‘Life takes you unexpected places, love brings you home.’- Unknown
John Denver’s song “Take Me Home, Country Road” was playing in my mind as my family members and I left Kuching City for Kanowit, a town in the Kanowit District of Sibu Division, in two cars recently.
There are various ways to travel from Kuching to Kanowit. My adventurous niece, Chai Hong, had suggested we travel on the Pan Borneo Highway.
We left Kuching at 5 am on a Monday. I had barely two hours of sleep because I woke up early to fry some noodles and rice, just in case someone was terribly hungry during the journey.
I discovered later that I had sacrificed my beauty sleep in vain. No one had told me that we would be stopping at Lachau, a small town on the main highway to Sri Aman and Sibu, for breakfast.
I had iced coffee and since the coffeeshop served only kolo mee and instant Maggi mee, I opted for kolo mee.
Since the driving distance is 423 km, It takes approximately 5 hours and 51 minutes’ drive from Kuching to Kanowit. But we took slightly over six hours to reach our destination because we stopped at Lachau for breakfast and a toilet break.
Lachau is an interesting town, frequented mostly by the Ibans. My younger sister, Ah Lan, was delighted to find smoked prawns and fish, which could be used in vegetable soups, for sale there.
She doesn’t find these things in Johor Bahru where she lives.
I also saw an Iban man carrying a big plastic bag full of big frogs he had bought from someone for over RM100. He told me he was going to cook them in bamboo tubes.
All too soon, it was time for us to depart Lachau. Our next stop was a petrol station at Jakar in Sarikei Division. The car I was in was running out of petrol. It was driven by my 24-year-old niece, Ah Tung, while Uncle Ah Choy, a family friend, drove the other car.
It was indeed a delight to travel on the Pan Borneo Highway. The road was smooth and the journey was relaxing.
We arrived in Kanowit town just before noon and began to look for a hotel where we could stay for a night.
Since there were nine of us including a nine-month old baby girl, we rented two rooms which had two beds each. Surprisingly, there was ample room for everyone to sleep. The rooms were fully air-conditioned.
Our main purpose of visiting Kanowit was to check on my aunt Rita, my mother’s younger sister. She had lost her grandson not so long ago; he died suddenly after he fell into a coma. And Aunt Rita is our only aunt left.
Kanowit is also special to my family because it was where my parents met, where my grandparents and aunts lived and where my siblings and I spent used to spend year-end school holidays when we were young.
After checking into the hotel, we proceeded to visit Aunt Rita who lived about 4.8 kms away from Kanowit town.
“Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong” says John Denver in his song.
But alas, I didn’t feel I belonged to Kanowit town or the village where my aunt lived anymore.
So much water has flowed under the bridge and many things have changed. There are new buildings and structures and many of the old folk have gone too.
My aunt’s house used to be the only one that stood by the roadside. Now, it is surrounded by many houses and inhabited by people my sister and I do not know.
Over the years, Aunt Rita and her younger sister, who died a few years ago, had sold their land bit by bit probably because they needed money.
Now, Aunt Rita’s house is surrounded and by the grander- looking houses of the new land owners.
My older sister, Ah Moi, has a house there but it is rundown and without electricity and water supplies because she had not been to Kanowit for years.
Ah Tung and Uncle Ah Choy drove their cars straight to the steps of Aunt Rita’s house. I was the first to climb the stairs to her house. As I did so, I kept calling out her name.
There was no reply until I almost reached the verandah in front. There, she was clad in a sarong with a towel on her shoulder. She had just taken a bath.
It has been years since I last saw Aunt Rita. I was shocked by her close resemblance to my late mother. She could not recognise me until I told her who I was. Then she ran to me, hugged me and cried.
She also hugged Ah Lan and Chai Hong, crying as she did so. Ah Lan used to spend her holidays with my grandparents in Kanowit while Chai Hong went where my mother went ever since she was a baby.
When I shared the photos of our reunion with Aunt Rita later on, one of my close friends remarked, “It is very painful to see such reunions.”
I was surprised Nasir, Aunt Rita’s 53-year-old son who is paralysed, looking very well during the visit.
I have not seen him ever since he became paralysed years ago. Before he became paralysed, he used to drink every day.
I was glad he could talk and could sit up. But he had to crawl to the bathroom.
We did not stay long with Aunt Rita or Nasir. After we gave her and Nasir some cash and food items, we left.
I was glad to learn that Aunt Rita’s neighbours shared their food with her and Nasir. They also watched over them.
Since she lost her grandson, Harry, who was Nasir’s son, a few months ago, Aunt Rita said she had been crying every day.
“He used to bring me to Sibu town after payday every month. Now, he’s no more,” she said.
Like my aunt’s place, Kanowit has changed a lot too. Besides hotels, there are new supermarkets and coffeeshops.
Before departing for Sibu town the next morning, my co-travellers and I had breakfast at a coffeeshop in Kanowit. Ah Lan and I shared a big bowl of beef noodle which cost only RM10. I also drank iced coffee.
I insisted on a group photo in front of the big “We love Kanowit’ sign in the town centre before bidding the town goodbye.
Until we meet again, Adieus Kanowit.
