My kampung@Bachok : the best mind, body and soul therapy

Being a city boy, I never had the chance to taste the balik kampung experience. Hence during my childhood I always wonder how is it like to celebrate raya in a kampung, and how is the feeling to take a journey going back to a hometown. I was quite envious whenever my school friends were telling me how they enjoyed going back to their kampung, swimming in the cool river, playing kites in an open field, riding bikes through rubber estates; fishing in the paddy field! You lucky kampung boys & girls!!! Sigh! All I had here was staring at a TV watching some boring TV programmes and playing computer games that are made exclusively

for zombies (people without a kampung). Ohh..how sad and pathetic! Thank god! The drooling has finally over. When I got married, luckily it came with a kampung package. Hence almost every year I get to balik kampung and at last enjoy the longing of the fulfilling kampung experience. Though my childhood era has long gone and I can’t run naked in the kampung like a two years old boy anymore, but at least my children get to enjoy and cherish the kampung experience. As for me, even the thought of the journey is already good enough excites me. It is a great feeling to travel with the family, a relaxing drive, travelling through the countryside, seeing the waving coconut trees, the long stretch greeneries, looking at the kampung houses along the way and enjoy the cool wind of Terengganu beaches along Jalan Pantai. Alhamdulillah, Allah al-Mighty, thank you for this mind, body & soul therapy! This is the real therapy for the city folks to unwind and chill out. Best of all, it’s free!!

Here is some interesting information about my kampung place. It is called Bachok, it is a territory (tanah jajahan); a small town in Kelantan. It is located approximately 25 kilometers east of Kota Bahru (Capital for the State of Kelantan). Generally, Bachok's economy is derived from its agriculture and tourism industry.

There is a famous beach here called Pantai Irama Bachok, it’s just about 1 km from my kampung. This beach normally will be packed with people especially during the school holidays and festive holidays.

Located opposite to the beach, is the small commercial centre where you could find the banks, retails, post office, wet market and etc. Also to note that there is one particular dental clinic & polyclinic next to Tabung Haji, their charges is very reasonable and with excellent service! Apart from that, there is also an open food court where you can find all of the Kelantan cuisines and delicacies to satisfy your taste buds.

My kampung is bordered with seasonal plantation of tobacco, egg plants, ladies fingers and other vegetable plants. The house has quite a large open playground, this is where I could let my children run freely and play all day & night with their cousins, no worries of potential child kidnappers and other means of people with ill intentions. Parental Supervision is “ok” to be ignored here. It is very safe, insyaAllah. Heck! even I sometimes run freely and play with my children & their cousins as if I am one of them! but of course, minutes later my lack of stamina bring me back to reality of a fat shortman in his late 30s ( bummer!).

Well, since physical endurance is NOT an option for me, so I opted for another alternative of relaxing.

My favorite is sitting on the round metal swing at the patio, enjoying the soft cool night wind, rocking the metal swing (buai besi bulat) while gazing at the stars! Hmm it’s pretty hard to describe in words, I guess… it’s soothing, comforting, peaceful, calming and awesome; all in one go!

I guess, everyone has a special place in their heart, where they could sneak out and chill out from the hectic busy stressful life, some like to travel abroad, some would just do shopping, some would just smoke 3 packs a day, It is your prerogative, you have the final say as to what suits you best. However it is essential to choose ones that really gets you recharged & reenergized.

Once you are in high gear, then you are able to face the days ahead of you in order to accomplish the tasks and responsibilities appropriately and with a level head. Every day is just NOT another day for us, live life everyday to the fullest. Our life is getting shorter everyday; we do not know when our End Day is. So let’s make more friends instead of more enemies, let’s make more people happy instead of people sad, let’s make this place a better place to live in, and hope from this journey we have carried enough “supplies” for our final stop. The place; where time is without end.