The Jam

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is an interesting city. One of the interesting things about the city is that, over the course of time, the roads have not been able to expand with the amount of people driving cars. There just isn't enough space in the city to expand the roads further. Also, cars have been subsidized by the government so they are easier to purchase than earlier in history. Also, the weather here is so hot that it can be quite miserable to try and walk anywhere. If you have a car, however, you can stay in a nice, cool, air conditioned place as you make your way to work. The bus system is not completely reliable either, at least not with being on time. With all these factors combined, you have the "jam." This is the perpetual condition of the roads here in KL. Starting roughly at 6am until around 11pm, the main roads are almost completely clogged with cars. There is always the "jam" that has to be considered before you go anywhere (at least if you are driving). Many people must spend around two hours driving to work. Therefore, some people spend around four hours a day in their cars. This phenomena can actually extend throughout peninsular Malaysia during public holidays. We took a trip to Penang (which we will write about soon!) which is around a four hour drive away from KL. We took a bus there and it took around six hours to arrive. On the trip back, which was the Sunday at the end of a holiday weekend, we left Penang around 2pm and we arrived back in KL at 1:30am. It took us almost 12 hours to arrive home. We even tried to take back roads that most people don't know about, and even those were jammed. It is quite an interesting aspect of Malaysia that has become part of its culture. Because of the jam, it is hard to tell when people will arrive for events. Therefore, there is a grace period that is "understood" for most all occasions that allows for around 30 minutes of leeway for people to arrive because of the inconsistency of how long it will take for people to arrive. (It also makes for a convenient excuse if you are running late, but we can't use it because we don't drive! >.< ). Because of the delay, it is more or less understood that things will not start on time. So if a meeting is scheduled for 10am, it is expected to start probably around 10:15 or later depending on who is still missing. Here is a picture of a normal day in peninsular Malaysia =)

We hope this finds you all well! God Bless you and keep you strong in your life of service to Jesus Christ!