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Today is the grand opening of the latest shopping spot in Kuching. The Boulevard shopping complex opened its doors to the eager consumers of Cat City. When I went over to have a look this morning, only the hypermarket was opened. And to be honest, the so called ‘hypermarket’ looks just like any mid-size supermarket to me. Carrefour or Tesco it ain’t.

JAM!

The people of Kuching have a tendency to flock to newly opened entertainment or shopping venues. This is known locally as the ‘New Toilet Syndrome’. Droves of curious people will visit the new attraction until everybody and their third cousin had been there. After that, the place will become half-deserted, like most of Kuching’s shopping venues before it.

Very JAM!

Usually I couldn’t care less about people flocking to a new attraction like an army of ants racing to a broken pot of honey. But this time, it touched a nerve, my nerve to be precise. My house is just a stone’s throw away from this behemoth of a shopping complex. And everybody in town that owns a car had decided to make their way over to experience the “New Toilet”.

The back… ALSO JAM!

This has in inadvertently created a gridlock along the surrounding roads. I had great fun watching cars go bumper-to-bumper right outside my house. And the honking of impatient drivers and the barking of neighborhood dogs who had never witness such a sight was music to my ears.

Like I said, the “New Toilet Syndrome” will only subside when everybody in town had been to this place. So people of Kuching! If you haven’t expericence the “New Toilet”, come on down to the Boulevard! Let’s get this over with so I can have some peace and quiet.