My little village is located on the Terengganu river bank about 20km from the South China Sea. Being in the tropics we do not experience the four seasons. There is no summer nor winter. But we do experience some semblance of different 'seasons' in a year. The dry season with the usual dryness and hot and dusty days usually starts in March and ends in June when there is usually thunderstorms and lightnings. The 'winter' begins in late September and ends by end of February. The 'winter' is actually only a rainy season. But mind you, rain during this season is very heavy. It is normal to have heavy rain non-stop for a week on ends.
Nowadays, the seasons have changed. The rain that comes during our winter comes only for a few weeks at the most. This year the heavy rain arrives only the last week of December. And like in the past few years the season will end by January. During my childhood, the seasons lasts for at least four months,
While we dread the perceived difficulties associated with the Monsoon season in the form of floods and the wet clothes, I enjoyed the rain and the floods. When the river swells and inundates its banks, my friends and I start building rafts made up of banana tree trunks tied up together. And we spend the days rafting in the flooded fields. We were ever willing to help free any stricken fishing nets or fetching whatever the villagers asked us to. It was not the task that we enjoy but they give us the reason to play rafts in the flood-water.
Our main fear during the flood was if there was a crocodile in the water although we haven't seen one during my whole chidlhood years. The others are occasional snakes that come across our way looking for drier place to go and the myriads of insects that congregate on tree trunks. Strange-looking insects occupy every square inch of any tree trunk above the flod-water level.
In a few times that we do not play rafting, we cycle along the flooded village roads. By the time we go home we were so hungry that the ubi rebus - boiled tapioca - tastes so good. The ubi rebus is taken with hot tea or coffee. Sometimes mother scolds us for spending too much time in the flood water.
No one died in our village due to drowning in the floods. The Monsoon seasons were enjoyable time during my childhood days. Whenever rain starts dropping we went out and basked in it contrary to my chidlren nowadays who quickly dash into our home when it starts raining.
