A very different feel. First impressions: a dirty, smelly, ugly city, a city without a centre, quite devoid of charm and incredibly noisy and congested. The second storm of the day poured out of a truly 'lowering' sky at 3:30. It had been great to sleep in a bed after 36 hours with virtually no sleep. Sahm had met me at the airport and looked very well, very much at ease with his easy manner and good command of the language. His apartment was a good size and he gave me his big bed; we talked about home and our itinerary and I insisted on calling Dad that we were all good. The complex he lives in consists of about six staggered towers 24 storeys high, with a pool, exercise room, convenience store and an army of staff - door guards in dapper uniforms and cleaners and repairmen. Opposite the complex is a mall, everything is over-scale on a level that is truly bizarre. Sahm pointed out a street of fancy townhouses with lawns and parking, and then had me note that it was standing on TOP of a seven storey shopping complex.
In the morning I was introduced to some of the staff as 'ibu' (mother) and we went for coffee with one of his colleagues, the affable Adam. It had been a trip to wake up before sunrise to the sound of the azan (call to prayer) rising above the din of the traffic. Sahm had to work from 2-9, and I was dismayed to realize that I would not even be able to walk around beyond the complex because of the impossible traffic: no pedestrian crossings. When I finally ventured out and went to buy dinner at the mall, I was floored, actually horrified, at what I found inside - a bizarre palace of consumerism dressed up like a giant amusement park - and virtually empty. Huge figures and rides in a vast interior where staff outnumbered customers 10 to 1. I was daunted by my inability to communicated and ordered by pointing at Sahm's paper list of menu items, got my takeout food and escaped, feeling profoundly shocked.
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