The column reflects the view of the writer
By Aisyah Suwardi
BEFORE I joined my current company, my first job after my undergraduate study was in Bukit Jalil - Seri Petaling to be exact. It hasn’t been that long, but my memories of that place have always been bittersweet. One of the reason was my dark history with the public transportation that I had to use to reach the office.
I can’t really compare our local public transport to some other country, as I have never been overseas to use their transport systems. However, I don’t think that a station should be built a twenty minutes distance away from the nearest amenities (shop-lots, malls, offices and more). It will not be safe, not considering the sweltering heat that I will have to walk in.
The timing of the buses is lousy at best. Sometimes, after an hour of waiting, one could assume that it is a better idea to walk 20 minutes to the station. I’m not trying to put the whole blame on the feeder bus organisation, as I understand that their routes surpass some other neighbourhoods. There is even one route that came all the way from Old Klang Road (hence, being stuck in a jam and consequently, being tardy).
Our public transportation, especially the buses, need to be improved so that fresh graduates can buy a house before buying their first car. Not every office have excellent connectivity. The e-hailing service was not available back then too.
Only after getting a car of my own that I started to enjoy the accessibility of Bukit Jalil. From my house at the northeastern side of Kuala Lumpur to Bukit Jalil, I took the MRR2 route and experienced only a slight jam near Cheras as I was travelling against the traffic. There was no toll or traffic congestion. It was such a happy memory that I would like to reminisce once in a while as I looked down at the traffic of Petaling Jaya from my current office.
Back then, there was no traffic jam when one takes the Besraya highway, and it was definitely worth the money. At least, it was RM0.50 cheaper than the toll I have to pay nowadays.
The food was not bad as well. As I am not a foodie, I didn’t go around exploring the cafes, but in my humble opinion, the mak cik at the Bukit Jalil LRT station sells the best nasi lemak and curry puff. I am not sure whether she’s still there.
There’s also a mamak shop near my office where we religiously go for lunch. The kuey teow goreng taste is unreplicable. I hope the mamak there misses me with my order of “ice tani satu!” (ais kosong).
Well, I guess that’s the charm for all the areas that you live in. You will always have those small things that make you grow fond of the place :’)
When my colleagues went to explore Bukit Jalil for our special project, I wasn’t involved. Reading the Best@Bukit Jalil that came out last Wednesday, I was bewildered that there were so many things that I haven’t discovered while I was there.
The Bukit Jalil recreational park, the cafes with its mouth-watering waffles and pancakes pictures. Does anyone want to explore Bukit Jalil with me now?
If you have missed out on our last Wednesday publication, do read the digital copy here at https://goo.gl/kCbVRo.
Please let us know about your experience of exploring Bukit Jalil with our map!
