The kampong in me

As I grow older cannot help but think back to the simple t life which I experienced in small towns .Dad was a govt.servant and he worked in Tapah for a while .This is a little two street town and there is a beautiful river and some small streams running across the town.We stayed in govt. quarters in Baldwin Hill and all the houses here were govt. houses.Dont know if they are still there.
Spent my primary school years here and it was real fun.Swimming in the river,diving from the high rock onto the swirling waters without any fear or awareness of danger was a daily affair.So was getting the rotan from mum.
We used our catapaults to shoot squirrels and birds and barbecued them on the spot.Mangoes and rambutans were not spared.Mangoes (raw and sour) were eaten with a pinch of salt in the hands,water was drunk from the taps and eating anything outside the home was with your bare hands (Dont remember having to wash them).
School was fun ,learning little and playing all the time.I cannot imagine that I played rugby,hockey ,football and running.In a small town during that time they was no other form of entertainment and our way of passing time was playing all the games and being in the outdoors.We were usually home by 6 and had to get ready for dinner.Mum would not let us sit on the dining table without a shower and change of clothes.No hot water but fresh cold water contained in a big porcelain urn was our source of water.It was common for us to sing out loud so that you did not feel the coldness of the water.
Because we had really nothing to eat after lunch dinner was a much anticipated affair.Lots of rice,sambal belachan,salt fish and curry were the staple food .It was simple fare but it went well with rice and what was more important we were never hungry after dinner as we ate rice more than anything else so that the stomach is full.
Today I would still prefer a meal like this rather than all the rich food available.Chicken was only served on special occasions but it really did not bother us.We were a big family,6 children ,mum and dad and one grandmother but though dad did not earn much there was always enough for us to eat albeit not the types of rich food people eat today.We had enough rice to eat and that was the most important thing.We were taught never to waste food and mum would make sure that whatever was served was finished at the end of the meal.
As TV was unheard of we spent time on our books after dinner and the usual siblings chatter and bickering.Movies ,yam cha and all that was out and it was strictly indoors after dinner.

When I stayed in Teluk Intan it was an extension of the simple life but mum and I did a lot of things together.Going to the market every Sunday was a norm and eating by the market stalls was equally good.I remember before Chinese New Year we would always go to the market at night and buy all the New Year goodies and it was meaningful to do things as a couple.Today many couples dont do this kind of thing being so wrapped up in the daily hassle of life.This ,many do not realize, is a great bonding exercise.Our entertainment was only the movies and mostly during the weekends and the cinema was the place where you would meet a lot of your friends.
It was only in a small town that we could enjoy seeing our children floating in a plastic tub when the floods came every year and flooded the town.The kids had great fun those days .Sadly today,our grandchildren would not enjoy such fun today.
There is so much more to life when you live in a small town.People are simple,warm and caring and life is certainly less stressful and complicated than living in a big town where everyone seems to be more concerned about careers and work to the extent that they have no time to enjoy the simple things in life and lose their sense of direction.