Zoe had her first taste of the beach when she was about 7 months' old. That was her first trip back to Malaysia.
She loved the beach. Any old beach, as long as it had sand and sea. And she had her pail and tools to dig around. She would play with hermit crabs and build her sand castles. She'd get tickled silly when the waves licked her feet, crawling up her legs. She'd splash around unabashedly.
4 trips in, she has developed a phobia of sand. The colour just isn't what it used to be. There's rubbish all over the place.
"It's dirty, Mummy..I don't want to walk...carry me" she would wail.
Who can blame her? The state of the beaches around Kelantan is quite honestly, appalling. I grew up around beautiful beaches, but where are they now? Erosion has taken out most of the beauty in the old faithfuls like PCB and Pantai Tujoh. Beaches like Pantai Irama in Bachok still retained some appeal until recently when they put up some sort of retaining wall.
I love being at the beach. I don't have to walk on it or play in the sea, nor feel the waves at my feet. Just being there is enough. To look out at the sea is to know that I am at home. And if I'm not looking at the sea from here, I still get reminded of home. It's a win-win situation for me. It would mean so much to me if my daughter can share the joy of being at the beach with me. I sort of need her to love the beach. For me, it's almost like a sense of belonging. For her, I have yet to find out I suppose.
In the US, the closest thing to a beach where we are, is a lake. It's sad and pathetic, I know. The closest beach is probably a day's drive away. We are very inland. Right slap bang in the middle of this vast country. Heart of the Mid West.
So - when I come home to where beaches are aplenty, I tend to want to take every opportunity I have to be at one. So far the popular beaches have been a disappointment. Even the one we went to yesterday, which is a rather secluded one with fewer visitors, was filthy. The shoreline was peppered with rubbish.
Come on though, the Kelantanese have got to see what they are doing to their beaches. Look at Terengganu. Beautiful, spotless, sandy beaches. When you drive from Kelantan to Terengganu, over that bridge by Kuala Besut, going into Bukit Kluang. Wow, what a difference. The sand there is pristine. When you drive back homewards, beautfiul blueish sea turns into a greenish brown mass. The transition is shocking!
I'm not a tree hugger by any means but this is just ridiculous! An environmentalist would have a field day at this Pantai Mengkabang, also known as Pantai Lubang Golok by the local kids. Plastic bottles and bags, broken glass bottles, old shoes, straws, food wrappings, even discarded clothes are everywhere. I'm a little afraid to walk barefoot here. As I get further in towards the sea, I get a little braver. The waves have either taken away the trash or it's simply buried deep enough I can't see it!
Slowly and firmly, I convince Zoe to get off me and walk. She's a little heavy for me to carry around these days. She walks about 20 metres with me, whining and moaning, " I don't want to walk, I don't want to walk!".
Finally I distract her into picking up the shells along the way. We found plenty of cockle shells and these twisty Towers. She starts getting into collector mode and goes for every uncracked shell. Soon, we come upon some men and boys with their vast net. It had been raining for most of the day until this evening so the sea was cloudy and the catch was going to be good. Some of them stay on shore and others spread out into the sea with their part of the net.
Zoe suddenly asks for sand toys. I got my beachlover back!! She's still tentative, scraping sheepishly at dry sand. I suggest moving closer to the sea. She's reluctant, but slowly takes baby steps towards wetter sand. I leave her with my friend for a moment while I take in the Kuan Yin statue that's facing the sea. What a strange place for it, I think to myself. So I venture offshore to take some pictures.
By the time I come back a few minutes later, Zoe is back to her old self. A manic wet-sand thrower (a wrecker of digital cameras!), a wave kicker-upper, a normal 4-year-old who doesn't care if sand gets in her hair. Or in Mummy's hair.
I figure something out too. Maybe I already knew it before. Zoe's phobia of sand was more or less brought on by me. I'm always telling her she has to be clean. Wash those hands, rid those germs from your fingers, don't put your fingers in your mouth, blah blah..
Finding a balance between loving nature and everything around us, and being clean. Sometimes, it's easier said than done.
She loved the beach. Any old beach, as long as it had sand and sea. And she had her pail and tools to dig around. She would play with hermit crabs and build her sand castles. She'd get tickled silly when the waves licked her feet, crawling up her legs. She'd splash around unabashedly.
4 trips in, she has developed a phobia of sand. The colour just isn't what it used to be. There's rubbish all over the place.
"It's dirty, Mummy..I don't want to walk...carry me" she would wail.
Who can blame her? The state of the beaches around Kelantan is quite honestly, appalling. I grew up around beautiful beaches, but where are they now? Erosion has taken out most of the beauty in the old faithfuls like PCB and Pantai Tujoh. Beaches like Pantai Irama in Bachok still retained some appeal until recently when they put up some sort of retaining wall.
I love being at the beach. I don't have to walk on it or play in the sea, nor feel the waves at my feet. Just being there is enough. To look out at the sea is to know that I am at home. And if I'm not looking at the sea from here, I still get reminded of home. It's a win-win situation for me. It would mean so much to me if my daughter can share the joy of being at the beach with me. I sort of need her to love the beach. For me, it's almost like a sense of belonging. For her, I have yet to find out I suppose.
In the US, the closest thing to a beach where we are, is a lake. It's sad and pathetic, I know. The closest beach is probably a day's drive away. We are very inland. Right slap bang in the middle of this vast country. Heart of the Mid West.
So - when I come home to where beaches are aplenty, I tend to want to take every opportunity I have to be at one. So far the popular beaches have been a disappointment. Even the one we went to yesterday, which is a rather secluded one with fewer visitors, was filthy. The shoreline was peppered with rubbish.
Come on though, the Kelantanese have got to see what they are doing to their beaches. Look at Terengganu. Beautiful, spotless, sandy beaches. When you drive from Kelantan to Terengganu, over that bridge by Kuala Besut, going into Bukit Kluang. Wow, what a difference. The sand there is pristine. When you drive back homewards, beautfiul blueish sea turns into a greenish brown mass. The transition is shocking!
I'm not a tree hugger by any means but this is just ridiculous! An environmentalist would have a field day at this Pantai Mengkabang, also known as Pantai Lubang Golok by the local kids. Plastic bottles and bags, broken glass bottles, old shoes, straws, food wrappings, even discarded clothes are everywhere. I'm a little afraid to walk barefoot here. As I get further in towards the sea, I get a little braver. The waves have either taken away the trash or it's simply buried deep enough I can't see it!
Slowly and firmly, I convince Zoe to get off me and walk. She's a little heavy for me to carry around these days. She walks about 20 metres with me, whining and moaning, " I don't want to walk, I don't want to walk!".
Finally I distract her into picking up the shells along the way. We found plenty of cockle shells and these twisty Towers. She starts getting into collector mode and goes for every uncracked shell. Soon, we come upon some men and boys with their vast net. It had been raining for most of the day until this evening so the sea was cloudy and the catch was going to be good. Some of them stay on shore and others spread out into the sea with their part of the net.
Zoe suddenly asks for sand toys. I got my beachlover back!! She's still tentative, scraping sheepishly at dry sand. I suggest moving closer to the sea. She's reluctant, but slowly takes baby steps towards wetter sand. I leave her with my friend for a moment while I take in the Kuan Yin statue that's facing the sea. What a strange place for it, I think to myself. So I venture offshore to take some pictures.
By the time I come back a few minutes later, Zoe is back to her old self. A manic wet-sand thrower (a wrecker of digital cameras!), a wave kicker-upper, a normal 4-year-old who doesn't care if sand gets in her hair. Or in Mummy's hair.
I figure something out too. Maybe I already knew it before. Zoe's phobia of sand was more or less brought on by me. I'm always telling her she has to be clean. Wash those hands, rid those germs from your fingers, don't put your fingers in your mouth, blah blah..
Finding a balance between loving nature and everything around us, and being clean. Sometimes, it's easier said than done.
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