Gopeng trip

Fatin and I left almost noon juga that Friday (after collecting my dendeng at the uni). We arrived in Gopeng just before Friday prayer.Haji Harith said kedai makan next to the mosque sedap so we ate there.Memang sedap - like my late mom's cooking.But we discovered later he meant Restoran Simpang Ompeik ke hapa but too late..it was close the day we left on Monday.

Dimal Chalet at Dataran Sungai Kampar was not exactly kampong but Haji Hadi is a creative man. He dismantled a few rumah and surau kampong from somewhere ranging from 50 to 100 years old.Dah la Fatin and I tidur ketakutan malam tu cos' the chalets were deserted.Haji Hadi rumah dia kat depan but sekeliling kami (chalets yang boleh muat 150 people) kosong. Surau yang berusia 100 tahun tu my WA group friends kata eerie. Ruzy mula buka cerita hantu kawan dia nampak rambut kerinting di tepi katil when she slept alone in a hotel.Pagi besoknya the hantu was still there. I pun sekilas pandang bawah surau tu macam lelaki tua.But then again..mungkin kain buruk tersidai atas motosikal.Promised my WA friends to check pagi besoknya. Mereka pulak ketakutan. Haha.

I loved the place.Sungai depan laman. Jernih dan sejuk dari Cameron Highlands. Sabtu tu while waiting for Haji Harith balik from his reunion Bola Msia, we got a local boy aged 15 nama Rostam.Dia cakap ada tempat lagi cantik boleh mandi.I asked kereta boleh lalu.He said can. Apa lagi..hampir berkecai kereta Honda City I masuk lobang dan lumpur. Hissh budak 15 tahun ni.But he said semalam elok jalan ni. Hujan mmg lebat pun malam we all sampai tu.

But we found his secret place.Titian Jepun namanya. Ada bekas Japanese Bridge built during WW2. Sejuk gila airnya but I pun macam duyung berendam.Nak berenang ..rapids dia boleh tahan.Sat tu my 2nd sister called kata dah sampai. I minta Rostam bawak I on his motorbike pi kasi kunci chalet to my sister.Phuiii..kerja gila ni.But rasa 15 years old le.Haha.

Petang tu Haji Harith arrived with Haji Dahlan and En Sabry. Nice people.They told us sejarah Rao Perak esp in Gopeng and showed us a video clip of budaya Rao..cara buat kelamai and Haji Dahlan showed us upacara menjojak tanah for all newborns (we all di Pahang dah tak buat sebab budaya tu dah luntur.We have lost the tongue as well except now I know my grandma's pronounciation of air as ai-yer..tu betul perkataan Rawa for air.Here everyone says ayer for air.Wough..I used to feel embarassed when my Wan dok minta AYER kuat2 depan orang.Rupanya it was her Rao tongue)

Malam tu the family (all 36 of them except mine tak datang sebab Z was busy with her Asia Pac conference, dad was recuperating from Redang trip) arrived and we had dinner and barbecue together. Makanan melambak2 cos I dah cakap tak payah cater mlm tu but they wanted juga sbb takut tak cukup when we pot luck gitu.Pakcik Sabry came and we invited him and Haji Hadi to join us. Then we all hantar dia balik ke Kg Sg Itek (Iskandar bawak motor dia and Pakcik Sabry naik with Ummi and Sob). Memang jauh dan gelap betul his place.Lucky we sent him (sampai 3 kereta convoy sebab takda benda nak buat and I was curious to see the famous Kg Sungai Itek, community Rawa ramai di kampong ini.Second developed after Kg Rawa yang asalnya bandar Gopeng tu sebenarnya.Org Rawa yang buka bandar Gopeng but lost to a bet antara towkay and pembesar waktu itu)

Sunday tu everyone pi mandi kat air terjun (tempat lain). We all naik lori ramai2 except Long and Kak De..naik kereta. Air sejuk gila juga. Balik tu semua balik except Kak Ngah and Sal cos' they wanted to see how kelamai dibuat. Haji Harith showed us around, senibina rumah and surau Rao, lombong bijih tempat mereka bekerja, makanan orang Rao...mlm tu tinggal Fatin and I aje but sebelah chalet tu ada orang.tak le takut sangat.

Monday morn..Normah came to tell me her Rao stories (some I would adapt in my novel) and she took me to meet Pak Sudin kat Kg Gunung Mesah Hilir - antara orang tertua di kg tu. Masa nak balik tu he mentioned Lunggah. That caught my attention. Tu nama bapa to my moyang Topin Aishah. Asked Normah to dig deeper for me.If he's the same person then Normah and I bersaudara! Lunggah was her tok saudara by marriage (her grandma's ipar). Wough..patut le hati I bagai dijentik2 nak datang ke Gopeng walhal my area of research tu Rawa Pahang je. You see? Ruyung memang nak pecah! It's like a calling.

Then Misbar texted me tunjuk gambar kawan dia Rawa Pahang. I tak kenal but the nama bapa sounded familiar.Misbar asked if he could give my tel to his friend Mat. Line tak clear so when back in KL, I returned Mat's call. Tanya punya tanya..I asked him if his mother was so and so.He said yes.Ohhh, I said. She was my mom's best friend.He asked who's your mom.I told him. He said ohhh..bukan best friend..more than that. They were cousins. I tergelak besar. I hope he didn't hear it. My mom would always singgah rumah mak dia whenever we all balik kg (his parents balik kg after they retired). I never knew.Yang I tau my mom cakap dia, Mak andak and makcik Bidah ni memang grew up together and rapat.They were all cousins. I rasa sungguh menyesal tidak ambik tau.I was 15-16 masa tu.Younger than that mmg tak angkat pot pun.I see this happening to the younger ones in the family.Masa Haji Harith bagi penerangan..semua berkeliaran ..masak mee maggi le..main kejar2 le.Panggil depa kata ohh..we will not have this time again to bond with our cousins sbb jarang jumpa. Kesian pulak dengar.Memang sejak my mom meninggal jarang dah kita berkumpul mcm ni.

Anyway, I love Gopeng. It's a new world and yet felt familiar.

cousins at Sungai Kampar, Kg Jahang, Gopeng

damai

Surau yang berusia 100 tahun

gambar taken as I lay down on a rock, looking up

Sungai depan laman. I really like.

Rumah berusia 70 tahun

Normah and I

Senibina rumah Rao

Rumah Maindailing - sekutu kuat Rao

Naik lori ke waterfall

Hanya buluh aur utk buat kelamai (oper diperam 3 jam, dibakar 6 jam)

Surau Rao yang pertama di Gopeng

Pak Sudin - rupa macam my cousin Abang Akob