(Photos Courtesy Francis Chen)
To the children growing up in Sarawak, Borneo, along the 350 miles long Rejang River, "Sing Hai Ching" will give a pang of nostalgia. These river queens used to ply up and down the river, picking up passengers and goods.
According to the boat owner, it is around 60 years old. That was not the original boat. The one I recalled when I was in lower secondary was very different. The owner might have upgraded a few times though retaining the name
Ah Tai had a boat like this. She had a rice mill. Her boat plied up and down on both sides of the Rejang River collecting unpolished rice from the farmers, and she took the rice back to her mill to process the rice. As kids, we were very proud of what an astute a business woman Ah Tai was.
Great grandma Kong nee Lai aka Ah Tai aka Ah Siew Soh
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