Another high point of the tour was visiting Sungai Lembing. Even since I knew that my maternal grandfather first landed in this place when he first left China for Southeast Asia, it has been my dream to come and see (this place) and the mines he once worked.
Judging by the popularity of the Hakka dialect being spoken by the Chinese in this town, there was no doubt that my grandfather had indeed been here. The Hakka is literally identical to what is being spoken in KK and Sabah.
During my stay in Sg. Lembing, I did talk to a number of people about meeting up with some local residents whose ancestors may have also come from the village of my grandfather. Somehow, the name of the hometown did not ring a bell among people of a much younger generation. Could it be that all my grandfather's clan had left en masse to North Borneo then?
Many generations have come and gone. These huge trees in the town centre remain to remind the visitors the tenacity of this old town.
This sleepy old town has hardly changed over the years. This will probably remain so for the time to come now that its once thriving mining industry had ceased. Its survival depends very much on the ingenuity of the remaining population to turn this into a tourists town.
The huge Khek (Hakka) Association's building located strategically in the town centre speaks volume of the influence of the Hakka people here.
The hanging bridge across Sg. Lembing is now a symbol of this old town.
The flow of the water in Sg. Lembing was mild and the river bed silted up. We were told that during its flood flow, water level could reach the suspension bridge. We were told that in any impending flood, people in the town would be pre-warned to evacuate and move their important things away including their cars.
Steamers used to ply along this river during the good old days.
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