Saturday, December 29, 2007
Its time of the year for our annual family visit to my grandaunt's house in Batu Pahat again. The last year we went on a day trip so it was not so relaxing & we did not really get to explore the quite sleepy town at our own leisurely pace. This time round, with 3 cars in tow, we had 3 days to soak & relax in the rural atmosphere in an old kampung house with enough space for the kids to run around & even play hide & seek! We even managed to visit Malacca on a day-trip.
It was a very simple lifestyle that the kids had to adapt to, no aircon,no cable TV,no water heater & the 'big loo' is a small hut about 10m away! But they did not complain & did just fine & were more excited by the fact that the huge house is like a novelty & a playground to them. A refreshing change in environment that I feel they should experience & be comfortable with.
This house is about 60 years old now. Back in its hey days, it used to be a rest-house for official dignitaries & royalties as my maternal grandaunt have got some royal family connection somewhere along the family line. (I don't know exactly how far down I am down the royal family tree but I used to wonder why my mum addressed her cousins as Tengku Long & Engku Amin:p )
So we set out early on Christmas morning & reached Batu Pahat in less than 2 hours. The weather was cool & a lil overcast & the kids were soon excited running around the big old grand house, up & down the stairs that led to the kitchen & other parts of the house. Our room was humble & quaint that reminds me so much of my grandma's kampung house. As a matter of fact, while we were going around the peaceful & quite town, I felt like I was on a set of 'Growing Up' - from the buildings to the roads, & for a while thought that time had simply stood still in the 70s & we had simply moved on. We certainly felt like characters from back to the future when locals would stare & gawk like we just came from the future :)
But it was definititely a much-needed getaway from the hustle & bustle of urban SG. (amidst all that has happened for the last few weeks) With nice kampung style home-cooked food that greeted us everyday surrounded by family members, it is one of the trips that I look forward to every year :)