Cantonese like to call a foreigner ‘gui lou’ or ‘ghost man’
since foreigners come to Guangdong Province now and back in history. Since we
have read that Asians probably can’t cope with western ghosts very well, can a ‘gui
lou’ tackle Asian ghosts instead? I am sure that would be an interesting
thought. Anyway, just hold on to this thought and let me continue and tell me
your opinion at the end of the story:
I used to have a habit to linger in Petaling Street, Kuala
Lumpur while I was staying in Subang Jaya. So happened that my pal has a budget
hotel in Petaling Street, so I would just spend a night at his hotel when it
was too late to take a bus back. Of course I didn’t need a room to spend a
night but just a couch or armchair would be sufficient.
The hotel receptionist counter was situated under a
staircase and my pal was kind enough to put an armchair there for me to rest.
So while I was sleeping in the background, the receptionist would be sitting in
front of the counter overseeing hotel guests and visitors from entering and
leaving.
One night as I was lying in the chair, a Chinese couple came
to the front desk to rent a room and the receptionist gave them Room 3-11; and
the couple checked in happily.
About half past one in the morning, the Chinese couple
rushed to the front desk scantily cladded to complaint that there were ‘something’
running in their room. According to the couple, while they were soundly asleep,
they heard footsteps of people running around their bed. The man switched on
the desk light but found nothing was wrong so they continued to sleep. About
half an hour later, the couple felt that their blanket was yanked by some
external force. Both of the came out from their bed to investigate. And again,
they found nothing… So they demanded to switch room.
On hearing the complaint, the receptionist, Mr. Ooi nodded
his head and call the porter to assist the agitated couple to move to another
room.
I thought the incident was over so I continued to sleep
while Mr. Ooi doze off over the desk.
Not long after that, a British couple came to the front desk
to look for a room. The good old Mr. Ooi gave them Room 3-11 and the couple
left the front desk and headed towards Room 3-11…
After the British couple was out of sight, Mr. Ooi turned
his head and whispered to me:
“Let’s see if the ‘gui lou’ have any problems!”
Out of curiosity, I asked Mr. Ooi: “What about Room 3-11?”
“Oh, someone committed suicide in the room last year and it
is haunted!” Said Mr. Ooi.
I couldn’t really sleep that night, so after the British
couple checked in; I started to chat with Mr. Ooi.
It was 5am and I felt thirsty and thought of going down the
street to get some drinks. So I asked Mr. Ooi if I could bring him anything…
Just before I could open my mouth, the British couple rushed
to the front desk and complaint about ‘someone jogging upstairs’ throughout the
night… They want Mr. Ooi to ask ‘whoever upstairs’ stop exercising…
After some assurance, the British couple went back to the
room.
At this point, Mr. Ooi turned his head towards me and said: “Looks
like even gui lou cannot communicate with gui (ghost)… Hahaha…”
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