42 Trang Road, 10150, Penang
I'm sure all of you have fond memories of your childhood days. Yes, those carefree days when your biggest choice was what games to play when you wake up first thing in the morning. When achievement was trying not to pee in your pants when you're sleeping. When frustration was not being able to do things that the adults can, and to be reminded that "You're not old enough".
I wasn't given a choice on where I was to be born nor where to spend my childhood. But I thank my lucky stars (or my karma) that 42 Trang Road, Penang was the place...
My grandma stayed there. Together with 4 of my aunties, an uncle and hordes of cousins. Another aunt lived 2 doors away with her family. 42 Trang Road was like the point of rendezvous for everyone in the family. Even for those relatives who do not live there, they will drop by after work. Many a times staying for dinner. Who could blame them as my grandma was a fabulous cook and her peranakan dishes are to die for! As I'm writing this, I can smell her kua-la-la soup (Belacan and onion soup with watermelon skin) and Perut ikan (similiar to assam laksa's soup except that it has fish stomach, kaffir lime leaves and daun kadok).
Childhood is the time when I can be anything and everything that I want to be. With a change of tshirt, I can be Superman...running around the house with the short cape (length:from the shoulder to the buttocks) slightly fluttering. When I'm done saving the world from hunger (in this case dutifully delivering the milk bottle from my mother to my baby brother) , I'll open my little satchel and whisk out a toy machine gun. Instantaneously, I'd be Rambo. Running around the house hiding under beds and behind cupboards trying to ambush the enemies. Usually being Rambo will end up with me crying. The reason being that the enemies that I ambush will most of the time be my mother or aunties. And what is a standard reaction of an adult being scared out of their skin by a little tyke who jumps out from the cupboard firing a toy gun? A healthy dose of wallop, of course!
But as the Buddha said, everything changes. Nothing is permanant except impermanence. How true that is. My grandma has since passed on. I miss her but it has already been more than 10 years. I guess the pain is not that great anymore. As for 42 Trang Road, it's still there...but due to the development around the Komtar area and the rent control act, my aunties had to move to another place. All of the younger generations have also grown up and having our own lives somewhere. Scattered all around.
But no matter where I am or even if I'm far away from Penang...one thing is for sure...I'll never forget my roots, the people who have made it all possible for me to be where I am today. As for my family (close and extended alike) thank you all for such beautiful memories and a healthy childhood. As for 42 Trang Road...if only the walls could talk...my, what interesting tales it will spin...
I wasn't given a choice on where I was to be born nor where to spend my childhood. But I thank my lucky stars (or my karma) that 42 Trang Road, Penang was the place...
My grandma stayed there. Together with 4 of my aunties, an uncle and hordes of cousins. Another aunt lived 2 doors away with her family. 42 Trang Road was like the point of rendezvous for everyone in the family. Even for those relatives who do not live there, they will drop by after work. Many a times staying for dinner. Who could blame them as my grandma was a fabulous cook and her peranakan dishes are to die for! As I'm writing this, I can smell her kua-la-la soup (Belacan and onion soup with watermelon skin) and Perut ikan (similiar to assam laksa's soup except that it has fish stomach, kaffir lime leaves and daun kadok).
Childhood is the time when I can be anything and everything that I want to be. With a change of tshirt, I can be Superman...running around the house with the short cape (length:from the shoulder to the buttocks) slightly fluttering. When I'm done saving the world from hunger (in this case dutifully delivering the milk bottle from my mother to my baby brother) , I'll open my little satchel and whisk out a toy machine gun. Instantaneously, I'd be Rambo. Running around the house hiding under beds and behind cupboards trying to ambush the enemies. Usually being Rambo will end up with me crying. The reason being that the enemies that I ambush will most of the time be my mother or aunties. And what is a standard reaction of an adult being scared out of their skin by a little tyke who jumps out from the cupboard firing a toy gun? A healthy dose of wallop, of course!
But as the Buddha said, everything changes. Nothing is permanant except impermanence. How true that is. My grandma has since passed on. I miss her but it has already been more than 10 years. I guess the pain is not that great anymore. As for 42 Trang Road, it's still there...but due to the development around the Komtar area and the rent control act, my aunties had to move to another place. All of the younger generations have also grown up and having our own lives somewhere. Scattered all around.
But no matter where I am or even if I'm far away from Penang...one thing is for sure...I'll never forget my roots, the people who have made it all possible for me to be where I am today. As for my family (close and extended alike) thank you all for such beautiful memories and a healthy childhood. As for 42 Trang Road...if only the walls could talk...my, what interesting tales it will spin...
4 Comments:
This really brings me back to my childhood time la...Lcky i got a childhood cousin brother who is same age as me. My parents dont buy me toys and my sweet cousin brother are willing to share out his toys with me. Got the small soldiers... legos... and we even try to cut out the cartoon characters from the cartoon mag that we bought (ahem, by our parents.. where got money at that time wor) and sell it to the kids staying around our area...so small then we are so business minded..ahhe.. those days are gone.. i truly miss my childhood.. there are so many things are changed now... i even can listen my grandma telling her time while the japanese occupied malaya. Yah. Those were the days...
So you played superman... me even worse...
week 1 : robocop
week 2 : baja hitam
week 3 : ultraman
week 4 : ninja turtle
then repeat again...
sometimes... masak masak...
dun laugh!
oh yea, i can see you are still living in reverie with all the childhood thoughts still deeply buried in the inner you.
Check out more of Gavin's childhood pics here
All that is left of us are memories. How sweet thy smell, taste, sounds, sight ...
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