This Masjid is on the river bank of Sungai Sarawak . Across that Masjid ....and across that Sungai Sarawak was my mother's kampong , Kampong Tanjong . My grandparent's house was amongst those rows of coconut trees . Their house too was on the river bank .
The couple of times when I was there ...and that was many many years ago .......I would look out through my grandmother's window and would see this Masjid ; looking beautiful and hugh . The azan call for prayers could distinctly be heard too .
To get to Grandmother's house I had to use the sampan above or " penambang " . Those days I need to pay twenty cents a trip . There would be eight to ten other passengers in the sampan before we set off .The man ...normally an old man and who owned the sampan would row across the river ....with all his strength. Pretty tough as he was going against the current . I could still hear the splashing sound of the wooden oars as it hit the waters . The ride itself would take about ten to fifteen minutes .
He would dropped all of us at a small jetty once we reached the river bank . Everybody would have to queue to get out of the sampan . The sampan swayed on its sides and all passengers played their role to ensure the sampan did not not capsize . I struggled to get out too and honestly I felt strange standing in a sampan which is bobbing up and down in the water. Lucky for me grandmother's house was just next to this jetty .
Before I left , I put down the fare on the wooden plank of the sampan . Small change is required as it would be a hassle for the sampan man to give you back the change .
Grandmother's house is still there . Sad thing is I could no longer set foot as it was sold off a few years ago .
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