We journeyed from Hatyai to Bangkok by the sleeper train. It took us from sunset to surise the next day.
The train was a bit bumpy… goyanglah. Some of my friends couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t an issue for me. My melatonin is still flowing nicely.
More than twenty persons agreed on this trip, but eventually pulled out. Personally, I feel we ought to complete this sort of arduous journey when we are younger, rather than later. My type of travelling is often to see the world or to climb a mountain. It is tiring.
I relax my the beach when I am home by the sea. Probably, I would take cruises when further down the timeline.
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us. ” – Alexander Graham Bell
This article is written by a former teacher, Mr. Toh Leong. He writes well. I had his prior permission to publish any of his postings from Facebook. I read about his being invited to a reunion by another group of former students…
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Mr Toh’s write-up
I was just invited to a reunion for my former students. I didn’t want to stand on ceremony; it was a wonderful opportunity to meet them again, along with some old colleagues who were also invited.
My past colleagues looked much the same, though I noticed a bald head or two and a few heads of white hair. The years have certainly pushed us further down the timeline.
Many of my former students reminded me that I was their chemistry teacher. While chemistry was my main subject, I also taught additional mathematics and general science. I was delighted to learn that two of my students became teachers themselves and have now retired. How time has flown.
I still don’t feel aged. I hold on to the perspective that age is just a number, and I believe that a positive attitude is key to maintaining a sense of youthfulness. As they say, “You are as old as you think.” Ultimately, our behavior emanates from the heart and mind.
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My note here
So Chemistry was Mr Toh’s major subject! Is that why I never quite understood his physics classes?
Before the state final exam, I devoured the whole three-inches-thick physic textbook, and finally , some of his lessons began to make sense. If only I had studied before each class, sir! Well, I managed to get a good credit ( a private college didn’t want to accept me for A level because I couldn’t understand the Chinese language. In the end, the principal changed his mind when he saw my physics grade! )
Yet Mr Toh said, “Only a credit?” I was exasperated. (He had forgotten that I almost never passed any of his physic tests!)
Magical moments of sunbeam captured (by Mr. Toh leong, my former teacher)
Waking up to the rumble of distant thunder, I knew it was raining somewhere nearby. Fellow hikers reported a downpour in Teluk Kemang, yet in Port Dickson, we had only the drama of sound and fury without a single drop. I recognized it immediately as a convection shower—intense but brief.
My instinct proved correct. By 7 a.m. sharp, we were hiking through Tanjung Tuan, our plans untouched. We felt truly blessed.
Our reward came at the lighthouse. There, we were greeted by an extraordinary spectacle: a rare moment where trees, mist, and brilliant sunbeams converged to create something eerie and surreal. We managed to capture a few photos of the fleeting magic. It was a rare moment of luck, and we were fortunate to witness it.
Chen Song Ping 