The longest time I spent during a traffic jam was one pre-Chinese New Year trip back to BG in the '80s, before the North-South Expressway was even partially opened. It was a record 10 hours and if we were to take into account the dinner we had in Tg. Tualang, we took 12 hours to reach BG!
I can still remember quite vividly our family friend from Hong Kong and her nephew, Lisa and her best friend, Ling, were on that trip. It was also the first time a relative suggested the then new road going through Sg. Tua, near Batu Caves. At one stage, just before Bidor town, we decided to have a drink at a coffeeshop, instead of being in a car that could hardly move a short distance. Fortunately, all of us could chat and joke while going through the seemingly endless journey.
Sg. Tua was unintentionally revisited when a week before Chinese New Year, I decided to take the old route from Tg. Malim to find this canopy dealer in Taman Sri Batu Caves. All I had was its address and no phone was given in the email. I copied the google map and had the choice of going by Rawang or Sg. Buloh route. But after Batang Kali, we saw a sign to Genting and Batu Caves and tried it for the first time. In Ulu Yam, we decided to have lunch first before proceeding. We actually made friends with the Hakka woman selling noodles who confirmed that the road will take us to Batu Caves.
We passed some nice tourist sites like Wood Resort and Rock Resort as well as scenic Batu Dam. Then I came across Sg. Tua which brought back memories of my past longest journey back to BG. Near Batu Caves we were caught in a massive traffic jam because a road was still closed for some stalls after Thaipusam festival. I knew Sri Batu Caves is on the other side of the main road in front of Batu Caves but my original impression was to go along the dual carriage way a short distance before looking for a sign to turn right. Fortunately, at the roundabout, I took the turning which I later found out to be Jalan Perusahan which leads to the industrial area next to Sri Batu Caves. After this first visit, my recent visit was a breeze which took me only two and a half hours from BG to the shop! This was because I chose to get out of NSE at Sg. Buloh instead of taking the Sg. Tua route. The reason?
When I mentioned Sg. Tua to a brother, he told me about the danger of the route at night. A few years ago, a tow truck operator took a call to go there at 11.00 pm to tow a car. When he reached there, he saw a car with bonnet open and got out of his truck. Then a few men came out from nearby and besides robbing him of his wallet and mobile phone, stripped him down to his underwear and took the tow truck as well! It seems mobile phone coverage was either none or bad in that area. Anyway, the poor guy was without his mobile and he could not stop any passing vehicle to get a lift, and he walked throughout the night to reach Batu Caves in the morning! With this information, I decided not to risk it when travelling alone, even in broad daylight on the eve of Chinese New Year!
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