Teluk Intan

I would never have imagined that I would end up in Teluk Intan or Teluk Anson as it used to be called.But life is strange and there are many things which we cannot forsee.When I look back on how I started life I look back on the little garage room which I stayed in when I started work as a temporary teacher and how lucky I was to have stayed with a wonderful family.Auntie Chung was my landlady and she treated me like her own son .She was a remarkable woman bringing up 9 children on her own after her husband died at an early age.I dont know how she managed it but all the children were properly brought up.
Teluk Anson by itself is a small town with 2 main roads and a number of secondary and primary schools.People spent their time in the field or in the Dew Recreation Club which was right in the centre of the towm.
I was 19 when I started teaching and had before that led a very sheltered life ,school and home only and little money to spend.Now teaching with a HSC qualification in those days was a big deal as there were as yet no graduates in the school I taught except perhaps for the Brothers.Most of the teachers were college trained with a senior Cambridge qualification and two years of teacher training.But they were real teachers ,dedicated and no nonsense type who made sure their students did well and came out with good results.they were charismitic and very serious in their work and students and society had high respect for them.
The senior teachers treated me well and would never fail to give me good advice.I daresay that a lot of my work ethics were learned from them.
Life was pretty routine ,school,games and marking books.Until someone brought me to the Dew Club and then it became my second home.I spent most of the time palying billiards and turned out to be pretty good in it.Even represented the club in some inter club games.
A small town has its peculiar charm and people knew each other and friendship was firm and sincere.If you needed any help you can always count on your friends.Life was simple ,work ,an occasional movie and lots of games with the students.people were contented and not caught up in the rat race.Life moved on at a leisurely pace and you had enough time to do your stuff and do a lot of reading or just hanging out with your friends.My little room was the gathering place and all the friends would come by in the evenings and we would just hoo ha there until around 10 when everyone would take off.
Food was simple and we seldom ate out .What we had in the house was enough and there was no thought of spending money in restaurants or other dining places .For one thing our lifestyle did not permit it and the other factor was that Auntie would make sure that there was sufficient food on the dining table everyday.
During the weekends we would explore the town and some of the regular visitors would come by and everyone would sit in the porch area outside the house and there would be a lot chatting and story telling.Yes I believe that those days socializing was different .People would gather somewhere and just while away the time chatting.Little need for money or expenditure as people just gathered round and had their fun.There was no discrimination and people took you for what you were and never loked at your status or how much you are worth.
I was on an austerity drive as my main mission was to save enough money to make it to the university as soon as possible.I gave myself avery limited budget and every extra cent was saved as I was determined to make it to the Uni on my owm.No choice actually.In the morning I taught in the normal school and in the afternoon in the church school thereby earning extra money.To be left behind when most of your classmates were already at the university was painful and it was my strongest motivation to save and lead a frugal life.
Once a month when we got our salary we would eat something special and everyone would share the bill and once a month I would try to go back to Ipoh to bring money home.It was a must those days for children to bring money home for the parents.You would be considered unfilial if you did not do this.
Teluk Anson was a dirty town and had a few interesting places for us,the riverside,the railway station, the golf club ( I did not play the game yet),The Dew Club and a host of little eating places.The best rojak,mee mamak,nasi kandar, bak kut teh,chee cheong fun were all located in the town.My favorite past time was jogging near the railway station.I would do this at least 3 or 4 times a week,waking up at 5 am and running till around 6.30 ,then back for a cold water shower and then off to school.There was no need for any form of transport as everywhere was walking distance.It was fun walking to school as you would meet a lot of students and colleagues along the way.
On looking back I really enjoyed my stay in Teluk Intan.This was where I matured professionally and individually.TA will laways have a special place in my heart .I started life here,became a man here and met my wife and raised my family here.