At Midnight in Golden Mile Tower, Girls and Ghosts Come Out to Play
Photography by the author.

Im sipping beer at an izakaya in Golden Mile Tower, a place which has long been an enigma to me.

Most people may be familiar with the bigger Golden Mile Complex just a stone’s throw away, known for its plethora of Thai food restaurants. But the mysterious little cousin is much lesser known and is home to the weirdest juxtaposition of businesses.

On one hand there is the indie cinema The Projector, a popular haunt of millennials, and then there’s Rex Cinema which caters to a Tamil-speaking audience. On the other, there is a mix of Thai amulet shops, tattoo parlours, civil engineering companies, and a whole bunch of unnamed businesses.

Its also a popular starting point for coach journeys to Kuala Lumpur. In fact, it might be the only thing that most Singaporeans know Golden Mile Tower for.

Commuters wait at the steps outside Golden Mile Tower for their coach ride to Kuala Lumpur. The last bus departs at 11.59pm.
There are no customers at 10pm, but the owners of this shop would rather stay back to watch TV than go home.
Having only previously been here for a movie, this is the first time Ive spent more than two hours in the building. I ask the waiter, Ah Zhen, if hes seen anything strange during his time working here.

Well its true that this place is dirty. Ive never seen anything of the paranormal before, but some of my customers have told me they have.

While I’m referring to the KTV scene through which Golden Mile Tower has earned its shady status, our conversation takes an unexpected turn when he replies.

My curiosity is instantly piqued, but at the same time Im slightly worried. Its half an hour to midnight do I really want to spook myself unnecessarily or, worse still, draw the attention of any lurking spirits, should they truly exist?

I ask Ah Zhen to clarify. He plays it safe too by not going into the details.

You know, the usual. Strange noises, shadows, that sort of thing.

Once, a regular customer brought his wife here for the first time. She never returned after that because she said she saw something scary. Her husband still comes back to drink though, he adds nonchalantly.

Ah Zhen then reassures me, As long as you dont actively disturb whatever is in the building, there is no need to be scared.

I down the last of my beer and make payment. Unfortunately, I cant bring our conversation back to the original topic of KTVs, as Ah Zhen has rushed off to attend to a table of drinkers who are playing blackjack.

Other than the izakaya, the only shops open at this hour are 15 KTV lounges, comprising a mix of Chinese and Thai fare, and a mookata establishment at the basement. Grilled meats for late-night suppers are in vogue; the smoke rising from the hotpots never ceases throughout the night.  

Upstairs, business at the KTV lounges seems less brisk. As the lounge girls make a rare trip to the washroom, I spy from the corridor a quiet atmosphere inside the dimly lit clubs, save for the cheesy Chinese and Thai EDM tracks blasting in the background.

I suspect nothing too scandalous is happening on a Thursday night.

In fact, I spot a couple of girls loitering in the common areas eating supper or talking on the phone another sign that business has been slow tonight. Their fashion differs from lounge to lounge, ranging from the skimpy tight spaghetti tops and hot shorts to the more elegant long dresses which would have fit right in at a cocktail party.

One thing remains consistent the heart-shaped number tags pinned on their waists.

Mei, number 26, tells me in Mandarin, while sprucing up her make-up outside a lounge, that she is waiting for her regular client to come. The businessman visits the Beijing native twice a week, and is quite a nice guy who buys her gifts sometimes.

She turns her head and brushes her hair aside to reveal a pair of sapphire earrings, which he bought for her last year.

We then get interrupted by Meis colleague who promptly sidelines me from their conversation, and I take that as my cue to leave. I never get to see Meis client that night.

If not for the music emanating from the faux luxe-design doors of the KTV lounges, midnight at Golden Mile Tower would most certainly be an even more frightening affair. There are at least four shops that display their Thai amulet wares and deity statues prominently behind the glass; one of them even has a doll house placed outside in the malls corridor.

I do not want to know who or what lives in there.

It doesnt help that the fluorescent lighting in the building is faint and only accentuates the eerie vibe that the grey depressing-looking corridors emit. The smell of incense smoke coming from the offerings placed outside certain shops is also gradually overpowering my senses, and Im starting to feel slightly nauseous.

A ceiling light flickers, and Ah Zhens words immediately return to me.

A doll house - who's there?
Offerings and joss sticks are commonplace in the corridors of Golden Mile Tower.
Golden Mile Tower is livelier in the day, but only just.

Barely half of the establishments here are open, and plenty of them have either a generic, suspicious-looking name, or no identifying sign at all.

One of the oddest is a large jewellery store it takes up two full units whose displays are completely empty, where behind the roller shutters a group of elderly men is having a little chit-chat.

Those that remain closed typically have a By appointment only notice put up, further shrouding these businesses in secrecy. I wonder if any of these businesses are actually legitimate.

No jewellery for sale here.
Lunch time is when Golden Mile Tower is the busiest.
Other than the eateries which are popular with office workers in the area, the only shop that seems to be receiving customers is KMT Outlet, a Thai amulet shop on the second floor.

The clientele is curiously diverse. Inside the shop, two middle-aged women are watching a Thai spiritual programme on the television, while a couple enquires about an amulet. Then there is a group of three teenagers, decked out with colourful tattoos, waiting outside.

Laws are non-existent in Golden Mile Tower one of them lights up a cigarette in full view of everyone else who does not seem to mind.

She is ready to see you now, the shop owner tells another man waiting in line, who promptly takes off his shoes before entering.

I later learn from the couple that this mysterious woman in question is a spiritual leader from Thailand who is here to visit and offer advice to customers. They said they consulted her for financial wisdom, but declined to say more.

A lifelike statue of a Thai Buddhist monk inside an amulet shop only adds to the creepy vibes of Golden Mile Tower.
One of the many unmarked office spaces inside Golden Mile Tower.
You only come to Golden Mile Tower if you have a specific purpose in mind. Theres no reason for one to be loitering around, considering the sparse interior.

Maybe thats why Ive been attracting eyeballs from curious shop-owners as I circle round the mall repeatedly, day and night.

When the lunch crowd disappears, the building reverts to its graveyard state, the tranquility periodically broken by the KL-bound coach and its passengers.

With the lack of business operators, its amazing that Golden Mile Tower still operates in its decaying state. Built in 1974, its age certainly shows as you look at it juxtaposed against the new, modern looking hotel that has sprung up right beside it.

There is little purpose to its existence. And given the gentrification that is occurring along Beach Road, where a new shopping-hotel complex situated opposite is currently under construction, I dont see how Golden Mile Tower might remain standing in its current form for much longer.

A strange nauseous sensation grows the longer I stay in the building and, remembering what Ah Zhen had told me the night before, I decide that it’s probably time I went home.

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