Ooooo balik kampung
If you ask me about how is my Eid celebration, let me tell you in one word: hectic.
I came back from Jeli on last Thursday, after school hours (pecut terus haaaa amik hang tak sabaq nak balik tau dak) and reached Penang around 5 p.m. There were a lot of cars on the road to Penang and a lot more on the roads in Penang. Cars, why are you so many on the roadsssssss?
It was on Saturday night that we started our journey balik kampung to my mother's hometown in Malacca. This time, my two brothers and me were the drivers for this trip. Thank God we were heading south as there were way too many cars that were heading to north. I heard that the traffic jam was terrible and as there were a few accidents along the way, the cars were barely moving. Oh well, festive season. What do you expect?
This Eid was indeed happening as almost all the families from my mother's side (her siblings and their family) were gathered in my grandmother's place. It has been quite a while since we, the cousins which were almost 26 of us gathered and had a catch up session. It was wonderful to share stories and tease each other as we peeled onions, cut the vegetables, fried the chicken, cleaned the cookie jars and washed plates and more plates. Even though it was freaking tiring as the work process seemed to be never ending, it was indeed fun to be with cousins that used to be part of my childhood. We even illegally went out on a night to play fireworks and the illegal things that I shall not name ahhahaha.
On the first day of Eid, we went to relatives' houses and the mothers and fathers would talk to the relatives about the old memories for hours while the sons and daughters sat there eating and munching like nobody's business. And, as I have already started working, I was not qualified for duit raya anymore. I was the one who had to give duit raya. Noooooooooo. Ahhahaha.
On the second day of Eid, my family decided to go visit my father's siblings in Johor. It was a last minute decision and my brothers were quite reluctant due to the fact that it was not that near to go to and fro to Johor. However, despite the amount of cars on the highway, we still went to Johor. This time, my brother and I were the drivers for the day. I was extremely grateful for God gave me the ability to drive for a long distance. If not, I don't know what will happen.
In Johor, we went to my uncle's house and ate laksa Johor. I used to dislike laksa Johor but as time passed by, I find laksa Johor quite delicious on its own. I ate two plates of laksa Johor fuhhhh alhamdulillah. After that, instead of going to my aunt's house near Skudai, we went to an old folks' home near Johor Bahru. I hate to tell you this but one of my aunts was there. She was unwell and since her children didn't want to take care of her, she was placed there. It was heartbreaking to see her there, however it was even more heartbreaking to see that she was unable to recognise my father. My heart ached to see all the old people there; having no one to visit them. They seemed so happy to see us and even came to greet us. Words could not describe what I felt at that moment. Please dear sons and daughters, no matter what, don't you ever leave your parents at any old folks' home. Your parents deserve a better place than there.
After spending almost an hour there, we had to go back as the visiting time was over for quite some time. We then decided to drop by at another uncle's house near Yong Peng. The traffic was extremely terrible. We reached his house at around 10.30 p.m and guess what time did we leave? 1.40 a.m! Urgh, I was sooooo sleepy but since I had to drive, gosh, God knows how I tried my best to stay alert on the road. Alhamdulillah, we finally reached Malacca at around 3.30 a.m. Fuhhh, what a long day.
We spent another day in Malacca and went back to Penang on Wednesday night. We reached Penang on Thursday morning and my two brothers and I went out to buy things for the house later on the afternoon. On Friday, we went and visited our nanny's house in Permatang Pauh and my aunt's house in Tasek Gelugor. Fuhhh, non-stop driving and eating.
On Saturday morning, I went back to Jeli to serve the nation. Ahhaha ayat tak tahan. And well, now here I am, writing this. I hope tomorrow will treat me good.
: 2nd August 2014.
: 9.20 p.m.
: Jeli, Kelantan.
: Driving is fun, as long as there is no traffic jam.
