Small town…

Last Friday, Melissa had something on and could not come home till late by which time, everyone else would have gone and she would not be able to hitch a ride with one of her colleagues going her way. Thus, I had to drive all the way there to get her…and while waiting for the time, I managed to spend some time loitering around that small town…

I would not say that it is exactly very small – there are quite a number of blocks of shophouses actually and this is the one facing the market but I find it  amazing how the town is only about 1½ hours from Sibu and yet, it is so very different. This is basically Dayak territory, Iban specifically, if I’m not mistaken…so when you walk around the town, you will see and hear a lot of Ibans speaking their own language unlike Sibu which is quintessentially Chinese.

It was around 3-4 in the afternoon and the market was still bustling with activity…

It seems that one can get wild boar meat anytime here…and that day, I saw a stall selling ikan keli (cat fish) – huge ones, as big as my arm at RM10 a kilo. I did not get any, though I was quite tempted to do so, as at that size, the fish may be lo ko (tough and hard) and will not be very nice.

I took a stroll to the river that flows by the town…

…and saw some people in a longboat, probably making their way back to their longhouse deep in the jungle upriver.

I shared this photograph on Facebook…

…and instantly, there were people commenting as to how muddy and murky the river is. Of course, they have failed to see the beautiful greenery, the clear blue skies…and the serenity all around and the slow and easy life at places such as this. I mentioned that I would not be surprised that they would have to bathe and do their laundry in the river and for drinking and cooking, they would probably need to collect rain water as and when it falls. The irony is these people may be a lot happier and content with their lives compared to many of us living in the big towns and cities who moan and groan about literally anything and everything under the sun despite being blessed with all that we have around us. This brings to mind Catherine Lim’s “The Journey” from her “Little Ironies – Stories of Singapore“ collection. If I may quote  a review of the anecdote, “…Catherine Lim highlights the theme of appearance versus reality; that the modern comforts of luxury and better sanitary standards does not naturally bring about true happiness and prosperity…”

See this man fishing by the bank under the hot sun…

Who are we to say that he comes from a miserable lot and is leading a really miserable life? Who knows, he may be happier than anyone of us – you or me.

I remember when I was very very young and we did not have such good roads that we have today, my father took us on a drive to Sarikei…and I had a photograph taken at a bridge like this one…

That was so very long ago…and that was why when I was sending Melissa to her school the first time, I was amazed that there ARE such bridges still around…and still standing strong – unlike some of those built by our modern-day university-qualified engineers! I remember driving to a school across river in Kanowit and as we approached a bridge along the way, we saw that there was a detour…and we had to use an old, wooden bridge that had seen better days to cross the little stream – but as least, it was still strong and served its purpose…unlike the brand-new bridge which had split into two and collapsed, the broken ends (in the middle) in the water. Perhaps if you drive very fast, you may be able to go down one end and get across to the other end and go up the bank on the other side like how we see people doing such stunts in the movies. That certainly speaks volumes about the highly-qualified people that the universities are churning out today, don’t you think?

Well, here’s a closer look at the bridge…

…which probably will be standing tall for years and years to come, unappreciated and yet it goes on doing what it does best for the many that use it day in and day out, taking it for granted and never giving it a second thought as to how it could have been had the bridge not been there.

Happiness is how we make it and what we make it to be – we just need to appreciate every little thing that we have, count our many blessings and give thanks and praise to God above. “With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.” (DESIDERATA)