It was that time of the year again, my annual sojourn to KL for Raya. I never had a kampung to return to, if one defines kampung as one’s grandparents’ dwelling located away from one’s home address. I’ve always spent Raya in KL ever since we moved here from Ipoh, although photographic evidence from 1973 possibly says otherwise. Nevertheless, the Taman Tun qariah appeared to be in full force at our masjid during solat sunat Raya. I guess many have opted to balik kampung after solat to escape the pre-Raya balik kampung jam only to create the Raya morning balik kampung jam.
For the record, I’m proud to announce I had only two ikats of ketupat daun palas this entire Raya. I can’t remember diving into the lemang at all! The reason was that we went to my brother’s in laws who are known to jamu big time which meant soto ayam would be much better on Raya morning if I was to survive the afternoon’s heavier onslaught of mee jawa and roti jala. The family and I did a manageable number of visits this Raya, and I find it fascinating how people can do nine open houses in one day!
This break was a potpourri of activities (not just makan!), with the second week being somewhat eventful – illness (which resolved, alhamdulillah), a death in the family and getting more involved in my SembangKuala activities culminating in a visit to Perak for a day (which was good enough for this break especially when time was at a premium) thanks to a distant aunt.
That’s how I like my vacation – different things in small doses!
