Comments on: Gurney Drive – A Sea Of Nostalgia

By: ex penang boy

ex penang boy — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:04:42 +0000

Days are golden when used in the past tense!I remember idling my life away with a close friend who lived along Gurney Drive many moons ago.House’s gone now and a condo stands in its place.We used to go to the nearby Char koay teow and Cuttlefish kangkong by the road junction where Silverton is.Days of reckless abandonment and cramming for exams,lighting fireworks during the new year,ogling at the girls on chap goh meh (that old huh?!!) digging for siput,getting stung by catfish and waking up early to listen to the early morning ebb and sunrise.Now he’s down under and I’m way down south.life goes on and memories are all thats left.

By: Anthony Khong

Anthony Khong — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:23:57 +0000

Hi! Peter
Isn’t it nice to be able to sample and reminiscence over past experiences. I too had the same feeling when I visited Penang two years ago, after having left there 22 years ago. During my visit I spent most of my evenings sitting and talking over the good old days with a very close friend of mine at Gurney Drive. The only visible changes are those high rise tower blocks standing proudly opposite the sea front and the more fashion conscious young people. My wife and I will be visiting Penang again end of October and it will be her first visit to Penang. I hope I can explain to her how Penang was like as well as you could.

By: tkkang

tkkang — Mon, 28 May 2007 09:41:53 +0000

Dear Peter,

Good that you could give yourself sometime to get back to your past. I can see how the good work you are doing has charted a new course for you. Your writeup bring my own memories of growing up in Malacca. Unless our memories goes “kaput” it will always be there and when it comes flooding back it is both sweet and painful reminder of what have been. Was planning for a trip back to my class reunion in July 7 and Penang was in my travel plans after that if I had the time. Let see.

Peter:
Hope you can make it back. The hawker food alone will be worth the trip.

By: LC_Teh

LC_Teh — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:54:03 +0000

I’m ex-Penangite too. Once in a while I’d go back there for a visit. Reading your thoughts on Gurney just reminds me of those times. Here’s a poem by Chong Peng Khuan, another Ex-Penangite telling about Tanjung Bungah:

Tanjong Bungah

A crab side-stepped

Out of his hole

Questioned the bright moon

Hurried into his dark

Satisfied

The sand was quietly white

Except for wood

Rubbing wood

From boats tied too

Near the quay

Fish nets vague and empty as

The moonlight

Stood limp

I flung a spikey shell

At one

It dangled

Plunged into the sea

Rippled concentric circles

Of loneliness

Into moonlight darkness

Peter:
Thanks for sharing the poem. Those good old days. I wished we could relive it again.