It was an adventure we never saw coming. Over 10 years, I've driven without a hitch, but on this trip to Penang, we found ourselves stranded for the first time ever beside the North-South Highway northbound. We set off bright and early at 7:30 am, with plans to reach Penang by 12:30 pm. Everything was smooth sailing until some distance after we passed by the Tapah R&R Area, when suddenly I felt a significant vibration from the steering and heard a loud sound from the front left side of the car. I quickly hit the double signal and slowly steered the car to the emergency lane.
We had guessed it was a flat tire, and we were right—the sidewall of the tire on my brother's car had blown out. To our horror, we realised the car didn’t come with a spare tire but only a tire patching kit, which in our case was useless. Ah, Toyota, why must you cut costs on such essentials?
With no other choice, we called our insurance company to arrange for a tow truck. As we waited, I started calling around Ipoh's tire shops and the Toyota service center, hoping to find a replacement tire. The tire size, 205/50/17, was an odd one and not commonly stocked. After several calls and a few anxious moments, we finally found a shop that had the tire in stock. They quoted us RM340 per piece, which was a relief compared to the RM460 per piece quoted by the Toyota service center.
The tow truck arrived about 45 minutes later. I climbed into the cab and endured another 30 minutes of a bumpy ride on the flatbed truck to the tire shop. What a interesting interior decoration taste this driver has inside the truck. Despite the uncomfortable journey, we were grateful to be on the move again. Once at the shop, the mechanics got to work quickly, and before long, the car was back in working order and no other damage was spotted.
Feeling hungry, we decided to grab a quick lunch nearby at Koo Zai Village Chicken. Ipoh is renowned for its delicious food, and we couldn’t miss out the famous beansprout chicken rice. The meal was a delight and much more affordable than what we’d pay in Kuala Lumpur. The tender chicken, crunchy beansprouts, and fragrant rice (unlimited refill) were just what we needed to lift our spirits after the morning's ordeal.
After our meal, we hit the road again, making our way to Penang. Despite the delay and the unexpected hassle, we finally reached Penang at 3:40 pm, just in time to check in to our hotel. The journey had been long and stressful, but we were relieved to have made it safely to Penang.
Hey HIVE community!
Aaron✌🏻 here, proud member of Team Malaysia, straight from the heart of the magical Borneo Island. Now, I'm calling the vibrant concrete skyscraper cityscape of Kuala Lumpur home.
Hope you enjoyed reading on my little adventure as much as I enjoyed experiencing it! If you liked my writing, feel free to give it an upvote or reblog it with your community. Got any questions or want to know more? Just drop them in the comments below - I’d love to hear from you! Thanks so much for stopping by, and I truly appreciate all your support.