The Ride To TA

The way the church has been going lately, I wonder if I will even get a fair funeral mass should I die soon. They want proof that I am Catholic, that I am part of this church, that I am a serving member of a church community et cetera, et cetera and frankly, I have arrived at a point where I don't care so much about what happens to my body once my spirit detaches from it.

All the same, to not make things more difficult for those who are left saddled with the work of burying or cremating me, I decided that I should settle at least my documentation once and for all and get my "3-in-1" extract from the church wherein I was baptised, St Anthony's Church in Teluk Intan or as it was known back in the day, Telok Anson. Indeed, for as long as I was flying the Nuri, Teluk Intan still had a non directional beacon which we could use as a navigation aid with its identifying morse code. Tango Alpha! How quaint.

Brenda had requested that we also ride over the bridge to Bagan Datoh, the Jambatan Sultan Nazrin because it looked so dramatic from the road leading in and out of Teluk Intan via the southern route. The plan then was to ride to Teluk Intan on Monday 27 April, get the extract from St Anthony's on Tuesday and ride home on Wednesday. Bookings were made for Hotel Anson and come Monday, we set off at 0925.

It was our first time trying out the West Coast Expressway from just after Klang to Teluk Intan. We were well rewarded by not having to endure too many of the jams which plague the normal route via the Shah Alam highways heading north. It seemed that before too long, we were already passing the corner-of-the-world towns of Sabak Bernam and Sekinchan. We took one water break on the highway and one more at the Sabak Bernam Petronas station to stay hydrated in he baking heat. Thank goodness for mesh jackets!

The Android Auto unit on the bike resumed the navigation as we continued on our way. The miles slipped by and before long, it showed Teluk Intan was about 14km ahead. The town council provides a "bike lane" which like many egalitarian facilities in Malaysia, vanishes both sporadically and intermittently. But the TA drivers thankfully, understood the quirks of their town and seemed to me especially tolerant of my adherence to the arrangements.

Riding in Teluk Intan is always a slower affair than in other towns, I find. That's because there are many motorists who are aged, and extra caution needs to exercised while driving to keep the accident rate low. We wove our way slowly to our accommodations, this time at Anson Hotel. It was close to the church and our favourite eatery, the Anson Hainan Kopitiam. The only snag was that it being a Monday, both the Hainan Kopitiam and Ah Lek, Teluk Intan's foremost chee cheong fun outlet was closed. Thankfully, the restaurant right next to Anson Hotel was open and once we had checked in, we had lunch there and it was rather good. Evening was on us soon enough. We decided to call for Grab noodles for dinner and in my utter brilliance, I had neither packed utensils into my tank bag nor had I requested plastic cutlery from the Grab restaurant. I sent a rather vehement Note To Self.

The Anson Hainan Kopitiam. A bit "atas" judging by the clientele.

Our appointment with a Ms Rowena (yes, a Rowena) the next day was at 0930, the office hours of the church admin. We figured we would ride to Ah Lek first, where we relished the chee cheong fun. We managed to have a leisurely breakfast and got to church on time. However, Ms Rowena was nowhere to be found and cross checking with her on WhatsApp revealed that she would be an hour late. I then checked how long she would be around and she said till 1230. That gave us just enough time to cross the Jambatan Sultan Nazrin and get back to retrieve my extract. Yes, a bit tight but this was why we made the trip since 4 months of communicating with Rowena to get the extract mailed to me always ended up in silent treatment. So we kitted up and set off for Bagan Datoh!

A cafe stop at Kopi Saigon, Bagan datoh

The route to Bagan Dato was 45 minutes long via coutry lanes with nasty drivers who didn't care about running right through you during overtakes from ahead. It may have been a bit of an arduous route, but it got us to Bagan Datoh rather congenially, without having to cross roads or traffic. We grabbed a very nice coffee at Kopi Saigon (purportedly Vietnamese). where we seemed to be he only customers in a rather dead quiet little town. Just as soon as we drained the cup, it was time to make it back to st Anthony's or I would have failed the mission.

It was hardly 3km from kopi Saigon where the long stretch of road to the bridge began. Trivia has it that the bridge stands at 10km long, with the overwater span at 1.5km. Rather impressive for a sleepy hollow such as Bagan Datoh!

As we rode, I kept a close watch on the ETA to st Anthony's. It seemed that we would arrive just a few minutes after 1200, which shouldn't displease Ms Rowena too much. We stopped just outside the church office and I went in to get the extract. I held the little sheet of blue paper, a 3-in-1 certificate with the dates and churches where I was baptised, did my Confirmation and was married. I couldn't help reminiscing on Boromir's words: "Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing?"

The artistry of Malaysian murals is not to be underrated. Let's not forget Pudu Jail.

But, mission accomplished!

We had a much better and more restful night.

The next morning we had an indulgent breakfast at the Anson Hainan Kopitiam. I hazarded a serving of rojak buah to top off my noodles and half boiled eggs. I tend to not be so strict with myself when I'm on the road, what with being a pilgrim and all that it waivers. Brenda bought some TA coffee and peanut cakes. We had space in our luggage.

Now, for an  ambling ride home.