After 52 Years

After 52 years I visited my old college buddy who now resides in Kota Bahru, the capital of the state of Kelantan on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This was not the best time to visit as it was December, the monsoon season when rains would deluge the east coast states and cause widespread flooding. I decided to chance it so I hopped onto the plane for a short visit.

This was my first visit to the east coast. As the plane was landing I saw how flat the whole area was.  It was very pretty, with the rivers and green patches.

My friend was there waiting for me and it was good to see her again after 52 years.  We were in our teens when we first met in college in the UK and we lived in the same house and hitched hiked together throughout the British Isles.

She whisked me off to her house which was situated in the middle of a small secluded village with narrow winding lanes. She had a huge garden with two other houses apart from the main one in which they lived.

 Interesting varieties of plants and trees populated her compound which ran right down to the river bank.

                       The Buah Katak tree. Its fruits grow from the trunk and branches.

                             The Neem tree whose leaves have medicinal properties.

It was very cooling to sit on the river bank watching the river flow past.

At night we went up to the balcony on the roof of the guest house for drinks and to view the large golden moon.

  Her house is in such an idyllic spot, very tranquil and relaxing. It was a great change from the maddening traffic jams and noise of the city. We had good weather throughout my stay. All too soon I had to return home and as I waited for the plane to take off, the rain clouds were looming dark and it had begun to drizzle.

Christmas Season Is Here

Christmas season is being celebrated in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, one of the states in Malaysia. Many people in Sabah are Christians and we usually have a Christmas program organised by the Council of Churches. This year it fell to the Methodist church to organise the festivities.

At the beginning of Gaya Street, the main street in the city, there were Christmas trees decked out with lights and pretty ornaments.  Many people flocked to this street in the evening to check out the activities and to take photographs.  We were no exception and braved the traffic jam to get there. It was worth the hassle of sitting in the jam and inching our way forward.

 

There was also a nativity shed with a display of Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus in the manger.

Next to this was a pen with two live goats.

There was also a stage where the choirs from different churches sang on different evenings and there were also dance performances. People of all ethnic origins and visiting tourists thronged the area to enjoy these events.

Many stalls lining the street enjoyed brisk business as crowds thronged the area, enjoying the festive mood.

This is an annual event held over four days just before Christmas so that folks can come out to share the joy and message of peace and goodwill.

The North Borneo Railway Steam Train

This morning my grandchildren and I boarded the North Borneo Railway steam train from the Tg Aru train station in Kota Kinabalu to Papar, a town 38.5 kilometers away.

When they were toddlers, aged 3 and 4, we would follow, in my car, the train from Tg Aru station up to Putatan every Saturday because they loved watching the train puffing its cloud of steam and its whistle as it neared level crossings.

Now that they are in their early teens, I thought it would be great if we all take the train to Papar. 

 Along the way they would be able to see the small towns en route as well as rural scenes.
Indeed, they got to see mangrove swamps,

padi ( rice ) fields, two Buddhist temples

and best of all, how the steam engine turned around on the turntable so that it could pull the carriages back on its return journey to Kota Kinabalu.

 Continental breakfast was served on board just as the train chuffed out of the Tg Aru station.  Our cabin attendants were very friendly and cheerful. We had a small basket of croissants and Danish pastries served with honey, jam and butter and the local black coffee was very aromatic.

Lunch ( local food ) was served in tiffin carriers just before we left Papar en route back to Kota Kinabalu.  This was a quaint touch.

  It reminded me of the days during the fifties when tiffin carriers were commonly used to hold food and transported to customers either in their work place or homes. We also used tiffin carriers to buy cooked food from shops, either for lunch or dinner.  We never used plastic or Styrofoam in those days.  If we didn’t use a tiffin carrier, the food, if it were fried, then it would be placed on a banana leaf and wrapped up in paper.

What was inside our tiffin carriers?

 Mixed local fresh fruit

Nasi briyani, mixed vegetables and 2 gravy covered satay sticks and a piece of fried mackeral. The children had a chicken drumstick each.

Except for the hot weather and intense noonday heat, the outing was an enjoyable one, a good experience for my grandchildren.