Much Ado About Buses and Perfect Timing!

On the last day at the Copthorne Orchid Hotel, I decided to take a bus down to Penang Road to do some shopping and to have a late lunch. I wanted to buy some souvenirs for my colleagues as well as to have the famous chendol which I missed last year. I knew that if I did not do my shopping, I would not have time anymore, as we would be too busy visiting relatives during the New Year.

The bus stop was just outside of the hotel, and I was pleased when the bus came along just after 5 minutes of waiting. After shopping I asked for directions to the main bus terminal. It was quite crowded and after five minutes I caught the blue bus of Hin Company again to go back to the hotel. I was very pleased and told myself that now the buses in Penang were very efficient! I remember how I used to wait for a long time for the bus when I was a teenager!

The bus was extremely crowded and I heard a lady talking on the phone. She mentioned that she had waited for two hours for the bus! I smiled at her and she told me that RapidPenang bus drivers had gone on strike! Fortunately there was still the Hin Company bus but it was jam packed and with the weak airconditioning, the vehicle was like a sauna! Some passengers were fanning themselves furiously.

Later in the evening, I read a copy of the Sun and found out that 230 RapidPenang bus drivers went on strike and thousands of commuters were left without transport. If I had known about the strike, I would not have ventured to Penang Road. But as usual, the ignorant and favoured ones seem to get all the blessings (sha ren yiu sha fu).

My beloved brother Kee Seng had booked a five star luxury coach for me to return to Singapore. Each chair comes with massage and a TV screeen. I enjoyed watching the Malay movie, Anak Pontianak (Ghost Child) and a Cantonese movie, "Home Sweet Home". I was apprehensive of the New Year crowd at the Immigration, but was pleasantly surprised when I found that our coach was the only one at Tuas Immigration! Hence, checking in was a breeze!

Later in the morning, I called my manager, Aveline and she informed me that she had come back from Muar the previous night. The Immigration centres were jam packed even up to one'clock in the morning!

I am grateful to God for His blessings. He alone knows of the little details which I am ignorant about! These little details, though not a matter of life and death, are nevertheless essential to the total enjoyment of one's vacation. Indeed this is one of the most fulfilling trips I have enjoyed. I come back, refreshed and rejuvenated, determined to enjoy the rat race in 2008! I want to run at a comfortable pace, not too fast that I miss smelling the flowers and not too slow that even the tortoise has overtaken me. Most importantly, to put my priorities in their right perspectives, and to walk closely with God. In brief, to enjoy the abundant life that God has given me!