Heart and Soul: Memories of my shophouse home in Bidor

A family dinner in the shop, with the writer seated second from left. Photos: Liong Kam Chong

I grew up in a shophouse in Bidor, a small town 66km south of Ipoh. The shop was 20ft (6m) wide and double-storied at the front (50ft/15m) while the middle (40ft/12m) and back (30ft/9m) portions were single-storied.

By “grew up”, I mean the time span from when I attended school, went to university, graduated and started work until I bought my own house. During those periods, when studying or working away from Bidor, I stayed in rented rooms. On holidays, I would always go home to my parents’ shophouse.