Up the hill...

Been almost a year since our last hike up the 8888 hills of Pokok Sena... but since we did not have anything in particular planned out last Saturday, we decided to pay our favourite hiking haunt a visit... Anyway, we thought it would be good for our lil one. Many kids find themselves in unfamiliar territories when it comes to such activities these days... in part because time for physical games and activities has been sucked up by the all-important and pervasive tuition.

I try to think back of my childhood and the things I remember are all those related to play and games. I used to follow my dad for tuitions - he was a good teacher but the memories etched in my mind are that of the times he took us to places like Lumut and challenging us to a race (our little legs could never quite catch up back then), trips to Simpang Tiga to visit grandma followed by a stop at the konlo mee shop, evening badminton with him and his friends. And also, how Audrey, Jean, Victor, Ko-Lyn and I used to play hide-n-seek before tuition at Ko-Lyn's place.... hiding on the roof, drain.... those are the memories I carry with me.... not much of the tuition. Then the afternoon Chinese school where we'd play 'ah-chi-lok' swinging from the monkey bar and all the way up (and down) the two trees beside the monkey bars. Those things I remember.....

I wonder what memories our kids will remember of their childhood..... theirs is a hard pressed gen, life evolving around tuition. Perhaps like the rise of the hippie culture of the 60s after post World War II which required lots of discipline and hard work (with great obsession), the generation that followed went the opposite direction.... and 'hell' did break lose with all the dope and the misunderstood mix of Eastern and Western philosophies. Sometimes, I feel we parents have lost the balance some where.... but that's just my opinion.

It was just the 3 of us but we met familiar faces at the foot of the hill. Lil One sobbed half the hike up. She was apprehensive about the tiring trip up but in the end, I think she found it rather easy. All the squash and swimming have paid off, I would say... her fitness level is definitely way up. 8) She'd probably be faster than me in a couple more runs...

The hill at this time of the year is like summer and spring lumped together. It's so hot that the trees are actually getting to be quite bare of leaves and the footpaths, layered with dried leaves; which can be quite slippery. But while we were there, I noticed that the leaves were slightly wet. It had rained..... it's been so hot that lots of vegetation is drying up. Regular gym visits and swims have also made the trek up rather relaxing for me. 8)

The journey home was interesting because of the changing skyscape. The sky was a golden hue just as we passed Pokok Sena town. The sky is always more colourful at this time of the year.... evenings and mornings now made up of vivid colours.

Five minutes down the road, and the sun had turned red; the clouds making it look like as though it was playing a game of hide and seek. The sky was really fun to watch cos you'd see cracks appearing in the cloud and suddenly rays of sunlight would burst forth. Then as suddenly as they appear, these cracks would seal themselves up and you're left with the gray again.

We had dinner at the stalls and was followed by this. We dropped by to collect some CNY goodies (pies and my favourite 'SCS' butter cake) and Ah Ho was baking this.... muffins, with jam inside and cinnamon sugar toppings at Other Half's suggestion. He had gotten her the recipe for this from the net. Because it's vegetable oil that is used, they're not buttery like the usual butter cupcakes that we're so used to...

Tis a blessing to be her friend, definitely... 8) My stomach says so.... LOL! And while we were there, it rained cats and dogs, the first in many weeks! Showers of blessing!