Of Cows, Garbage and a Beach

I wrote this crap when I was bored to death in Dungun way back in 2001. Reflecting on those days which were so calm and peaceful, I kinda miss it in a way. Wonder how life would have been if I've stayed on in the east coast. But there are simply too many 'if' in life. So while I ponder this 'if' here's the reproduction of a short bull-crap called 'Of Cows, Garbage and a Beach':

I decided to take a short stroll down the beach near my house. The scene of the road leading to it is that of a typical kampung. Malay cottages and coconut trees are to be found all the way. Coconut husks are strewn all over the compounds of these cottages. Sometimes you will see chickens running about. Some Malay kids were chattering and reading aloud from a book. A makcik was standing at the door looking at the kids. An old pakcik was trying to ply open a coconut. They stared at me with suspicion as I walked pass. I was a stranger to them. This is only the second time I’ve actually walked that path.

Further down the road, not less than 10 mountains of cow dung have been deposited by traveling cows overnight. Its odor was unbearable. It stinks but surprisingly I didn’t find any flies circling around them. Maybe they are too busy tending to dung elsewhere. Dung is such a common sight in rural Terengganu, for that matter the whole of Terengganu is rural. I find the habit of letting cows and goats loose a nuisance. I wonder why the authorities never did anything about it. The problem is when an accident happens the whole kampung comes out and blame the poor driver. Surely the only person to blame is the one who owns the cattle? He didn’t take good care of them, did he? The cows leave their belongings everywhere they go causing so much inconvenience to pedestrians. Once a stray cow entered my house compound and spent an evening there. Thank God no deposit was left though I was startled when I heard it moo. There was another time when I was walking in my neighborhood when I almost knocked down a cow, or rather the other way round. The cow was just as startled as I was but he didn’t seem to care about my presence. He just walked on to God knows where. One evening, a car I was traveling in had to halt a full five minutes to allow a big herd of cows cross our path. For sure in this land they are Lord of Terengganu. Only yesterday after dinner at a restaurant, my housemates and I found our car surrounded by cows. It took us sometime to get our car out of that mess.

When I reached the beach I walked directly to the garbage bin. That was my reason for taking the stroll. No, I am not about to run through the precious contents of it to find a lost diamond. I was there simply to dump my garbage like what a garbage bin is for. It seems that the local council does not collect garbage from house to house. Instead we had to bring them out to designated spots along main roads and dump them there. The council will then carry out the easy task of keeping our households clean.

After finishing off my duty I decided to hang on a moment at the beach. It was a sunny day and the sun was furious. The sea looked calm enough but all will be changed in a month or two when the monsoon rages. Out in the sea, a few trawlers were out fishing. I wonder whether there will be a bountiful catch today. I have been here so many times but never once had I ventured into the sea for a swim. I read in the papers that the Dungun coast is deadly. Many people have drowned there. I remember seeing a notice board somewhere forbidding anyone from swimming in the sea. According to the locals, the beach takes a steep fall at some parts and swimmers caught unaware may drown. Therefore, I’ve only dipped my feet in the water. Might as well take heed of what the experts say.

Out in the horizon, I could see two islands. The bigger one is called Pulau Tenggol. The smaller one, I have no idea. Tenggol is reputedly a diver’s heaven. As a matter of fact that is the only reason anyone would visit the island. There are no resorts, no water sports and not much of a beach there. The water is too deep to swim in because it is only meant for diving. There’s no ferry or shuttle service to the island. To get there one has to rent a speedboat from the fisherman jetty in Kuala Dungun. Maybe one day I’ll make a visit, but then what will I do when I’m there? I can’t dive. I am afraid of depths.

After staring out into the sea for some time I decided that it’s too hot to stay any longer. Thus I began my short journey back home again, retracing the same scene. Then I remembered there is another garbage bin nearer and I need not have taken the long stroll.

By the way, the above story is a true story of myself on Nov 1, 2001. The location was between Jalan Kenanga, Dungun and Jalan Pantai (where the beach is, duh!).