Serial No: IAH003
Title: Hillside Girl
It was a lifestyle very closely linked to the nature.
Chun Hean Chin 曾宪真, born 1954
Paya Terubong
My great-grandfather came from China. We are Hakka. Those days many Hakka people lived at the hillside at Paya Terubong, including our family. The Chinese call that area 垅尾. We lived in a rubber plantation and made a living from rubber tapping. The plantation belongs to someone else but we were allowed to build houses and stay there. I remember when I was a child, I followed my father to work every early morning. Along the trail, I would look for some wild fruits, those were my childhood snacks. My favourite was the wild mushroom. They were seasonal and very difficult to find, but extremely delicious!
Living at the hillside, we were actually quite self-sufficient. We raised chicken for eggs, and meat for important occasion. We also grew vegetables and fruits beside the house. There were wild durian trees too. We drank water from the mountain stream, the taste was so much better than the tap water we have today. Those days, I learned how to build bamboo water channels connecting stream water to the house. It was a lifestyle very closely linked to the nature.
We had to move to the nearby town when I was in Form 4 because my mother was ill. It became difficult for my injured father to bring mother to the hospital regularly. He had to carry her on his back and walk down the hill.
Although I don’t live at the hillside anymore but the early experiences have become a part of me. Today I enjoy hiking and look for wild plants along the way. Few days ago, I was so happy to bring back a “wild coconut” plant. Can’t wait for it to bear fruits which are actually small and red. It reminds me of the sweet memories as a hillside girl.
I Am Home 