Retro: Terengganu Revisited

 

I am now in Kuala Terengganu, right now in my friend's office using his computer to update my life's story for the world to see. I got here yesterday morning and spent the day with Raof harvesting some horseradish and later cleaning up behind his house while he cleaned the radish leaves. I came to get some paperwork done for my children at their former school, I was told I needed to get the transfer letters ASAP. I also needed to get my wife's employer to provide me with a letter that could satisfy the needs of the American Workman's Compensation program. It would be a great help to us if she does qualify for it as she has worked for most of her life teaching and has done justice to the American Cause overseas through her simple charms and dedication towards her students. If she does not qualify for some form of compensation, she will have to come back here and continue her finding a cure for her ailments. I am now staying at Awi's Yellow House on the Trengganu River next to the Sultan Mahmood Bridge on Pulau Duyong Kecil. Awi's Yellow House is a must for anyone travelling the road very least travelled and at the cheapest cost for the most extraordinary experience of meeting a few of the world's most seasoned travellers from all over the world. A place where East meets West at a coffee table overlooking the flowing river where iguanas and kampung kids swim amidst diapers and all sorts of garbage, having a hell of a time. This is Awi's Yellow, where every morning you are awakened by the cry over the loudspeakers of six or seven Bilals calling the faith to fulfil their needs. Every Friday evening, there is a Pasar Malam or night market selling everything from used LeVis to Keropok Lekor, a fish sausage common to the east coast. But if peace and quiet and privacy is what you are looking for and safe not to forget safety, Awi's is the place for you if you don't mind shitting through the hole in the floor and watching your waste dropping all the way into the river, than this place is as unique as it gets. Everytime I took a crap I am reminded of my childhood days in Sungai Pinang Kampunf Selut where every houses in the village had similar toilets. Your waste was removed every time it gets high tide and the water lifts the waste and circulate it all around the village, and when it gets low, it carried away the waste to the sea. It was unfortunate that some would be left behind on steps and such places.