Kai Peng Road

There used to be a road between the Methodist School and Brooke Drive and it was called Pak Ke Diurn in Hokkien or Pa Gie Diurn in Foochow. In English it was called Cock Fighting Arena or Court or stadium.

I remember a Chinese family surnamed Kiu living there and they had a son called Kevin. Perhaps one Foochow Chiew family also lived there for some time. Their children were called Edmund and Kee Ping. Methodist School students from the town used to take this road as a short cut if they went to school on foot. There were rubber trees to walk under and one big wooden house to skirt around. The road was later named Kai Peng Road, and today it is no longer in existence.

Kevin Kiu, Edmund Chiew lee Ung and Chiew lee Ping formed a very tight group of friends. It was very obvious when we were in school that they were thick friends, inseparables like the Famous Five, from Enid Blyton's books. So we used to imagine their pranks, their adventures or misadventures .

I also remember that one or two boys from this area had a big fist fight one day after school. Many of the Methodist School boys were in the know about the serious disagreement. It could be something that was very unjust. Fear spread through the hearts of the boys and girls in the school because it was a fight just too near the school for comfort. We even heard that a knife was produced!! And for a few days, many of us girls did not take the short cut to the school.

The Cock Fighting Arena was a loose medley of wooden houses, with no fencing, like any other Malay Kampung. Some of the wooden houses had a eerie look as they were fairly empty in the day time. Some times in our hurry to school we could hear the rubber seeds exploding over our heads. At times we could see the chickens running around freely, without fear of being stolen or captured by the passers - by. As I recollect those days, I am very touched that the people living in that area really offered a very safe passage for students who went to school on foot. Perhaps then life had a very different approach towards the well being of every one.

Of course at night , none of us ever went that way. It was just one of the "short cuts" that we used in our childhood.

But I never saw an organised cock fight there.

Later, when we grew up we went our separate ways. I often wonder if these boys ever got back together for reunions.

How did this place get the name I often wonder. Perhaps there is a mysterious story there.