The House That My Tok Ayah Built

My kids just can't wait to go back to Ayer Baloi this weekend. This is their new kampung. "New" in the sense that we had just begun to visit this place regularly. My Tok Hawa passed on in Mecca when I was 9 and Tok Ayah departed when I was 15. The only person left in Ayer Baloi was my dad's sister who, sadly, left us a few years ago. That explains why my kids never had the opportunity to really explore this kampung of mine. It's a different story altogether now since my dad embarked on his refurbishment project on this house of his last December!

My father had always had this place since he was twelve (yup the property was held on trust for him) and it served as my paternal grandfather's family home while my grandad was alive. It's an acre estate with a three-bedroom-house (built in the 60s) built on it! The rest of the area is a fruit orchard planted with durian, mangoesteen, duku, bachang trees and the like! My late grandad was in the police force whose work brought him to different parts of the country mostly the northern states. This house was built after he retired from the force where he launched his business as a contractor. More on this later.....

Well, this is the place where we will temporarily make our abode this weekend...The boys are excited over this trip to meet their new-found friend, being the kids next door! One thing for sure, they will be outdoor all the time!

The House, prior to refurbishment


The kitchen in a sorry state

This is the part of the house which I love

The multipurpose semi-permanent building

(It had been used as a wet kitchen, bedroom to my uncles, store room,

you name it room!)