Throwback Thursday: Commuting From Rembau to KL

Let’s rewind to 10 years ago, when I was in my final semester of university and preparing for the most exciting (and exhausting) part of my degree: internship.

After what felt like endless emails and rejections, I finally secured a placement at Zalora, which was perfect for me at the time. I was obsessed with fashion and always experimenting with my style (very different from the muted, comfy aesthetic I stick to now 😅).

But this isn’t a story about fashion.

This is about the commute, and how it almost broke me.

I lived in Rembau, a quiet town in Negeri Sembilan. Zalora, on the other hand, was in bustling Kuala Lumpur. And every day, for three whole months, I commuted 4 hours round trip using the KTM train.

The only train I could take from Rembau left at 5:45AM. There were only three trains available at that time, and missing it meant missing work. My house was 10 minutes away from the station, so I had to be out by 5:20AM, which meant waking up at 4:30AM. Every. Single. Day.

The KTM ride to KL? About 2 hours (on a good day). Delays were a regular occurrence, but somehow, I still managed to get to the office around 9AM. Barely.

Work ended at 6PM, and I’d rush to catch the 6:30PM train back from KL Sentral. Most days I boarded at Chan Sow Lin, switching at Bandar Tasik Selatan to reach the KTM Komuter platform. If I missed the 6:30PM train, I’d have to wait for the 7PM one, another long ride home, finally reaching Rembau close to 9PM.

That left me just enough time to shower, eat, and crash before my alarm screamed again at 4:30AM.

Rinse. Repeat.

Five days a week.

Why didn’t I just rent a room in KL, you ask?

Because I was only earning RM800 monthly, plus RM200 Zalora vouchers (which, let’s be honest, helped my wardrobe but not my wallet). Renting a room at the time would cost at least RM400, leaving me with barely enough for food and transport.

So I endured the commute.

I endured the exhaustion.

And somewhere along the way, I learned a lesson that has stayed with me ever since:

Money buys you time.

That RM400 rent could have given me:

– 4 more hours of rest

– A full 8 hours of sleep

– A break from the KTM chaos

– Leisure time

– Peace of mind

It’s wild to think about it now. How I somehow powered through, running on dreams, nasi lemak, and pure willpower.

But I’m glad I did. That chapter shaped me, and it taught me that while hustle is free, time is not.

So here’s to the younger me, catching trains at sunrise, chasing big dreams with tired eyes. You did that.