Adventures in Malaysia (Part 1)
I went with my family to Malaysia over the Chinese New Year Holidays. I thought initially it would be boring but it turned out to be not too bad after all.
Day 1 Singapore - Malacca
I was the last to reach home at 3+ due to my econs test last Friday. We set off at 4pm and to our surprise there wasn't much cars on the Causeway. Instead we were held up by the heavy JB traffic. We reached my paternal grandmother's house at about 7.30pm. After unloading our stuff, my family went out for dinner and did some shopping at Tesco's. I bought 2 new ties and a pair of shoes for my upcoming presentations.
Day 2 Malacca/Mentakab
That day was the Chinese New Year's Eve and my family had reunion brunch together with my father's extended family. Actually beside my family there were only four other people around; my grandmother, my uncle and his two unmarried daughters.
Time always pass very slowly whenever I go to my grandmother's place. It really felt like the whole day had passed when my family set out at 12.30pm for our next destination: Mentakab, my mother's hometown.
Where exactly is Mentakab? Well it is a medium-sized town located in Pahang, roughly halfway between KL and Kuantan. There is really nothing exciting there and I probably would not know of it if not of my mother's connection.
This year's CNY was rather special because all my mother's siblings went back to Mentakab with their families during CNY. Out of the 7 siblings only 3 still stayed locally; one of her unmarried elder brother and both her married sisters. Two brothers are residing in Sabah now and only go back once a year during CNY. My mom's youngest brother is running a restaurant in Terengganu, roughly another 4 hours' drive away.
It was also the first time in many years that I met many of my relatives. All of us are busy and hardly have time to get together. I also saw my youngest cousin for the first time even though he is already 2 and a half years old.
He actually has Down's Syndrome and is different from normal kids. He is very small for his age and still cannot talk or walk yet. It has not been easy for his parents to take care of him and the road ahead is only going to get tougher. Despite his handicap I can feel the love that everyone showers on him. Our love will probably be the most important thing for him in his entire life.
One of my uncles married a Kadazan (natives of Sabah) and his children looked more like Malay than Chinese. My mother's youngest sister married an Indian and hence the CNY celebration was a multiracial affair for our extended family.
After the reunion dinner, one of my cousins complained of pain in the right side of her abdomen. We suspected that she had acute appendicitis and was rushed to the clinic by her father. In the clinic the tests were inconclusive and she was advised to go to the nearest hospital, which is located in the next town 10km away. She was admitted there and had to undergo further tests.
Meanwhile an explosion happened in the main street of Mentakab. A bag of explosives was placed beside a car and exploded when the owner tried to kick it out of his way. The injured guy was sent to the clinic and my uncle saw the extent of his injuries.
The area got cordoned off by police and my initial reaction was that even small towns also have terrorists. In the end the most likely version that I had heard was that a group was planning to rob the bank. They panicked when they saw the police patrolling and just disposed of the explosives by the roadside. The casualty was simply unlucky for parking his car at the wrong place at the wrong time. Although he's a Malay, it would be a painful and unforgettable Chinese New Year for him.
At the stroke of midnight fireworks filled the skies and sounds of firecrackers were unmistakable despite the ban. Some rich Chinese don't seem to care about the fines and just carried on playing with their fireworks and firecrackers. I do not really mind though because I was treated to a free show of fireworks which was really nice.
As my aunt's house was too cramped my brother and I had to go over to another aunt's place to sleep. Her family had went to over to their relatives' place and would not be back for a few days. Strange things occurred at her house.
Some switches worked but most did not. It turned out to be a partial black-out. We had no choice but to use the only room whose air-con could still be switched on. Mysteriously the air con shut down by itself at night. Hopefully it was the timer which we did not notice in the first place.
Day 1 Singapore - Malacca
I was the last to reach home at 3+ due to my econs test last Friday. We set off at 4pm and to our surprise there wasn't much cars on the Causeway. Instead we were held up by the heavy JB traffic. We reached my paternal grandmother's house at about 7.30pm. After unloading our stuff, my family went out for dinner and did some shopping at Tesco's. I bought 2 new ties and a pair of shoes for my upcoming presentations.
Day 2 Malacca/Mentakab
That day was the Chinese New Year's Eve and my family had reunion brunch together with my father's extended family. Actually beside my family there were only four other people around; my grandmother, my uncle and his two unmarried daughters.
Time always pass very slowly whenever I go to my grandmother's place. It really felt like the whole day had passed when my family set out at 12.30pm for our next destination: Mentakab, my mother's hometown.
Where exactly is Mentakab? Well it is a medium-sized town located in Pahang, roughly halfway between KL and Kuantan. There is really nothing exciting there and I probably would not know of it if not of my mother's connection.
This year's CNY was rather special because all my mother's siblings went back to Mentakab with their families during CNY. Out of the 7 siblings only 3 still stayed locally; one of her unmarried elder brother and both her married sisters. Two brothers are residing in Sabah now and only go back once a year during CNY. My mom's youngest brother is running a restaurant in Terengganu, roughly another 4 hours' drive away.
It was also the first time in many years that I met many of my relatives. All of us are busy and hardly have time to get together. I also saw my youngest cousin for the first time even though he is already 2 and a half years old.
He actually has Down's Syndrome and is different from normal kids. He is very small for his age and still cannot talk or walk yet. It has not been easy for his parents to take care of him and the road ahead is only going to get tougher. Despite his handicap I can feel the love that everyone showers on him. Our love will probably be the most important thing for him in his entire life.
One of my uncles married a Kadazan (natives of Sabah) and his children looked more like Malay than Chinese. My mother's youngest sister married an Indian and hence the CNY celebration was a multiracial affair for our extended family.
After the reunion dinner, one of my cousins complained of pain in the right side of her abdomen. We suspected that she had acute appendicitis and was rushed to the clinic by her father. In the clinic the tests were inconclusive and she was advised to go to the nearest hospital, which is located in the next town 10km away. She was admitted there and had to undergo further tests.
Meanwhile an explosion happened in the main street of Mentakab. A bag of explosives was placed beside a car and exploded when the owner tried to kick it out of his way. The injured guy was sent to the clinic and my uncle saw the extent of his injuries.
The area got cordoned off by police and my initial reaction was that even small towns also have terrorists. In the end the most likely version that I had heard was that a group was planning to rob the bank. They panicked when they saw the police patrolling and just disposed of the explosives by the roadside. The casualty was simply unlucky for parking his car at the wrong place at the wrong time. Although he's a Malay, it would be a painful and unforgettable Chinese New Year for him.
At the stroke of midnight fireworks filled the skies and sounds of firecrackers were unmistakable despite the ban. Some rich Chinese don't seem to care about the fines and just carried on playing with their fireworks and firecrackers. I do not really mind though because I was treated to a free show of fireworks which was really nice.
As my aunt's house was too cramped my brother and I had to go over to another aunt's place to sleep. Her family had went to over to their relatives' place and would not be back for a few days. Strange things occurred at her house.
Some switches worked but most did not. It turned out to be a partial black-out. We had no choice but to use the only room whose air-con could still be switched on. Mysteriously the air con shut down by itself at night. Hopefully it was the timer which we did not notice in the first place.
posted by shyh jie at 9:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home