I sat down and intensely watched the vehicles on Batu Buruk Street from under Rhu trees when the congregation for the Dhuhr prayer began to arrive. Some of them smiled when they saw me who was still sitting on the grass of Floating Mosque’s Ramadhan Bazaar.
A few minutes after the iqamah was pronounced, the bus I was waiting for started showing its nose at the entrance gate. The Bas KITē didn’t slow down, apparently, suddenly quickly stopped in front of the north bridge.
I stuttered, got up, put the itinerary sheet which I had used as a seat cushion into the folding bag, and started running as fast as I could to catch the Bas KITē which had stopped and had finished lowering its passengers. “It’s bad if I miss it”, I held my breath and drove as fast as I could.
“Hurry….Come on, hurry up, brother”, a mother who walked with her umbrella encouraged me. I could only run while trying to leave a smile on her.
The Bas KITē, which initially started to go, finally slowed down, and the driver seemed to see me running from the rearview mirror. I did try to show myself in the rearview mirror and wave to him. Luckily for me, the Bas KITē driver noticed my presence.
I jumped up from the front door…..
“Oh, brother….I thought you had explored another place”, the driver still memorized my face.
“Not yet, Sir….I’ve been waiting for the bus for a while”, I panted and handed over 3 Ringgits while trying to keep a friendly smile.
Now I was sitting in the row of seat number six and trying to cool off the heat of my body right under the bus’ air conditioner then trying to get back to enjoying the trip to the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.
Leaving the Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque, initially, Bas KITē moved south, the bus took passengers to an important destination, namely Noor Arfa Craft Complex which is a well-known handicraft outlet in Kuala Terengganu. After dropping off and picking up passengers, Bus KITē again drove north along Batu Buruk Street, crossed the Kuala Ibai Bridge, and crossed again the Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque which still looked elegant even from a distance.
By three o’clock in the afternoon, Bus KITē finally arrived at the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu, which was eight kilometers from the Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque.
But I arrived at the bus station in hunger. I was still trying to stay calm, because yesterday afternoon when I finished eating at the terminal canteen, I saw the existence of a food stall at a taxi rank which was full of visitors. “The food in that food stall must be delicious,” I concluded that afternoon. I’ve bookmarked the food stall and now was the perfect time for me to visit and had lunch there.
The food stall hadn’t changed from yesterday, it was crowded with visitors. Not only taxi drivers, but many office workers, security forces, and soldiers were seen queuing up to be able to eat at that place. It seemed that the place was indeed a favorite and affordable place to eat for residents.
I tried to enjoy a portion of rice with chicken pieces and I added a few pieces of fresh vegetables. The vegetables weren’t paid for.
The simple food stall only had a seat made from plastic but had its specialties because the shop assistant was a young girl wearing a headscarf with a beautiful Malay face. “No wonder this shop is crowded,” I smiled to myself.
I enjoyed the lunch very voraciously. Apart from being hungry, that stall’s food tasted very good. I ended my lunch by handing five Ringgits to the beautiful lady of the stall’s servant.
There was still 45 minutes before the Bas KITē to the Crystal Mosque departed….
I looked for a prayer room in the terminal and decided to pray. There was no more time because I would bump into the sunset when I return from the Crystal Mosque later.
Even after the prayer, there were still thirty minutes left….
I decided to explore the interior of the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu by stepping to the second floor. On the second floor, there were rows of kiosks that were very busy with various activities selling goods and services. But the majority seemed to be dominated by clothing kiosks and tailoring services.
While the view downwards looked more beautiful than a sweep of the eye when I was below. The front left side of the terminal was dominated by the taxi parking area. Meanwhile, on the right front side, several Bas KITe were neatly parked, which since this morning have been instrumental in driving me around the city. On the other hand, that afternoon, interstate buses began to stir and slowly arrived to pick up passengers to take out of town.
Half an hour of exploring each side of the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu allowed me to get to know more about the Kuala Terengganu mainstay bus terminal.
It was three in the afternoon….
Time to go to the Crystal Mosque….
But now I was in big trouble. That was the Bas KITe on the last C02 trip, meaning that when I arrived at the Crystal Mosque, I had to go back to the inn by taxi… “Hmmh, expensive”, I kept thinking….
I have to outsmart this unfortunate limitation……
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