(Sin Chew Jit Poh, Perak
Edition, 19/07/2016)
Written by Chung Hong Kee
Translated by Chai Wei Sin
Chai Wei Sin has been living in several cities such as
Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Penang etc. before settled down in Kampar. She has turned
an old shop house into a cozy home stay with the name of “Kampar Golden Dragon
Homestay” in Taman Golden Dragon, Kampar.
Chai followed
her husband to stay in Kampar in 2010 after she completed her studies in
Taiwan. They stayed in the upper storey of a shop house, while Mr. Saw Teck Woo
and Madam Kong Ah Yeng, an old couple stayed in the ground storey since 1969. The ground storey was sold to Chai in 2015.
When Chai first moved to Kampar, she did not like
living in such a small town, because it is relatively less convenient. However,
the friendly neighbourhood and kind community made her later feel as if she was
one of the inhabitants in Kampar.
Having been a Pei Yuan High School’s teacher and later
becoming a mother, Chai has made friends from different communities. After her
child was born, she became less materialistic and enjoyed the simple life. With
the assistance and encouragement of a friend, she then commenced her home stay
business.
Every single piece things is full of memories
There are many old-fashioned furniture sets with
memories in this house, such as the dressing table, wooded cot, wardrobe etc.
left by the previous owner. Guests could appreciate the stories behind these
old items.
Other than repainting the house and replacing some necessary
facilities, Chai also preserved the cement stools
and wood rack, which were handmade by Mr. Saw, and wooden sofa, iron shoe rack,
canvas cot,
swing etc. in order to create a “home-sweet-home” atmosphere.
Chai said that the guests of the home stay are not
mainly tourists, but some locals who are working outside coming home to attend
wedding dinners or making a short trip
during festivals or school holidays. In
addition, the supply of home stays in Kampar is never enough to meet the demand
during the convocation of UTAR, which is held twice in a year.
Share the story of this old house
Chai is graduated from Chinese Studies, she has a
great interest in history and culture. Therefore, when she first commenced her
home stay business, her aim is not only to create a cozy environment, but also
enable the guests to learn the Kampar history and culture.
“Wo Long Ju” is the Chinese name of Chai’s home stay
which brings the meaning of that guests could take a good rest at this home
stay which is located in the Taman Golden Dragon. Eu Dong Shuan, the second
generation of the descendant of Eu Yan Sang, who was also one of the famous tin
miners, had owned a luxurious villa in Taman Golden Dragon, but it was
demolished decades ago.
Chai said that if it is possible, normally she will
explain the home stay history to the guests. There is also a message board in
the home stay, guests could also leave their messages here.
Meeting with people from different states is the
greatest reward, said Chai. Chai always hopes that her home stay is not only a
place for rest, but also a place to enhance the public awareness of local
history.
Wish to create a tourist map
Chai is writing stories about Kampar, she has created
a blog with the name of “Kampar story”. She likes to chat with neighbours to
learn more history of this old town. She also hopes that she could create a
tourist map for Kampar.
She revealed that, Kampar does not
have its tourist map yet, when guests asked about the tourist info, she will
need to draw or describe such info for the guests.
“There are quite some tourist spots
in Kampar, but not so centralized and also need to be preserved. Delicious
local food is also a point which could attract tourists to visit Kampar.”
No comments:
Post a Comment