Sunday, June 01, 2008

I am completely exhausted and in shock seriously. I had the craziest weekend ever, and I'm stuck indoors with a grumpy man because I missed his birthday due to some unpredictable circumstances.

My trusty Sony Viao is officially gone despite attempts of salvaging it. So I woke up at noon yesterday and made my way to Wheellock's determined to buy a brand new macbook pro. And I did. I am proud of myself for not sidetracking and going on a massive shopping spree, ending up buying a whole lot of rubbish instead.

Anyway, after I got my Mac, I intended to meet Ling to borrow the Adobe and Microsoft programmes; thinking that she would most probably have the original versions. I managed to get myself a cabby despite the rain and terrible traffic and headed down to boat quay to meet Ling and Jill.

I got there, and found out that Ling didn't have the programmes, so being girls and all, we ended up just bumming at Home Club, listening to the "awesome" tunes of our local teeny bopper so-called rock scene of amateur "musicians". I must say, I think Ling, Jill and I were probably the oldest lot there. And, honestly... we're not that old. Whatever. Is it just me, or are the teens these days simply living it much larger as compared to how we used to be like? No way in hell, were we boozing up at the age of 15 and coming off as skanky band groupies. I would be utterly speechless if the bands were good, but they're obviously not. With that noise? Why are these young girls still throwing themselves at them? Well, the bands are basically made up of young boys too. I don't get the jezz of it all seriously. The equation doesn't add up to the hype of it all.

Enough of that... So, Ling and I stayed and chat till nightfall, then we got a phone call from Justin and the next thing I know, I was on my way home to fetch my passport. We were going to drive up to Johor Baru to have supper and buy some technological thingies.

I’ve never been to Johor before, well not exactly. The last time I was there Kenneth kept me in his car, insisting that it was too dangerous to get out. I was only allowed to get out when we arrived at Adrian’s place. Basically, this time round, I got to fully experience something totally foreign to me. And what a culture shock it was.

One thing’s for sure, the food, alcohol and cigarettes are cheap! Didn’t bring any cigs back though. I wasn’t going to take advantage of that and encourage the grumpy man to smoke even more.

Besides that, the people there are not that nice. And neither are they very helpful. Also, the traffic is horrible, people drive like mad dogs, and the living conditions and buildings are absolutely terrifying. Honestly, how can a supposedly developed city live that way? Filth, aggression, thugs, hookers, 70’s dress sense imposed on young children, pirates owing legitimate stores, etc. The worse have yet to unfold.

On our drive back to Singapore, we almost hit a black dog that decided that it was a good idea to dash across the road. To avoid a tragedy, James swerved the car and we ended up driving up a long, dark and misty road. It took awhile before we realised that were high up in the altitudes. It was getting colder as we drove on. We had no idea on where we were heading, and especially since we were almost visually impaired due to the mist.

Ling was beginning to get grumpy. She wanted to go home early to study for her upcoming exam. I was feeling completely exhilarated by the experience I had so far. Justin and James on the other hand, let’s just say that boys will be boys. They were so excited with getting lost that if Ling and I weren’t there… they would’ve ended up going on a spontaneous road trip and calling us two weeks later from God knows where.

After about an hour or so, I can’t exactly tell… we found a turning point and got back on the right road. Finally, we arrived at the first Malaysian checkpoint. A strange man sat behind the booth playing a song with repetitive lyrics and rhythm. “Allah will save the world.” I am not kidding, nor am I trying to be racist. But, that was rather freaky. Justin, James and Ian were laughing their heads off. Ling and I were praying in our hearts to let us get home in one piece.

“Awesome. First the dog and misty road, now this! What’s next?” James and his foul mouth proudly announced those words. Minutes after leaving the checkpoint, and hearing what he had to say, the car stopped abruptly. Justin spotted a dead man in the middle of the road.

So that’s what’s next. 3rd’s a charm for everything huh.
The man was lying in a pool of blood, under the metal road divider. His motorbike, still running, laid neatly a metre directly behind him. Justin reckoned he was attacked. James turned off the bike’s engine and took out the keys. Completely speechless, Ling, Ian and I watched.

We called the police right away. But, apparently, dying in-between the borders of two counties, can take hours for the police from each side to determine who gets to come to our aid. During our wait for the police, Justin concluded the man had been dead for over an hour, judging by the blood and brain matter solidifying around him.

With all the commotion going on, I am appalled by how people can completely ignore a dead body, or even a dying man. Motorists and cars sped by us, refusing to stop. If someone had stopped to help the man an hour earlier before we came by, he could’ve still been alive.

No one stopped. No one came to help. We were on our own till the Singaporean and Malaysian police both decided to come to the centre of the border. Paramedics confirmed Justin’s assumption of the man’s estimated time of death and we all could finally go home.

That is basically the most interesting thing that had happened to me since Thumper broke one of his teeth. And I am now lying beside a grumpy man who is currently asleep. I am feeling rather apologetic for missing his birthday. But, he didn’t include me in his celebration because I am such a wonderful secret to keep. I’ll be nicer to him when he wakes up. That’s all I can do now. Oh, by the way. Completely wasted my money on all the stuff I got from Johor. Go figure.

Some photos I took while waiting for the police to arrive. I was waiting the car and my phone camera suck so the photos are quite dark.