Down Memory Lane

Was having dinner with my family last night in a street food stall in Malaysia - Kulai, Johor. My grandparents used to own a shop and a house there. The land has now been developed into flatted shops and apartments. I am sure my family and relatives made some money out of the land.

But what I remembered was the row of shop house. It was about 10 meters in front of the front door of the main house. I can remember the house very well because I had stayed there many times in my childhood. But the shop house was only a distant memory. It was burnt down in 1981.

In 1981, I was only 9 years old. My family was living in a flat in Holland Village. One night, I received a phone call for my dad, from my 1st Aunt (who lives in that house). My dad then told us that there was a fire spread from one of the shops and is spreading.

My father and mother then took a few fire-extinguishers from our house, loaded it up the car and drove to Malaysia. I was left alone in the house with my baby brother.

What I heard was that they took about 45 minutes to reach 1 mile away from the fire. Main road was blocked by the police, and traffic piled up. So my parents walked 1 mile to reach the house. By then, the whole row of shops were in fire, with the firemen battling it. My parents ran to the house. With our relatives, they started to spray water all over the front yard, and the roof. Until the police evacuated the whole neighbourhood. They left. Returned the next day, and all the houses were intact. The row of shop houses then became a piece of wasteland, for about 10 years.

What I can remember about those shops, were very little. What I can remember about the house is still in my memories. This was where I spent many years having fun with fire-crackers during Chinese New Year. This was where I bathed with well-water in the open. This was were I learnt how to plant vegetables, and pluck papayas. This was where I used toilets that had no sewage system. This was where .....