Monday, 12 May 2008
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Kelongs...
A house on stilts, sit in the open blue expanse... not a usual sight in the concrete jungle of Singapore. A single caretaker toils on this treehouse which also doubles up as a home, apart from rearing the fishes which are harvested as soon as they reach maturity in a few months.
"You get to be closer to the sea and nature in this job." said Ah Hua, the caretaker. He tells me how this job brings back memories of his childhood years. His fisherman dad brought him regularly to kelongs during his school holidays.
This treehouse in the sea boasts of modern amenities such as a portable stove, fridge and TV, all powered by a diesel generator. On top of the many stilts, lies many colorful buckets which deters sea birds from perching and raiding the fishes in the nursery.
The wood used to build this struture is "neebong", the same type of wood used to produce charcoal. Elongated steps and ladders leads us around the kelong, keenly following behind us is a pair of mongrels who are Ah Hua's only companions onboard.
A grandfather of two, but looking not a day older than 40 years old. The sprightly old man exclaims that living away from the hustle and bustle of the city is the reason for his youthful looks and urged me to spend a few days over at his place.
Amid the shimmering backdrop of the setting sun, i dug into my dinner whihc consist of the freshest seafood known to man. From crabs to mussels all harvested in the morning.
As the day draws to a close, Ah Hua swicthes on the TV to catch the evening news, the only channel of information which connects him to the fast paced society which we live in. He reminiscenes poignantly that he misses taking public transport on the mainland but would never tradde his present carefree lifestyle fro anything else, and who could disgress with that?
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