Bagaimana Saya Pergi Ke Midvalley Megamall?

Someone once said to me that there's not much better way to get a sense of every day life in an unfamiliar city than to ride the public bus.

Not that it was my strict intention to test out KL's bus system, but it was convenient for my purposes, and my day after I arrived might be something that a local might venture to do - mail some letters and find me some swim goggles.

First off, it was over to KLCC Suria Mall. Through the helpful POS Malaysia website, I found out that their branch post office located there was open on Sundays until 6 PM. Being an avid runner, I had stumbled upon a couple of running events that I wanted to participate in, and I needed to have some postal orders made up for registration race fees and the entries put in the mail.

This was my first encounter with what seems to be opposite of what I found in Damascus - a lack of coinage. Clerks I've found here do not like giving out change if at all possible, and I'm not sure if its mere volume of business or actual coinage supply that causes this. You do end up with a lot of single ringgit bills pretty quickly with this methodology.

Contrast this to my stay in Damascus, where it was almost impossible to keep the smaller bills in your possession. Anything above a 500 SP note was looked at almost universally with disdain, even when your purchases were in the hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

Then I made my way to the bus stop for the bus trip across town to the Mid-Valley Mall. As I found out later, I could've shopped at the mall I was just leaving and found my coveted swim goggles, but there was a certain level of anticipation venturing into strange territory.

A young man loudly rambled on in Bahasa Melayu, seemingly either touting his ticket stack (I couldn't tell if they were legitimate for fare or not) or excitedly publicizing certain transit route buses as they pulled into our stop. Aside from what seemed to be a friend of his, no one waiting there seemed to pay him any mind.

After about 15 minutes sweating in the shade, my bus finally arrived. The fare was a bargain - 2 RM, or just under sixty cents, for an all-day access fare. The bus was pleasantly air conditioned and comfortable, similar to something you'd find in almost any city transit line in the western world.

I noticed that most people wanted to venture toward the back of the bus - I'm not sure if that's the cultural norm or not. A side benefit I didn't count on was the orientation factor - the route passed by some local landmarks I had intended on visiting during my stay here, such as the KL Sentral transit building, Chinatown, and the Central Market.

Finally, I arrived at the Mid-Valley Megamall, with my first stop was to the Dive Station, which, yes, had diving equipment as long as other swim-related gear. I think the staff looked at me a bit suspiciously as I broke open goggle boxes to sample the wares (no way was I buying a leaky pair), but thankfully to their relief, I found a pair that did the trick. I also picked up a couple of hats, not only to provide some shade but also to test out my thought that they might provide enough cover to make me visually pass as a local.

Then I just walked around to figure out what was there. I wasn't quite sure how it compared size-wise to other malls I had already passed on through, but this mall seemed to live up to its "Mega" designation. The Jusco Supermarket I wandered through was pretty much the largest supermarket I had encountered there in my brief time, with plenty of selections and staff members giving out samples a la Costco, but with a decidedly Japanese bent to the offerings.

If I had read prior to making this journey that this bus route was subject to some rather horrid traffic on its route right around the mall, I may not have come at all. As it was, I sweated in the shade again as I waited patiently for my return bus home. I'm guessing I didn't really stand out at all to the other locals beside me, as they waited with their goodies for their rides away.

In front of us, taxis awaiting an un-metered tout played their waiting game in their pickup lane; some drivers, frustrated by the slow pickings, decided to wade into the ever-building clump of traffic that clotted the flow in the area. This was probably mostly caused by the numerous patrons dropped off by passenger car and taxi alike near our stop. At one point, a luxurious-looking coach bus stopped in the designated bus stop lane, dropping off what looked to be Chinese tourists and their luggage for what looked to be a stay at one of the two hotels located within the mall premises.

Finally, the air-conditioned relief of the return bus arrived, but I seemed to be the only one at this stop who boarded. For the first time, I felt somewhat isolated, as what looked to be native Malays occupied the back, a male threesome of Indian descent chatted up the bus driver up front, and two tourists that seemed to sport British accents occupied the middle of the bus.

Probably to them, I was one of the locals. But I was really one of them, but with a fairly convincing disguise on the outside.