Who Would Have Guessed…
…that this was Pasir Puteh back in the 1960s? Yes, take a GOOD LOOK at the pictures below 
Shops with zinc roofs.
Mercedes Benz Bus, Ipoh Omnibus Co.
These pictures were provided by Mano, while SK gave us a little write-up:
Mano stayed at No 7, New Pasir Puteh & LMS 136 further down the road at 94, New Pasir Puteh. I stayed in 429A, New Pasir Puteh behind the row of shops hidden by the trees. Dont know if this was the ice kachang stall. LMS136 moved out from here in 1958, Mano in 1963 and me in 1966.
The Sundry shop, Tong Huat which was opposite Mano house diagonally had a coffee shop where the coffee shop owner had a shining bald head like marble top. We used to have coffee there & my father would pour the coffee onto the sauce plate for us to drink as it would get cooler & faster this way. Lat drew this in his cartoon. I liked the noodle & the bean curd pieces which was wrapped in mengkuang & fish paste ( foo peh ) Just in front of Tong Huat Sundry Shop , there was a man selling a round pan kueh made of flour, margarine & grounded nuts ( Tai Kow Meen ).
Opposite the road would be a bicycle shop where we watched the Black & White TV of Man landing on the moon. This is the part I am not too sure. It stated the 1st landing on the moon was July, 1969 but I recalled it was much earlier. Unless it was something significant, maybe 1965 or 1966 as I shifted to Jalan Pasir Puteh, near Jalan Pasir Puteh School in 1967. I remember standing outside the bicycle shop with my brothers & neighbours watching the event as only a few household had TV & this one was for public viewing unlike now where public viewing is catered for football fans in mamak shops.
Coming to the date of watching landing on the moon on TV in front of the bicycle shop, since it was July 1969, which I had left New Pasir Puteh, it could be the first American man that came out from the capsule walking in space then.
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration … the Gemini 4 mission on June 3, 1965, Ed White became the first American to conduct a spacewalk. This was more likely. I was still in 429A, New Pasir Puteh.
On the left side of Tong huat, after a break road from Tong Huat, was this factory making Coconut Candy. Remember the ice ball which cost us only 5 cents. The ice-seller would roll it & put the sugar coating & at times, she would put some read beans inside the middle. If we sucked the coating too fast, we have to throw the ice ball away as the sugar coating had not reached the middle. Yeah, I think the Indian Shop owner was a shame to cheat young boys. Next to the shop was the barber where we cut our hairs. I think there was one Indian grocery shop along the same row.
The end shop Picture No 1, there was a corner bungalow with a big compound occupied by a Malay Family. One of the daughter’s name was ” Puteh”. There was also a small road leading inside Lat’s Kampong & in that row of houses, which was where the Ham brothers lived. (The Fabulous Falcons)
All these were gone when I visited these places a few months ago. A complete change & if Mano picture had not captured it, that moment would be gone with the wind.
Thanks Ed for bringing back the sweet memories of New Pasir Puteh & also thanks to Mano
who has kept these photos.
On the same side on Mano’s row, there was
a Kueh Teow Factory and a Chinese Medical
Shop.
I used to run errand there to buy Kam Cho Mamui
( Salted tidbits mixed with herbal powder). Har Ku Cho cham Mow Kan (Herbs mixed with roots ).
Hope some of you can give a better translation.
Just outside the bicycle shop, you know the election fever would be round the corner when they
began to show movie reel of Tarzan, P Ramlee or War movies or John Wayne, Red Indians & cowboys or General Custer of the American Cavalry.
Lat also drew this.
They would show one half of the movie, break to hear the election campaign & continue the remaining
after that.
So most of us, young kids would stay back for the ending.
Dont know how many of you remember when we started clapping when the cavalrymen emerged victorious.
Re: the two pictures, if someone has a CSI image
enhancer, I would like to see the Number plate of the Bus & the Bus Route Display No 90A, New Pasir Puteh on top of the bus.
I wonder what the headlines were on the second picture as this was a newspaper vendor shop.
You would never see such a rubbish bin in front of the shop now except maybe in the rural area.
It would be nice if someone could post a couple of pictures taken now from the same spot where my father stood to take those photos 50 years ago. A word of caution though, watch out for the traffic!:)
Hi Mano,
Glad to see you are back to Ipohworld from
Down Under.
Any flood situation over in your area?
The last trip I went back a few months ago,
your House No. 7 is still standing.
Only a few of these left, maybe until 16.
After that as well as the opposite -
Please try this link for picture
Hope this works.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QbMmzNwzbNHmQ
This is diagonally facing right from your house and after the newspaper vendor.
All the trees are gone but now a row of shop houses.
I went to the back of your house & some of the houses are still standing. My laundry lady house was at the back but I couldnt pinpoint the exact unit.
Cheers & have a Blessed Easter Holiday.
Dalam gambar yang kedua di tepi jalan kelihatan tiada rumput yang tumbuh. Kawasan ini digunakan oleh bas untuk membuat U-turn berpatah balik ke bandar Ipoh. Bas tersebut sedang berhenti dihentian yang pertama sebelum memulakan perjalan ke Ipoh. Bas biasanya menunggu tiga hingga lima minit bagi mengambil penumpang.
Jalan yang bertar sehingga yang terdapat didalam gambar sahaja. Selepas itu adalah jalan tanah sahaja.
Harap Saudara Mano dapat membetulkan sekiranya terdapat kesilapan.
Memang betul, Kamy Suria!
With due respect and apologies to Kamy Suria, I’m afraid I’ll have to revert to English as my BM has become quite ‘rusty’.
On the right of the first picture where the shops are, was a vacant piece of land which became a playground by default. The boys from the adjacent kampung even built a badminton court on the sandy ground using jute string for the lines. Hockey was played often too using anything that resembled a hockey stick! Then, somehow, somewhere, two pairs of boxing gloves were found. So a boxing rink was made on the same sandy ground with the jute strings this time for ropes! This was when I first heard of Cassius Clay.
Imagination and improvisation equalled fun in those days!
Thanks for the memories Mano and especially the last line. So true!
Saudara Mano,
Saya yang sepatutnya memohon maaf kerana menulis dalam Bahasa Melayu bagi blog yang dikendalikan dalam Bahasa Inggeris.
There is no need to apologise KS as BM is perfectly acceptable for a Malaysian blog including this one. The only shortcoming of course is that some of our overseas fans may not understand what you have written and we do have quite a lot of those – mainly soldiers/police who were stationed here for a couple of years with their families. That is why I try to respond in a way which will let them know what you have said. I don’t always succeed!
For information, Kamy Suria’s comment of 28 December was missed easlier by me (on holiday). He made the point that nn the second picture the area with no grass was used by the bus to make a U-turn back to Ipoh. It would then wait for about 5 minutes to pick up passengers before starting the journey back to Ipoh.