discos and nightspots

here's another trip down memory lane. i was taking a ride downtown the other day, a rare scene since i usually prefer to drive myself. it gave me a chance to look around the city landscape, and, did i shock myself - so many buildings that i didn't realise had sprung up, so many entertainment spots that i haven't known about.

back in the days of younghood (as my daughter terms it), i knew every nook and corner of the town, every disco (nowadays called clubs), every good restaurant, every lorong with the best hokkien mee, best satay, best bak kut teh. i knew that the best prawn mee in town was the lorong near chinatown, but it only opens on thursdays; that campbell square had the best nasi lemak, jalan ipoh had the best bak kut teh at 3 a.m. after a sweaty session at the disco.

today, i can hardly keep up with the new roads and buildings, let alone the hangouts of the young.  we were in a much safer environment then,i am convinced.  i could walk home from a bus ride at midnight, and i wouldn't worry about anything.  i would drive home alone at 2 a.m. and it was fine. life then was not so complicated, it wasn't as decadent and immoral.  life was somewhat simpler, just as fun without the negative frills like drugs and bad hats... sure, it wasn't devoid of them, but it sure wasn't as rampant and common as today.

life for youngsters seem to be good these days, with all the modern technology and gadgets that are so sophisticated; but i reckon that with a much safer world those days, life was much happier and easygoing. parents didn't have to worry as much about their child's safety and well-being then.  with all the violence prevailing these days, youngsters have to be more wary about their surroundings, hence putting pressures on where they should hang out in, what time they should be heading home, why they shouldn't really be driving alone at night..... so many restrictions these days....

and those who throw caution to the wind today?? well, many have paid the price and many will have the negatives catch up on them, and some will get away with it...... but do we want to take that risk? i certainly believe the consequences are not worth the risks..