beyond toxicity

What do you do in a place that’s new and unfamiliar to you?

How do you kill boredom of waiting and how do you deal with anxiety on a trip?

I shoot photos.

Here are some captures I took aimlessly when I went on a whirlwind trip to Selangor.

Apparently, I chose to ride the KTM commuter train from Serdang, Selangor to KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur. The first and the last I rode this train was when we went to Batu Caves last Chinese New Year holiday with my family. It only took me less than 2 ringgit (<PhP 28) and around 20 minutes to get to my destination. The waiting time was less than half an hour however, since I was not with Tina and Gabby, it seemed like forever. I while away time by shooting photos on a whim.

Thankfully, things went smoothly despite everything’s on a rush. From KL Sentral, I rode a cab to Pudu Sentral to buy bus ticket for my return to Penang. It was almost 3PM when I reached the counter and booked a seat on the bus ride at 5PM that same day. I had not have any lunch yet at 3PM, but I needed to run an errand for my mom in Chinatown, KL.  After doing so, I finally grabbed a bite on my sandwich for lunch inside the taxi cab en route to Petronas Twin Towers. I did not wish to waste my time waiting for 5PM bus ride to Penang at Pudu Raya, hence I had to give in to relax and cool down a bit by spending time inside Suria-KLCC Shopping Complex. I went inside boutiques I like – Zara Men, Uniqlo and Marks and Spencer. There was an on going sale at the latter and it’s my favorite brand ever since. I so like their non-iron and easy care long sleeve shirts and I honestly have a collection of M&S silk ties which I brought to Malaysia from home. The purchase was a sweet and reasonable reward that compensated my fatigue.

With only short of an hour stay inside Suria-KLCC Shopping Complex, I headed back to Pudu Sentral to catch my bus to Penang. Lady luck was on my side when I reached the terminal around 4:45PM despite heavy traffic on the streets of Malaysia’s capital.

During this trip, I vividly remember one foreigner who learned that I do medical lectures for a living, asked me randomly, “Do you consider yourself popular?”  I was astonished with his query and instantly replied with a smile, “I think it’s inappropriate and unethical to consider myself popular to students because I am really not, however, I’d like to be considered as an effective lecturer rather than  famous.”