Kaki

Just came back from an all day walkabout.

Ok, maybe not an all day one lah since i spent like 5 hours in the Pavilion.

But then again, its been a great while since i've walked around the familiar places of the city and my, how i have grown softer and softer these days..

From the hustle and bustle of the rush hour traffic choking the streets to the time they call the graveyard shift where you can lie down on the road itself and never worry of being run over by anything, by God there is nothing better and uplifting to the soul other than to put one foot after another firmly on the ground. I missed it. I missed going for long walks alone with no one but the city to accompany me. Its an indescribable feeling to walk under the orange glow of the streetlamps with nothing but the sound of your footsteps and the slow hum of the city accompanying you, its.. simply magic.

But of course there's the unsavoury bit, especially the part where i had to walk under the AKLEH to use the pedestrian bridge that went over the Klang River, my only route home for the past 20 years or so. It was dark as a negro's armpit down there and i was reduced to slowly stepping my way one through the blanket of darkness for fear of stepping into a deep hole (the ground there is a bit uneven). But the task was made lighter with the encounter with an otter right before i walked through the darkness. It was a heartwarming thought that proves that perhaps Klang River is en route to recovery as to be able to support such creature, it was no small otter. Under the orange light of the street lamp i mistakenly thought it to be a dog prowling for food but its graceful movement as it slunked away from my presence and the wet sheen its coat gave under the light proved otherwise. Heck,the fella even had the gall to turn his (assuming its a he) every now and then on his way back to the fetid waters of the river to look at me in curiosity, as if questioning what a two-legged creature was doing there at this hour. Sorry old boy, didn't mean to spoil your walk.

The rest of the journey i should say is routine, i am used to a Malay majority area where everything slows down after 9. Except for one coffee shop still holding the fort with nothing but two half asleep customers at one their tables there was no sign of life everywhere. There i was under the familiar orange lights again only this time the hum of the offices and towerblocks were exchanged with the big old trees exhaling their airy breath. It was as still a night can get, that is if you cancel out the rats fighting over scraps of rubbish.

Oh the things you'd notive when you are on foot. Things that you'd never experience after internal combustion usurped the role of pure muscle power.

I intend to enjoy whatever that is left of this holiday come what may and though it might not be spent anywhere fancy i do believe that the best way to spend a break is on foot, on familiar grounds. This is my city, i live here and hopefully, i'll die here.