‘To reminisce with my old friends, a chance to share some memories, and play our songs again.
– Ricky Nelson, American musician.
I have just returned from a class reunion not in Sibu where my alma mater, St Elizabeth’s Convent School (now renamed SMK St Elizabeth), is located but in Penang and Hatyai and Songkla, Thailand.
Needless to say, it was a memorable and fun reunion not only because of the old friends we got to meet but also the delicious Penang and Thai food we ate, the lovely tourist spots we visited as well as the laughters and joys we enjoyed.
Twenty-one former classmates joined the 6 Day/5 Night Penang-Hatyai and Songkla Tour recently.
Over the years, many class reunions have been organised by my friends. So far, I have only joined a handful because of my work commitments.
This year’s reunion was, however, planned a year ago, giving me ample time to plan and save some money. I decided to join it because I wanted to meet my friend, Mary, a lawyer who now lives in Penang with her family, and to visit Hatyai and Songkla.
Since the tour was open to family members and friends, I invited my niece, Ah Hong and a friend, Kho, to join the trip as well. My former classmates also brought along their friends.
Some like Alice, Shirley and Josepha brought along their husbands; all the men were very sporting, understanding and tolerant and did not seem to mind our laughters and jokes at the reunion.
During the six-day trip, some of us discovered new things about each other. For instance, Linda, now a retired secondary school geography teacher, surprised us with the lovely romantic pictures she took especially of Shirley and husband, Robert. I learnt that she ‘directed’ the couples where and how to stand before taking their pictures.
Hiong Nyiik, another classmate who joined the tour, also admired Linda’s lovely pictures.
“Oh, Linda, a newly scouted photographer cum movie director! Such beautiful photos you took of our three lovely couples,” she wrote in the group chat.
The lovely shots prompted me to tease Shirley. I wrote “Ah Poh. I am so jealous of you. Pictures of you and Robert will win Linda Photographer of the Year and Best Couple Picture awards of the year.”
To Linda, I said,” Linda, Linda. I look at you with new eyes. No longer the stuffy serious scholar.”
Yes, that was how I perceived her when we were classmates in Form Five and Form Six.
Linda replied, “Lol … Memang (really), I am like this. Just that we have not met for ages! I like to make people laugh. Yes, I was once nicknamed professor. Now that I have mellowed, I like to joke. Hope I have not made any wrong remarks.”
“Don’t worry. I love the new you,” I told her. I also found out that Linda was a Indian movie enthusiast in her younger schooldays!
Most of my former classmates who joined the class reunion came from Sibu. They boarded AirAsia flights from Sibu to Penang and had to transit either in Kuala Lumpur or Johor Bahru.
Some of us used the direct Firefly flights from Kuching to Penang. Only Josepha and her husband flew all the way from Brisbane, Australia to join the reunion. She was another former classmate I have not met since Form 5.
A durian buffet in an orchard was one of the highlights of our tour in Penang. We also toured Georgetown, the capital of Penang, and joined the Penang Heritage Day activities by visiting Pinang Peranakan Mansion, the Clan Jetty, the City Town Hall, the Mural Street Art and Batu Feringhi Beach.
On our way to Hatyai on the third day of our tour, we visited St Anne, a Roman Catholic church, in Bukit Mertajam. This was because most of the former students of St Elizabeth were Catholics.
In Hatyai City, we visited Khiong Hae Floating Market, a Thailand Local Product shop, Kim Yong Market, the ASEAN Night Bazaar and the Wat Hat Yai Nai Temple with its 35m long reclining Buddha and a few other Buddhist temples.
Some of us also attended holy mass in Thai at a Catholic church and a few of us went for Thai massages there.
In Songkla City, we visited the 4 Face Buddha Hill, the Standing Buddha Statue and View Point as well as the beautiful Samila Beach which was home to a bronze sculpture and the city’s symbol.
On the fifth day of our tour, before heading back to Penang, we visited the Central Festival Mall, the largest shopping mall in Hatyai City.
At the end of the reunion/tour, our general consensus was that it had indeed been much fun.
I wrote on the group chat “A truly enjoyable trip for me personally. New places to see and so much catching up with friends. Most of us agreed at a breakfast gathering (on the last day of the tour) that we still looked like we were when we were in St Elizabeth plus and minus the wrinkles, long and short hair. A few of us including myself have mellowed a bit. We are not so fiery anymore and more caring and patient now compared to our younger selves. So when will we see each other again, my friends?”
Yew Chin, a former classmate and fellow traveller, wrote “Each trip has its farewell but it would just be a temporary goodbye till we meet again. Special thanks to Mary and Hie Ping and also to all those who helped to make this trip such a wonderful and memorable reunion. What a hilarious and enjoyable time we all have throughout these few days. Never imagine we can feel so young and can laugh so much till need to search for tissues to wipe off the tears.”
Florence wrote “It was a great gathering of meeting friends, rekindling (of ties), chatting, laughing, giggling, feeling as young as when we were in St E. Thank you, everyone, so very much.”
I think Doris said it best when she wrote “Too much to do and too little time but we still make it a roaring success. Thanks to all of us.”
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
