I just came back from Ipoh in Malaysia, which is about 700km north of Singapore. Had gone there for some relatives visiting, both alive and dead, over the Easter weekend with my family.
The trip to and fro wasn't all that pleasant, considering that I was behind the wheels most of the time. To make matters slightly more challenging for this duty driver, my father had decided to travel to Ipoh at midnight on Thursday, when I'd nary a wink out of my forty. The trip back yesterday was made in the wee hours of the morning when I could have woken up the resident rooster for its morning crow of the day.
Travelling at such early hours meant travelling in the dark (except at exit points and toll booths, the highway has no lightings). Travelling in the dark meant an added bonus to the monotony of driving to fall asleep. And fall asleep I almost did on several occasions, while the speedometer was pointing to the figure of 150.
My father, sitting in the passenger seat, hadn't dare to fall asleep and kept on a constant mantra of telling me to slow down and keep to the speed limit. Of course, I ignored him because I was already concentrating on not falling asleep.
In the small confines of the car, how else can I keep myself awake aside from getting my adrenaline up by going faster and faster. Even that got dull after a while. Blasting of music was out and as was the showcasing of my beautiful singing talent, since the rest of my family was sleeping in the back seats.
Luckily, close shaves were all I'd got and since then I'd given some thoughts and came up with a list of must-haves for driving long distances at night along Malaysia's highway.
1. Sunglasses
I'm not kidding. With all the vehicles on the road having their high beam lights on, vehicles travelling from behind shining into the rearview mirror and in the opposite direction are bound to blind the driver. So unless this is the kind of lights you want to see before arriving at the Pearly Gates, it's best to keep the lights out.
2. Massage chair
Change the driver seat to a massage chair or else you're going to get a stiff neck, sore shoulders and plenty of piles.
3. Toothpicks
Nothing better to prop up one's drooping eyelids to keep awake. Safety pins are an alternative.
4. Ammonia
What can't keep you awake externally (the toothpicks), got to be complemented by something that can go internally to the body system and nothing like ammonia can do the job. Guaranteed instant result. If you can't get your hand on ammonia, take a travel partner who regularly gives off swamp gas that, when lit a match, can roast an entire thanksgiving turkey. Bring along an oxygen tank as well in this case.
5. Rugby Gear
With road bullying becoming part of the Malaysia road travel experience recently, wearing a rugby gear out may not sound like a bad idea.
So there you go, a list of items to keep you driving at 150km/hr safe and sound on the Malaysia highway.
Oh ya, don't forget to buy travel insurance with me as your sole beneficiary.