SUNGAI CHOH (19) : Once Upon A Time | River Expedition

A Place Of Interest 

(We Began Our River Expedition)

A Rendezvous

River Expedition

Wading Upstream

Amazing Beauty

Musical Sound

During the weekend I had a rendezvous with my good friends, Ud and Enol. So that morning we walked down the road. We passed Sekolah Umum Sungai Choh and continued to the bridge of Sungai Choh in Kampung Tanjung. The bridge was actually a place of interest for young people of Bengkulu to chat as they sat on the bridge fence. Sometimes they teased the girls who passed by the bridge. So then under the bridge we began our river expedition. Though small, the river winded its course through fruit orchards and bushes. Occasionally we came across women washing clothes and bathing. However we went on wading upstream, as far as Hulu Waterfall. Hulu Waterfall was once an amazing beauty to the eyes and a musical sound  to the ears.

Really A Tragedy

Lost Its Beauty

Touch Of Nature

Recreational Retreat

Heartbreaking Phenomenon

However in the course of time, Hulu Waterfall then became nostalgic to the feelings. Recently my friend Sameon HT ex penghulu of Batang Kali sent  a pathetic message about Hulu Waterfall. It was really a tragedy to the waterfall. No longer as it was in the mid-fifties. It had lost its beauty and wonder. Even the touch of nature had gone for ever. No more recreational retreat for the family, no more dating place for the youth and no more honey moon venue for the newly married couple. What a heartbreaking phenomenon. It's no longer sustained and maintained its beauty and wonder. It is left in the bushes, abandoned and deserted. Nobody visits it and no one else enjoys its beauty. Not  even  a shadow to see and no even a trace to follow.

Modern Retreat

Modern Fantasy

Touch Of Nature

Feeling Of Blessing

Gift Of Nature

However, nowadays our grandchildren  lose themselves in the joy and excitement of the modern retreat. A place of recreational activities  for pleasure and amusement, such as Water World I-City, Sunway Lagoon, Legoland, A’Formosa Resort, Sunway Lost Word; you just name it. They seem to float in the realm of modern fantasy, followed by the cries of joy. However there is no touch of nature and no feeling of blessing. The kids only get the excitement of merry-go-round but they never ever feel the gift of nature. There is no cry for astonishment, only laughter for pleasure. And there is no wild calls from the jungle, only the deafening noise from merry-go-round. Everything has changed. Sometimes these changes make grandpa and grandma lonely and isolated. Only past memories give them a bit of happiness.

SUNGAI CHOH (18) : Once Upon A Time | Really Challenging

 Competed Against Each Others 

(As Jihadists Who Faught Against Lust)

It was really challenging during the fasting month. Anyway, my friends and I competed against each others. Not to miss even a day, meant “gerot nian” for a small boy. Full fasting was a success Then. By then we would be in the list of honours, as jihadists who faught against lust. However, during the day I had to undergo the challenge of the senses. The mouth, the ears and the eyes had been indoctrinated for fasting. That’s not to see, to hear or to say anything bad. So I had to fight against my thirst and hunger by all means. Yet there was nothing I could do. The first week of fasting month, the days seemed to be moving too slowly. The more I looked at the clock the more I felt time moving backward. Sometimes hunger made me dreaming about food delights.

Just imagine,  how every day we looked at the kitchen as if there was food on the table and as if the appetizing  aroma came from every corner. Especially when looking at Junas’s coffe shop, so tempting. So it was true that fasting was an all-out fight against appetite. It felt like a real challenge to suppress our appetite. That's why breaking the fast was a moment that has long been waiting.  My appetite was suddenly increased significantly as if  I could finish three plates of rice and 5 glasses of syrup. However, how fortunate  the boys of today are. Nowadays our kids have a lot of gameplays from handphones and series of entertainments from TV. Just to distract them from feeling hungry and thirsty. So time passes without them realizing it.

Anyway the scenario turned lively at night, together with the sound of bamboo cannon  from various corners of the village. That night was actually the highlight of the day. Houses were decorated with kerosene  lamps from unused cans milk. Some were quite creative to make bamboo lamps in various forms. Here and there children of my age celebrated the night,  playing car lamps made from bamboo. We enjoyed the night as far as Kampung Ulu. In the meanwhile, the girls played candles to join the celebration. As for the old folks, they usually gathered at Junas's  Coffee Shop after terawih prayer. Chatting over  cups of coffee before listening to Musabaqah Al Quran from the radio.