol... He kept on saying that he could revive the toyol and steal from all of the audience... I was curious about it but I had a bus to catch...
I hopped on the latest bus available and arrived at Lendu around 8 pm... Took a cab to UiTM and finally ended up being in Blok P again... It was still a wonder for me that instead of going home, I spent the whole time being like a homeless guy in Pahang...
It was an adventure though... With no phone for me to contact anyone and no spare clothes to change into... Wow... Really, what was I thinking??
:-D
He repeated his accusation, "Kau ambil dadah eh?"
and justified it...
"Aku nampak kau jalan tak tentu arah dari tadi... Terhuyung hayang cam mabuk! Kau minum arak eh?"
Great~ another accusation...
"Tak la..." I denied them...
"Kau Melayu kan?? Apa nak jadi dengan anak Melayu sekarang... Ambil dadah, minum arak, berjudi, main perempuan... Sedih aku..."
"Whatever la..." I mumbled...
"Ha?"
"Takde pape..."
"Kau nak pergi mana ni?"
"Stesen bas... nak pergi surau..."
"... ... ... ... kau biar betul..."
"Betul la... nak pergi surau..." I hid the fact that I was actually going there just to sleep...
"Kau tak betul ke? Dah gila? Aku bercakap dengan orang gila?"
What the hell?? First, I was high... Second, I was drunk... and now I'm crazy?? "Ye la bang... Cakap la pape pun..."
"Kau belajar lagi?"
"Yup..."
"Kat mana?"
"UiTM Melaka"
"Kau jangan nak tipu aku ya... Aku ada adik kat sana... Sekarang ni bukannya musim cuti... Kau buat apa kat sini?"
"Nak ambil slip MUET kat Matrics Pahang"
"... ... ... Kau takde kelas ke?"
"Sekarang tengah cuti study week la..."
"... ... ... Kau ambil course apa??"
"TESL..."
"Ha??"
"TESL..."
"Apa tu??"
"Jadi cikgu Bahasa Inggeris..."
"Owh... bagus bagus... Hmm... UiTM Melaka ya... Kawan aku pernah belajar UiTM jugak... Lepas tu dia kerja kastam... Gaji masyuk beb... Beribu-ribu setiap bulan... Kalau kau grad nanti, kau jadi la kastam... Cerah sikit masa depan tu..."
"Baik la bang..."
"Takpe la... aku pergi dulu... Kirim salam kat imam surau..."
He left me there near the bus station wondering, "What the hell was that all about??"
Anyway, I crashed in the Surau... Apparently, I was not the only one crashing there... About 10 people were sleeping on the floor with sejadah's as pillows... I tried not to wake up everyone and picked a spot and then just went into slumber... After a long trip from Melaka and a long walk to the malls, I was obviously... tired... zzzz...
The next morning, I went to the minor bus station and took a bus to KMPh... Getting into the matriculation college was damn easy... The guards didnt check my ID or anything but instead they just let me pass the gates... I went straight to the HEP office... but shittery shittery shit shit! That day turned out to be a public holiday and the office was closed... I had to wait until tomorrow...
So I decided to pay my former roommates and classmates a visit... Thank God they hadnt graduate from that matriculation yet... They were shocked to see so suddenly and allowed me to sleep at my old bed... Nothing changed at that moment... My bed and locker were left untouched... The limited edition Avril Lavigne poster that I put on inside the locker was still there... My mini packed Milo was still there... I'd left that place for a few months and no one bothered to search my locker... Cool~ I spent the night there... and yeah, I didnt shower... I had no towels...
The next day, early in the morning, I left the room before everybody even woke up... Well, I felt bad for not saying goodbye but I had to hop on the earliest bus back to Melaka... After I retrieved my MUET slip, I got out from KMPh through the gates... Getting out was way easier than getting in... Then, I waited for the bus to take me back to Kuantan... I waited and waited for the bus but there was no sign of it coming... Therefore I made a dumb decision... I decided to walk all the way to Kuantan... and Kuantan from there was about an hour bus trip long... Dumb Dumb Dumb... Luckily after about fifteen minutes walking, a bus to Kuantan finally showed up... I was sweating like hell when I went up the bus... Other passengers must had thought that I was a lost Indon trying to make his way to the city...
As I got off the bus, I went straight to the main bus station... On my way there, something caught my attention... Beside a road, a bearded man wearing jubah and serban was going about being able to revive a toyol... He lifted up a thing covered with kain batik and claimed that it was a dead toyol... He kept on saying that he could revive the toyol and steal from all of the audience... I was curious about it but I had a bus to catch...
I hopped on the latest bus available and arrived at Lendu around 8 pm... Took a cab to UiTM and finally ended up being in Blok P again... It was still a wonder for me that instead of going home, I spent the whole time being like a homeless guy in Pahang...
It was an adventure though... With no phone for me to contact anyone and no spare clothes to change into... Wow... Really, what was I thinking??
:-D
1 comments
The moment I lost the phone, i actually didn't cry at the very moment. I went to my dad and hold his hand, I told him the phone was gone. I somehow felt like I was about to lose my balance and my little sister grab me in her arms. She knows I'd cry. Amazingly I did not, not until I get out of the chaos and sea of people.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what exactly you had on your mind the time u lost your phone? what makes you travel that far? But anyway, i think we share a common way of letting go all the frustration. I used to do mini-random-trips too, when I was in Merbok for my diploma. There was once I ran out of campus for 3 days because I couldn't keep myself calm due to the pressure of exam and so much of other distracting stuffs. I even had my own secret spot. It was a waterfall, creepy eh? I mean, for a girl like me to go there each time I need to be alone. Bila fikir balik macam seram pulak.
Thanks for reading and sharing your experience with me. Just so you know, I might as well be called to pursue my degree in TeSL, at INTEC Shah Alam, under UiTM. And yeah, if you dont mind maybe we should be friends for at least i can always refer to you regarding the course later. :)
I am farah, by the way. Salam.