All over the Rajang valley one used to see lots of timber shelters built for weary travellers who had alighted from the motor launches or who had walked for miles from the back hills (aw san) of the villages. Most of the time there were wooden seats or benches fixed to the four posts.
These shelters were built by a philanthropist or the local headman with donations from the villagers.
This Lau Nai Lik Ting in Ensurai indicates how caring our older generation was. The tropical heat was excessive for our Foochow forefathers when they first came here. And so many of them had to depend on their legs to carry them from one place to another. Even Rev James Hoover (1901 -1935) and his companions used to walk for three or four hours from one village to another. Indeed such weary travellers needed a place to rest and chill out.
Fifty or so years later today we the new generation have almost forgotten how helpful and functional these "Tings" are or remain grateful to the person/persons who built it.
How many people remember Lau Nai Lik now? I hope that he and his family are truly blessed by this charitable act.
Will the concept of road shelters continue amongst the Foochows? A generous Foochow caring gesture for the weary traveller?
A modern Malay resting shelter by the roadside in Mersing.
2 comments:
its sort of a rest house for travelers,eh? the person who built them must had have a heart of gold( a passionate person)i guessed.nowadays in our very enterprising society,its hard to come by anything built,simply just for others.
when I saw the first picture, I thought must be only the Foochows have them, Then I read that it is in China.
My Dad said, some one would always boil a kettle of water so that the tired travelers have a piping hot cup of tea,
I can imagine watching the LIANG SAN BOK and CHU YING TAI walking the length fot their exams.
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