letters from a Father to his Children (12.07.1958)

ALEXA HOTEL,
73 Lexham Gardens,
London, W.8.
12th July 1958

Our Loving Children,

LONDON, Sunday 6th July, Raja Redzuan and his wife who is the half-sister of H.H the Sultan of Selangor came to our Hotel and we went on chatting till about noon. We went out later in the afternoon to HYDE PARK CORNER. As we walked along the SERPENTINE - a lake in the Park - we met Che' Yusof who was Asst. State Secretary before he joined the Diplomatic Service. He was strolling along with his European wife. She is a Swiss.

Monday, 7th July After sorting out a few things in town we had lunch with Dato' Shamsuddin and his wife. Later we went to his Hotel - quite near ours - we talked and talked and had tea. At about 5 o'clock they walked with us to our Hotel and continued with our yarns. They went back to their Hotel and we joined them again for dinner.

I forgot to mention that in the morning before we went out, Pa' Shairi rang up (I wrote to him on Saturday) and asked how you all and the other close relations were getting on. He then promised to ring us up again tomorrow to let us know if he could come tomorrow afternoon.

Tuesday 8th July: We went to see pictures at a News Theatre. These theartres show only news reels, with some short cartoons and 'shorts' of general interest. One of the shorts we saw was one called "Nature's Half Acre". I thought it was a wonderful film showing the activities and the beauty of insects, reptiles and plants during spring, summer, autumn and their inactivities during winter. It was a coloured film. It also depicted life where it was a question of survival of the fittest. "Some must die to permit others to live". What a lucky world we humans are living in. We survive in the world of "Live and Let Live".

In the afternoon we went to Hyde Park and while we were listening to "soap-box orater" we met the daughter of Mr. CL Majeed (we couldn't remember his name - she is the sister-in-law of Dr. Syed Mahmud) who was in London for a course. I might explain that at one end of HYDE PARK freedom of gathering and of speech is really practised. Anyone could come here and make speeches on all subjects as long as they would not cause any trouble. The origin of the term "soap-box orater" followed the practice in the past of speakers standing on soap boxes (as a small platform) whilst making their speeches.

When we went back we found the Pa' Shairi looked us up at 7pm - when we had gone out and missed us. Very disappointing. He promised to ring up first but didn't!

Wednesday, 9th July: We made a full day tour of WINDSOR. We first visited HAMPTON COURT PALACE. This Palace was originally built by CARDINAL WOLSEY in the early 16th century and it was his ambition to enlarge and beautify it until he possessed the finest private residence in England. But his royal master HENRY VIII took a fancy to it and you know that when HENRY VIII took a liking for any thing there would be no trying to stop him. When it was less than ten years old Wolsey handed it over to his King. This Palace remained a royal residence until the death of George II in 1760. Now it is being used as a Museum and has a beautiful gardens attached and overlooking the river THAMES.

From there we went to WINDSOR and after a nice lunch we went up to see WINDSOR CASTLE. This Castle is overlooking the THAMES. and also overlooking a very beautiful country scenery. The Queen comes here on occasion and she has her own Chapel called St. George's Chapel. This Chapel is used on official occasions for installing KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER. This is a very high honour and the award is limited to 25 only.

We went round to the state apartments - of course, we were not allowed to see the Queen's private rooms - where exhibits of old heraldry and also gifts to past Kings and Queens were shown.

We then went to look around ETON COLLEGE.

This College is a Public School. The description may be misleading. Our idea of a Public School is a school run by Government but here the school is a private one. It is a very expensive school attended by rich people's and dignitaries sons. Some sort of Malay College of the old. It has produced many Prime Ministers, statesmen and politicians. In fact, at this moment, there is a controversy as to the pros and cons of carrying on with such institutions.

On our way back we stopped at a place called STOKE POGES where we visited GRAY'S ELEGY which was built in honour of poet (?) Gray. We got back at 6 pm.

Thursday, 10th July: We had nothing in particular to do and went to a big department store (shop) called SELFRIDGES which was having a Summer Sale -- so many things to buy but unfortunately our pocket was very restricted. Had lunch at the same place. We were rather tired walking and went back by bus. This was our second time going by bus. Going by bus could be difficult. One must know the right bus to take. During the last few days we had been travelling by tube (underground train). This was comparatively easier though rather intriguing. Mak is an expert now going by escalators as she has to do this very often if we go by tube.

After resting awhile, we went to dinner at PAKISTANI and INDIA RESTAURANT. We faced a rather embarrassing situation. After I got the bill, I found that I did not have my purse with me and just had small change in my pocket. Indeed cold sweat went down my neck. Oh, no money to pay for our food while I had $50 in my purse! What an irony!! I took out all my change and so did Mak. After counting every penny on our persons we just managed to pay our bill. Pooh! What a great relief. We rushed back to the hotel to see if my purse was there. As I opened the room door, there we saw the purse lying innocently on the table. Another feeling of relief! To "cool down" we went for a stroll!!

Friday, 11th July: We moved into another room in the same hotel this morning. The first room had creaking floor boards and that was causing us some disturbance and disturbing our peace of mind. The former room was looking out into the street but our present room which we considered was better had a view on the back garden. As you know, Mak has always been fond of flowers and this view attracted her. Although it was just a question of moving from one room to another it took us the whole morning.

In the afternoon we again went to SELFRIDGES for a few purchases - not much; we couldn't afford it! We had dinner again at PAKISTANI and INDIA Restaurant.

This time I made sure that my purse was tucked in safely in my pocket. We got into conversation with two of the waiters and they were very happy to learn that we were Muslims. They were too. They greeted us "Assalamu'alaikum" when we left.

Oh, dear Children! I have not received any news from you all for some time now. The last letter we received was when we were in Paris. Every morning when we went down to breakfast and when we came back from town we went straight to find out if there were letters for us. We are very anxiously waiting now. When we found no letters waiting for us we always said "Never mind, one will come tomorrow morning" to console ourselves. I believe one is on the way. We indeed long for news from you all now. Do write - all of you - oftener, now that we are in London.

Please!!

We are thinking so much of you all. Heaps of love and kisses from us to Sayang, Adek, Intan, Kuntum, Nor, Adek Shor, Nan, Nah, Ajid and Yong. God Bless You All. Sembah salam to Tah and salam to the others.

Yours longingly,

Mak & Bapak

P.S. Some more photos herewith.

letters from a Father to his Children (12.07.58)

Just testing out a new format. So will need feedback from you guys.. Is it okay if I just put the scanned letter here or do you prefer it to be typed out? You can click on the photo to get a bigger picture and be able to read it. If you want it to be typed, do you want the scanned letter to be included? Comments pls.... Thanks

letters from a Father to his Children(07.07.58)

ALEXA HOTEL

LEXHAM GARDENS,

LONDON, W.8 

7th July 1958

Our Dear Darling Children,

Paris, Monday 30th June: Don't worry. Although I suffered last night - indeed I cried unashamedly - I was very nearly alright this morning except for a bit of a limp. However, I did not walk very much in the morning as I spent quite a lot of time writing letters including the one to you all. In the afternoon we went up EIFFEL TOWER which was 1060 feet high. It used to be only 1000 feet high but another 60 feet were added for the purpose of television. It cost the Government 7,800,000 gold francs to build. It was named after it's engineer Eiffel who built it as the principal attraction (as it was in the case of the AUTOMIUM in Brussels) for the Great Exhibition of 1887. From the top we could get a magnificent view of the City of Paris and the river SEINE. It seems that the Tower swayed a bit which only an experienced mountain climber could detect. It was a good thing that we didn't feel it!

This was a lovely day. We had no rain. As a matter of fact it was quite sunny. It was neither hot nor too cold - just the weather for us. We had our lunch at a restaurant named PASADENA on Rue Juliet. "Rue" is a street as opposed to those big , straight "Avenues". We had been to this restaurant quite often. It's close to our Hotel and we liked the atmosphere here. It's small but neat. The waiters here were nice chaps. We have had enough by now of European food. It's terribly flat of taste and veal was being served everywhere - ooh! veal,veal, veal.......all along - stewed veal, cold veal, roast veal etc..etc..etc.....Fish was so tasteless.

In the evening, after a bit of "window-shopping" we went to a small restaurant. What an experience? None in the restaurant could speak English. I asked a couple who were eating there to help but they too could not speak English. I had again to use the sign language. We managed somehow!

Oh, yes; I might tell you that on our way out to dinner we saw a fairly nice pair of shoes - sort of evening shoes. No price was given in the show-case. We went in and enquired. We got quite a shock. That pair cost 25,000 francs = $187.50. We made a hurried exit. It appears that the price in this shop was nothing less than 25,000 francs.

Tuesday, 1st July: This morning was spent on doing a bit of shopping. The weather has been kind to us. There has been one particular thing we have noticed here. Some people walked about with a long bread - about two inches in diameter and about, at least, three feet long - and munching it. Looked rather odd!

We had no particular thing to do this afternoon. Later we went to sit in our favourite Park - TUILIERS GARDENS - and just watched people. Speaking about this reminded me of a story which I had not mentioned earlier. Mak was sitting here on Sunday 29th while I went to take photographs around TRIUMPHANT ARCH. An Attendant of the Gardens came and demanded the fee for the chair. Poor Mak did not have a coin on her. She had to beat a hasty retreat. After that I gave her a few small coins - just in case.

That night we had our last dinner at the Hotel. We had to contend with the usual menu. I have not mentioned earlier that the Head Waiter used to joke about our drink. We usually had just cold water and he referred to it as "AMERICAN CHAMPAGNE" and last night he added it by saying "1960 VINTAGE" . Quite a nice chap, this old fellow. While eating we felt rather sad. With the prospect of leaving PARIS. We always had this feeling when we were about to leave a place. When we arrived we a feeling of uncertainty.

Wednesday 2nd July: We left for LONDON. One annoying thing happened at the PARIS Air Port. When I handed our passports for checking the Officer looked rather suspiciously at  us and went into a room rather hurriedly and I heard him speaking on the phone. A few moments later he came out and told the air line hostess that we had no visa to come to France. I then took the passports and showed the visa. I was very angry and told the air line hostess that if they had asked I could have shown them. What a silly thing for this Officer to have done. He could easily have asked me. That's what I was annoyed about. NO "grey matter"!

We flew by B.E.A plane. I am now convinced that B.E.A plane is the best I have flown in so far.

We got to LONDON after one hour's flight. When we arrived Raja Redwan (Raja Mokhtar's brother) and Che Ahmad Zainal and their wives were at the LONDON AIR PORT . We were very happy to see them but we could not spend much time with them as we had to get on to our bus. As soon as we got to our Hotel....about 2.00pm.....we went out to have lunch at a nearby Chinese Restaurant called SHANGHAI and had our first taste of rice after AMSTERDAM. The food unfortunately was not very good. Anyway, it was rice!!

Thursday 3rd July: I went out alone in the morning to MALAYA HOUSE to sign the Visitor' Book. There I received a message to confirm the invitation to attend the BUCKINGHAM PALACE Garden Party. and not only that but I was told that we would be presented to the Queen. Marvellous, isn't it. I was at first worried as I did not have any other Malay suits except the black one. I have now been told that I could put that on and, as a matter of fact, a few others are putting on black as well. We are fairly excited about this.

I then called on Tunku Jaafar who is the First Secretary un the Federation's High Commission. Tunku Yaacob the High Commissioner was not in London. I was taken round the Office. Then Tunku Jaafar and I decided to go to see the tennis at Wimbledon. So, Tunku Jaafar, who has a car picked up his wife and Mak and we all went to Wimbledon. Mak saw the semi-finalin which Althea Gibson beat Ann Haydon and also a very good men's doubles. She and Tunku Jaafar's wife went to see other games whilst Tunku and I went to see Schmidt and Davidson beat an Indian pair - Kumar and Krishnan. Later I watched  Althea Gibson playing the mixed doubles. We went back and had dinner in an Indian shop quite close to our Hotel. It's called "MADRAS". 

Friday 4th July: We did a bit of shopping in the morning and after lunch we went to the pictures to see "A Question of Adultery"  with Julie Landon and Anthony Steel in the lead. After dinner we watched T.V in our Hotel and that night I had terrible headache. Fortunately I got over it before morning.

We had been moving about today and Mak has had his first experience.....real experience. I mean....of the ESCALATOR. She was rather uncertain and hesitant at first but she has improved. Why I said real experience was that when we were at BRUSSELS at the WORLD EXHIBITION, Mak went up an escalator in one of the Pavilions but she nearly toppled down and refused to use it again! She has had her first taste of the tube (underground train) too.

Saturday 5th July: We walked in the centre of London and before lunch we went to a News Theatre...only news and some shorts were shown here. We had a very good and expensive lunch at HONGKONG RESTAURANT. We went home after that and had a rest. After dinner we watched T.V for about an hour.

You will notice that the address above is different a little from the one I gave you earlier . You needn't worry if you had sent a letter following the earlier address. It will get to us. however, the above address is more correct. Could we now expect letters more often?

Mak would like to know how the servants are getting on. And, how is everybody?

We are missing you all so much and are always thinking of you all. So, lots of love and a thousand kisses to you all.

Sembah Salam to Tah and salam to the rest.

Yours Ever,

Mak and Bapak

P.S. Some more pictures are enclosed.

letters from a Father to his Children(30.06.58)

Hotel St James & Albany,

Paris, 30th June, 1958

Our Darling Children,

Thursday, 26th June: It was raining in the morning and we just strolled in the neighbourhood of the Hotel intending to do a tour of Paris in the afternoon. As luck would have it something went amiss. The bus forgot to pick us up and we decided to do the tour tomorrow. In a way, we were glad of this as it rained the whole afternoon. I am afraid the weather has not been too kind to us since we got to FRANKFURT.

Friday, 27th June: We had a full day's programme today. We toured the "MODERN PARIS" in the morning; that is, we passed all the important landmarks and stopped at MADELEINE CHURCH, TRIUMPHANT ARCH, HOTEL des INVALIDES and NAPOLEON'S TOMB. In my case, of course, it was my second visit and I could remember some of these places. MADELEINE CHURCH is one of the famous churches with it's peculiar interior architecture. At the TRIUMPHANT ARCH,  a fire is always burning in the memory of the UNKNOWN SOLDIERS and one can always find some wreaths laid here by relatives or friends of the dead soldiers. This Arch is where so many AVENUES converge. There are twelve wide AVENUES converging here. One of the main features of PARIS is her wide, straight AVENUES which are 150 feet wide. From TRIUMPHANT ARCH, therefore, one can have a wonderful view of these AVENUES which are also lined by trees. The best and biggest avenue is AVENUE DES CHAMPS-ELYSEES. Besides the wide avenues, it has also about 150ft on each side for pedestrians.

HOTEL des INVALIDES is a Church where invalids are housed and fed. This Church was built in the 17th century and it was here that NAPOLEON was buried. There was an inscription on the inner wall of the Church which went "This Building Is Constructed in Gratitude to France's Great Men" or words to that effect in French. Going through Europe what struck us was the way the Government and the people showed their appreciation of their leaders. After all, for instance, NAPOLEON made mistakes but his good deeds were the thing that mattered. In our case, we expect perfection. Once a man makes a mistake he is condemned for ever! What a tragedy!!

In the afternoon we tour the "HISTORIC PARIS". We passed again along outstanding land-marks including TUILERIES Gardens, LOUVRE MUSEUM (which I will explain in more details later), PANTHEON, PARIS UNIVERSITY, HOTEL de VILLE (TOWN HALL) and the OPERA PLACE. We visited the Church of MONT MARTE which was situated on a hill from where we had a wonderful view of PARIS. It's always beautiful to look from above. At the end of the tour we stopped at the famous NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL - a marvellous example of old architecture.

We relaxed a little in the evening - we went to attend a musical show FOLIES BERGER. It was indeed a wonderful musical show running non-stop, except for a short interval, for 3 hours. We saw  gorgeous dresses, excellent dances and marvellous stage scenery. It was worth the 1185 Francs for each of us. This is equivalent to $9/=.  Quite expensive, isn't it but it is not the most expensive seat which cost 3000 Francs = $22-50. Anyway, we were on the balcony quite close to the stage.

It was therefore a full day's programme and we went to bed very tired.

Saturday 28th June: It was HARI RAYA day. Our thoughts were with you all. We wondered how you spent your Hari Raya. we went to LOUVRE MUSEUM in the late morning. This building was the French King's Palace before FRANCE BECAME A republic. It was a huge building and it had in it famous paintings, sculptures and the well-known statue of VENUS de MILO. There is a saying that unless you have seen this statue you have not seen Paris. There were so many things to see showing the old civilization of GREECE, ITALY and EGYPT.  Whenever we visited these Museums, it brought our thought back to our National Museum at Kuala Lumpur. What a contrast!?

In the afternoon we just sat at the TUILIERS GARDENS. until about 8.00pm. We did not realise it was so late as the sun was still in the sky.

Sunday 29th June: Again we sat in the TUILIERS GARDENS as this was a bright morning. This Garden is about 60 acres in area - a very well laid garden with two ponds in it. We enjoyed watching little boys and girls playing boats in the ponds - those toy mechanical boats and sailing boats, too. I then left Mak to wait for me there as I walked to the TRIUMPHANT ARCH.  We could see the Arch and I thought it was quite close but I found that it was a  fairly long walk. My feet hurt so much that during the night I suffered a great deal. I indeed cried.

In the afternoon we went to VERSAILLES and visited VERSAILLES PALACE which was the Royal Palace during the period of LOUIS XIV, XV and XVI.  Versailles is about 15 miles out of Paris. The Palace has 2,000 odd rooms. We did not go round all the rooms except the important ones. The gardens round the Palace were well symetrically laid. They were beautiful.

We were happy in Paris. It was made more  wonderful when we received your second letter dated 22nd June on the second day we were in Paris.

speaking about letter, we would like to know how many of ours you have received. We sent them as follows:

First: sent from ATHENS on 7th June

Second: sent from ROME on 12th June

Third: sent from FRANKFURT on 18th June

Fourth: sent from PARIS on 26th June

This is our fifth letter. What about those Post Cards we sent to everyone of you?

Yes; the Malay term for GREEKS is either ORANG2 GREEK or as the Malay papers sometimes refer to as ORANG2 YUNAN. Of course, I am not fatter. I looked fatter as I put thicker suits. So it is with Mak.

From you was the first time that I have heard about the Thomas Cup results. They were not in any of the local papers! That was a bad show!! I must however, say to Indonesia "Well done; the better team wins". There shouldn't be any excuses!!! Mr. Heath appears to me rather unsporting.

Well done, Adek Shor. I hope by now you have won more points for your House.

Nazir: better luck next time.

Nan: You must try to play for your School at hockey. Will you please convey my regards to Mr MORI?

Yong: Quite right. That's what you should do i.e thank Air India for the nice present on our behalf and point out that we are away on vacation.

Ajid, Nah, Nan, Adek Shor & Nor: When can I expect letters from you? Postage money can be obtained from Kak.

Yes; before I forget. I want to tell you a story. On Thursday - as i had nothing to do and my hair was already too long - I went to the Hair Dresser's shop for a hair cut. The barber did not know a word of English and I did not know a word of French. Anyway, by a sign language we managed but to my disadvantage. I did not ask for a shampoo but he gave it to me. Of course, that's not bad because, after all, I thought I needed a shampoo. When the bill was presented I found the haircut and the shampoo had cost me 1700 frans = $12.75. Wasn't that expensive! Ooh, that was a real cut-throat!!

That's that for the time being. Tons of love & kisses from us to Sayang, Adek, Intan, Kuntom, Nor, Adek Shor, Nan, Nah, Ajid & Yong. Sembah salam to Tah, and salam to Tok Lehah, Piei, Mak Yah, Pak Sharif, Mak Minah, Pak Hakib, Pak hitam & Isteri and Pak Hussin & Isteri.

Your Lovingly,

 Mak & Bapak

P.S. Herewith some 'snaps'. Please send to our London address the photograph of the five younger ones: Sayang, Adek, Intan, Kuntom,and Nor taken on the day we took the group photos. 

SPECIAL NEWS:  Mak and Bapak have been invited to BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDEN PARTY ON 17TH JULY.

BRAVO!

letters from a Father to his Children(25.06.58)

HOTEL ST JAMES & D'ALBANY

PARIS, 25th June 1958

My darling Children,

17th June; Tuesday: We reached FRANKFURT - it's full name is FRANKFURT am MAIN ( as explained earlier am means on). There are two Frankfurts in Germany. This one is the Frankfurt on the river Main. We arrived on a very warm afternoon ( I almost fainted really) and we were not very impressed a result of my uncomfortableness probably! We were tired and had a rest until dinner time. After dinner we strolled for about 1/2 hour in the City.

18thJune; Wednesday: We started off very happily with the receipt of your letter handed to us at the breakfast table. We read and re-read your letter. We then went for a tour of the City, rather spoilt by rain. We visited poet Goethe's old house which was preserved so well. Some parts of it were restored after the War. Some were original. Frankfurt suffered so much by bombing during the War. It was wonderful to see how it recovered. New modern buildings were constructed. They were still short. Some remains of bombed building were still in existence.

In the late afternoon we went for a walk to a small Park in the City. We sat there for about one hour watching people. Rather cold when we return to the Hotel. There did not appear many things to see here.

Thursday 19th June: Nothing particular to do today except to confirm with KLM our flight tomorrow. The weather was rather erratic. Rest most of the day - to recover the hectic days of the past few weeks.

(NOTE: I missed informing you that on our way to ZURICH and before we reached GENEVA we flew over the Mt Blanc. It was a wonderful sight - exciting & cool whiteness. I took a few 'snaps' from the plane. I hope a few would come out well)

As the weather was poor we did not do anything in particular. It was rather cold too.

Friday 20th June: We were hoping to go out this morning but it rained and rained. I went out to sort out a few things but Mak did not go out at all.

While we were in the Hotel we were watching cars passing. Most of them were OPEL. Of course when we were in ROME we saw mostly Yang's cars - FIAT.

We left FRANKFURT at 4.45pm. The flight by KLM airways to AMSTERDAM took us 1 1/2 hours.

Saturday 21st June: We went out for a City tour. It was drizzling and cold  most of  the time. We stopped at the National Art Galleries where we saw REMBRANDT'S paintings including his masterpiece " THE NIGHTWATCH". We also visited a diamond cutting worksop. It was shown here that the saying, "it needs a diamond to cut a diamond" was literally true.  After 2 1/2 hours we went to a Chinese Restaurant called "CHINA".  We had 'nasek goring' and we really enjoyed it - after 3 weeks without!. One of the waiters was a Chinese born in Java who could speak Indonesian Malay. He was married, he said, to a Dutch Dame.

(NOTE: I have not mentioned earlier that during this time, the day was longer than the night. Here now. sunrise was at 5AM and sun-set at 9PM. The only snag was that it was quite cold!)

On our way back to the Hotel- Hotel des Pays Bat (pronounced PAY BA) we decided to go for a few motor - boat drive. We went through the many canals to the Harbour. Netherlands (as it was pointed out that it was wrong to call it Holland as Holland is only the district surrounded by other districts) is a very low-lying country. It was usually flooded in the old days and it was through the system of canals that land was reclaimed. There are now 70 canals and 400 bridges in the City. Amsterdam therefore uses a good deal of water traffic even to Germany. The river RHINE flows from Switzerland through Germany into the Netherlands. Amsterdam is flat and bicycles are popularly used. It seems that every other person own a bicycle. Amsterdam has a population of 1 million and there are 500,000 bicycles.

While we went through the canals we were shown a number of boat - houses in which people live. They did not do this for pleasure but forced to do so by circumstances. There was a shortage of houses. However, these boat-houses were well decorated and properly maintained.

It continued to rain in the evening but while Mak  had was in bed resting, I went out at 5pm to "look see" around the City.

Sunday 22nd June: Spent a very quiet Sunday. There were not so many people in the City but we just strolled along. We had lunch in another Chinese restaurant called HONGKONG RESTAURANT. This time we had plain rice with some vegetables and prawns.

Later in the afternoon we went on a tour. We visited BROKE - in - WATERLAND's cheese factory. As you may know, the Netherlands is a cheese exporting country - mainly to America. Her livestock is very good. We proceeded to MARKEN - a queer and isolated island - famous for its old costumes of which the people of the island are very proud of. However, the people, generally speaking, are rather ugly. We spent about 1/2 hour on the island looking around. The island has a population of 1500 only. From here we went to VOLENDAM, a picturesque fishing village. Here again the people dress in their national costumes of which they were proud of. It was raining then and. I'm afraid, it spoil the trip. We returned and got back to the Hotel at 6.30pm

Monday 23rd June: We left for BRUSSELS  by KLM  airline FLYING DUTCHMAN. The departure was delayed for 1/2 hour and landed in Brussels at about 1.00pm. It was so much of rush - getting change for BELGIAN francs and at the same time trying to check up on the Hotel reservation. No such reservation (second time) appeared to have been made - at least I could not get any confirmation. Ver disappointed. There was such a rush for accomodation due to the WORLD TRADE EXHIBITION being held here and it was at about 3.30pm before we could arrange it. It was not in a Hotel but we got a room in a private house. This wasn't unusual now with the Exhibition still going on. We were very tired and cold. It was raining all the time since we arrived at Brussels. We would hope for a better day tomorrow! As we were so tired, we went to bed without dinner.

Tuesday 24th June: Immediately after breakfast we went to the City Centre  from where we proceeded to the WORLD FAIR. As you might know this Fair or Exhibition was opened on the 17th April and would only be closed on 19th October. The site comprised 20 million square feet and many Countries (Malaya not included) were represented and had their pavilions. We visited most of the pavilions including THAILAND's who had a very charming pavilion, though small. Other than the BELGIAN pavilions those of RUSSIA and the UNITD STATES were the biggest. The two latter countries do seem to be really competing with each other in every field especially in those economic and political fields. Both these countries were trying to pubilcise their so-called achievements!

There were so many people attending the Fair. Except for going round the Exhibition by little "trains" we walked and walked and walked. Mak was so tired later that we had to stop for rest after every few hundred yards. There were so many things to see within a day. There was the modern technology section, art  galleries and the Gardens. The was the AUTOMIUM. A pamphlet in its introduction said, "Just as the Eiffel Tower symbolised the 1889 PARIS WORLD EXHIBITION,  so wil lthe 360 feet high AUTOMIUM symbolise and constitute the highlight of the 1958 BRUSSELS UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION. One had to go up by lift and also some escalators. We did not go up as Mak was too tired. I might explain briefly that the AUTOMIUM represented the atomic structure of a crystal of iron magnified 150,000 million times. There was even a DAY NURSERY in the Exhibition compound where children under thirteen years of age were taken care of by nurses and kindergarten teachers while parents went round. Wonderful!!

Imagine us spending 91/2 hours there - from 10.30AM to 8.00PM. While resting and waiting for me Mak saw, from a distance, a Malay friend Che' SUJAK. She wasn't sure but, anyway, he was too far to call. We went back really tired but this time we had our dinner at the Exhibition before going back.

Wednesday 25th June: We left for PARIS - gay PAREE - this morning by SABENA airline. At the BRUSSELS AIR PORT,  Mak really met Che SUJAK but I did not meet him as I was already proceeding to the plane whilst Mak was following well behind. I always went quickly ahead so that I could get two good seats in the plane. We just stayed in the Hotel when we got to PARIS.

While completing the letter tonight Mak was already in bed asleep. Poor Mak! it must be tiring and quite a trial for her. While eating our dinner just now we were talking about you all. We missed you all so much that we cried - silently, of course. Sometimes we felt like rushing home but I am sure you all do not want us to do this. We must complete our tour but do write whenever possible. I received Che Nasir's and Yang's letters today. They were handed to us on arrival at the Hotel. How happy we were to have received these letters.

Now, how is everybody? We do hope that you all are GETTING ON WELL TOGETHER. Let us pray to GOD that OUR REUNION will be a HAPPY ONE with EVERYBODY WELL AND HEARTY. 

Well dear Children! It's getting late. Mak is awake again watching me complete this letter. Until we write again, here's wishing you all, all the best. LOTS & LOTS OF LOVE AND KISSES to all of you. 

Sembah salam to Tah and salam to the rest.

Yours Ever Loving,

Mak & Bapak

(Yong! Tell the others they can write to us if they want to)

P.S. Here are some pictures, including those of the people of MARKEN  which I explained earlier in this letter and also the AUTOMIUM in the Exhibition. (The envelope is not big enough. I may send them later.)

P.P>S Mak wants to know if her "kutu" money + $100/= have been deposited into the POSB...

Letters from a Father to his Children(18.06.58)

HOTEL CONTINENTAL,

FRANKFURT, 18th June 1958

My dear darling Children,

Before telling you all about ZURICH I might give you a general impression of ROME. As an old City ROME had rather too much of the old to "digest" in so short a time. ROME is lovelier than ATHENS. I could not, however, completely appreciate ROME. We were told that one needed to stay in ROME long enough to appreciate it. We were also told that if one stayed there long enough one would not like to leave it - there would be some thing magnetic to draw one back to ROME. We did not realise that but we did, however feel sad when we had to leaveit. I had the same feeling when we had to leave ATHENS.  Generally speaking we enjoyed our stay in ROME.

 

Thursday 12th June: We flew to ZURICH by a plane of the ALITALIA line which took us 3 1/2 hours with 45 minutes stop at GENEVA. We were immediately struck by the neatness of the City, the honesty of the people and the loveliness of the rural districts. We were rather tired and stayed in the hotel, HOTEL CENTRAL, until the evening when we just strolled in the City, before dinner after which we went to bed.

 

Friday 13th June: We got up rather late - still tired. After breakfast we went to post letters - one to you too, and went window shopping. Oh, so many lovely things in the show-cases. The snags are money and space & weight in the baggage.

In the afternoon we toured the City where most of the buildings were modern mixed with a slight tinge of the old - just my idea of a beautiful City. The City was on LAKE OF ZURICH. It's just lovely, lovely..........I just cannot explian or "paint" it! The population of ZURICH is approximately 500,000 - most of them speak German or rather a dialect of the German language. The official of Switzerland are German, French and Italian.

We went to bed rather early and about 3AM. I woke up and realised that we have missed something - a small musical table we bought in the ISLE OF CAPRI. I jumped out of  bed and searched the cupboard. Of course, it wasn't there because earlier in the day we were sorting out our purchases but did not see this table. Mak woke up and when I told her what's the trouble we kept awake trying to retrace our steps and trying to reconstruct the movements to see where we left it. Was it at the Air Port? No; said I, because I remembered to have got it checked by the Customs. We eventually decided that it was either at ST GOTTHARD HOTEL (where we went earlier as this Hotel was supposed to have booked but room was reserved for us - something wrong!) or it might have been left in the taxi which took us to HOTEL CENTRAL. I had to read to put me back to sleep! It was an effort.

 

Saturday 14th June: We down to breakfast rather early as we were still anxious about the table. We went to the Reception counter and with some diffidence asked whether. by any chance, we had left a parcel. The Porter looked around and showed us some parcels. They were not ours but lastly he remembered and went to a corner and said "This?". With a big sigh of relief we recognised our parcel. So our guesses during the night were all wrong. We then went out window gazing and made some small purchases. In the afternoon we drove to the RHINE FALLS, the mightiest cataract in Europe. It was lovely to look at. We stopped at a place called STEIN ain RHEIN (ain means on). This was so called because here the river STEIN met the river RHINE ( the local people spelt it RHEIN). We drove back to lovely country side - most refreshing. Reached the Hotel tired but happy.

 

Sunday 15th June: Today was a day we did not plan to do anything in particular. Later in the afternoon we had a ride in a trolley bus. Of course, we had no particular station to go and so we picked on a place called ROMERHOF. We went there, strolled  bit and came back.

 

Monday 16th June: An exciting day. Left the Hotel at 7.15AM for a trip to GRINDELWALD. All along the route the countryside scenery was marvellous - lakes, hills, waterfalls, rivers - until we came to GRINDELWALD where we came in view of snow capped mountains. We went up FIRST GRINDELWALD by aerial lift. It was exciting and invigorating. We came down after 1/2 hour stay up there. The trip by lift took us one hour to & fro. I enclose a pamphlet and also a picture of us taken as we were about to leave for the upward journey.

Generally speaking ZURICH was my best spot I have so far visited. I liked everything I saw and tomorrow we would leave for FRANKFURT and I would describe it in my next letter.

----------------------------------------------------

Before breakfast today Yong's letter on behalf of you all was awaiting us. That was a wonderful break. We have missed you all so much that the letter was most welcome and we were glad to hear that you all were well. We have framed our group photograph and we always look at it. We know that you too are thinking of us. DO GET ALONG WELL TOGETHER! BE PATIENT WITH THE YOUNGER ONES!!

I have sent two letters earlier. I do hope you have received them with some pictures. More pictures now.

Salam and lots & lots of kisses and love from us to SAYANG, ADEK, INTAN, KUNTOM, NOR, ADEK SHOR, NAN, NAH, AJED and YONG. Sembah salam to Tah and salam to others.

Yours Ever Lovingly,

Mak & Bapak

Letters from a Father to his Children (12.06.58)

HOTEL CENTRAL,

ZURICH, 12th June 1958

My darling Children,

We are now in Rome but before I tell you what we did here I might give you some of the general impressions I gained with regard to Greece or shall I say ATHENS. Except for the poor service we got from our Hotel we enjoyed very much our stay there. We saw quite a number of things there within the time available. ATHENS while being full of hills are also full of ruins of old Temples and Churches for which the Greeks are naturally very proud of. The City itself was pretty clean and repairs to old buildings seemed to be afoot. Taxis plying in the City were mostly big American cars. They drove very fast but the Taxi drivers seem to be good-natured. We have not seen an occasion when a Taxi driver glared or shouted to any foolish pedestrians. Under the circumstances they just pulled up smartly and would let the pedestrians pass.

The Greeks, generally speaking, are humorous and good-natured - except the staff in our Hotel! They seem to be curious people - they way they stared and gaped at Mak. The shops were well stocked and seem to indicate prosperity but looking at the rural areas the Greeks, to a casual observer, were generally poor. The soil appeared to be hard and dry. Quite a great deal of land remained uncultivated. The rural people's mode of living looked to me to be rather backward. They drew their water from wells, houses rather crudely made of stone blocks and mortar, horses and asses were still generally used for transportation of goods.

Mak's impression of the girls is that they are quite, generally speaking, beautiful except that they have unshapely legs. I do not wish to dispute this, but there are quite a number with nice legs too!!

7th June (Saturday): We left ATHENS by B.E.A (British European Airways) plane. There was the excitement of looking forward to a new place. There was also a lacking of uncertainty of what lie ahead - new City, new people, new custom and new currency. The plane and the service were first class - even better than BOAC. We had one of our best lunches on board during the flight of 3 hours & 10 minutes. The time in Rome was one hour earlier. We passed over a volcano, the VESUVIUS, which was doormant - beautiful to watch from the air. We got to Rome after a very pleasant flight and even got through the Customs more quickly than when we reached ATHENS. We were told that entry by a Malayan to Italy would not, in future require a visa. At the Air Port we were advised by an Accomodation Bureau to stay at ALBERGO (means HOTEL) D'INGHITERRA - not the Hotel reserved earlier and we did. The atmosphere in this Hotel was  definitely better than that in Athens. We strolled a bit in the City until 7.30pm.

At 8.30pm we went out on a tour of a bit of Rome by night. We began with a dinner at a fairly decent Restaurant. Called ALFREDO. We were served Italian food - I could not catch the name but it's something like "kueh tiau". I was served from an oval plate into an ordinary round one and the balance of the food in the oval plate (serving plate) was placed in front of Mak to eat from. It seems that was an Italian custom. Very pleasant surroundings. We were made  to understand that Churchill and Eisenhower has had meals at this Restaurant during the war. The R estaurant had obtained signatures of famous people and have them bound in book forms. Mak an I were also asked to sign! We wrote a message and signed in English and Jawi. 

From there we proceed to a Night Club, the CISTERNA, and listened to Italian music and songs. Nothing exceptional and from there we went to a modern Night Club - typical of one anywhere. From there we went to the Fountain * (I must check the name later) where one could make a wish to come back to Rome. Mak and I did it. We had to close our eyes, took the coin in the right hand and throw the coin over the left shoulder. Then we proceeded to another night Club called FLORIDA where we saw some floor shows. Lastly we went to another night club called PICCOLO BUDAPEST ( meaning LITTLE BUDAPEST) where we listened to Bohemian gipsy music and songs. We ended up with a meal and went back to the Hotel at 2.30AM. It was a very enjoyable first night in Rome but it was, on the other hand, rather tiring.

 

Sunday, 8th June: We were so tired and did not get out of bed until about 10.00AM. After breakfast we just strolled in the City. After lunch we went to TIVOLI, a place about 12 miles out of Rome. We visited Villa d'Este famous for its fountains - about 500 of them of all sizes - amongst lovely gardens. It was a very lovely spot. I wished we could spend more time there. We went to bed quite early.

Monday, 9ty June: We toured  the City both in the morning and the afternoon. In the morning we passed the famous steps they called the Spanish Staircase which was shown in the picture "Roman Holiday". This was quite close to our Hotel. You will also find here flower Market. One of the buildings we were shown was the PANTHEON which means the Temple of Old Gods. This was the most classical pagan temple of Rome built in 27BC. From there we drove along the TIBER river to see the Stadiums. The football Stadium was very nice and it could accomodate 100,000 spectators. The Athletic stadium could accomodate 45,000. The Swimming Stadium was being prepared for the 1960 Olympics which would be held in Rome in 1960!  Lastly we visited the biggest Church in the world - Church of St Peter. The architecture was wonderful and the gilded ceiling was very attractive. 160 Popes were buried here. At 12 NOON POPE came out at a window of his residence and blessed the people of down below. Thousands flocked to receive his blessing. (This is all wrong according to Muslim beliefs). Some were looking up on their knees! Here we met a Malayan (Indian) PoliceOfficer and his wife. I did not know his name. Speaking about Churches we were told that  there were 500 Churches in Rome. The population of Rome is approximately 2 million.

In the afternoon our tour took usin front of QUIRINAL PALACE, the residence of the Italian President. Again we went to TREVI FOUNTAIN. This is one of the 400 fountains in Rome! This place seems to be full of Churches and Fountains - just like ATHENS.We then passed by PLAZZO VENEZIA from where Mousulini (I am afraid I may not get the correct spelling) used to address the crowd from a balcony. We later went to the COLOSSEUM  built by VESPASIAN  in 72AD. Here was the place where gladiators fought and men fought with lions! You might remeber the film QUO VADIS. It is an imposing amphitheatre with wonderful architecture. it is a wonder how men of the old days could build such fine structure - huge and massive - of solid rocks without the use of modern machines! From here we visited a ruins and was shown the spot from where MARK ANTHONY addressed the crowd beginning with the words, "Friends, Romans and Countrymen; Lend me your ears; I came to bury Caesar ......." when Caesar was murdered. We  were also shown the place where Julius Caesar was cremated. We lastly visited a church called ST.JOHN in LATERAN. This is the oldest Church in the World. Here was the steps from which Jesus Christ was supposed to walk down when a crown of thorns was placed on his head after he was beaten up and blood dripping from his body. When anyone wishes to climb up that steps now, one has to to walk on one's knees!

On the way back to the Hotel we went along the APPIAN WAY - a lovely stretch of road with pine trees on each side of the road - when we passed by  the house of GINA.....(I can't spell her name) the Italian actress. It is a very lovely house in a beautiful gardens. Unfortunately we could not see her!

 

Thursday 10th June: We started off very early this morning - 6.30AM - for our trip to NAPLES without even a breakfast which we had later at a place called TERRACINA. This Town is on the Mediteranean Sea. We enjoyed our first "bomba" - sort of sweetened bread. It's quite good to go with coffee.

  On the way we stopped at a CAMEO factory. Here all kinds of jewellery made of sea-shells were produced. We then proceeded to POMPEI and after lunch we visited the ancient Roman City by an eruption of VESUVIUS (a volcano) in 79AD. We visited the excavations and the Museum. The story went that out of a population of 23,000, 2000 were buried. The plastic casts of a man, a boy and a dog were exhibited in the Museum. Amongst the things discovered after the excavations were those which indicated the old civilisation - so much advanced even during that period. The pecularity of these streets was the existence of two blocks of stone at cross roads. These stones were meant for pedestrians to stop in to cross the streets during s rain to avoid getting their feet wet. From there we proceeded to SORRENTO along the picturesque coast road. We stayed overnight in SORRENTO, "the smiling town of orange groves". SORRENTO was a small, quiet town  beautifully situated with a magnificent view of the VESUVIUS and the BAY OF NAPLES. We stayed at CARLTON HOTEL.

 

Wednesday, 11th June: We left for ISLE OF CAPRI. Instead of going by regular big launch we decided to go by a small motor-boat. There were about 25 of us - mostly American G.Is from Germany. The voyage took about 2 hours and it was very rough. Our boat was tossed  about so much that many were sea sick. Mak and I just managed "to scrape through". We eventually reached CAPRI - my dream island - always referred to as the PEARL OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. The Island was so lovely - a rock island with beautiful villas built on the slopes, served by narrow winding roads just big enough for two cars or small buses. It was most exciting. We went round the Island in a small bus while the Island was bathed in the sun. There were many tourists dressed in all sorts of manner! This visit was most memorable and my dream has been realised. It has always been my dream to visit CAPRI. I only wished I could stay longer than a day. We returned to ROME tired but happy and satisfied. We would be leaving for ZURICH tomorrow.

Well, despite enjoying our tour we so much missed you all. In fact we long for news from you all now. Would you write to us by air mail as soon as possible? You might be able to catch us at PARIS if you address the letter c/o HOTEL ST JAMES & D'ALBANY. Would you?

We would like also to know if the new servants are taking their own food. If not, something should be deducted from their pay.

Another thing I would remind you is that Pa' Ibrahim should be paid on 15th and 30th or 31st of the month and $5/= should be deducted each time. In other words he should be paid $50/= only each time instead of $55/=

We are sending you some of the pictures (For explanation see back of pictures) taken with Pa' Sabri's camera. I'm afraid I do not handle it well enough as very, very few pictures have come out successfully. These pictures are to be kept as they will form the Album of our tour but whenever your brothers and sisters want to see them, the pictures should be shown.

Time is getting late. Mak is already asleep. Until you hear further, here's lots of love, kisses and salam from us. Also salam to Tah, Mak Leha, Pa' Hitam Suami Isteri, Pa' Ibrahim, Pie'i & Pa' Hussin Suami Isteri.

Your loving Parents

Mak & Bapak

*TREVI FOUNTAIN

P.S Sayang speaks more clearly now?

Adek studying well?

How is Intan? Playing a lot of football?

Kutom is not getting more boils? I hope not. Is she still playing football too?

How is Nor? Progressing well with her "KORAN"?

What are the chances of Adek Shor, Nan and Ajid in their School Sports?

Jamilah? Learning hard as well as listen to the Radio frequently?

And Yong? Looking after the house, brothers and sisters well?

ALL OF YOU MUST GET ON TOGETHER NICELY SO THAT  MAK AND I

WOULD BE HAPPY.