Those Schoolgirl Days...

... of telling tales and biting nails are gone,
But in my mind I know they will still live on and on...    (To Sir with love by Lulu)

My schoolgirl days were spent at the boarding school in Seremban, the Kolej Tunku Kurshiah/Tunku Kurshiah College (TKC). In my mind those days will live on and on albeit fading more and more as the years go by. I don't remember my adolescent years being angsty* but I think there were moments of despair. (Like at the end when an overseas scholarship eluded me!)

Anyway I recall being interviewed for entrance into the college. When asked what I wanted to be in the future, I said 'an air hostess', without hesitation. My father who was also at the interview was quite taken aback with this answer as he was thinking of some career more lofty for me! But hey, what could be more lofty than the skies? I wanted to travel the world and what better way than being a trolley dolly! Anyway my shortsightedness diagnosed soon after put paid to my flying the skies. I digress.

                                          TKC from the air circa 1967

TKC days saw to some lifelong habits, like sleeping at 11 pm or before midnight. It was lights out in the dormitories then. Making up the bed immediately on getting up each morning. Waking up was at subuh and breakfasts never to be missed.  Mainstay of  lunches and dinners were nasi (rice) and gulai kawah (I don't know the translation, something curry? couldron curry?). I still love the gulai kawah, it being reminiscent of the meals that were had together in the large dining hall.

Life in the dormitories during the Form 1-3 years were quite interesting. We all had to make our beds every morning and keep the floors, windows, mirrors and bathrooms clean. Come night time, sometimes when pontianak/orang minyak/polong (all manner of ghosts!) stories were in circulation, then we joined our beds together, and made a 'tunnel' through our individual mosquito nets so we could see each other and not feel too scared to go to sleep. It was then I remember being really afraid for the first time, of the supernatural.

We had many expatriate teachers from the UK, USA and Australia. Our impressionable years were influenced by these and some very colourful local characters. There was gentle Miss Rachel Vaughn, feisty music teacher Miss Black, handsome Encik Ahmad Dahan and his wife Puan Kalsom, melancholic Literature teacher Miss Sobita Sinha, not too popular Miss Periathamby, Biology teacher Puan Hasnah, freshly graduated Cik Arfah, Cik Azizah, Cik Zawiah, etc. Then there was the Principal, Cik Asiah (who could forget her?).

                                         Form Upper 6 Arts with Cik Asiah (1970)

When in Form 4, I remember I wanted to leave TKC to go back home to school in Pulau Pinang, but I was persuaded to remain. I think boarding school was getting to me then - I was homesick and probably missed my big family. Anyway I stayed till the end. The last year in 1970 saw me as Head Girl but I must have taken my role so seriously that my friends recall my unsmiling, gaunt face. And indeed some pictures taken then testify to this. (Spot the girl with the most gaunt looking face in the photo above and that's me, probably!)

* Angst - anxiety and anguish, caused especially by the state of the world and the human condition (The New Penguin English Dictionary)

1964 - 1970

My Singapura

Singapore is the first and latest foreign country I have visited. Of course when I first visited in the early 1960s it was not yet 'foreign'. We all know it separated from Malaysia in 1965 to become the Republic of Singapore. However this is not a history lesson, so back to my forays (in 1962, 1991, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2011 Feb & Jun) into this 'little red dot on the map'.

Cartographically a little red dot, but truly Singa Pura, a Lion City. A city that roars. My latest trip down south in June was by the KTM train to Tanjong Pagar/Singapura station, 'to say farewell' before it closed on 1st July 2011. I really hope they will preserve the beautiful station building, built in 1932. This time I went to S'pore with my friends SH and RMN and the latter's son. We stayed 3 nights in Jellicoe Road, and used the MRT, taxis and buses to go sightseeing and shopping. I am glad that we did more sightseeing than shopping, despite the 'great S'pore sale' being on.

During the first visit in 1962, my father took my siblings and I to the Haw Par Villa/Tiger Balm Gardens, quite a sensational tourist attraction then, with statues and tableux depicting traditional Chinese myths/customs. I revisited it after more than 40 years later and am glad to report that it is as gaudy and kitschy* as ever! It remains as I remember it then, but I read somewhere (in guidebooks or Neil Humphreys' Final notes from a great island) that a lot had happened in between.
     
*Kitsch - Cheap and showy vulgarity or pretentiousness in art, design, etc. (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary) 

Our group at the Haw Par Villa entrance (2011)

One of the many depictions of  'hell' at HPV (CNB 2011)

Horse face guard at the entrance of the '10 courts of hell' (CNB 2011)

A humongous laughing Buddha in the sculpture garden (CNB 2011)

Then there is the 'must-visit when in S'pore' Jurong Bird Park. I must admit I have never been there before my latest Lion City visit. So I cajoled my friends into going and the half day spent there was truly rewarding. I took tons of photos there. How could you not? There were colourful and beautiful birds of all sizes and hues; parrots, parakeets, flamingoes (my favourite), pelicans, etc., etc.

Orange feathered Caribbean flamingoes (CNB 2011)

The pink feathered flamingoes (CNB 2011)

Feeding the parakeets at JBP (SH 2011)

Pelicans in a feeding frenzy at JBP (CNB 2011)

The very odd looking shoebill (CNB 2011)

A beautiful ginger flower

Garden and nature lovers must of course visit the Singapore Botanical Gardens, conveniently at one end of Orchard Road. Gawk at the flowers and trees first before going on to gawk at the designer stuff in the Orchard road malls/shopping centres. That way you will be tired enough to not abuse your credit card and spend too much (I think, maybe). We spent a morning at the SBG and the fascination for the ginger flowers, the huge old trees, the sculptures nicely placed, all made for many, many photos. Here are some.

 

Chopin and appreciative ladies at the SBG (SH 2011)

The Vanda Miss Joachim, S'pore's national flower (CNB 2011)

With garden artist, SH and Ras (Ariff 2011)

A grand old tree - Kapok, planted in 1933 (CNB 2011)

'Girl on a swing' by British sculptor Sydney Harpley (CNB 2011)

To be cont'd. (My Singapura 2)

Ayer Itam, Pulau Pinang

After Gemas, my father was transferred to Pulau Pinang, to Prai actually (because there is no KTM railway station on the island). But we lived in Ayer Itam on this 'Pearl of the Orient'. I guess it really was in the days of yore, but then there was a time when it was 'Darul Sampah'! Anyway it is my family kampung till today. I still go back to the family house in Ayer Itam every Hari Raya.

The family and visiting relatives in Ayer Itam (1960's)

I went to the Methodist Girls' School in Anson Road for a year only, but have fond memories of my time there. Not so much the schooling but the food, especially in the canteen! Who can forget the mee kuah (yellow noodles in spicy sauce) cooked on the spot by the 'mee lady',  the coconut strips in pink syrup drink just ouside the school gates, or the sweet and juicy coconut candy that a classmate sold.

Methodist Girls' School (Internet picture)

One incident that will not be forgotten by my older sisters SP and CY, and me was the day we walked back home from school. That's from Anson Road to Jalan Kg Melayu, quite a long distance I assure you. Normally we take the bus, but on that particular day I squandered my pocket money, on food (what else?), and so did not have the bus fare. So I decided to walk when my sisters playfully refused to lend me the money! And they had to walk too (discreetly behind), because they were afraid if anything happened to a younger sibling. At the time I thought 'serve them right, shylocks!', but later I knew they cared for me and wanted to teach me a lesson about being careful with how we spend our pocket money.

Achievement in the last year of primary school? I must have done okay because the next phase of my education was in that premier boarding school in Seremban, Negri Sembilan.

A Garden at SA,SA

Gardens, no matter how big or small are always things/places/spaces of beauty. The botanical gardens in Penang and Singapore are beautiful showcases of flowers, plants and trees of the tropics. The gardens in England have always been famous especially for roses. Then there are the tulips in the Keukenhof in Netherlands. In Malaysia we are fortunate to have a climate that encourages the growth of plants very well. Even a small space in a terrace house lot can accomodate a garden. Also the balconies of flats and condominiums can support a potted garden.

I have a little garden in which I potter around every morning before the sun gets too hot. It is a great pleasure to smell the garden early every new day; the flowers, the grass, even the soil. Work on the garden involves planting/replanting, potting/repotting, pruning, weeding, fertilising, grass trimming and of course watering. On my last count there are more than 50 varieties of plants even in this tiny plot. The garden is about 2 years old and has flowering, foliage and herbal plants. For identification, the book Tropical horticulture and gardening by Francis S. P. Ng is most helpful.

                                          Hydrangea (CNB 2010)

In 2009 I planted both blue and pink hydrangeas, but now realise how difficult they are to bloom. The above blue cluster was the only success last year, despite fertilising, putting in flower inducers, and even burying rusty nails in the soil. Don't laugh, but the last advice I got from a garden expert!

                                          Crown of thorns (CNB 2010)

The Crown of thorns is easy to grow in pots and when flowering, display very colourful petal-like bracts which may be in a variety of pinks, yellows and even greens. The above blooms lasted a very long time last year, but this year ceased to do so. Instead another pink variety has been in bloom since early this year (I will upload the picture in a future posting about the garden).

                                          Periwinkle (CNB 2010)

The Periwinkle comes in a variety of colours, the most common being the above purple ones. For me, every time I look at the flowers in my garden, I am reminded of their origin. I don't mean Madagascar where they came from, but of the garden of my sister-in-law's late mother in Port Dickson. She generously gave me a lot of plants and cuttings to start my own garden. The periwinkle was one of them.

                                          Straits rhododendron (CNB 2010)

The purple Straits rhododendron I have in my garden is but one of more than 300 species of rhododendrons found in the world. I did not really grow it but it followed me to Shah Alam when I transferred from Penang 3 years ago. It was a little plant in the pot of another plant, a palm I think. So I put it in its own pot in a corner of the garden. And it grew and grew... into a little tree producing delightful purple blooms. I call it the tree of life because of the fauna that visit daily - birds, butterflys, bees, even squirrels.

My garden thrives even as I have to leave it sometimes to go somewhere for a while. I thank my next-door neighbour for helping to water the plants when I am away. She is a keen gardener too and keeps a very pretty garden.

More on gardens next time. Meanwhile, happy gardening, and don't forget to stop and smell the roses! Or in my case, the jasmines.

A Return Journey by Train

In mid June recently I made a return journey by the KTMB (Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd) train to Tanjung Pagar/Singapura just before the closure of the station at the end of the month. This is the log for that journey, made in memory of my father Ba who was working at the Singapore Botanical Gardens before accepting the offer to work with KTM, which he served till compulsory retirement.

9.00 am:  The Express Sinaran Selatan leaves KL Sentral at the precise time.

All Aboard! (2011)

9.30 am: We reach Kajang station. My friends and I have breakfast at the buffet car. It is a bit disappointing really. No more freshly cooked fare on board but nasi lemak, bihun, sandwiches and breads offered in plastic containers.
10.15 am: A five-minute stop at Seremban, Negri Sembilan.
11.10 am: Tampin/Pulau Sebang
11.45 am: Batang Melaka
12.01 pm: We reach Gemas; the railway junction of the KTM train network. I had lived here in the early 60's but the station now is pretty unrecognizable. Anyway I get down to take some photos to remind me of  one of my late father's 'work place'.

Pity there was no time to sit on the lonely bench beside the Gemas station signage.
Maybe next time! In the background they are building the 'double track' (CNB 2011)

Gemas railway station (CNB 2011)

12.43 pm: Segamat, Johor
12.54 pm: At Genuang we stop for another passing train.
1.05 pm: We reach Tenang. Along the railway tracks after this station I notice many tempua (weaver bird) nests on the trees.
1.19 pm: At Labis and after, coffee trees seem to be in abundance.
1.40 pm: Bekok
2.20 pm: Kluang

A KTM railway guard along the Kluang station platform (CNB 2011)

3.05 pm: Kulai
3.30 pm: Kempas Baru
3.40 pm: At JB Sentral, the Malaysian immigration check our travel documents.
4.10 pm: We cross the causeway into Singapore. At Woodlands, we leave the train (with all our luggage, sheesh!) for the Singapore Immigration and Customs check. This took 40 minutes before we boarded the train again (with our luggage in tow) to our final destination across the island.
5.30 pm: We arrive at Tanjong Pagar/Singapura station, passing by the closed Bukit Timah station on the way.

Tanjong Pagar/Singapura Railway Station (CNB 2011)

We were in Singapore for 4 days and then returned to KL Sentral riding the night train, Senandung Sutera at 10.30 pm. We 'forgot' to get down at Woodlands for the immigration check until a knock on the door by a young police/immigration (?) officer reminded us to do so. The sleeping berths were okay; we were also provided towels and toiletries for the shower. I think I slept like a log that night, rocked by the moving train. We reached KL Sentral the next day before 7.00 am.

Arriving in the eerie dawn at KL Sentral (CNB 2011)

Gemas, Negri Sembilan

Gemas railway station was built in 1922 and is the railway junction that connects the west coast/main line (Padang Besar - Singapore) with the east coast line (Tumpat - Gemas).

In the early 60's (1960-1962), we lived at 109 Railway Quarters, Gemas, up a hill served by 2 flights of stairs of about 300 steps each. I remember going to school (the Tuanku Abdul Rahman) with my siblings, trudging up and down the hill and crossing the railway bridge as well. We donned 'coolie' straw hats in the hot sun to get educated. Only when our father Ba had a day off (which was not often) did we enjoy a ride to school in his shiny black Morris Minor, plate number PA7078.

I have fond memories of my childhood in Gemas. A shop near the railway station was a source for my collection of Schoolgirl comics. The end of year prizes for class achievement were beautiful pop up books that I treasured. The school sports, talentime and concerts were most enjoyable; I remember singing Linda Scott's Every little Star at one talentime and emerging champion (ha ha)! But I also remember not winning at the state level later (sob sob).

Me and my Talentime trophy (1961)

With the 2nd (Kamal H) and 3rd (CY) place winners (1961)

In sports I qualified to be in the school relay (4x100m) team, both for the primary and secondary. As for lessons, I enjoyed the subject General Knowledge the most, and we could identify all the flags and rattle off all the capitals of all countries in the world. Hence the interest in travel?

Primary/Std 3, Tuanku Abdul Rahman School, Gemas (1960)

Then there were boys! It was co-ed, and at that age it was a like/hate relationship with the opposite sex. There was Barun KG, Dennis X, Kamal H, Martin, James, and others whose names I can no longer recall. Overall the boys were mostly nice, but sometimes they teased a lot, and as partners during sports day dances, some were 'mean'; they pinched the girls' hands that they had to hold!

A Concert at TARS. I am standing leftmost, CY rightmost. (1961)

I was quite the tomboy still, in those days (despite the boys!). I quarreled with anyone who said anything mean or derogatory to my friends or family, I climbed the tallest jambu (guava) and wild cherry trees to get at the fruits (my fellow climbers being Mazidah M and her siblings) and even grappled with a dog to save my sister CY from being bitten by this savage beast (though CY remembers the incident differently, I think I was a hero then!)

Primary/Std 4, Tuanku Abdul Rahman School, Gemas (1961)

On the family front, I remember Ba having to go to work at the unearthly hour of 2 or 3 am. A railway messenger (I guess) usually comes by to ensure he does not miss his train! But then Ba was a very disciplined man and never missed a train in his life, for work or otherwise. He was never off sick either. The only time he did not work was during the railway strike. My mother meantime had my brother AW, the only one to be born in Negri Sembilan. One sibling, ZA fell off a swing when I was supposed to be babysitting him (oops, sorry ZA, also for 'threatening' to throw you out the window in Teluk Kumbar)! I was one lousy babysitter.

The Gemas railway community then, also enjoyed weekend movies on a large screen at the padang (field). As we gravitated towards this padang, I recall the signature Hindi song that beckons... Barekenade... but I cannot remember any of the movies I saw then. I wonder why?

A significant event in my young life in Gemas was a trip to Singapore in 1962 by train, of course. Ba took my siblings SP, MN, CY and me there for a short weekend holiday. I think we stayed at a (Chinese) hotel in a busy part of the city because I recall being up late listening to the vehicles going by. My brother MN remembers it as the Asia Hotel. We went to see the aquarium, and to Arab Street where Ba bought blue, black and silver sandals for CY and me. We also visited the Tiger Balm Gardens/Haw Par Villa, the famous tourist attraction then. In June this year I revisited Singapore by train in memory of Ba and the very first family trip from Gemas.

1960-62

20 Railway Quarters, Alor Star

One's earliest memories of one's life during childhood usually occurs at what age? To be sure, I cannot remember anything about posing with my parents and older siblings in this studio family portrait.

Our family portrait, 1951.

My earliest memories are during the preschool years, when I was 5 or 6. We lived in a Railway Quarters terrace house (no. 20) where I was born, in Alor Star, the capital of Kedah. There was a kedai todi (toddy shop) nearby and so nearly every late afternoon we would close the doors and windows for fear of the orang mabuk or drunkards. But that did not stop tomboy me from shouting 'oi, orang mabuk!' through the window slats.

With my siblings SP, CY & our Chinese neighbours & friends
(1958)

For next door neighbours we had a Chinese family and a Jew family and we got on well with all. I also recall that my mother had a helper who told me she was married to a Kedah prince! I think she concocted the story after watching the Malay movie of that time - Bawang Puteh Bawang Merah. I may be very young then but I wasn't fooled. There was also another helper, a elderly relative, who would melatah and do silat or dance moves when my older brother MN teased her.There was a lot of laughter in the house, except for one very, very sad day when my younger sister BJ left us, having succumbed to influenza complications.

CY and I (with tomboy pose!) at 20 Rly Qtrs, AS (1957)

A Hari Raya with my siblings CY, R & AJ,
and the neighbourhood children (1959)

Other memories (in no chronological order, of course) include posing for my father's new camera at the Sultan's Garden at Anak Bukit; visiting my premature brother in hospital where the attending physician was a young Dr Siti Hasmah; falling into a very dirty longkang (drain) at the back of our house; being knocked down by a bicycle while crossing the road; a guru ngaji Quran (religious teacher) with very,very long tresses; breakfasts at the railway canteen with Uncle Kam Kee and children; gawking at a Chinese friend's dead grandmother in her beautiful funeral clothes; fear of the Thaipusam 'tiger man'; my palpitating heart (read fear again) during Chinese New Year dragon dances; my first 'date' to see the movie "Sing, boy, sing" (1958, starring Tommy Sands); my awe at Rose Chan with a snake around her body as she passed by on a lorry advertising her shows!

At the Anak Bukit Sultan's Garden, with siblings MN, R & AJ (1959)

With MN at the same garden - me 'grimacing' at Ba, the photographer (1958) 

As for early 'formal' education, I remember going to kindergarten in a bungalow, near enough to walk to, with an Indian friend Baby. I cannot remember her real name but I recall she had nice hair in curly locks. Often when we walked back home, we would stop to buy snacks from a pushcart stall (Yikes! I can even remember how delicious the bihun (rice noodles) tasted! Yum!). Once we were partners in crime because we found 20 cents in class but did not hand it to the teacher. Instead we belanja (treat) ourselves with bihun and sweets!

My very good friend in primary school, Swee Lan (1958)
We met again years later while both were working in Pulau Pinang!

Primary school was the Sultanah Asma. I remember a garang (fierce) teacher, and a class teacher who once pulled on my ear because I was not 'all ears' during her lesson (ouch! It hurt my ego, even way back then!). Funny, despite this I do not recall any facts learnt in the primary school years except for having to write and draw daily 'weather reports'. But I remember my good friends Swee Lan and Bee Hoon (BH). Once my father went to a police station to report a missing daughter (i.e. yours truly), but actually I had gone to BH's house after school without informing my family! I also have vivid memories of going to the dentist often during school time and having fillings done on my teeth. My bad teeth must have been due to gorging on a lot of sagon (rice snack) and sweets then. My enterprising mother made sagon and sweet packets for me and my sister CY to sell to our friends in school. I think even back then it was my sister who showed some business savvy while I could not have sold water during a drought. Okay, I exaggerate!

In early 1960 we left Alor Star because my father was transferred to Gemas. That will be another story.

1951-59