Tempan In My Mind

When I was young, I knew my kampong is not really my kampong because my late grandmother did not live there. It was a kampong I only got to visit during school holidays, and attending weddings, where the people I knew were relatives - immediate and distant alike, minus my grandmother. My grandmother had lived in towns from the day I was born!  My mother left this kampong too when she got married and moved around a lot from one town to another. Those days we stayed in two of my aunts', a great-uncle's and a great-aunt's houses whenever we were back. We could put up a night at any of these houses. It was fun! Breakfast in one house, lunch and dinner in an another. With or without a grandmother, the good old days of 'balik kampong' still lingers in my memories.

The kampong is Kota Tampan Air or simply Tempan to all of us. Tempan has changed a lot in the name of progress. The new highway built across my kampong has somewhat wiped out the history of  the houses of my aunts and great-aunt that once stood there. Only a good part of land and houses belong to an uncle (mom's cousin) and a nanny were saved from being reclaimed. Visits to Tempan have been rare now. But, if we do go back it is only because we miss so many things Tempan has to offer...

the jetty at the lake fronting my great-aunt's house...

The river behind opah Nah's house...the much loved place

for us every time we get back

Pic: my cousin Dr Azlan with wife and daughter...

(ya ampun, Shu, Che Lan...kak Lili desperate takde gambo Sg Tempan!)

Hmm...teringat berkelah kat sini...with the 'nasi taruh atas' for everyone. Humble gulai lemak *kemahang with siput sedut, ikan tenggalan bakar, and dollops of sambal tempoyak over steaming hot rice...   For seconds, we had to run back to the house and refilled!

Lata Kekabu, situated upstream from Sg. Tempan

(Pic: courtesy of cousin Zam)
A brother lost his spectacles while diving here!

Tasik Raban, just before reaching Tempan...

a sight to behold!

And the road that leads to Tempan and another favourite place, Lenggong....

If you happened to be here, perhaps en route to Grik, why don't you pull over at this rustic kampong of mine. And while you there why not savour our signature dish for lunch...

 Gulai tempoyak ikan jelawat....yummy!
 

Attending a second cousin's wedding in Kuala Kangsar earlier today, has prompted me to write this entry as I saw many relatives who had lived in Tempan before. Most of them have made Kuala Lumpur their home now.



 *Note: kemahang is a kind of wild taro stem, adik beradik keladi...using only the white parts or sulur for cooking.