A Home in Ipoh, Malaysia

Saturday July 25, 2009 11:50 AM

There’s something so pleasant to be in the comfortable and fan-cooled home of your uncle and aunt—after a good morning of some good kuew teow (noodle dish) with sweetened ice coffee, some market shopping, and getting the chance to pay respects to the resting place of your maternal grandparents.

There’s no rush. It’s a welcome respite from the busyness of the day-to-day traveling from here to there. I can see a bit more why there’s that appeal of having that home base or place to just stay still—you experience people and place differently that way.

Auntie in kitchen

There’s the sound of oil popping in the kitchen in the next room as my aunt cooks up the crab we bought this morning. The light is soft through the open, yellow front door, close to which sits my uncle who sits back with his legs crossed comfortably reading the shou biao (newspaper). As for me? Taking a nice rest after gently refusing the food-offering generosity of my family (especially in the way they keep plying the ‘king of fruits’ on me—durian fruit, in case you’re wondering. It’s the famous tropical fruit of Malaysia and Thailand in particular, with a spiky exterior, strong pungent smell (some say it smells a bit of sweetly decaying flesh), and the creamy, rich taste. I do like it, but only in small portions.

The travel day from Penang to mainland Malaysia, and then via bus to Ipoh (my mom’s hometown) was a long one, but uneventful. No problem with waiting for busses to arrive, or for a pick up from the Ipoh bus station, or otherwise eating and drinking as I went along. Arriving in Ipoh in late afternoon, it was particularly nice to see family and to have the comfort of a family home. My uncle is my mom’s older brother by a few years, and wonderfully kind and gentle—I continue to drop suggestions that he and my aunt come over to visit us in the States sometime soon, to which he just laughs and smiles. Let’s just say that in my visit to Ipoh so far, it’s a bit like coming home.

Uncle reading paper