Lake-Side

A newspaper search inevitably made you look foolish now. Judging  by the reactions behind the counters you must have shown some disturbing faces never seen before by sale staff in these parts. Newspaper? Ah, no sir, sorry…. There was an Indian shop up along the way, one young Scarf had offered. The Indians might still read and sell papers, the girl seemed to think. Two kilometre plus round trip that turned up only The Star and the woeful shopping strip into the bargain. Humanity was done for without any doubt. Suda, finished, beyond all redemption. White goods, massage places, mechanics, a French bar the standout and pet shops clearly in the majority. There had been a number of the latter on the main drag too yesterday, including at least one home kennel that momentarily tricked a weary Swag in search of hammock. One of the shops on Mutiara Enas specialised in the premium tucker that Auntie Helen back at Carpmael served her litters, Royal something or other in handsome regal packets. The supermarket product of course appalled any true pet lover. (The meltdown of the homo sapiens can be measured by the rise of pet mania. Gay marriage, alcohol & drugs, divorce rates and the other traditional indices were less telling; outpouring of lavish doggie & puss love far more.) Sixty-seventy metre fake grass matting lay under the umbrellas and high stools at the Cote d’Azur place on the corner that must have gathered the crowds in the evenings. Curvaceous timber inserts over segments of paving there winding round the bend made the passage especially treacherous. Pushing shit uphill in a leaking barrow seeking to convince anybody of the escape and joyfulness anywhere along that long strip. The gated community opposite shopped at these places spitting distance away strictly for essentials only when the drive around to the better quarter proved onerous. Google showed a central lake somewhere behind the towers—palms, porches with fairy lights & paddle-boats safe to assume. Over near the Petronas pumps on the highway a couple of Chinese operations were two-three rungs above in décor, potted plants, floor furnishings and the rest. Little wonder the ex-PM and his lady had sought out Central Park, Ascot and the other proper getaways. This flimsy con here was a hard ask; well-nigh impossible. Up in the capital and much-touted Langkawi Island they would put on the show more artfully, but the mimicry doomed these efforts always and irredeemably. (The ex-PM had a favourite resort on the island of Langkawi when jetting further away was difficult in a busy schedule.) Ni in a block overlooking the tale of woe on Enas was caring for an old/not-so-old Chinese ahma, twelve years non compos mentis after her stroke. Two sons lived a couple of hours away further north in Johor; two daughters in the neighbouring Republic. For her devotion Ni scored $SG750 monthly—a little better than the average in Sin’pore for standard domestic service. Here Ni dished up her delectable fare every day, bathed the old duck, administered the insulin and other meds and each night shared the lady’s bed. Incoherent, though still capable of angry outbursts, incontinent (diapers needed regular changing), feeding impossible unaided—it was the utter catastrophe. Yet dressed in military camouflage, hair brushed and in a certain light, photographs showed the figure of a HK actress, as Ni put it. Characteristically, Ni had developed a certain affection for the woman. This kampung folk always found human bedrock in the challenge of living. Hungry love-making ensued late night, early morning and in the middle of the night when Ni could safely slip away from her charge. By some fluke The Ardens Hotel had been happened upon a hundred metres from Ni’s block. The Chinese owner of Ardens had another establishment over the other side of JB Central, the young Tamil waitress revealed, which might have featured another IKEA resto chosen by the man’s wife. Somehow the colour schemes, furnishings and fittings of the Ardens’ rooms were more or less unobjectionable; the designer had possibly sought additional costs for the resto.