{"id":249,"date":"2008-01-11T22:43:12","date_gmt":"2008-01-12T04:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/?p=249"},"modified":"2008-01-11T22:43:12","modified_gmt":"2008-01-12T04:43:12","slug":"convenience-addict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/?p=249","title":{"rendered":"Convenience addict"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"trainstation1.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In yet another ticket-buying snafu, I tried to reserve tickets online for Mom and Dad and I to travel to Kuala Lumpur next week. \u00a0The e-ticket system was completely incomprehensible, so finally I just emailed them and made reservations that way. \u00a0That worked OK but, again, I would have to go to the station and pay for the tickets in person.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty sure that I have my facts right, here: \u00a0the railway system long pre-dates the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, and as a result of some weird political compromise the train station and the actual train tracks leading away from it are still technically regarded as \u2018in Malaysia\u2019 even though they are entirely surrounded by Singapore.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And… immediately after separation, Singapore Dollars and Malaysian Ringgits were at parity and used interchangeably. \u00a0Nowadays, a Singapore Dollar is worth about twice as much as a Ringgit, but the Malayan railway steadfastly denies this national affront. \u00a0This means that when I reserve a ticket, the price is quoted without units: \u00a0a first-class ticket from KL to Butterworth costs 30. \u00a030 what? \u00a0Well, if I pay for the ticket in Singapore, it\u2019s SG30 (US $20). \u00a0If I pay for the ticket in KL, it\u2019s MYR30. (US $9). \u00a0What about if I pay for the ticket online? \u00a0Well, then the website makes a guess about where I\u2019m probably located: \u00a0If I buy a Singapore-KL ticket, it bills me in Singapore dollars. \u00a0If I buy a KL-Singapore ticket, it bills me in ringgit. \u00a0This means that if I want to travel one way from Singapore to KL, it is dramatically cheaper to buy a round-trip ticket KL-singapore-KL and just discard the first leg.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last year, in fact, when I wanted to buy a one-way ticket from KL to Singapore, the Singaporean ticket agent helpfully provided me with phone number and a dime and pointed me to the adjacent pay-phone so that I could call his counterpart in Malaysia and buy my ticket at the reduced rate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But, anyway — today I\u2019m baffled by the website, nervous about stranding us without tickets, and generally feeling that the dollars involved are unimportantly few, so I\u2019m just heading for the Singapore counter and leaving with an honest-to-god paper ticket.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First I have to frogger across this scary busy road because of the weird positioning of the bus stop and the (not in Singapore and therefore willfully oblivious to Singaporean street layout) train station.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"trainstation2.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I enter the train station, and, *ding* I\u2019m in Malaysia. \u00a0Apparently Malaysia is not air-conditioned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"trainstation3.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are complications. \u00a0I don\u2019t have an actual print-out of my emailed reservation, so it may as well not exist. \u00a0Strangely, since I don\u2019t have an emailed reservation, there suddenly are first-class tickets available (although there were none, when emailing.) \u00a0So, that\u2019s good! \u00a0And, they take credit-cards, which I was counting on. \u00a0But, only American Express, for some reason. \u00a0Which I was not counting on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, I\u2019m turned back out into the street in search of cash. \u00a0And that\u2019s when I discover that the train station is in an <\/span>inconvenient<\/span> part of town.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"trainstation4.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"trainstation5.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lots of big scary noisy trucks, since I\u2019m right by the port. \u00a0Big, generic, run-down looking office buildings. \u00a0And… no cash machines. \u00a0I flagged down a cab and asked him to take me to a cash machine, and he asked me, \u201cWhere is there a cash machine?\u201d \u00a0So, that strategy didn\u2019t help much.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m starting to feel distinctly uncomfortable. \u00a0I need cash! \u00a0And, I\u2019m hungry, but the only food stand within view is closed. \u00a0And, why isn\u2019t there Wifi service here? \u00a0And, what if I need a foot massage, or dental implants, or an overnight tailor? \u00a0Where \/is\/ everyone? \u00a0And why is it so hot all of a sudden?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"trainstation6.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Later, I discover that it\u2019s so hot because my laptop has chosen that moment to turn itself on in my bag. \u00a0Time to get that switch replaced again.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Panicked, I pick an arbitrary direction and start walking. \u00a0Moments later I\u2019m in a dessert-themed shopping center, buying a brownie from a muffin-bakery next to the cream-puff shop which is next to the patisserie. \u00a0The muffin baker points out that there\u2019s an off-track betting center 30 feet away from me, and that there are (of course) lots of ATMs next to the betting counters. \u00a0As well as a donut shop called \u201cDonut and Donuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, that crisis averted, I headed back to the train station and bought my tickets, no problems. \u00a0I jumped on the first bus to roll up, and a few minutes later a transit cop got on and started checking proof of fare. \u00a0This he accomplished not by looking at tickets but by poking people\u2019s wallets and handbags with a little RFID reader that he carries in a holster. \u00a0Very convenient!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"convenience7.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In yet another ticket-buying snafu, I tried to reserve tickets online for Mom and Dad and I to travel to Kuala Lumpur next week. \u00a0The e-ticket system was completely incomprehensible, so finally I just emailed them and made reservations that … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bogott.net\/unspecified\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}