Heritage House?

The Pahang Road house in Penang had formally changed ownership as of last month. It felt kind of weird not be able to visit the house this Raya. It seemed to be our usual congregation point.

One of my cousins alerted me that the house was being renovated and would be changed into some sort of heritage house. I had to go and check it out if that was for real. And it was.

The old verandahStill, I was not really sure about what the new owner had in mind. But they seemed to be putting a lot of effort and money into the project. And the signs on the wall - quite literally on the wall - was pretty interesting. The sign said "Rumah Kampung Mohamed Hj Md Ariff", which was my late Grandfather.

Should be interesting to find out what would come out of this ....

So Long Pahang Road

Ever since the passing of my Grandmother, there had been discussion about what to do with the plot of land she lived in at Jalan Pahang, Penang. It say right smack in town, next to an intersection. The lots next door had been converted into either apartments or shop lots. It was worth quite a bit.

She had 12 children, and the name on the title wasn't just her alone, but it had three other of my Grandfather's sibling on it. We knew that it was going to get messy.

I had decided from the very beginning to have nothing to do with it. My Dad and his cousins needed to sit down and thrashed things out. They had a good offer and the whole group decided to take it. And then came the nitty gritty of how to decide the proceeds.

There had been some disagreements but it was ironed out amicably. My Dad eldest brother was the most vocal and took the task of clearing up any disputes. The other siblings stood by him and a deal had been struck.

My Aunt who still lived there with her children had to move and the deadline was the middle of next month - June.

This afternoon, another Aunt of mine organised a kenduri as we were planning to move out from the lot, and well as for her plans trip to Mecca next week. That was the reason behind the day trip back to Penang today. And it was all worth it.

A lot of people turned up. All the siblings and cousins were there - mainly from the generation above me. I came along with my sister, Mum and Dad. Anita couldn't make it unfortunately.

I didn't grow up there - I went to school in Kepala Batas instead. Dad and his siblings moved there in the late 60s when my Granduncle brought the piece of land for his brother - my Grandfather - and his 12 children. My Granduncle was a famous Doctor back then, and he appreciated the sacrifices my Grandfather made while they were growing up. He looked after all my Dad's siblings and was close to me when I was young as well - he was a Paediatrician.

He retained the title to the land so that we didn't have to pay the taxes. I remembered that he even installed a phone line to the house when phone lines were not common yet.

My Dad younger siblings felt the loss more as they grew up there. My parents had their wedding there. Most of them had since moved on leaving only my Aunt who stayed with my late grandmother.

The crowd was too big for me to snap many photos. I still got some old ones somewhere on my hard drive. That would be a treasure. I realised today that that would be the last time I would see the old house as it was. It was kind of sad. Once I thought about purchasing the land to leave it as it was, but I knew it was going to be an idea that would not end well ....

So long Pahang Road ....

The Second Crossing

Shame as it was raining heavily when we arrives at the intersection onto the new bridge connecting the mainland to Penang. Dubbed the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Bridge, it stood nearly 25 km long, easily surpassing the first Penang Bridge some 20 minutes away along the PLUS highway.

Heavy rain, but luckily no strong crosswind to bother the driving, it was actually a pleasant drive. Although it spanned only a couple of lanes each way, it had a separate cycle lane, ample room for the hard shoulder and a much wider lane. The driving experience was completely different from the original bridge. You hardly felt that you were suspended over water at all.

Toll was marginally more expensive than the original bridge at RM8.50, but I wouldn't complain about that. It took us about 25 minutes to get from end to end, and since we landed further south on the island, there would be an extra journey time to Georgetown. As the road feeding into the bridge were not yet complete, expect heavy jam. Luckily it was Sunday afternoon, and the roads were practically empty.

Just before you reach the island, there was a rise on the bridge for water vessels to pass underneath. Here, two pairs of guilded towers were built with cables suspending the bridge, paying homage to the original bridge.

The new bridge cut my journey time and would definitely cut the congestion on the main bridge considerably but I felt that the bridge was rushed through its opening. It was a crime to open it while they were still building the feeding highways. But then again, this is Malaysia ....

On the Road Again

I had to travel to Penang as today would be the last kenduri at my late Grandmother - Dadi's - house in Penang. The lot would be sold later this year and would be developed. This would be a goodbye kenduri for us lot and I just had to be there.

I decided against taking a flight. Traveling by road allowed me to take my parents along. And when I arrived at Bukit Antarabangsa to pick them up this morning, my sister was there and I offered her to come along. It looks like it would be a full house. Luckily I brought the van, and a driver! No need for driving again.

But, I had to stop at Subang first for my Sunday Morning round. That should give some time for my Dad to catch some breakfast.

After the event

Finally, the funeral was done. More doa to follow this evening for sure, but now, the clan was congregating at the house at Pahang Road. Another chapter closed.

As for me, we were discussing on when to leave. My brother-in-law, Salleh, could only take today off. He had to leave today. I might as well follow suit.

The initial plan was to take today and tomorrow off, but with me coming back to KL today, I had decided to reopen the clinic tomorrow. I also had a few procedure to do, postponed from today.

Next stop after Pahang Road would be my Aunt's place in Sungai Petani for a quick shower and early dinner. We probably leave after Maghrib.