A Library Visit
...... The librarian was very friendly. Once I stepped in she smiled at me. I love the way she welcomed me, it made me feel comfortable immediately. I asked her if there were any books related to Kampar? She immediately brought me to a corner and took two books out, ‘Kampar 100 years 1886 – 1986’and ‘The Trenches of Kampar and Memories’. Hooray! These books recorded the history about Kampar for over a century. ...... Young ladies love taking photos Kampar was very conservative in the 60s, even as fashion trends changed to more revealing wear, the women couldn’t follow them. Under such circumstances, they came up with an idea to gather on certain dates, dressed in skirts, and meet up at Kampar’s most famous garden. They wrap their skirts in paper bags while making their way to the garden. Only to change upon reaching. After taking photos, they would change back and head home. As they can’t wear revealing clothes on a daily basis, they draw satisfaction from wearing them to take photos. This activity caught on and soon became a thing for many women on weekends. Developing a black and white photo cost $1 per piece that time, colour would be $1.50. It was expensive at that time yet many were willing. willing. There was another group of people who also liked taking photos. For those ladies who were married, the reason they went to the photo shop was to ‘let their bad luck be absorbed’. They strongly believed before going to gamble, they must let the camera absorb their back luck. Thus they could do better at the casinos. Does this trick actually work? But interestingly after a while, these ladies would go to photo shop to have their photos taken regardless if they won or lost. It must have become a habit! The Trenches of Kampar and Memories Kampar was directly impacted by WWII. The planes, bullets, bombs, and the marching of soldiers had disturbed the calm of Kampar. During the war between the British and Japanese, localsfled Kampar town. Even before WWII, the Japanese had sent spies to Kampar. Most of them who came to Kampar set up shops selling Japanese wares, a private school for the rich and royal family members, photo shops, and even a prostitution centre to gather info, get familiar with the surrounding topography, draw maps, and familiarise routes that connect with Kampar. The prostitutes were all Japanese, in total there were 10. The centre had a massage and spa service, business was very good. The rich especially British soldiers loved to go there! When the prostitutes were serving, they would often ask, “Which military unit are you from?”, “Who is the person in-charge?”, “Where are you based at?”, “How long are you going to be based there?”, “How many military teams in total?”, “How many of you guys in a team?”, etc. These questions seemed like normal questions during a conversation, and hence the soldiers would unknowingly reveal secrets. As for the photo shops operated by Japanese spies, most of the cameras and photo paper were all imported from Japan, and they sold it at a cheaper price to attract people to develop the photos there. Most often customers were made up of British military who could afford. They indirectly allowed the Japanese to gather information from the pictures, where have they been, with whom, etc. ...... -- Get the book now. --
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AuthorLam Ching Fu Archives
January 2024
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