AMRI ROHAYAT - Part 2

Through the Lenses of a Sister

 

 

Sungai Bakap

 

Sungai Bakap was where my paternal grandparents, Tok Wan (grandfather) and Tok (grandmother) resided. They had 10 children (there are only 7 of them left, now). Abah was the eldest. We’d go back to Sungai Bakap for Hari Raya and school holidays.

Abah would always joked "If you want to go to Sungai Bakap, you have to 'masuk jawi'" (masuk jawi means circumcision in a layman's words). Photo credit: http://www.my-island-penang.com/image-files/sbakap1.jpg

But mind you, PLUS Highway was not in existence yet. So we had to travel along the many corners and winding road of Kuala Kubu Baru. Took us nearly 12 hours from Lepih to Sungai Bakap. 

 

Because there were only the two of us at the back seat, we’d lie down until our heads would meet in the middle. But of course, there were always the quarrels of who penetrated into whose ‘territory’. When Abah was driving a Volvo, this issue was merely settled by having a ‘double deck bed’. Abang would sleep on the board above the backseat while I slept on the seat.

Bonnie and Clyde

Along the way we’d be singing and playing games. 

 

Life in Sungai Bakap was no different than life in Kuala Atok. We were free to roam. It was even better because we had more friends in Sungai Bakap. However, Sungai Bakap was not a village. It was a low-cost housing area with single storey link houses. 

 

The neighbourhood consisted of Malay, Chinese and Indian. Tok knew them all and they all knew Tok. Better known as ‘Mak Timah’ and Tok Wan was known as ‘Pak Derih’. 

 

I have a cousin brother who was not much older than Abang, whom we called ‘Bayon’ and his sister is one year younger than me, Intan. The others, my aunts and my cousins’ elder sister, were all big enough to play with us. So when we got to Sungai Bakap, Bayon and Intan were our friends. In addition, there were other kids in that area who became our friends, too. 

 

There was this Chinese neighbour who lived just two doors from Tok, whose children were very friendly that we even played in their bedroom! We had no problem going in and out of their house. I think we called the elder brother by the name of ‘Tapau’.

 

There was also the children of ‘Pak Kassim’ who lived on the other side of the housing area. So yeah, we had plenty of friends in Sungai Bakap. But Bayon and Intan were our partners in crime. Bayon taught us how to play the cards and that’s how we spent our days indoor. 

 

Sometimes we’d play at a Chinese temple which was situated in adjacent to the housing area. That Chinese temple was a serene place. It was very quiet. Some school children went to study in the temple. 

 

Once, we went in and went up as far as we could go while making noises. Then came an old lady with a broom, chasing us out in Hokkien. We didn’t understand what she said but we knew the broom was up to no good. So we took haste and jumped out of the temple! Never did we go in ever again. The closest we got was in the compound and the old lady had no problem with that. Furthermore we were with those Chinese kids. 

 

We’d ride the bicycles in the evenings. We’d met with the other kids not far from Tok’s house and planned for our activity that night. Most of the time we’d play police sentry. There was no limit as to where the ‘enemy’ could go. So we’d spend like half the night looking for them. You know, they could hide on the tree or even in unused chicken coop!

 

Once, we took a ride with our aunties on their bicycles to the Sungai Bakap small town. They told us that they had informed Mak and Abah. Innocently, we followed them. When we got home, Mak was waiting for us at the front door with an angry face. Later, we both had to stand in front of Abah, both hands clasp to the back and answered his queries. It was like being prosecuted in court. When the verdict was ‘guilty’ we had to put our palms out straight and Abah whipped us with a ruler. No mercy! Yet that was an early lesson for us not to believe what others told us so. Huhu. 

 

Anyway, just like in Lepih, if we got up very early in the morning we could take a ride to town with Tok Wan on his motorbike. If the two of us went together, he’d let me sit in front with my feet in the basket and Abang would sit at the back, with his tiny hands looping around Tok Wan’s waist trying to hold on. But Tok Wan didn’t ride very fast so that was okay. 

 

After he went on his chores, Tok Wan would buy us sweets and best of all, the ‘ais kepal’ (shaved ice shaped into a ball, put in a plastic and poured some syrup on it). Sold for 20 sen. Being modest and always told by Mak not to accept money or things from other people, we’d always say “tak mau” (don’t want) but Tok Wan bought it for us anyway. You could imagine our delight! Tok Wan would asked us to finish the ais kepal there and then so that we wouldn’t’ be scolded by Mak or Abah. But when we got home, he would tell them anyway. Hehe.

Quaint little town of Sungai Bakap. The graveyards of Tok Wan and Tok Timah lies at the end on this small town. Photo credit: http://www.penang-traveltips.com/0/s-pics/sungai-bakap-penang.jpg

I remember that Tok Wan used to keep a black gibbon in his small garage. It was just a baby. We called him “Tam” (blackie). We loved to poke the fence to make it agitated so that it’ll make a loud noise. The gibbon sound. And we’d follow him. Tok would scold us for doing that. One day, Tam was carried away by a truck. We looked at him in sadness as he looked solemnly at us from behind the cage on that truck. I think it was the wildlife people who took him away. Gibbons are endangered species and one needs to have a license to keep a gibbon in captivity. 

 

Then Tok Wan had a goose as a pet! Oh…it was a mighty big goose. We called her “Cik Ang”. She was very fierce with other people but gentle with Tok Wan. She’d follow Tok Wan wherever he went. Oh, no…we didn’t like Cik Ang. She liked to chase us around if we got near her. But she would bear eggs which Tok would cook into delicious curry. I saw a photo of Tok Wan with Cik Ang in one of my aunt’s or uncle’s collection. It was a very affectionate photo. 

 

Tok Wan himself was a comic. At night, when the family sat together in the living room after dinner, he would call his grandchildren around and told us stories. All sorts of stories. From jokes to folks lore to horror stories. That talent, I guess, was passed down to one of my uncles whom we call “Pak Tam”. Pak Tam like to tell stories and make jokes until now. He’d put his antics to good use now that he has grandchildren of his own. 

 

During that period of time, there was an ice cream man who rode a motorbike around the housing area especially in the evening. He’d sell ice cream of many sorts. The usual ones were the likes of Nestle or Conetto (coned ice cream). Our favourite was the ice cream sandwich (cut ice cream put between two slices of bread) which cost about 5 or 10 sen. 

 

That ice cream man also had this turning wheel at the back of his ice cream trunk. When we turned the wheel, we could win the chance of getting extra 5 sen, 10 sen 20 sen or free ice creams! We called it ‘ais krim tikam’ (well, it was like a gamble, actually). 

 

At times, we washed the cars of our family members’ and they’d give us some money as ‘upah (wage). We’d share them among ourselves and that’s the money we used to buy the ice cream. There was also a home-based sundry shop just next to Tok Wan’s house owned by an old lady whom we called “Aitee” and her ailing husband, which we would frequent like every hour, every day!

 

Since Abah’s family was quite large, we’d often go for an outing in Penang Island. At times we’d go up to Bukit Bendera, the highest peak in Penang. It was using an old tram at the time and sometimes the tram would get jammed on the way up so we had to ascend by foot via the staircase. No problem for us kids, but it was a mighty feat for the elders. Coming down via the stairs was no issue at all.

Picnic in Batu Ferringhi was a must! The women folk would prepare all sorts of food from home and we’d have a party at the beach. Usually it was noon time til evening. I didn’t like it when Abah took me into the water. I’d scream my lungs out whenever I couldn’t touch the base. But I enjoyed making sand castles. 

 

After the picnic we’d go for dinner at Padang Kota. There used to be a lot of stalls on the roadside. They’ve made a proper hawker centre there. Somehow I don’t find it enjoyable anymore. I’d rather go to Gurney Drive. Anyway, after dinner we’d take a stroll along the street, looking at the lights from the mainland. Sometimes, we’d go to Bagan to eat ‘satay celup’ (pieces of fruits pierced with bamboo skewers and dipped in specially made sauce). We used to love that satay celup. I heard they still exist!

 

Going back to Sungai Bakap was a tiring feat due to the long travel. However, it was worth it. Abah wanted us to keep in touch with his family even though we lived so far apart. 

 

The photos I have here was captured on one of our ‘trips’ to Botannical Gardens. I think I was about 1 year old and Abang was 2. Probably older. Yeah, you could surely see the 70s fashion worn by the ladies. Quite trendy them folks were, including my Mak.

Once upon a time in Botannical Garden, Penang

One of our favourites in coming to Penang was the ferry ride. The ferry services was the only means of transport to and from the mainland. It was quite a long queue especially during peak hours. But there were so many ferries then that it didn’t take us too long to get on one. We’d be excited to look out for the name of the ferry we were about to get on to. Sometimes, when we were in a few cars, not always do we all get onboard the same ferry. So we’d be looking out to my cousins who were on another ferry and we’d be waving and shouting at them across the engine sound. 

 

Abah would usually take us out to the side and watch the ferry move from the dock. We loved the feel of the wind in our faces and also to watch the other ferries passed by. We’d especially love the sprinkle of sea water whenever the ferry hit a big wave. And also the smell of the sea. Just when the ferry would come into docks on the mainland, we’d all get back into the car and ready to go. It was quite fascinating to watch how the supervisors would arrange all the cars very close to each other so that they could get as many cars as possible into the ferry. When it was time to get out, they would let the cars go one row at a time. So Abah would always have to focus on the signal.

My trip to Penang Island in 2013 brought back so many memories of yesteryears.

One of the few remaining ferries

Some things never change

We'd love to look out from the ferry to watch the tide and incoming jetty

Coming back from Sungai Bakap wasn’t quite an enjoyable journey because Mak would load the trunk with so many food stuff. Not only would she take home the nutmeg pickles which Penang is famous for, she would also stuffed the car with belacan (prawn paste - tasty for making sambal / chilli paste but smells very strong). Those days it wasn’t too common to ride an air-conditioned car. So most of the time Abah would wind down the windows, much to our delight. The smell could really make us sick to the stomach and it’ll also stick to our clothes for many many days no matter how thick Mak had packaged the belacan. Sometimes Abah would brought back durians and that would make the smell even stronger! 

 

I went to Sungai Bakap a few years ago. It has changed dramatically! The jungle that was once in front of Tok Wan’s house has been turned into a residential area. I’d be lost finding the place again. But the big drain separating the main road and the housing area is still there, still clotted with murky water. Reminded me of the times when we were told not to play near the drain but sometimes we’d disobey because the other kids were there, catching fish and tadpoles! Kids being kids. 

 

....to be continued.