June 2015 – Page 8 – TV Smith's Blog

What Lah

I was walking by a restaurant in the Hartamas area when I saw a hipster choking on a black burger. Yes, it’s 2015 and our hipsters are still into burgers with charcoal buns (and green tea Kit Kat).

Fortunately, someone else there knew the Heimlich maneuver and administered it. The victim’s frantic partner called 999 and insisted on a hybrid or electric ambulance.

I shouted: “Give him a lemongrass drink or a mason jar with infused water and he’ll be alright”

The slumped, choked guy nodded in agreement.

“Later get him a Central Market T-shirt with an owl or dreamcatcher motif to cheer him up. Or find an inspirational quote for him to post on his Instagram”, I added.

Tears welled in everyone’s eyes.

As I exit the restaurant, I saw the manager running around the al fresco dining area in circles, as if still in panic.

I asked: “WTF, madam?”

She replied: “Oh. I’m plotting my running tracks to upload to Facebook”

Olympus OM-D, ISO 250, f6.3, 1/100 sec.

*juicy burger with charcoal buns photographed previously at myburgerlab. Not related to incident mentioned here.

RGB – Red Green Blue

A red hibiscus in front of the blue mosque in Bandar Behrang 2020.

Lofty name notwithstanding, Behrang 2020 is one big housing estate that is as drab as the weather today. From a photography perspective, it is as boring as any such planned township can get.

Maybe I expected more from the name. Fortunately, the mosque, religious school and flowers at the entrance added some colours.

From here, I will be moving north again, after spending considerable time at Behrang town and villages. Those old places possess an ingredient that is usually missing in a systematically created town: character.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/2000 sec.

Chilling With Makcik Hasiah

Was exhausted after a long hard day exploring the railway area of Behrang. Thus was happy to see a roadside hawker stall serving cold drinks and food. Also a good place to rest and check accumulated messages on my phone, I thought.

Makcik Hasiah, the elderly stall owner, asked me if I came for the lekor. It is east coast fish crackers made from fish and sago flour. It wasn’t ready at the time I arrived.

I told her I came for a cold drink. She said whenever a non-Malay come to her neck of the woods, it must be for her lekor.

Me: Wah! It must be good then?
She: But of course! Muahahaha.

We then went on to joke about so many random things, exchanged anecdotes and laughed ourselves silly. I called her aunty. She’s like an own aunt: motherly, wise, caring, honest and funny.

Me: How many grandchildren do you have?
She: Make a guess.
Me: 10?
She: 27!
Me: Wah! (clasping my head in mock disbelief)
She: Why? But I have 8 kids. Hahaha.

Funny how two strangers from different worlds can connect even with nothing in common, except maybe for the slightly twisted sense of humour and good vibes.

I ended up not looking at my phone at all. When you have good company, you won’t even realise you have a phone. I bid farewell and packed some lekor to go.

She: Will you be back soon?
Me: I am afraid not. Will you miss me so soon?
She: No. Hahaha. I want to see the prints of the pics you took of me.

I should get a battery-operated printer soon.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 800, f13, 1/60 sec.

A Ghost Station For A Ghost Train?

The permanently-closed ticketing counter at the Behrang Train Station is plastered with newspaper cuttings. A collection of morbid news on fatal accidents and suicides involving people on the railway track. It is to serve as a warning, perhaps. For there is open access to the platform and track.

The silence and emptiness is strangely attractive. It was as though me and my new friend, the invigorated cat, own the station. We wandered on the platform, looked at the tracks up-close, sat on a steel bench and waited for the train that never came.

I found out later from local residents that in spite the solitude, the station is functioning. One can still hop on a train from here, I was told. Provided someone on board is getting down, the train will stop.

The info left me with more questions. How does one disembark at the destination when boarding without a ticket? How would they know which station you board from?

How does a passenger from inside stop the speeding train in order to get down. Is there a bell button to push like buses of old days? From the platform, can I flag it to stop?

This is a nice and well-equipped modern train station, mind you. It is sad and surprising to see it so under-utilised. To the town’s credit, it isn’t vandalised at all. It also makes sense to not waste money on staff when there are hardly any passenger.

I don’t know. When it comes to train stations in small towns, the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it or re-locate it” applies, sometimes.

Maybe this is the reason it was chosen as the location to scrap the phased-out trains. No one comes here. I am glad I did.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 400, f13, 1/60 sec.

Only The Lonely

Behrang train station is strangely deserted. There is not a single person around. No passengers, no workers, not even a guard in sight.

Only soul that greeted me was one very lonely cat. A very skinny and young cat at that. Poor stray (probably dumped here) must be wondering why there are no humans to give it food. Or why it is so hard to find leftovers.

I usually carry a bag of dog food and another bag of cat food in my car. Many strays will not eat kibbles though. Luckily, I also have Whiskas wet food packs.

Need to relocate the animal after feeding or talk to the the Indonesian wrecking crew nearby. Hope I can persuade one of the guys to give it regular food.