4 hours to cover 2.3 km distance : Singapore Malysia Border Travel
• What are the different type of trees planted along the divider on the road that joins Singapore and Malaysia border post?
• How many of these have flowers?
• What type of fruits does a palm tree have?
• What is the height of security fence that is been put along the highway?
• How many cameras are fitted on the poles and how their angles are maneuvered remotely?
• What happens to the car engine when it is running for several hours without car moving few meters every 10 minutes?
These and many such questions were answered as we trudged along 2.3 km long road after passing Singapore immigration and before entering Malaysia border. It took us 4 hours to cover that distance.
Would this long wait have been avoided? I think the answer is No. Immigration officials did open most of the gates and they handled the papers quickly. There was no stoppage for baggage screening. It is just that cars kept on pouring during morning hour of Deepavali holiday adjoining the weekend. Few questions did come across my mind. How could old age people manage sitting for long hours? What if someone's health falters? In India, similar situation would have been far more entertaining. There would be street sellers selling chips, peanuts, water, newspaper and kids toys. Car drivers squatting and huddling together on the green patch of the divider with tobacco stuffed inside their mouth. Men with children peeing through the columns of concrete bridge dividers while women cursing themselves of being victims of anatomical anomaly. Here on Singapore Malaysia border, we managed well without all that entertainment. But we had our share of misery. We became victim of road frustration as our car was banged behind by youngsters from Johor baru without any sign of remorse or apology from them. Our mobile battery gave away. Honda Accord car engine would struggle go beyond 80 kms/hour despite full acceleration till we stopped the engine and let it reset twice. Past the immigration clearance, immediate reaction of the drivers was to race ahead thereby causing string of fatal accidents. Luckily we weren’t part of them. A lesson was learnt. Never attempt driving on the long week end at peak hours. Return scenario was pleasant though. We crossed the border at 930pm. By then most of visitors may have sneaked past the immigration.
• How many of these have flowers?
• What type of fruits does a palm tree have?
• What is the height of security fence that is been put along the highway?
• How many cameras are fitted on the poles and how their angles are maneuvered remotely?
• What happens to the car engine when it is running for several hours without car moving few meters every 10 minutes?
These and many such questions were answered as we trudged along 2.3 km long road after passing Singapore immigration and before entering Malaysia border. It took us 4 hours to cover that distance.
Would this long wait have been avoided? I think the answer is No. Immigration officials did open most of the gates and they handled the papers quickly. There was no stoppage for baggage screening. It is just that cars kept on pouring during morning hour of Deepavali holiday adjoining the weekend. Few questions did come across my mind. How could old age people manage sitting for long hours? What if someone's health falters? In India, similar situation would have been far more entertaining. There would be street sellers selling chips, peanuts, water, newspaper and kids toys. Car drivers squatting and huddling together on the green patch of the divider with tobacco stuffed inside their mouth. Men with children peeing through the columns of concrete bridge dividers while women cursing themselves of being victims of anatomical anomaly. Here on Singapore Malaysia border, we managed well without all that entertainment. But we had our share of misery. We became victim of road frustration as our car was banged behind by youngsters from Johor baru without any sign of remorse or apology from them. Our mobile battery gave away. Honda Accord car engine would struggle go beyond 80 kms/hour despite full acceleration till we stopped the engine and let it reset twice. Past the immigration clearance, immediate reaction of the drivers was to race ahead thereby causing string of fatal accidents. Luckily we weren’t part of them. A lesson was learnt. Never attempt driving on the long week end at peak hours. Return scenario was pleasant though. We crossed the border at 930pm. By then most of visitors may have sneaked past the immigration.
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