Sweet Encounter in Nibong Tebal

Nibong Tebal - at a fishing village

EARLY one morning, seven of us, ex-classmates, travelled to Nibong Tebal (NT) for a two-day holiday. NT is a town on the mainland side of Penang.  Our mission: to meet up with a friend we had not seen for the last 48 years.

            We were from the Class of 1965 and had known each other from Primary One to Form Five (11 years). After leaving school, we went our separate ways - to pursue a career and to settle down to a family life. Now in our senior years, we yearn to find other classmates whom we have lost touch with. For the past few years, a group of us has been getting together and even travelling together overseas. We often lament on missing three special classmates.

  We tried to trace them via friends, email and other social media. Over three years we were unsuccessful. Suddenly, within a month, we found all three. One was living in NT, another was in Canada but unfortunately, a third one had passed away. Hence, we were determined to meet up with the other two long-lost friends, starting with the one in NT. Taking five months to plan the trip - as some were from Holland and Australia, the seven of us finally were on our way - north to NT!

 What a joy it was to meet up with our long-lost friend. She looked the same and spoke in the same sweet eloquent voice. We updated each other on all that had happened in the last 48 years. Besides celebrating one member’s birthday, we viewed movies, laughed over old photos and childish entries in autograph books.

A birthday celebration

            For two delightful days, we never stopped talking or eating - why we will never know! But doing things together was bonding - it made our friendship stronger. In our old age, we really need this type of support - friends (and food) forever!

Besides catching up with each other, we got to know NT too. Our host had arranged for us a packaged trip by Amazing Nibong Tebal Company to watch fireflies. She also took us on a food adventure.

          Our packaged tour started with a cruise along the Krian River from NT to Sungei Udang. Jittery with anticipation, we donned yellow life jackets (like 16 year-old students instead of 66-year old mothers/grandmothers). The cruise was invigorating. I enjoyed the wind caressing my cheeks and the happy chatter all along the way.

Cruising along Krian River - snug and secure our safety suit

         "Now that I am of this age, I enjoy looking at young handsome men," one member shared. Thereafter each of us gave our favourites: David Beckham, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney and Brad Pitt. In the 1960s, we had idols too, like Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley, faithfully singing their songs and collecting their photos. The time passed quickly as we shared our light-hearted banter and nostalgic reminiscing.

   Enroute, we visited a fish farm. Walking along the planked platform was no easy task - we trod carefully with every step. Learning how fish was reared on such a large scale was enlightening. I peered at the big ponds but could not see anything. A worker threw some food in the water – all at once coloured fishes jumped up. I was amazed to see how big the fishes were! 

            Boarding the boat again, we next stopped at Sungei Udang. There, we had a sumptuous seafood dinner, some of which were stuffed bitter gourd, curry prawns, fried prawns and green vegetables. 

Stuffed bitter gourd

Spinach with cuttlefish and fungus (wan yee)

Curry prawns

Fried prawns

 Before heading back, we went to a home to watch a cottage industry of prawn crackers-making. Soon after, we cruised back to NT. 

        

 It was getting dark, the boat slowed down. In the quiet of the night, we saw what looked like Christmas trees on mangrove swamps. Lo and behold: a dazzling display of fireflies! The spectacle charmed everyone especially those who came back from overseas.

 This trip to NT was significant and memorable. NT is a quiet quaint town, with old houses and narrow streets. There was no traffic jam, none of the hustle and bustle activity that we find in big towns. It was like walking down memory lane - like walking along the empty streets in our younger days!  Shopping together was fun - a walk in the market found us buying unusual items: I bought unique needle-threaders and practical panties with zipped pockets. The Tambun biscuits we bought for our family were crispy and tasty too.

 We liked the food in NT. Our first day dinner was in Restaurant Cheng Hwa - we had sumptuous crab porridge, snails (Chinese escargot), cuttlefish, tantalizing tofu and fresh lettuce with chicken floss plus goji berries. Eating the snails was a novelty - we used a toothpick to bring out the snails and  then slurped it into the mouth.

Snails

Crab porridge

Tantalysing tofu

Cuttlefish

Lettuce with chicken floss and goji berries

      

Next morning, we had apam, adli, tosai and nasi lemak. The nasi lemak was spiced with curry chicken, which was different from those in our home town. 

           We managed to taste the famous seafood in Cheang Kee that we missed on the first day. The steam fish, fried prawns, scalded squid tentacles and salted mustard soup did not disappoint. The fitting finale to our meal was the dessert of ice kacang at one of the famous stalls .

Scaled squid tentacles

Fried prawns

Salted mustard soup

Steam pomfret

Ice kacang

Everything good must come to an end. Soon, it was time to leave our long-lost friend and NT. Promising to keep in touch; we look forward to the next get-together. Our quest to trace for long-lost friends continues…

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