Me and Mark go roadtripping Part 3

What is it about a simple burger, done simply, that is just so delicious. I bet it’s that darned Planta margarine they use. I shudder to think of the effect it has on my arteries but, hey, I only enjoy them a couple of times a year if that, so I’m not worried.

I have no idea how the name came about as the owner’s surname is Han. The current proprietor started the business sometime in the 60s I think, hawking burgers and hotdogs at the nearby Taman Jaya - all from the back of his bicycle. This Han took over at some point as they went from a bicycle to a motorcycle and then to a van. They stopped the mobile business, parking the van outside their house in Section 14 and only moving the van a hundred metres or so every now and then in order to satisfy the town council officers on their rounds. Malaysia Boleh!

The Hans remember me as the guy who’s always taking pictures and who sometimes takes out two foldable chairs from the boot of his Singapore-registered car, plants them down under the tree (now sadly pruned) and makes himself comfortable while enjoying a burger or two.

James, Mark and I finally got our fill, sans folding chairs. Just thinking and writing about Jackson burgers now is getting me hungry for them again…

We also managed to take the dogs for a walk around the neighbourhood and to take a walk down to Raju’s for breakfast one morning. This is a PJ institution of course and all La Sallians have a tale or two to tell about the place. Whether it was hanging out there smoking surreptitiously, or pontenging (playing truant) mere metres form the school, or having serious discussions with schoolmates, or just having a meal (they weren’t so expensive in those days), Raju’s history is tied inextricably with those of SMK La Salle PJ and the hordes of La Sallians who trooped through the school in the last 40 or 50 years.

To be honest I have no love for the shop - the way Raju and then his son/nephew/whoever treated their workers and their general arrogance in dealing with their retail neighbours and so on doesn’t sit well with me. However, I thought Mark would enjoy the experience and could probably put up with his old man going on with some of the tales about Raju’s.

I must admit that one thing Raju has going for it is the general ambience - after they cemented over the large drain and made the outdoor seating area, it is now a rather comfortable spot to enjoy some rotis and teh tarik. I reckon you get better food in Brickfields and some other PJ restaurants but with the exception of Kanna’s in Section 17 (near Section 19) the ambience can’t be beat. I also think Kanna’s has much better food, but you can’t walk there from the PJ house so Raju’s it was that morning.

The PJ part of the trip was very much to meet family so we didn’t do much exploring. We didn’t have much time and there was only a day or so in Melaka and we were determined to make the best use of that.

More in Part 4. Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures…

James and Mark on our morning walk to Raju's. Section 5 PJ is still, thankfully, reasonably lush.

Under the trees at Raju's. Tony Pua in the background - I had a quick chat with him

One of the 2 rows of shops known as Chantek Shops, named after the road they're on. Only Raju's and one Dobi remain from my childhood times. My friend used to live in this corner unit - Malaysia Dobi it was - but it's now some art gallery. Even the corner Indian provision shop is gone.

The old tree has been pruned so he's moved the van a few metres down.

Mmmmmm.....

Simple. Delicious.

Me and Mark go roadtripping Part 1

I had looked forward to taking Mark on a short trip around Malaysia before he went off to do his National Service. It didn’t quite happen that way as I was overseas at the time. Then early this July we finally managed to get away together for a few days. Not the full-blown trip I had wanted but it was close enough.

As is my wont, I chose a circuitous route through Johor that went around Kota Tinggi and we found ourselves in Kluang at lunch time. We stopped at the railway station and had a simple nasi lemak meal at the stall next tot he station. After lunch we wandered around the station itself and found the Kluang Rail Coffee outlet.

The staff were really friendly and invited me step behind if I wanted to take pictures - an offer I took them up on. Stuck in the hustle and bustle of Singapore, the slower pace of life and the natural warmth and friendliness of Malaysians is always such a welcome contrast and relief. Despite not patronising the outlet, the staff were never less than friendly.

 They sell their own brand of coffee too if you like.

Kluang isn’t such a small town of course though my contact with the town has been limited to my brother Francis living here some years ago when he worked at  Endau Rompin National Park, and my meetings with Kimberley Clark whose 26-acre factory nearby once contemplated buying my LED lights.

In many ways Kluang is the kind of Malaysian town I like - busy enough in the town centre but quieter in the adjoining residential areas. And of course, just a few minutes’ drive and you’re in rural Malaysia.

If we walked along the tracks to the left, we'd eventually reach Singapore. And to the right would be KL, assuming we took the right track at Gemas which is the main junction for the west-coast and east-coast tracks. 

The old ticket office sign - The sign remains although there is now an air-conditioned area just around the corner.

Mark on the Kluang platform.

From Kluang we got back on the highway (which I usually dislike, but the need to be speedy was becoming more pressing). The PJ house was as it has been these last few years, though the missing garden wall was puzzling… As were dislodged slate tiles form the driveway… Hmmm had there been some calamity in the months I had not visited? Turns out it was just repairs and refurbishments.
The garden fence, mounted on a low concrete base, had begun to lean so was being replaced with something sturdier. Meanwhile some of the slate tiles had, as slate is inclined to do, cracked or sloughed off layers and were also being replaced.

What hadn’t changed was the reception my old dog, Cookie, gave me. She is all of 9 now but still greets me like she used to when she was a pup - by trying to jump on me and lick me to death. Her tail whipped up a little whirlwind of dust and shed dog fur as she excitedly strained against her chain. To be honest I was as happy to see her as she to see me.

I adopted her from the SPCA in 2003 when living alone had begun to wear me down a little and they say the ones you adopt know you’ve saved them from a potentially nasty fate and have a strong bond with you. Whoever ‘they’ are, they know what they’re talking about. Even though she’s now lived longer with my sister, Rosemary, in PJ than she did with me in Singapore, Cookie still gets all excited when I drop by. In fact, Rosemary remarked that she doesn’t wag her tail when Cookie greets the PJ House residents, but she does for me when I visit.

Good dog… heh heh

Next: Eating our way through PJ...

The Star: Celebrate Malaysia! Part 2: The North

The second article appeared in The Star today (18 December 2007). Here is the unabridged version.
Back on the road again After a break of a few days in PJ, I returned by car to Pulau Carey to set off from Kampung Sg Judah, an Orang Asli kampung. After setting up the bike, I had a cup of Teh-O at a stall by a school. The Malay Lady who ran the stall was busy but we chatted as she worked, watched by her 3 kids.

Her modest stall served the usual menu of gerai fare but I noted with surprise an XBox connected to large speakers and a TV. 'The kids like to play on it in the evenings' she smiled. I made a mental note not to presume that kampungs are bereft of such modernities. When I eventually got up to pay she refused to accept money, saying it was a small thing - she'd obviously enjoyed our little chat.

The same thing happened when I was later caught in a heavy squall and had to shelter in another gerai. Despite enjoying yet another Teh-O and some exquisite thinly sliced Goreng Pisang, the owner refused to accept my money. What's with these Pulau Carey people? Their generosity and kindness was indeed heartwarming.

Not just a lot of hot air
I stayed a night in Kelang and another in the Nature Park in Kuala Selangor. Leaving very early that morning, I elected to avoid the mosquitoes and made the mistake of not checking the tyres. A heavy bike, insufficient air in the rear and a few kilometres from Sungai Besar, on the way to Sabak Bernam, the sidewall tore and the rear tyre blew. I had spare tubes and patches but no replacement tyre so pushed the bike to a motorcycle bengkel up the road where I met two very kind souls who made a tremendous impression on me.

Supriani is a simple man who has been through some tough times. A failed partnership in a motor workshop left him bankrupt. He worked for someone else while paying off his debts, and honing his skills, then eventually set up his little workshop beside his house. He kindly drove me around to find new tyres and I was touched by his patience and selflessness.

His brother in law, Hamzah, turned out to be one of the most profound people I've had the pleasure to meet. We spoke for hours - by the time the bike was fixed, it was too hot to ride so I hung around for awhile. Hamzah has an honest outlook on life. In his trade he has turned down work when he felt he didn't have the skills or experience to complete the job satisfactorily. He feels that if he is paid to do something, he should do it well.

He spoke evenly of how he feels the values in kampungs are slowly being supplanted by less honourable ones. 'When kampungs become pekans and pekans become bandars, the people change too'. I agreed totally with his idea that in kampungs, there is a sense of 'Us' which slowly mutates into a self-serving sense of 'Me' in larger towns.

We both lamented the gradual loss of that easy going togetherness which underpins kampung life. His stories filled me with hope - here, away from the 'me first' mentality of the towns and cities was a moral, principled way of life we would do well to revive.

Sabak Bernam was the last town in Selangor and I had the pleasure of meeting yet another principled character: Ridzwan who played club football for PKNS. He once played for a state team, stayed 3 months then left when he realised some of his teammates were not chosen just on merit. After retiring through injury, he now worked at his father's gerai where I met him.

And so I left Selangor, my home state, bedazzling in its modernity, yet almost rotting at the core through disrepair and poor maintenance. Still, I discovered there is much to admire in the people. Just perhaps not so much in the cities.

Teluk Intan is one of my favourite towns in Malaysia and my 3 days there were pleasurable ones. The Anson Hotel was cheap, clean and cheerful. And I met Amir who ran a bike shop. I was lucky to meet him on Friday when he normally shut the shop and he opened it specially for me after his Friday prayers. I got proper tyres fitted (the ones we found in Sg Besar being a temporary measure) and felt more confident about the tyres lasting the rest of the journey.

I like the easy pace of Teluk Intan. A town almost bypassed by progress with the construction of the highway, it has since found some resurgence in tourism. Not too much to spoil it though.

Malaysia's Tourism Ambassador
In Parit Buntar I met David Munusamy who wold get my vote as Tourism Ambassador if there were such a post. I'd come across David on the internet. Near retirement age, he now hosts cyclists and backpackers from all around the world. A kind, affable character, it would seem he knew anyone and everyone in the area. And what an area! We visited prawn farms, fishing villages, dried fish factories, toddy plantations, shipyards, even a herbal sauna set in a padi field! And through it all, the kind hospitality of a genial host. Oh did I mention his wife's food is delicious too?

Penang, Buttwerworth, Sungai Petani, Alor Setar all passed quickly. I'd spent a few days with my wife, Mei, in Penang (she'd flown up to join me as we attended a friend's wedding in Batu Feringghi) then continued relentlessly up north. I stopped at the Lembah Bujang Archeological Museum and marvelled at how an empire was here as much as 1500 years before. I survived the steep hills around Gunung Jerai and was constantly wowed by the beauty of morning light playing on verdant green padi fields.

And in the end...
Then, finally, Kangar. And a day trip out to Padang Besar. On the way, I stopped at a yet another gerai, this one opposite the Pusat Serenti Bukit Chabang, a drug rehab centre. The stall owner lamented the fact we have more of these than we do universities and that insightful remark once again reinforced my marvelling at the wisdom I was encountering.

A 14-hour bus ride home from Kangar allowed me time to ponder what I'd seen in the previous 5 weeks. I'd seen some stunning scenery of course. But more importantly, I'd met some stunning people too. Honest in their philosophies. Wise in their observations. Thought provoking in their insights.

And always, warm and kind. The heart of Malaysia still beats strongly and proudly. But it's not in the centre, it's in the edges, the periphery. In the kampungs and villages. And it had been my pleasure and honour to feel that pulse.

My mum who often greets my misadventures and transgressions with the exclamation 'You're mad!' was right not to question my mental state when I turned up in PJ. This ride wasn't mad. It was necessary. And the results were spectacular.

(Celebrate Malaysia! is not quite done. More is being planned to give fellow Malaysians a chance to feel that pulse for themselves. Log in to John's blog at www.john-budakkampung.blogspot.com to ride along.)