The title of this post sounds a bit like a paradox but I’m the sort of guy who will always try to look for a positive thread when unfortunate things happen unexpectedly. An example of such a situation is when my car broke down while I was on my way to Kuantan last year (click here for the story). Yesterday, an incident happened that illustrates a similar situation.
Last night I took an express bus from Kuala Lumpur back to Johor Bahru. The bus left Puduraya Terminal promptly at 9.00 pm. Traffic was not heavy and we got out of the city and entered the highway smoothly.
We were about half an hour into the journey, just before Sg. Besi toll, when we heard a loud exploding sound. The bus began to shudder but the driver managed to control the situation and slowly brought the bus to a stop on the road shoulder.
He got off and investigated. The front left tyre had exploded.
I went down to have a look. Brand new tyre, the driver says. Just replaced three days ago. He wasn’t sure what caused the burst. Good thing he was driving around 70 km/h at the time.
And so we had to wait by the roadside, opposite Technology Park Malaysia, for the replacement bus (the 10.00pm from Puduraya) to come.
This mishap caused me to reach home much later than expected but at least I reached home. If the burst had occurred while the bus was traveling at high speed at a later stretch of the highway, things may have turned out even worse. This is what I mean about being unfortunate but lucky at the same time.
For the 4-D punters among you, the license plate of the bus is JJG 9507. But you buy it at your own risk, okay :-)
14 comments:
salam bro,
alhamdulillah bro n yg lelain selamat..knp naik bus? dtg k.l lgk..biler nk singgah mkn2 kat ampang point ehehehe
There's always a silver lining behind each cloud. Alhamdulillah, all is well. :)
Wow! Praise be to Allah. That is a close shave! And lucky thing it happened just outside KL.
My mechanic told me sometime back that there are alot of "new" tyres that are either re-cond; or a new tyre which has past the 5-year shelf-life.
Alhamdulillah you got home in one piece! Unfortunately but lucky indeed.
Ni yg takut nak naik bas nih. Nasib baik selamat!
I agree with you wholeheatedly..but some of us kadang2 terlupa the positive side of things!
Most of the time we want everything to be perfect..whereas that doesn't happen to us mere mortals!
Salam Hanitha,
Hari tu dtg KL naik bas sebab malas nak drive. Friday last week dah dtg KL drive kereta, penat la. Nak naik flight, tak sempat nak booking sebab dapat arahan dari boss just the day before. Lagipun, meeting kat HQ was at 3pm dan last flight to JB around 6pm, so timing tak berapa sesuai.
I was in KL sehari saje jadi tak dapat la gi makan-makan kat Ampang Point. Next time, insyaallah.
Hmmm...
dalam musibah ada hikmat dan nikmat eh?
the power of optimism also cannot be ruled out!
Salam D,
Yes, there's a silver lining in every cloud... for those who believe. Alhamdulillah.
Andrea,
It was a close shave, yes... but I can tell you another story of one that was not. A total hit... also on the NS highway. But let's leave that for another day.
Car tyres have markings on the side that indicate the date of manufacture. Don't skimp when buying tyres. Get good ones for reputable tyre shops.
Madam,
Praise be to Allah, for this incident and for many similar or even more horryfying than this one before.
Hliza,
Generally bus travel is quite safe and comfortable. I've done JB-KL-JB on buses many times, but I stick to the reputable bus companies only. Transnasional, Maraliner, Plusliner are the ones I normally use.
mamasita,
Well, sometimes people expect too much out of life without investing something worthwhile in the first place. Itu yg buat sesetengah orang asyik terasa dirinya selalu kurang bernasib baik.
Verse,
You're right. The power of optimism has a great calming effect in tense situations. Although I must say, not everybody has the will to believe in it... especially after being hit by a series of unfortunate events.
Depending on situations, I try not to be too optimistic sometimes. It is also good to have a dose of realism once in a while. Which brings me to one of my favourite quotes, which is an extension of Murphy's Law : If a thing can go wrong, it will happen at the worst possible moment.
I'm sure many of us has faced such situations. A classic example - The photocopy machine running out of toner (or worse still, breaking down) on the night we are making copies of our presentation for submission the next morning!
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