root-

Maybe for some of you, when read of this word, you will think about the root of a plant or maybe a glass of A&W rootbeer..hehe..but those are not what I am going to write about. It is about my root.

Before this, I proudly said to people who were keen to know about my background, that I am half Minang and half Bughese. But I know nothing about these two different tribes. Yeah..my father is a Bughese but he can’t utter a word of Bughese. Even his family was like discarding anything about Bughese from their lives, which I can’t explain here the reason why. My mother is a Minangkabau. Better than my father, at least she can speak a little Minang with my relatives on my maternal side. But during this semester holiday, I have got an opportunity to learn more about half of my root, Minangkabau. Yes, I went to the place where this tribe is originated. I went to Padang and Bukit Tinggi, Indonesia.

I went there with my sister and two cousins from Seremban. I can say they were a big help to me and my sister as they have been to those places before. They even have some foster families there, which have helped us with accommodation and traveling. Yeah..only now I know that in Negeri Sembilan, that will be their event of the year to hold a student exchange programme with secondary school kids from Bukit Tinggi. And that answered why my cousins have some foster families there.

Soon as we reached Minangkabau Airport in Padang, we were brought to so many interesting plsces on our way to Bukit Tinggi. We went to their famous waterfall, Pusat Dokumestasi Minangkabau, which I found a picture of my great5x grandfather, perkampungan Pandai Sikek, which is renowned by their fine sulaman and ukiran and we went to a famous restaurant which serves Nasi Padang. I became so ‘jakun’ because at that time only I knew that dishes are served without us ordering. Only dishes that are touched will be charged. Simple hah..hehe.. But during my stay, I ate loads of food..food that I will not take here in Malaysia. I became more like an exotic food eater..hehe..from ikan nila to buffalo meat to satay Padang and even Bakso. Those were nice experiences indeed..huhu!

Then, I even got the chance to witness Minangkabau wedding. We were brought by Pak Hasrat on the very first evening we were in Bukit Tinggi. At least I know now how wedding reception is done by this tribe..loads of rendang, cakes, colourful dais , and you now something, the bride and the groom are needed to be on the dais all day long, so long the reception is still on. Can you imagine how tired they will be?

Anyway, the second day was the full swing day to shop. We got no enough time to go from one shop to another to survey for prices or what not. We grabbed and go only. Tawarlah the price bagai nak giler dekat kedai yang kitorang pergi tu. But I really admire the sulaman there..so fine and teliti…had I enough time, I would spend that day admiring all the kebayas in all shops..hehe..

Anyhow, there were still some interesting places that we couldn’t go due to time constraint and their own nature problems. Yeah like Istana Pagar Ruyong and Lubang Jepun, we can’t visit those places due to the fire and earthquake they had earlier on.

Well I can say things are cheap there..compared to prices in Malaysia. In Padang, my sister went to a saloon to wash and cut her hair as well as to massage. So, boring waiting for her. I cut my hair too. Can you imagine I cut my hair for only RM4.80? I don’t think we can get such price here. Foods also are cheap there. And I even learned new Minangkabau vocabs too. Before this I only knew words like den(me), mamak(uncle) and nakdo (dun have) to name a few. So now my Minang vocabulary has expended a bit. I learnt words like uni(auntie), dima(where), rancak (good), bara(how much) and kaliki(papaya). I learnt those words when I brought things and even from my cousins’ foster families.

I can say, my vacation this time around was full with so many unforgettable experiences. There were so many interesting places which I haven’t mentioned yet. At least now, I know little pieces of information about my root. So my advice, if you guys have some spare money and wish to go on a vacation, Bukit Tinggi and Padang should be made under your consideration..hehe..till then..