11th Jan 2009 - A day I will remember because I did a very brave thing.. I drove into JB City Square, with my mother. Normally when I go to JB ,with my mother, it will definitely be by public transport ( bus and mrt) ..but today I tried to drive in.. ( Actually I was quite scared since I had heard many horror incidents about robbery and thefts from those who drove in) My mother asked me to try try since we never did so before..
Since the operations of the new Malaysia Customs opp Woodlands, I had never travelled in by car, neither did I sit in other of my friends' cars to go in.. so today was really a big challenge for me, because I totally have no idea what will I see after stamping my passport after the Malaysia Customs.. As in which lane to turn..
I went in the the mid afternoon and was lucky that there was no traffic jam, infact all the way from Woodlands customs to Malaysia customs was very smooth traffic.. I still remember last time my friend paid her toll fee using cash upon reaching Malaysia customs.. but just now when I was told that I needed a Touch & Go card in order to pay for my toll charge, I was like"shit" I dont have the card how.. luckily the staff just asked me to walk to the next lane to buy the Touch & Go card from the counter at RM20... and within 3 mins I was back with the card to pay payment of RM2.90... My mother just tapped the card on the scanner, and RM2.90 was deducted showing a balance of RM7.10 ( which mean the card cost RM10..think it works something like our cashcard)
I was just glad that I finally managed to get my passport stamped .. so next came the biggest challenge for me, how am I going to get my way to City square ( even though its just opposite the building, I seriously dont know which route to take to reach City Square) The first thing I saw when I drove out of the customs, was this Shell Petrol station, then I saw many Singapore-registered cars pumping petrol.. I also wanted to refill petrol, but when I looked around, I saw all the pumps stated V-Power sold out.. only got Fuelsave 95...so I exited from the petrol station and saw 3 lanes infront of me.. Ling's uncle told me to take left upon seeing the petrol station with a smile ( which petrol station got with a smile,.. I thought of esso).. so I happily turned into the very left lane that states something central.. dada,.. I ended up at Malaysia Customs Checkpoint multistorey carpark.. actually I can park there, then walk over to City square, just like how I walked from the checkpoint to City Square if I were to go by public transport.. I was thinking quite boliao to walk .. so I was determined to find my way to City Square...
Then I drove out and dont know how ended up seeing Pelangi and Holiday Plaza.. I know these 2 places are pretty close to City Square.. but i just dont know which route to take.. then I saw a Caltex petrol station at an ulu place and drove in to pump petrol...( then I realised I never pump petrol by myself ever, coz normally its the pump attendant who helped me do the job) .. I dont even know how to open the cap of the oil tank (oh gosh!!).. when I unlocked the cap, I heard a strange sound .. and I wonder if I opened correctly.. but no choice, I already opened the cap..so I pumped in some petrol.. drama!!!! I pressed a few times nothing came out, the meter still at 0.000.... then it was at my 5th or 6th press, then the meter started to move... I continued to press not knowing when I need to stop.. normally I know when its almost full, there will be a "tick" sound .. but more than 10litres of petrol had be filled..I still hear no "tick" sound.. then I just ah gar ah gar stop at 11litres+.. I was so afraid of over-filling the oil tank since I cannot see how much oil was in the tank.. So cartoon! can you imagine that I dont even know how to gauge if the oil tank is full a not...
I knew I was lost somewhere near Holiday Plaza.. so I quickly took out my little smart GPS which my dear passed me since he cannot use it.. and keyed in Merlin Square, since nothing appeared when I keyed in City Square.. and with the guided directions of the GPS, I finally found my way to City square carpark within 10mins ..Phew! I cannot imagine how I am going to get to City Square or go back to Singapore if I dont have the GPS to guide me the correct route.. or else I would be going round and round the estate the whole afternoon...
Today I realised that there were not much things to shop at City square, Watsons do not have store wide promotion and there was no fairs at the atrium.. Ate at Seasons ( fish & chips) only today then I realised the RM12.90 lunch & dinner promotion only available during selected timings... and we paid the normal price of RM17.90 just because we have our meals between 3pm to 6pm... after 6pm will be charged RM12.90 for the same servings.... bought our lavender bread & stuffs [ my favourite raisin cake only left with one :( ], and some other stuffs before driving back...
Luckily my first drive-in to City Square was pretty smooth traffic.. no jams.. because I already very stressed to drive in an unknown place, plus with heavy traffic, I sure become ganchiong spider. haha...
Think taking public transport is so much more relaxed than driving in ( for me)
Total Cost to drive in:
- Toll Charge At Singapore Customs: SG$1.20
- Toll Charge At Malaysia Customs: RM2.90 ( if dont have touch & go card, need to purchase one on the spot at RM20)
- Car Park Charge At City Square: RM4.00 ( RM2 per hour, saw that after 6pm on weekday is RM3 per entry)
It was really an exciting and unforgetable adventure for me .. maybe next time I will try to drive further up to Jusco ( but the big carpark at Jusco seem scary coz last time when I went there with my friends, we encounters some scammers)... haha.. but I think first thing I need to know is the correct route to just drive to City Square without losing my way... And I must know also how to ownself pump petrol to the max into the oil tank, because I think JB is like self service, dont see the pump attendant helping customers to pump petrol...
* Pumping Petrol in Malaysia is indeed much cheaper as compared to Singapore. Around 45% savings.. By the way, so strange, the Caltex station I went do not have caltex 98 instead I saw caltex 97 with techron.. no choice pump in caltex 97..
What A Memorable Day!
No comments:
Post a Comment