... Kampung Sitiawan ...

I took the opportunity to ronda (drive around) bit when I was the tour guide and driver for the Canadians ..... and this took us to Kampung Sitiawan looking for roti canai (seems it has a very famous roti canai stall there but it was closed when we arrived) ... cos its roti canai for brekfast, roti canai for lunch .. roti canai for dinner for no2 ... till eventually I heard no3 saying "m getting pretty sick of roti" this morning as they ate their final breakfast in Malaysia ....

This trip brought many sweet memories for me as I drove to Kampung Sitiawan. I recall even at a very young age .. Dad used to pillion both SM & I on his little palang bicycle to take us to Kg Sitiawan just to enjoy the breeze, fresh air and play around. I remember the swing that I played with -- but sadly its no longer there now ....

Then as I grew older ... I will cycle there with SM or friends to enjoy the river mouth by myself ... with friends ... We used to cycle through the muddy road through the rubber estate and cut through Sitiawan Estate as short cut instead of using the main road to get to this place ... I recall doing this with CK .... we had great adventures of walking on the wooden bridge (which is already torn down now) .. the bridge was narrow ... and rattles when bicycles or motorbikes pass by us ... and the part where we need to go thru the swampy area .... its scary cos its cooling (cold breeze .... ghostly feeling) ... and its creepy when thoughts of crocodiles surfacing clouds my mind .... cos there were stories of crocodiles in this river. The bridge did not only served as the link to Kampung Baru or Kampung Deralik (not too sure of the spelling) but also a meeting sport for the villagers in the evenings ... as well as a fishing spot during the night time. I also remember Dad used to go to this river mouth to collect clams when the tide is down .... We used to LOVE this clam ... we will wash it clean and boil it .... the soup will be used as soup base, we remove the meat from the clam to cook bihun soup. Very very sweet and tasty ... Now ... there is NO place to collect such clams cos their habitat is destroyed in the name of 'development' ..

Sadly ... we cant enjoy and relive this feelings anymore cos the entire river mouth is destroyed in the name of 'development' .... sad sad sad ....

Eventually, when I got to the point of riding motorbikes ... I used to fetch Mom on the motorbike or accompany her to visit her broker friend who happen to be living in the local Rumah Kesihatan (local government clinic) right in front of the bridge. She was living in the small government house with her Mom, husband and 2 boys ..

From those days, I recall stories told to me that this river mouth used to be a busy port ... long long ago ... and this was confirmed when we visited the Sitiawan Foo Chow Settlement Museum ... the girl in charge told me that the 1st group of Foo Chows from Fuzhou, China arrived in Sitiawan long long ago by boat near this river mouth .... the group was led by 3 pastors.

What took me by surprise this trip was I discovered that there was a chalet that we could rent for hols ... looks like a nice quiet place for a silent retreat ...