Nostalgia of A Country Kid 一个乡村孩童的成长记忆

     I was born and grew up in a small town far away from city, and I'm proud of that!

     Now reside in Kuala Lumpur, the heart of Malaysia, I have a balcony facing the jungle, that always makes me feel like home.

      One day, I was at a friend's home playing with his 3-year old daughter. The little girl was preoccupied with his dad's iPhone, when she saw me taking out my phone, she immediately asked me: "Got Angry Bird?"

     My mind was distracted for a few seconds, then I replied her: "No dear, I don't have Angry Bird here."

     She looked a little disappointed with my answer and continue to tap on the iPhone with her forefinger, at a (I would say) super-high speed!

     At that split second, I recalled a joke that I shared with my friends some time ago, "The only bird that children nowadays know, most probably is the Angry Bird!" 

     As much as it sounds like a joke, it is in fact a reality that is happening around us. That reminds me about another real-life incident of mine.

     Once, a friend and her son from city visited me in my hometown. Her son couldn't stop but keep running up and down at the compound surrounding my house, perhaps for a kid living in the bricks and mortar world, the country life is really an eye opener for him. Her mom watched him running happily while sharing her stories with me.

     Suddenly, the boy stopped and yelled at his mother: "Mom, what is that?"

     We looked towards the direction he was pointing to, there stood a handsome rooster and a few hens kept by my mom.

     "Those are the chickens, dear," my friend answered her son.

     "That's the chickens?" he sounded like he couldn't believe what he just saw.

     I burst into laughter, perhaps in his little mind, the only chicken that he knew would be Kentucky Fried Chicken! I bet he has never seen a real chicken (alive and kicking) in his life before!

      While today's children were being bombarded with technology gadgets, all the products that start with an "i"; me being a 70s child, has a more colourful and unforgettable childhood.

     Last week, a friend of mine who live in Penang sent me an MMS (picture message), it was a nice photo showing she and her daughters helping out at her father's rubber estate. "I want them to be close to the nature, I would very much like them to know what hardship is all about!"

     She truly earned my respect, for sure!

     After the Angry Bird incident, I felt an urge to pen down the good memories of my growing up years, allowing the iChildren to have a glimpse on what had took place in the past, and how wonderful it was!

     If you too are a 70s child, I would like to invite you to walk down the memory lane with me, embarking on a nostalgic journey which will never fade from our life; I really hope you like what I'm going to share, I welcome your comments and input to make this series of stories more enjoyable!

     Are you ready? Let the journey begin, shall we?  

The Beauty of Journey 旅程的美丽

     At a rest area along the highway

     "Come on, take some!" you passed a pack of chocolate cookies to me.

     While I was busy reaching out for the cookies, you looked at the chocolate cream (from the cookies) on your fingers; a nasty smile emerged on your face...

     Before I can react, you already rubbed the cream on the tip of my nose!

     "Ha ha ha......you didn't even dodge!" you laughed like a kid.

     I shrugged my shoulders, snappily. Then, I rubbed the cream off my nose and put it into my mouth.

     Walking under the corridor of a building

     "Look, up there!" you pointed your finger to the ceiling, there was a row of mirrors.

     I looked up, "Smile!" you said.

     * Click *

     You shot a photo with both of us looking up with sweet smiles...


     At the tickets counter of sky view deck

     "I don't like to wait for nothing, if I win, we go up; if you win, we go out," you said.

     1, 2, 3......  Rock, Paper, Scissors...... and you won.

     "We did that sometimes when we couldn't make up our mind," the sales personnel behind the counter gave us a smile.

     The magnificent night view, the fresh air, the laughter we shared; I think we have made the right decision to come up.

     

 Enjoying our dinner at a Shabu-shabu restaurant

     "Hmmm......this looks good!" you took a plate of ingredient from the conveyor.

     "This looks nice too," I took another plate.

     Soon, our table was full of different types of ingredients ready for the Shabu-shabu.

     Both of us took out our cell phones, clicking a few pics before getting our eating bugs moving.

     "Hey, wanna give the camera a baseball finger?" I teased at you.

     "Sure!" and you really gave a good one! Then, we began our dinner with a really good laugh. 

     Fantastic!

     
     Taking a night walk at the park near my apartment

     After a fulfilling dinner, you asked, "Shall we take a walk?"

     "Why not?" I said.      


     "Just be yourself, if there are people who try to mess with you, just show them that you are not afraid of them," you said.


     Almost a week after you hugged me good bye at the airport

     Whenever I passed by the places that we have shared our memories together, smiles kept emerging on my face.

     Although you were only here for few days, it was amazing to realize how much good memories we have created together!

     The beauty of the journey is, we get a chance to meet different people, experience different things together, and turn it into shared memories.

     After the journey ended, we might not recall all the faces (unless we take a picture), but the memories stay forever; and we eagerly look forward to the next journey!

      旅程，最美丽的地方，就是在途中遇上不同的人、不同的事， 一起累计记忆； 然后，再将它转变成美好的共同回忆。

     旅程结束后，或许我们根本无法将每一张脸孔给牢牢记住，但可以肯定的是，美好的记忆将长存； 然后，我们逼切地期待着，再一次的出发！ 

Put on your shoes, let's walk!

     I always enjoy walking, I will seek the opportunity to walk whenever there is a chance.

     In the morning, I normally do brisk-walking on the walkway located downstairs of my apartment; on the weekends, I will take a long walk or jog in the park, enjoying the fresh air, listening to the sounds of nature; it feels great sweating after the walk, the releasing of endorphin makes me feel happy, relax and can't hold the smiles on my face!

     Sometimes, I will choose to walk the staircase instead of taking the elevator, or to park my car at a distance away and walk to my destination.

     Living in a big city, I rely heavily on a car to move around; not that I do not want to take the public transportation and do more walking, but the crowd, the waiting time and the inconvenience really sucks!

     I do a lot of walking when I'm on holiday, last week, I accompanied a friend for a short trip to Singapore. He has never been to the country, even with the convenience of its public transportation system, we decided to take a walking tour.

     "This is where we stay, and we will walk from here, to here, then here..." he circled the destinations before we began our journey from the hotel.

     Then, there we were, embarking our journey from Little India, admiring the beautiful Indian temples and colourful life of the Indian community; 

     Buying our return coach tickets at the Golden Mile Complex located on Beach Road;

     Visiting the Malay Heritage Centre and the mosque along Beach Road;

     Witnessed the people praying at the Guan Yin Temple and Sri Krishnan Temple on Bencoolen Street;

     "Let's have our lunch here," he stopped upon seeing the local hawker centre, Kopitiam.

     "Why not?" I said.

     "Oh, I love this, it's really good!" he said while scooping the roasted pork rice into his mouth.

     With a fulfilling stomach, we continued our journey on the Waterloo Street passing by the Singapore Art Museum to Fort Canning Road;

     We spent few hours walking in the Fort Canning Park, taking pictures, talking to people on the road, sat down on a bench and exchange our stories; it was really fun!

     From there, we walked to Clarke Quay and Riverpoint View, taking a rest by the riverside;

     China Town was our next destination packed with the Chinese community;

     From China Town, we took the MRT to Harbour Front, "I wanna experience the subway in Singapore," he said.

     After Harbour Front, we took the MRT back to our hotel, freshen up ourselves for the rest of the day.

     We spent our evening at the Raffles Boulevard watching the sunset, then we walked to Marina Bay Sands, went up to the sky view deck to complete our one day walking trip; admiring the night view of Singapore from the high altitude, sharing a joke or two, making our journey an unforgettable experience!

     The map was badly torn due to the frequent folding, "Look, we f***ed up the map!" he cracked a joke in "our language"; and we ended our journey with a good laugh!

     Although, the walking trip left me with a small wound on my ankle (my new shoes 'bit' me, LOL), but there is only one word to describe the whole journey - fulfilling!

     Now, I even enjoy walking more, it allows me to slow down in my life, smiling and talking to strangers on the road; teasing and patting the dogs or cats on the streets; or simply surprised by some buildings that I never notice they were there......

     I could never get all these via driving, and the feeling? AMAZING!

     If you are not a walking person, perhaps you should try it and I'm sure it's gonna change your perception about life and the things around you!

     Come, put on your shoes and let's walk!    

Train of Friendship ~ Part II

     

    

     Life is a journey; and we are the travelers. 

     Some people choose to travel by planes, some opt for cars; some might find cycling more exciting, whereas some prefer luxury cruises...Whatever it is, there is this one thing we will definitely see no matter how we travel -- people.

      In 2007, I had a trip to Bangkok from Malaysia on a train. It was a 22-hour journey, was it tiring? Not at all, I found it kinda exciting. Due to the moderate speed of the train, I got a chance to really enjoy the beauty scenery along the way, from sunrise to sunset!

     Besides, it allowed me to make friends on the carriage, sharing our stories and experience of life. That was an amazing journey!

     In my journey of life, I always make an analogy of traveling on a train; I'm the navigator deciding the itinerary -- where to stop and when to move on again. Along the journey, there will be passengers coming up, and going down.

     That's how the idea for Train of Friendship originated.

     In my journey of life, I was never alone; in fact, I saw many people hopping onto my train, some of them chose to hop down after a while, some of them chose to go down after few stops; but there are also some who chose to sit by my side, embarking on the journey and continue to share our stories.

     My Train of Friendship is a journey that welcomes people from all walks of life; for the people who chose to hop down, I never feel sad, I believe they will eventually find the right train for them. For those who chose to stay, they surely leave an impact in my life, and I truly appreciate their friendship.

     Because of that, I like to pen down my amazing journey, for all the people that walked into my life -- those who chose to leave, those who still walk with me, those who yet to come......

     That's the intention of this blog, to cherish the friendship and love that all the amazing people have showered on me.

     To all my friends, this is for you; THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU ALL!!