Home Is Where The Heart Is

Iman, looking out to sea

A couple of weeks ago when Hubs announced that he planned on making a road trip back home to check on a couple of our on-going projects; Iman and I decided that we should tag along for the long 8 hour drive to make sure it was pleasurable and 'unboring' for him. Well, Iman's happy chatter took care of that in the most part- when she wasn't dozing off, that is! Her brothers usual queries of "do you ever stop talking?" were no where in sound, :) Besides, we thoroughly enjoyed her happy chatter and jokes etc Anyways, brothers, no. 1 & 2 were no where in sight, ;). Jay was house and plant sitting and in the midst of some exams and Joe was still in KL.

So we packed ourselves a picnic and our eskie (for all that fresh fish we were planning on bringing back with us). We left bright & early in the morning; around 5 am, to be exact but our journey was slowed down some by the rain. The heavens opened up and it just poured down on us from the start of our journey till we reached Sri Aman so hubs had to drive more cautiously.. We are not blessed with highways that the likes of our counterparts are in West Malaysia; ahemm, ahemm. (On a more serious note, read La Tugauw's take on this issue and more, here and enjoy the ride!)

We passed many major towns on our way, one of which was Serian. The cockerels were just crowing as we drove through. About an hour's drive or so from Serian was the town of Sri Aman ( used to be known as Simanggang) but we did not head into the town itself because we wanted to get to Sibu early. After about 4 hours of driving, we passed Sarikei and headed straight to Sibu. We stopped for an early lunch in Sibu; and err, yours truly just had to head to the hairdressers there!! Didn't have the chance to do that the previous day - my cousin Ray will tell you (hahaha) about how obsessive I've become about keeping up my appointments with the hair people of late. Everytime he calls, I seem to be in "various stages of whatevers" at the hairdressers! Must be those eagerly - sprouting but very, very unwelcomed grey hairs that's brought about that drastic change in me. Vanity, thy name is Woman, I know, I know! And, Oh - thanks Ray for saying that I'm such a wonderful mom for letting my daughter take off from school for that 4 days, hehehe!

After a couple of hours and more of bone shaking, butt-breaking bumpy rides through roads that are "maimed" by trucks laden with oil palm and coal (yes, Mukah has now evolved into a coal-mining town) we arrived at our destination, tired and weary but just happy that we'd be be able to rest. We spent the first night at the Kingwood Hotel by the beach; next night was at MIL's. Here are some of the pics from our journey :-

A lovely serene view of the sea, from our balcony

The sea was calm that day

The view, across the road from the hotel. Much of the green will be cleared away to make way for a golf course, I think. Or else it will give way to the excavation of coal like most of the land we passed along the way. *sigh*

Marinated raw fish, locally known as "umai." I had this for dinner at the hotel's coffeehouse. Divine.
Iman, at breakfast. We had a choice of American/Malaysian breakfast. *Note -to my American "relatives," if you head this way in the future, you won't be too disappointed. ;), ;)

After breakfast, we took a stroll through the hotel grounds. Decided to take a couple of pics in the courtyard.

Arriving on the shores of this quaint coastal town which I and my family called home for 13-14 years of our lives doesn't evoke the same emotions in me that it used to. Now, all I see before me is the shell of a town that I once knew; it seems to have lost it's innocence. To sum it up in a few words- the social ills have come to town, in more ways than one.

Now my visits back "home" are to say "hello" to and honour the memory of my maternal grandparents, whose final resting place lie there; to visit my mother-in-law and of course, the ultimate highlight would just have to be for the freshest of fish! (sorry MIL)

Even the house that I once called home is rotting away and dilapidated.. So sad, so sad, that the person who "inherited" the house and it's grounds places no sentimental value whatsoever on a property that once housed the people that gave him life. (oops, enough said). The rambutan trees and coconut trees (upon which hubby says he spied me one fine day when I may have been 6 or 7. He must have been so enthralled by the sight that he says he fell in love there and then and vowed never to give his heart to another.... doesn't it sound like the makings of a hindi movie?? Haha) that we once used to climb as children are still there but are so unkempt in appearance, that it almost breaks my heart. I guess their branches will never again be happily laden with juicy, succulent fruit the way it once was. There was also a huge mango tree at the back of the house that provided much joy for us as kids. When it was the fruiting season, you could hear the mangoes fall! My sister and I would be up bright and early. We'd arm ourselves with a basket and off we went; if my recollections are correct, one mango even fell on my sis's head one bright morning! I guess she lived to tell the tale. Haha.
Most of the child hood haunts of my youth seem to have disappeared amidst the hustle and bustle of a developing town. Even the beach that used to be our playing field has a new access road, the old one was closed up to make way for extensions to the airport and some kind of government housing I think. It just isn't the same. It's true what they say; that you can never really go home again.

But I no longer "weep" for the changes that I see because I've another place that I call home nowadays; and that's where my heart lies. Right here.