BANG!

Literally. One minute we were laughing and joking in the car, the next second a loud BANG and BOOM, we hit something and we got hit!

It's not a game. It's an accident. And we were right in the middle of it. We didn't see the opposite cars coming and thought it's our right of way and we turned, confidently, until it was too late. It was shocking, and we were dumbfounded, and didn't know how to react.

"Call emergency"

Blue eyes was first to break the silence. He immediately got out of the car and checked the condition of the other vehicle. He helped the driver out and asked his situation. J called our car's emergency number, which contacted the 911 for us. Finally the girls got out. Soon the firemen came, followed by the police. The firemen asked if we were hurt. We said no. The other driver had a concussion and they treated him. Two Korean ladies in the third car were out, making calls. And they took down J's number. The policewoman took each of our statement. Despite the accident, no one was shouting or getting angry or blamed anyone - this would be SO UNLIKELY if it were to happen in KL (typically people shout first to get first hand advantage...).

PK asked policewoman if it's ok to leave as I'm running late for my doctor's appointment to take a yellow fever injection. She said ok. Our cab came and we went on our way. Still in shock.

What happened? How do we feel? How are the boys coping?

(We later found out that after the policemen and firemen left the accident site, boys had to wait for the rental company to send a new car and to take the damaged car away. It took close to 3 hours. My injection at Passport Health went ok and I'm alright).

It's bad incident. Not exactly the kind of thing anyone would want to happen on a trip. But there is a silverlining - we're safe and no one got hurt. Only the cars were damaged but they're well insured. And I got my yellow fever vaccination as planned. And we did have a very good day prior to the accident. Warm sunny day. Drive on Mulholland was super calming - the view was gorgeous! And we had a nice lunch in Beverly Hills.

To end the day on a better note, we made soup and stir-fry vegetables for dinner and had them with rice.  It felt good to be safely home. The wine helped to calm us down. And as blue eyes always say, "good food, better mood."

In retrospect, the accident could have been worse - what if there were people crossing the road when the cars collided? What if we were in a smaller vehicle instead of a SUV? But none of these ifs happened, and we didn't have to find out. I'm grateful. So what if the new year has been so eventful, the bright side is, we came out alright :)

(Pix courtesy of CPK)