Images of my childhood

Inspired by mom’s recent blog entry on Traditional Pastimes, images of my childhood flashed across my mind…

Eating hot pisang goreng after swimming at KGC
Exploring the abandoned construction site near our house (we called it “the mountain”)
Barbeques in our house backyard with dad as the head chef
Helping mom to ice cakes and decorating it with ‘smarties’
Bathing Snowball (almost) every Sunday afternoon
Walking down Gaya Street after church on Sundays
Cycling home from the playground at twilight with Snowball running ahead of us
Climbing down into the “longkangs” to catch tiny fishes
Making sandcastles at Tanjung Aru beach and poking a dead jellyfish on the shore
Chasing hermit crabs and trying to cover up the crab’s hole with sand (we were so cruel!)
Counting and jumping over waves in the sea at Tanjung Aru
Picnics at Kundasang and driving up the steep hill to Perkasa Hotel to see the view
Building our own fire at the fire place at the chalet in National Park
Snorkelling at Pulau Manukan… even then I remember how clear the water is (many Singaporeans, especially those have not travelled much, cannot imagine being able look into the sea from a jetty and see the mass of colour on the sea bed with all the colourful coral and fishes underneath… believe me, it is THAT clear!)


To experience all this, there must be some pain as well…

Being stung by a jellyfish in the sea
Being stung by bee from a bush at National Park
Getting splintered by spikes from a sea urchin
Falling of a bike and dislocating an elbow
Being nearly hit by a lorry (close call, Sam)
And plenty of scratches and bruises and scraped knees along the way


But for the fun and beauty and wonder of it all… it was worth it…

We’re still alive after all.