Mother of all traffic jams

Never have I been in a worse traffic jam!

I started my journey home from KL Monday (10 Aug) night. This is the big National Day weekend; because National Day falls on Sunday, all Singapore gets Monday off as well and I stayed an extra day in KL with Nisa and Jamie - hence, leaving KL for home on Monday night instead of (the usual) Sunday night.

There is this electronic signboard at the 27km mark (as you travel on the North South highway in the direction of Singapore) which bold (and proudly) proclaims "Avoid Jam - Use Second Link" in flashing lights. I notice these things because I almost exclusively travel on the Second Link..well..simply to avoid the traffic jam at the Causeway and it feels good that at least someone agrees with me. Tonight, it was either every bloody Singapore car obeyed this signboard, or everyone chose to travel to Malaysia this weekend, or a combination of both as when I arrived at the last petrol station 11.15pm before crossing into Spore, the jam had started. This petrol station is some 1km from the toll booth, which is some 2.5km from the immigration checkpoint.

It is not common for there to be a jam at the Second Link and in all of my years of travelling to KL, I have never seen the traffic jam start here. The traffic was standstill but everyone seemed patient. This is something that is uncharacteristic of drivers in general but very typical of Sporean drivers. We will drive badly in Malaysia, toss out thrash from windows as we zip slowly down the highways, not give way when cars flash for us to get out of their lane and religiously stick to the speed limit to the point traffic piles up on the highway behind us. Many of us will even get into the wrong toll booth corral and have to reverse out (all without a visible tingle of embarressment). But when stuck in a traffic jam, we never honk and instead sit quietly and fume in our cars, together with the fumes.

I waited one whole hour at the petrol station, leaving when I saw the rows of cars had cleared the toll booth. Only to be stuck behind them after the toll booth. Like many Malaysian cars (note - not Spore cars), I pulled over and waited another 30min. This then took me past Malaysian customs and then it was the jam over at the Spore side. For some 45min.

I just got home and started on this post 10min after that. Why am I still awake? Because the bloody jam has now kept my mind up and I am mentally too active to sleep. Sheesh!!!