Just like Grandma's

School holidays were a simple affair when I was a young child. There were no such things as hotel stays (not quite affordable then) and going to the airport to catch flights (this one even more out of the budget range). What me and my big brother did was go home to our Uwan's (Grandma's) place in Batu Kikir, Negri Sembilan and spent our entire holiday with her. Just us and her, no parents, for most of it. Maybe some cousins once in a while..

Her house was the typical kampung house, surrounded by the sawah (paddy fields) in which she planted rice. My Grandpa was a songkok maker and shopkeeper. Anyway, we had a grand time playing around the house which was wooden and had push-out windows. Grandma had ducks and geese and chicken which were not pets and reared to be eaten as well as for their eggs.

So, what's the point of this rambling? Well, my children - most of their lives - live in the city. They only get to visit kampung houses during raya. And even those are very modernised. But, they got to see an honest-to-goodness genuine traditional rumah melayu during our visit to the Sarawak Cultural Village in Damai, Sarawak.





 My daughter, who always has poker face on, was truly delighted. Everything was so pretty and cool, according to her.

The kids had a go at the congkak set that was on exhibit..


Outside, there was a main gasing demo, where visitors could try out and and see if they have it in them to spin the top.


It was like a step into a magical place for the kids.. and a stroll down memory lane for me. At least now, when I talk of my childhood, they can actually visualise what I mean and relate.

Comments

  1. now everybody, both the young and old, semua main gadget aje keje nya.

    ReplyDelete

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