In the past businesses opened their doors early in the morning and closed abiut 5 pm. This was especially true in the Baram towns like Marudi and Long Lama.
One awesome feature of Chinese shops in these two towns are the benches the shop keepers build for their ULU customers. Like in the photo a long bench would be most suitable for cutomers to sit down to rest while they converse with the shop keepers, friends and even strangers. This kind of social intercourse was often considered very courteous and was highly valued.
today the bench may not be a common feature of urban life. In the olden days some of the benches were fixed to the five foot way and no one would be evil enough to remove them.
I consider it to be a good hospitality feature and should be maintained.
photo taken in Marudi at 6.30 a.m. before the shop was opened,
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