My Bintulu Routine

Sending Babang to school and fetching him back at noon time is now a routine, not by choice, but imposed on me by the kid himself. He refused to come out of the school when Mini went to fetch him one day and only after much persuasion he came out. When he reached home he said to me, in a most confident manner:

Babang: Tok Bah please send and fetch Babang every day.
Tok Bah: What happens if Tok Bah cannot fetch Babang?
Babang: Noooo. Tok Bah must come and fetch Babang. Not Mummy or Daddy.
Tok Bah: What happens if Tok Bah is late?
Babang: Babang wait
Tok Bah: Ok. But what happens when Tok Bah go back to KL?
Babang: Then Mummy or daddy can come.

Very sure of himself. But this is one chore I gladly do, otherwise I will get bored in Bintulu.

After sending him to school in the mornings, Ram and I will go to the park for our morning exercises. On a working day, the park will be quite deserted and it is nice to have the jogging track to ourselves mostly. I like the morning smell of the park. The rustic smell of fallen leaves, wet tree bark and flowers. The sound of birds chirping and singing, the odd insects, and the rustling of leaves swaying in the morning breeze. The sound of waves lashing at the beach, trying to reformat the sand or misplace the odd logs or plastic bottles or some rubbish it carries along each time. The damp earth and grass opening up to the rays of the sun flitting through the trees, branches and leaves.

We will spend about an hour or so at the park in the mornings before heading home, or to the market or supermarket for the odd stuff required. The major marketing stuff are usually bought once a week by Shaffik. We only need to purchase the supplementary stuff now and then, and also to have an excuse to go downtown.

In the evenings we will again go to the park and more often than not the kids will follow us. In the evenings the park will be quite crowded and one can then spy all sorts of behaviours of people using the park. It is always very interesting to observe these people, the various characters, as I slowly jog along. All of them I see every day. Some very intent in their exercise routine, some very casual, and some unconcerned of the needs of others around them, as though the park is made just for them. There are also the picnickers, the family groups and others sitting around having fun. Then there are the young couples, some still in school uniforms, dotting the secluded parts and the heavily shaded parts of the park, oblivious to, no, blind to, the world around them. Observing all these people makes me forget the jogging efforts I have to make, and makes it less tiring too. It becomes a fun jog for me.

The park, as a recreational outlet for the Bintulu community, is a very useful place for the locals to practice healthy activities, as they say, for the mind, body and soul. Necking young couples aside, the place do infuse pleasant relaxation atmospheres for the people, encouraging healthy living. Sadly though, not enough of these sorts of facilities are provided for the people in this beloved country of ours. Every piece of vacant land available in housing estates, and complexes are usually taken up for commercial gains. Parks will be the last consideration. I have also seen a number of designated parks redeveloped into other commercially valued development. Young and not so young children have no parks to go to and we, adults lament at them hanging out in shopping complexes………

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Bintulu