One of the biggest reasons why I love my neighbourhood is that it’s one of the most public transport-connected neighbourhoods in Malaysia. I can easily walk from my apartment to the nearest light rail transit station (I actually have a choice of two stations to walk to) and take an LRT to visit my parents a few kms away. I can even hop on a train to the KL Sentral station where I can travel to other states via train, or to the airport.

I’m probably a rare Malaysian in the sense that I love using public transport. Due to Malaysia’s hot weather, many just prefer not to walk, so I can’t blame them. Yet, as I walked back to the LRT station via this scenic elevated walkway, I feel so grateful that I can live in a neighborhood that is so well-connected by public transportation.

Fun story: Decades ago, when people heard out about the plan to build elvated walkway that snaked around my town, people protested that it wouldn’t be useful because it’s far too hot to walk for long distances. A part of me wished that the plan had gone ahead anyway, because I adore walking and it’s not as if these walkways won’t but shaded.

As a concession, this walkway now snakes around the neighbourhood of Sunway, and I really like the fact that you can use it to get from one place to another (besides the mall, you can walk to hospitals and colleges) without having to endure car traffic.

I realize living this way makes me happy, because I love living in a way where I’m not car-dependent. I hardly ever use my car, to be honest, and if I do use my car, it’s usually because I’m feeling lazy or trying to avoid the heat, which is almost a constant in Malaysia. (I spend about RM50 – about US$12 – on fuel for my car every two months!)

I hope that Malaysia will become less car dependent one day, but that’s probably unrealistic. Will it at least transition to affordable electric vehicles like China, perhaps? (I’m super jealous of China for being able to pull this off, by the way.)

As for myself, I don’t see an electric car in my future, but maybe an electric bicycle. I’m such a homebody. I don’t travel great distances. And if I do, I prefer to take public transport instead of drive. (I think anyone driving during peak festival periods is insane, for one.)

However, if electric bikes are going to be my future one day, the only hope I have is for Malaysian roads to become safer for because right now, it’s suicidal to use a bicycle – electric or not – on our roads.