Start the new year with a bang!!

Well, I must say, literally, I started the new year with a bang! Not that I partied the whole night through or what not, but I was actually involved in an accident today!

It started when I needed to book a bus ticket to go to JB yesterday night. A call came from a client in JB, insisting that I come over there today for a discussion. The call came at about 5.30pm due to miscommunication between the 2 persons in-charged on who was supposed to contact me and arrange the meeting, so I was left with less than 24 hours, which made it quite impossible for me to book a flight ticket unless I go and check the counters myself. So, with the client's recommendation, and since it was the most sane alternative (apart from driving, which was quite insane for a daytrip alone to JB), I went to book a bus ticket.

Took Tr*nsn*t**n*l Express bus at 9am. It was quite comfy, and overall, the trip was quite smooth, except for a few pitstops. It was my first long travel using express bus. I used to take bus during high school days, but only Seremban-KL or Seremban-Klang. I was quite panicky during lunch sto[ (30 minutes) because while I was still trying to finish my chicken chop, I couldn't see anybody else from the same bus around. So, I walloped everything and rushed outside to board the bus. Rupa-rupanya depa habis makan cepat sebab nak asapkan paru-paru! Cheh! Tapi, Hubby kata, "Ingat-ingatla sikit..Dah tau naik bas ekpres, makan ala kadar sudah la..Ni siap order chicken chop lagi!" hihi...

Reached JB at about 2.30pm, and my cousin brother came and fetched me from the Skudai bustop. The meeting was great and full of potential. My cousin brother then came again and send me back to the bustop and waited for me until I boarded the bus home. It was C**s*w*y L*nk Express, which was late for almost 1 hour. Understandable because it rained and the traffic was bad.

Again got a single seater seat. Great! I thought to myself, "This is good. Next time, if I need to travel far and within short notice, I don't mind using the bus again because of the convenience. Not as tiring as driving. After about half an hour, I dozed off. The seat was quite comfy, with leg rest so that my feet didn't touch the bus floor. It was very chilling inside the bus, what with the rain and the blasting air-conditioner.

I woke up some time later. It was very dark inside the bus, but since I didn't draw my curtain down, I could see traffic on the highway. The bus was travelling at high speed, with occasional braking and swerving to the left and right, maybe to avoid whatever was blocking it's way. I was seated on the 6th row, so I couldn't see in front of the bus. We then stop for pee break at Kg Bemban rest area.

We switched driver after the pitstop. This Chinese Uncle was very friendly right from the beginning. Then, they started to air 'Casino Royale' on the TV. Poor sound system and very small translation wordings, but since I got nothing else to do, tengok sajalah. I called Hubby and he was having his dinner. Said he would call me back after he paid for his meal. Asked me where I was, and looking out of the window, I informed him that I could see the signboard that stated 'Alor Gajah, Tampin,'

Just a few minutes after I cut off the line with Hubby, the bus skidded, hit something, emergency braked and swerved to the right, banging more things. It went to a halt soon after, engine stopped, TV stopped, lights off. In that split second, I banged to the seat in front of me and held on to it for my dear live. The bus was quite full, and everybody moved forward in havoc. I could hear sound of baby/kid crying, but the bus was in total darkness. Somebody shouted "Buka lampu!" and after a while, the lights were switched on.

I grabbed my laptop bag, and rushed forward. I felt pain here and there, and while decsending the bus stairs, I felt blood oozing from my nose. Alamak! When everybody was out of the bus, we were standing right in the middle of the highway. It was the centre lanes, which are yet to be opened due to the road widening projects. It was dark! Suddenly, I saw sparks of fire, a loud bang and a screeching sound of tyres. Another fast-driven car hit the same thing the bus hit, or it hit something that the bus left after the crash, causing it's front wheels to break apart from the car. A few more cars followed suit, with crashing sounds here and there until I couldn't dare to look some more.

A Singaporean mother with her son approached me to borrow my handphone to call their relative in Shah Alam. Another Chinese girl asked me where were we. I was pretty sure that we were somewhere near Alor Gajah, but I was not sure whether we had passed the Alor Gajah toll exit or not. The Chinese girl claimed that her chest was very painful. I told her to find some place to sit down. By this time, my bleeding nose had already stopped, and I only felt pain in my left leg.

The highway contractor's trucks came first (yeah, the bus hit their construction area la pulak kan?). Then, came the Pl*s R*nd* truck, followed by Police Patrol Car, 911 Ambulance and various TONTO trucks. Tiba-tiba macam ada pesta! One lane had to be closed, although the bus and the various cars were not obstructing traffic, for safety reasons. Vehicles were practically 'flying' across the road sebab malam kan? So, it was quite dangerous for us to be in the middle of the road.

I asked one of the Bangladeshi worker for the construction company who was diverting the traffic and asked him where was Alor Gajah. He said we have passed it about 3km before. Great! I called Hubby and informed him of what happened and my location. I was so lucky, Alhamdulillah! Apart from the minor injury and the trauma that I faced, the accident occured quite close to Hubby's work place (although he had to come out to the highway in search of me). And the bus didn't topple over because it crashed the divider at a completed stretch of the highway. Just another kilometere, we would have crashed and toppled over inside the drainage, and Allah knows, what injuries or casualties would we face. And thank Allah for the second divider. It stopped the bus from crossing over to the opposite lanes of the highway, which might cause crashes with oncoming vehicles. Alhamdulillah!

I was told to sit inside the ambulance for inspection because the Chinese girl told the paramedics that my nose bled. That was when Hubby arrived at the place and was surprised to find me inside the ambulance! Then, we were told to board the bus for safety reasons. I was told that the driver was trying to hitch hike any other bus with empty seats, so that they could transport us to a bus terminal first, before a replacement bus come to take us to Klang. It was already 11pm at that time, and Allah knows when would I be able to reach Klang. Thus, Hubby decided to send me home. Alhamdulillah!

Stopped by Seremban R&R for my quick dinner while Hubby took a nap. Poor thing! While recalling the incident, I couldn't even recall what else happened to me, where I hit or how was my condition during the crash. Guess it was trauma plus the fact that the accident happened so swiftly, I lost concentration on what actually happened. Surprisingly, nobody else was hurt or bleeding! hihi..

Safely reached home at around 2am. Performed my prayers and thanking Allah again, then I dozed off. As Hubby put it to baby Daniel the next morning, "Nasib baik Mummy tak mati semalam tau kena accident!" Ches!!