Reminesce: Mechinta Johor Bahru And Me..(PART 1)

I was born in 1970 in Johore Bahru. And growing up in those days was an absolute joy when Internet,Smartphones were still just a concept. My mom worked at the Blood bank at the Hospital and we stayed at the Goverment Housing at Jalan Haji Yaacob close by. The times indeed have changed.

We had an Indian family as our neighbor and we always always got along just fine. I had friends of all races and wore shorts to primary school. It wasn't a big deal. Malay girls didn't wear any tudung then and after my morning schooling,in the afternoon I attended my Religious School at Bukit Zaharah.

The teachers were educators back then and took pride in their profession. When you caused trouble, spanking and caning was par for the course. We didn't dare complain to our parents because we knew we deserved it. It was almost a carefree existence back then. 

I took the bus by myself to everywhere without my parents having to worry for my safety. Everyone looked out for each other. We could go anywhere we wanted and Lido 'Beach' was my favorite place where my friends and I would swim, catched crabs and cooked them for our lunch.

Singapore was a stones throw away and sometimes my mom would make a trip there for Lychee's and fruits and the exchange rate was almost one to one. It was the highlight of my day to be able to tag along with mom to Woodlands.

I even bought my first BMX in Woodlands by foot from home with my friends! Singapore just had the latest and greatest then too. Then I finished my Form 5 with slightly better than average Grades. I had a choice of continuing with Lower Six or going to some MARA Institution but I had other ideas. So my mom asked me to go find a job! And that's what I did!   

It was December 1987 and I had just finished my S.P.M examinations and was waiting for the results.I was 17 and a rebel as all teen tend to be and as we're not that well off,my mom was a Govt Nurse and my dad drove a cab she thought it might be a good idea if I was to look for a job.I hadn't considered it but once my mom gave me that idea it kind of appealed to me.I mean I sure could use the money.

Near our house about 5 minutes walking distance,up on a hill overlooking the Straits of Johore there was a place called Hotel Mechinta and as kids we would often play around it's compounds and never thought anything about it but somehow I decided that it would be a great place to start looking for work and one afternoon I went there with my mom's consent.

All this while we were under the impression that this place was a Hotel with a nightclub and that's that.How wrong I was...Anyway I went up and asked if they had any vacancies and was directed to see Madam Barbara one of the daughters of the owner of the place.I filled up the required form and had a brief chat with Mdm. Barbara.She was quite impressed with my fluency in english and offered me a job as a waiter which I immediately accepted.

The next day with money given by my mom I went to shop for a white long sleeved shirt and black pants for my uniform.I was pretty excited as you can imagine..During those days we didn't have any Mc Donalds,KFC's or Starbucks and to be able to get a job at all was a rare thing for a 17 year old. And a few days later I was to start work at 6 p.m and was brought to see my Captain Eddie.He's a colorful guy for those times,I mean imagine a subdued version of Carson from 'Queer Eye For The Straight Guy' IF you know what I mean..And I have never met someone as 'soft' as him but he made the introductions to the rest of the crew and assigned me to the Night Club.

From there....my life changed completely!! Entering the place for the first time ever was exciting as heck for me and I could barely hold my excitement as Captain Eddie showed me the ropes and the layout of the place. The first thing he gave me was a handheld torchlight! And I quickly found out why. The Club was dark! You could barely make out the tables and lounge chairs. AND!! There was a Stage with spotlights and that blew me away!!! 

My main duties it turned out was to take orders from our customers. I learned a ton from it and discovered the world of Liquor and Brandy and Whisky,Cocktails and all that jazz! I met the other waiters and bartenders and soon I was part of the crew. I was still barely 18!!!

That was when I learned what the stage was actually for..... It was around 8.30pm when the crowd started to trickle in and the shows began. It was a Tiger Show (Thai Girl) as we called it back then with performances by various artists from U.K, France and the Phillipines. I remember Neils and Ewa as among the performers, They had an artistic show but then there was full nudity in all the shows!! I was truly truly floored!! I could barely concentrate on working.....

But it wasn't dirty in any way. It was more a performance and even at my age I kind'a got that. But the sight of naked beautiful women was something I never counted on in my wildest dreams!! I met the Stage Tech guy..we called him Berg, a malay chap of a large build and very very stoned almost everyday! He grew to be my mentor during my stay there. 

And there was lots of teenage Filipino girls back stage. During the night I was assigned to send them food cooked from the kitchen to them. They were lovely girls and I should not have to tell you as to what they do there. I learned that you were not supposed to talk or communicate with any of them. But boys being boys and girls being girls we had our ways. I remember having a fling with two girls, Annabel and Maribel although we only passed each other notes and such.

Until this day I still have them in my memories. I wonder what ever became of those girls? They had it rough..I can't imagine what they must've been through entertaining all those men day in day out until a new batch came and they were sent somewhere else I suppose.

So that's how at 17+ years old I grew up almost overnight. The club Manager other than Madam Barbara and Mrs. Lee was a malay chap we called Mr. Man Black. A colorful guy with a no nonsense approach to things! He was tough but fair. And the staff got along pretty well. There was almost never any fights during my working there. It was in a way a Gentleman's Club.

I learned so much during my brief stay. I decided to stay in the Hostel provided although my house was just 5min walk away. I mean who wouldn't want to stay there???!! My mom was okay with it. My first pay was about MYR 648.00 and to me that was the most amount of money I had ever seen! I gave mom and dad a couple of hundred and they were glad to get it. I didn't mind...we had food at work and we got plenty of tips too. There was one time when I took out my lighter to light a customers cigarette and he slipped me a MYR 20.00 note in my pocket!! Just for lighting his ciggy!!

It was fantastic!! Life was wonderful. I smoked pot back then and in Mechinta we had kilos of it! My part time job with my friend was to pack them into smaller packs for distribution..not to mention we had access to every sort of booze we wanted! I can't remember ever being sober while there..haha!! I got to know everyone and they became a small family. We looked after each other.