Time Trek - Part II

If you have never bought salted fish, you have never visited Kuantan.

In all my years there as a kid, everytime a family friend comes to visit us, they will undoubtedly leave with at least one or two salted fish. So, on our last day in Kuantan, all of us went shopping for you-know-what. Grandpa O really knows how to choose salted fish and it was good to have him around. According to Grandpa O, back in his days (read: the 1940s and 50s), the salted fish used to have worms in them - that's becuase the flies used to lay their eggs when the fish are being dried in the sun. He could still remember my uncle having dinner while little worms were creeping out at side of his mouth! Nowadays, they put some pepper in the fishes to prevent this and they will dry them out on a boat in the middle of the ocean - no flies over there!

We left Kuantan at about 1:00pm and made a detour to visit Grandma O's hometown of Mentakab. It is exactly half way between Kuantan and KL. When we used to live in Kuantan, we'd go back to Mentakab every Chinese New Year and spend at least 3 days with my Grandpa i.e. GreatGranpa O. His wooden house is right on top the the hill and next to the water tower. All our aunts, uncles and cousins would congregate for the dinner, it was a great time, my brother and I had many wonderful times there playing with our cousins and the neighbours. There were more than 25 people in that small house at the time and by night fall, all of us would cram in to 4 rooms to sleep. My grandma used to have all chickens, ducks and turkeys in her back yard. Cooking was a challenging task then - they were using wood fire instead of gas. There were no fridge in the house. Mind you - that was in the late 1970s! The place is now deserted and the house is barely standing. Even the neighbours are different now, none of them knew who we were.

We left Mentakab feeling nostalgic which Mrs. O and Little O have very little idea of what we were really chatting about ....

Time Trek - Part I

I had an exciting weekend. I went back in time - some 30 years back. Actually it was more like a trip to a small town that I once lived and grew up - Kuantan. It was still very small when I left it back in 1976. I was barely 8 or 9 years old. The best part is not only Mrs O and Little O, but grandpa and grandma O came along too!

We spent 3 days 2 nights at the Hyatt Kuantan. It was wonderful, the Teluk Cempedak beach was just as I remember it. I almost drowned there! With Little O around I made sure that she stays close to the shore! That beach has been know for its strong under currents. Grandma O used to be a teacher in Chung Ching School and one of her students drowned there.

We went to visit our old house - No. 586 Jalan Kemunting. Grandpa O used to be in the civil service and that was one of the government quarters provided when Grandpa O was transferred to Kuantan from KL. I can still remember our first ever telephone and the number - it was 22616, yes it's was only 5 digits back then. The shops I used to buy stuff from was demolished but the telecoms tower behind the house is still there. Back then our little bungalow was the only house in the large and open field, no gates, no fences. Grandma O used to be terrified to be alone at home, especially at night, it sooooo quiet. Our home got burgled not once but twice. The crooks wiped us clean - they took Grandpa O shirts, shoes, undies - everything! Including my piggy bank!