A day I spent in strange surroundings ppsx

A day I spent in strange surroundings

I have a cousin, Brian, who is a writer for a newspaper in
Kuala Lumpur. Last year when I visited him, he told me
that he had an assignment to write about life in a remote
village in the national forest reserve in Pahang. He
challenged me, a city boy, to accompany him and
experience a day in totally unfamiliar surroundings.

We drove to a small town where we boarded a boat for the
ride down the river. The boat was a long one with just a
few seats. Most of the passengers sat on the floor.

The journey was a thrilling adventure. The boat had to
pass through a number of rapids, and at a certain points
the boatman used a long pole to steer it. Brian and I were
obviously excited but the other passengers took it in a
casual, even bored way. To them, it was a usual
occurrence. “They have to take this journey every time
they need to go to town. Look at you, you have the MRT
and you complain if the journey is longer than 40
minutes!,” Brian teased me.

After three hours in the boat, we reached our destination.
After getting off at the pier, the first building that we saw
was the village shop. Actually, it was a small shop
crammed with canned and dry food. Brian chatted with the
owner and we found out that the shop was also the only
place in the village where people buy their stamps and
newspapers. However, the postal service and the
newspaper delivery came only once a week.

He then showed us the direction to the headman’s house.
The headman’s name was Tok Kassim. When we found
his house, he invited us in and told us stories about
himself and his village. Then he took us for a tour around
the village. Since bicycle was the only form of transport,
people walked from place to place.

The village was very peaceful and green. The river was
the focal place of the villagers. We saw people fishing in
the river and women washing their clothes there. But what
struck me most was the way the children enjoyed it. They
swam in it, and they rode in rafts which they put together
from bamboo poles.

Tok Kassim recounted the time when his father and the
other villagers rebelled against British rule. The river was
often the battlefront between the two opponents. He talked
about the river as though it was an old friend. He
explained how it had seen them through the worst of times
like the starvation they experienced during the Japanese
occupation of Malaya, and how the river has helped them
throughout their lives.

That night we had a wonderful dinner at Tok Kassim’s
house. Many of the villagers came and brought some
food. A neighbor even brought fresh money still attached
to pieces of honeycomb. It was one of the most natural
food I have ever tasted.

The next morning, we left on the boat. During the journey,
I thought about how strange the life of this village and the
surroundings seemed to me and my friends in Singapore.
Despite the simplicity of their lives, they are strong people
who could weather bad times.

But most of all, while we talk about “green” living, these
people are quietly practicing it.