And thus, Chinese New Year for 2008 comes to a close.. This year’s CNY was a lot more subdued than all the previous ones, and will also mark the FINAL time my family will be celebrating CNY over at my grandparents house at Air Jernih, Terengganu. You probably already know the reason..

Air Jernih is a quaint little village (which has been developing rapidly over the last few years) located near the coast, and on the southern tip of Terengganu. It is about 20 minutes drive west of the coastal town of Kemasik, about 150km south of Kuala Terengganu, and about 30km north of Kuantan. It’s quite nearby the famous Cherating and Awana Kijal beach resorts of Terengganu.

Satellite view from Google Earth of the Kemasik Coast

Closeup view of the village..

Many of its inhabitants (both my grandparents included) made a living tending to various plantations located in the area. In past years, rubber was the main source of income, but that has given way to mostly palm trees recently due to reduction of global rubber demand, and the escalating market value of palm oil.

Air Jernih is also predominantly a Hainanese settlement, with most of the villagers being of Hainanese descent (yes I’m Hainanese). My dad grew up there, and although I’m a KL boy, I’ve visited it without fail EVERY single year since I was born. It carries a lot of my childhood memories, and is a place I hold dear to my heart.

Grandma showing me how to tap rubber when I was little..

Taking a stroll with my dad through the plantation recently.. Besides rubber, it also used to grow watermelons and pineapples. Right now, it has young palm trees and chillies.

Closeup of fresh huge unripe chillies..

Not forgetting our lonely durian tree..

Being a city boy, I have to admit that it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable of places to be in. It’s a very rustic, simple way of life that I’m sure most of the readers here will find a little shocking if they had to go through it for one day. When I was very much younger (20+ years ago), modern plumbing (chlorinated water and toilet system) didn’t exist. I have very vague horrifying memories of having to ‘do my business’ in these large clay pots that collected everyone’s ‘waste’. Of course, someone would come to collect these stinking vats regularly for proper disposal.

We drew all our fresh water from a well. And even now, we bathed in the very same small 6ft by 6ft untiled concrete enclosure as we did so many years ago. Until recently, phones were a little rare and unnecessary, there was almost no mobile network coverage, and the Internet was practically unheard of (and still is).

Me and Ziet posing next to the well when I was 7 years old. I remember that it was really scary for me to stare down into it, and see the deep, dark and bottomless surface of water – and the narrow circle of light + my reflection staring back at me…

The well now. Had to be closed up as the groundwater became contaminated due to industrialization and development in the area..

We also used to do a lot of our cooking over charcoal and wood fire.

However, with all it’s awkwardness, it was also a VERY pleasant peaceful place to stay. A stream used to run behind the village where I have memories of fishing, stepping in shit , losing a slipper to the water current (and having to ‘hop’ all the way back home), washing my dad’s car with the water, and lots of playing. I remember catching dragonflies and tying their their tail end to a thread, and then letting them try to fly free like a kite (cruel I know ). I used to have adventures running around in the village’s back alleys with my bro and a friend.

My grandma’s little organic vegetable patch in the backyard – pesticide free.

Going out the back door takes you to a peaceful view of coconut trees swaying in the wind..

We’d play fireworks every single year (even getting a very painful burn once). Every single house would light loud firecrackers in succession at the stroke of midnight. We’d visit the beaches regularly. Sleep together all as a family in a cramped room (and endure my dad’s snoring). Eat my grandma’s Hainanese chicken rice (and delectable wild boar meat) for lunch and dinner everyday. Lots of mahjong and gambling and Chinese New Year songs. Extremely hot afternoons which led to everyone taking long naps in the living room, and extremely cold nights (you don’t need an aircon at all).

Playing with firecrackers before they were banned nationwide..

A recent photo of me playing mahjong with my brothers to pass time..

CNY celebration in 2005 – That’s a view of our congested living room from the outside

Everyone watched everyone grow up/old together there. Faces and relatives came and went. It was almost like I had another life. There are simply so many little details to remember…. and I’m going to miss every single bit of it.