Roaring Forties

While on the subject of early childhood memories, I recall taking my first train ride when  I was 10 years old. This happened sometime in December in 1975 during the third term school holidays.

My sister who worked in Kluang, Johor has asked whether I wish to visit her and I jumped at the chance. The adults were shocked by my response because no one was available to send me to Johor and if I were to go, I would have to travel alone by train.  No one expected me to say yes. Everyone under estimated this plucky 10 year old. My sister (probably regretted her offer) started telling me that the journey will be long. I remember my aunt asking me, “Are you sure?” My brother just laughed at my face. My father being the quiet man he was, just grunted at the notion of his youngest son traveling alone by himself.

But I stood by my decision and the adults decided to let me go through with my adventure. It wasn’t a big deal but when you are ten year old and not even 5 feet tall, the very thought of traveling 220 km by yourself would appear to be a big, big adventure. I couldn’t sleep the night before and I was up before everyone else the next morning.

My parents brought me to the old colonial train station in Seremban. I got excited the minute I saw the crowd. My parents got me the tickets, drinks and snacks. My father even loaned me his watch so that I could tell the time. He gave me the full drill on how long the journey will take, what are the stations which I will be passing by and to get help from the uniformed man (the train conductor) if I need any.

Finally the massive iron giant arrived. For a ten year old, the train looked really enormous. My parents helped me to board the train. They were still issuing last minutes instructions when I could hear the whistle of the train. They had no choice to leave the train. The train started pulling out of the station. I had a window seat where I stucked my head out and waved wildly to my parents. They got smaller as the train picked up speed.

I was absolutely ecstatic.  I felt like an adult. I have started my first real journey. I could see that there weren’t any other kids my age in the train traveling alone. I began to imagine that I was one of the brothers in the Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. It was a journey of a lifetime to remember.

I remember staying glued to the window, staring at the country side and counting the towns which I passed. After 4 wonderful hours, I finally reached Kluang station.

My sister and my brother in law were waiting at the platform as I disembark the train with my head held high in the air. I have just completed my first long distance adventure all by myself.  

How far back can one remember? Often our childhood memories are stored right at the back of our subconsiousness, only to be recalled when something happened and  trigger off the recollection of these memories. Nevertheless as we grow older, our brain cells would slowly die off bit by bit and our memories would naturally fade as a result like a dimming candle. Blogs therefore are actually fantastic time capsules to capture these timeless memories before we lose them.

So how far back can you remember? Wouldn’t it be good to write it down or to blog it before you lose it forever?! Amongst my most memorable early memories was my first day in school.

I still remember my first day at school (in Paul Street) way back in 1972 (3rd January 1972) where my father accompanied me to school and he told me that he will wait for me at the gate after school. I was given 10 cents for (first time) pocket money which I recalled that was the first time I actually have my own money in my pocket. I was promptly deposited in standard one brown which was the last class in school where yellow was the pinnacle of the classes followed by red, green, blue, white and brown. (After the first term, I was promoted to red class and I finally got to yellow class in standard two.) I remember being led to the class by a Mrs. Thambu and I was totally lost in the class where the kids in the class was practically uncontrollable and running all over the place. It was total chaos!   

I remember being in a daze. There were two or three other kids weeping away and I felt like doing the same but I held back my tears. I was counting the minutes. What have my parents got me into? Finally the school bell rang to signal the end of the ordeal. I walked nervously towards the gate, afraid that my father would not be there. I did not dare to run, in case my worse fear is realised earlier.

But he was there waiting for me and I remember feeling so relieved. I remember walking to the bus station (in Birch Road) with my father and getting into the yellow coloured STS (Seremban Town Service) bus. Once inside the bus, we got separated. I couldn’t see him anymore. Maybe it was because I was too short at that point and could only see many, many adults towering around me. I had lost sight of my father in the crowd. When the bus conductor came and asked for my fare, I could not find my father. I panicked. In a split moment, I remembered I had 10 cents in my pocket. I promptly paid the bus conductor my 10 cents and got back 5 cents in change. This was the very first time, I paid for my own bus fare.

Finally, the bus reached my stop and I squeezed through the crowd to alight where I found my father waiting for me.

Oct 27 – It was another dazzling display which resulted in 4 goals for Manchester United who has done likewise in 3 preceding matches and thus matching a 100 year old record set in 1907 when they did a four in four. Nani open the flood gate with a 30 yards flyer in the third minute. Wayne Rooney add the second in the 33rd minute while Carlos Tevez came good with two goals in the second half. Now for the showdown at the Emirates Stadium on the 3rd of Nov with Arsenal.

Kids can be absolute brats and my top 5 brats encounters are:-

Super Brat No 5

Years’ back in the nineties, I can still remember this neighbour’s seven year old girl in SS2. She was playing with her friends in their driveway and I looked in to see what they were doing as I walked past. She shouted at me in Cantonese, “Stupid fatman. What are you looking at?”

Super Brat No 4

About seven years’ ago, we were trekking in an island with kids. Naturally, we had to carry the toddler but her sister who was seven at that time just refused to walk and insisted to be carried. As she was carried, she pretended to be asleep but you could see her eyes open to peep out with a large smile on her face.

Super Brat No 3

About four years ago in Mentakab, a seven year old brat followed his mum to my place but wanted to go home after spending about 20 minutes. His mum asked him to wait for a short while and he started to induce vomitting to get his way.

Super Brat No 2

Last year in KL, an eight year old chinese schooled kid (brother of Brat No 3) asked me in Mandarin and I answered back in broken Mandarin since I don’t really speak Mandarin that well. This little monster asked in Mandarin, “Uncle, how come you don’t know how to answer me? You never go to school one ah?!”

Super Brat No 1 – NUMERO UNO

A recently comment (last week in Pahang) from a nine year old kid utterly shocked me. When his father was reprimanding him for his rude behaviour, he answered back by calling his father “You fat idiot”.

With kids like that, it is better to have puppies. At least puppies are more adorable and well behaved.

Imagine Andy Lau, Miu Kiu Wai, Tong Chun Yip and Wong Yat Wah together in a movie? Would make an interesting combination but it appeared impossible since only Andy Lau was active in the movie scene.  Well, the impossible moment happened in Oct 2007 as all four appeared in a triad movie named “Brothers”. The producers even managed to rope in highly rated Eason Chan to join the veterans.

The “Brothers” would be a movie which I will not miss being someone who grew up in the 80s so I arm-twisted May to watch it at GSC on 24 Oct. After a great recent experience with “The Detective“, our expectation were high but these hopes totally crashed landed in the first 15 minutes of the movie.

The story line was pretty shallow like all Hong Kong movies about the triad. The acting was horrendous and this unforgivable since the cast consisted of real weterans. Eason Chan was hopeless in his role. The cinematography was mediocre and the editing was bad. It was a movie that you would wished to end fast and when it did, you cursed yourself for wasting your time.

 The only thing positive about the movie was that Miu Kiu Wai and Wong Yat Wah actually looked good (these guys must be in their fifties now) but I can’t say that for their acting.

The creme of the movie was definitely Crystal Huang. Then again it was for her looks and not her acting.

 ”Brothers” was a real bomb. For those who are considering to watch the movie,  don’t waste your dough.

/

Oct 24 – It was four more at Kiev as Manchester United appeared to have shaken off their earlier 1:0 jinx by starting a new 4 goals trend and  notching their third consecutive victory by scoring 4 goals in a Champions league game, courtesy of Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and a double from Cristiano Ronaldo. They could have scored more goals against Dynamo Kiev but like their earlier match against Aston Villa, the players started to treat the game more like a practice session after the third goal. Instead, slack defending saw Dynamo Kiev pulling two back and finishing the match 2:4 for the host.

Elsewhere, Arsenal showed their seriousness as they crushed Slavia Prague 7:0.

The 2007 season Formula 1 closed at Interlagos in Sao Paolo, Brazil in the most sensational manner. Lewis Hamilton was expected to cruise home as the youngest champion in Formula 1 history after holding pole position with a 4 points lead over Fernando Alonso and a 7 points lead over Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton only needed to finish 5^th place to win, regardless how Alonso or Raikkonen fare in the last race of the season.

Alonso had the better chance to steal the championship but he has win or finish second to have a realistic chance of winning.   Even though, it was touted as a 3 horse race, Raikkonen needed a miracle for Hamilton to finish lower than 5^th and for him win the last race of the season with Alonso finishing no higher than 3^rd.

Against all odds, the impossible happened on 21 October 2007.Kimi Raikkonen finished first, followed by Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton finished a disappointing 8^th. The top 3 drivers were kept apart by a single point and the 2007 season proved to be the most dramatic season in the last 20 years. The last time there was such drama in Formula 1 was during the days of Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost way back in 1986.   

Pos  Driver                       Nationality  Team                          Points

1      Kimi Räikkönen        Finnish           Ferrari                             110

2     Lewis Hamilton        British            McLaren-Mercedes     109

3      Fernando Alonso     Spanish          McLaren-Mercedes    109

4      Felipe Massa               Brazilian        Ferrari                               94

5      Nick Heidfeld              German          BMW                                  61

6      Robert Kubica            Polish              BMW                                  39

7      Heikki Kovalainen    Finnish          Renault                             30

8     Giancarlo Fisichella   Italian           Renault                             21

9     Nico Rosberg               German         Williams-Toyota            20

10  David Coulthard          British           Red Bull-Renault            14

The top 10 spots for this year’s F1 were dominated by Europe lead by two Finnish, two British, two Germans, one Spanish, one Polish and one Italian. Only a lone Brazilian broke the European monopoly of the top ten spots.

Two notable drivers who feel out of the top ten spots were Ralf Schumacher, driving for Toyota who finished at number 16 with only 5 points and Ruben Barrichello, driving for Honda who failed to score a single point in 2007.

It was a fantastic season. Raikkonen, Hamilton and Alonso has definitely brought back a spark to Formula 1.

It was another 4 goals and this time at Villa Park as Rooney and the boys ran riot in the first half to add another scalp in a 4:1 away win over Aston Villa. The first half was fantastic with a free flow of attacking football where the Red Devils hit back after falling behind in the 13th minute. A 10 minutes blitz from the 36th minute had Wayne Rooney showing his class act by grabbing a brace and Rio Ferdinand adding a 3rd during the first half stoppage time.

Villa had two players sent out, Nigel Reo-Coker in the 60th minute for his second yellow card offense and Scott Carson for a professional foul in the 66th minute on Carlos Tevez. By then, Villa with only 9 men left on the pitch, lost all hope of saving the game. Rooney failed to get his hattrick when he could not a penalty but by then, Manchester United appeared to have lost their appetite even though they had superior numbers. Only a fine solo effort from Ryan Giggs saw him scoring the only goal in the second half.

SAF expressed that this was the best game Manchester United played this season but I beg to differ as I felt that they were treating the last 25 minutes against a 9 man team more like a practise session than a real game. There could have been more urgency to get a couple more goals to reduce the superior goal difference which Arsenal currently enjoyed over Manchester United.

Overall, Wayne Rooney orchestrated the win with his brace, Tevez had a good game, Nani proved that he can play well consistently and Giggs  showed that age has not blunt his skills.  It was Gerard Pique that branded out an outstanding display as a central defender, so much so that the absence of Nemanja Vidic was not felt at all.

It was not the best game of the season as SAF put it but definitely it was a good work out for Red Devils. 

Oct 13 – It was a Saturday with a difference. The streets were deserted in the city. Shops were shuttered shut. The familiar roti chanai man and the nasi lemak lady can’t be found. The trains were empty. The city was unusually quiet.

But as we drove past the kampungs in Ulu Langat, an endless stream of cars lined the road shoulders. Children were running all over, men were smartly dressed in their baju melayu while the women were in their most colourful baju kurungs. There was a fiesta atmosphere in the air as this was not a normal Saturday. This Saturday was the first day of Shawwal 1428, which marked the end of the fasting Ramadhan month and the beginning of the Eid Al-Fitri celebration.

We had decided to take advantage of the holidays and planned a day out at one of the waterfalls in Ulu Langat. It was a scenic drive past the Semenyih dam and we chose Tekala Falls, being one of the more easily assessable falls without any need for trekking as we had a 3 year old (Naomi) and a 7 year old (Sean) tacking along.

We arrived at 9.15 a.m. and the search for a good spot for swimming lasted only 10 minutes from the car park. We choose a shaded hut nearest to best swimming spot in the falls which was for the taking as there were only two other groups at the falls.

May & I unloaded our backpacks and shocked everyone with a gas stove, a frying pan and a soup pot. We were inspired by Keith Floyd for his cooking in the wilderness and Mr. Thong who sparked our outdoor cooking interest at Chilling Falls. Nevertheless, we stuck to cooking a very safe and simple breakfast. We fried some ham shoulder, scrambled a few eggs and pan-grilled buttered buns for everyone. To accompany the main meal, we had tomato cherries, Japanese cucumbers and cheese. Apples and muffins completed the meal for the adults, while for the kiddoes, we made instant soup noodles with eggs, accompanied by Vitagen which proved to be a hit even with some of the over-aged.

After a sumptuous breakfast, we proceed for our swim after much whining and prompting from Sean who just could not wait to dive in. The water was extremely cold. But it felt really good. Initially it was only me, May and Sean swimming but CE just could not resist the temptation of a dip even though he did not bring a change of clothes. Naomi played with the water and enjoyed herself. Matsa, Faith and KC were contended to relax at the falls without getting wet.

The crowd started to fill up the place at 11.00 which was a sign for us to leave. We packed all our left overs and rubbish including those left behind conveniently at our hut by some idiots. This is so Malaysian. There was also a changing room near the huts clearly stating that it was a changing room and not a toilet and yet the place stank to high heaven with urine odor. When will Malaysians ever learn to be civilized.

Anyway, it was a good outing, the air was good, the water was cool, the company was pleasant, there was plenty of negative ions to recharge the body, so we were more than happy to pick up all the rubbish left by others, secure it in a large garbage bag and took it out to the main entrance to deposit by the main garbage dump. If I had a bucket, I probably would have flushed the changing rooms as well but I guessed I did my little part.

Nevertheless, the Sungai Tekala Falls outing was great. Would recommend the place for a family outing especially for those with little children.

Oct 7 – Decided not to push for Sungai Lembing, instead we lazed till noon before checking out for lunch. After lunch, we took a long detour to Pantai Sepat which located south of Kuantan. The northern beaches, Beserah and Cherating are more famous and touristy. So we were curious to find out what Pantai Sepat looks like.

It is surprising clean and deserted. There isn’t a single hotel, motel or even gerai in sight. Only sandy beaches, coconut trees and kampung houses. Would make a great place to read your novels or just to sit under the trees and do nothing.

Further down the road, we came across a wet land beside the sea with a herd of water buffaloes grazing and overhead there numerous white coloured birds flying and circling the buffaloes. It was a heart warming sight.

From Pantai Sepat, we proceed to Pantai Lagenda which is another lost cause tourism project. Pantai Lagenda was supposed to be a premium golf resort next to the sea but we could only see overgrown lalang on the golfing greens.

From Pantai Lagenda, we drove to Kuala Pahang which is the river mouth for Sungai Pahang. It was nothing but a sleepy fishing village.

From Kuala Pahang, we proceed to Pekan, the royal town of Pahang. After the earlier disappointments of both Pantai Lagenda and Kuala Pahang, we were not immune and did not have any more expectations.

There is absolutely nothing in the town apart from the palace, a polo ground, a maritime exhibit and a museum. There were some nice old buildings and a grand looking mosque.

One thing though, they have a KFC there and we stopped for some fried chicken.

From our short jaunt, we could boast that we have been there but it was at the expense of Berkelah Falls because by the time we reached Gambang, it was already 4.00 p.m.

We will be back for Berkelah, Sungai Lembing and Pandan but that would be in another chapter and another adventure.