We went back to Song Fa in Chinatown for more Bak Kut Teh. This time, we added a vegetable dish (Bak Choy) so that the pictures look less sinful! We got a few items to bring to my Aunt’s (my mother’s sister) house. This is the Aunt who dragged my butt back to Ipoh when I ran away to Johor Bahru (because I didn’t have a passport to run to Singapore, my intended destination). This is also the Aunt with whom I would have stayed had I been accepted into that Hotel Management Program.

It was a very nice visit. She, and her older son who just got back from vacationing in Hong Kong last night, kept offering us Chinese New Year treats and snacks that he brought back. We got to see their new home, listen to some stories and look at some old photographs. Too bad we didn’t get to meet her younger son, but it’s our fault for not doing more planning.

She came to Singapore to work when she was a teenager.

My Aunt is almost 80. She came to Singapore to work when she was a teenager. I’ve always heard stories of how she would bring home (to Ipoh) a sack of rice, or cooking oil, or whatever other groceries she could afford when she went home to visit. Her family was that poor, and things were just getting better after they opened the coffee stall. After she got married and was more financially stable, she chipped in even more to help raise my older cousins, among whom include four young siblings whose mother had passed away. When I first met her in Ipoh, maybe when I was four or five, I remember her bringing back new and gently-used towels, bedsheets and clothes for her siblings, nieces (myself included) and nephews.

Over the years, her nieces and nephews who came to Singapore to work or pursue other opportunities have been well-taken care of by her. It so happened that the niece that Kenric and I miraculously ran into at the food court the other day had just spent two nights at her place. The generosity of my Aunt and her late-husband, and their willingness to help out the rest of her family, are truly admirable.

We Met Her in Ipoh a Few Weeks Ago

Kenric and I met her in Ipoh few weeks ago before she returned here for Chinese New Year with her two sons and their families. She spends a few months in Ipoh each year. It is so good to see her enjoy her golden years with her siblings, so loved by her nieces and nephews, to be blessed with good health, and most of all, to have enough people to play mahjong with her!

We stayed for about 1.5 hours. My cousin walked us halfway to a nearby mall where we met up with yet another schoolmate whom I’ve known since I was seven. We had a wonderful dinner catching up. He strongly approves of our next destination, Bali; calling it the best stress-buster. Then, we went to pick up two tickets for the Gardens by the Bay from the friend who had already scored us a table at the top of the Marina Bay Sands a few nights ago. The two tickets tonight even came with three bottles of delicious French red! It’s been quite a visit, Singapore!

Map of Places Visited