Time Tunnel Museum - Cameron Highland

 Experience the rustic charm of a unique gallery that captures the spirit of the bygone eras of Malaysian life.  

There once was a man from Cameron Highland who has a soft spot for all things vintage, metallic and one-of-a-kind. Having accumulated much different artifacts, objects and old photographs junk over years of domestic travel; See Kok Shan collaborated with Kok Lim Strawberry Farm to start a museum preserve the cultural heritage of the past. 

They share resources to help each other.  See has a place to display his collections to the public at the basement of Kok Lim Strawberry. As for the farm it will reap the benefits of additional tourists from museum. 

The museum started out as a gallery of photographs donated by some locals, then See started adding more and more things to it. He dedicated certain sections of the museum to familiar Malaysian scenes such as the iconic kopitiam, a barbershop, and a traditional Malaysian kitchen.

While most museums and galleries forbid touching the artwork but  this one is a museum slash gallery slash interactive centre.

After visiting the museum, the visitor will walk-in to the strawberry farm or if they are thirsty can  

receive their discount or to redeem on drinks at the museum's cafe.

The split-level galleria occupies a passageway that stretches for more than 80 meters. 

It is filled with artifacts that serve as a reminder of what life was like for Malaysian living in the 50s to 90s  especially those from the local Chinese community.

The displays are mainly on the things used in their live like the olden days. The exhibits are appropriately showcased in eight galleries covering an area of approximately 14,000 square feet. 

After opening in 2007, the Brinchang museum drew  local and overseas visitors, it  has earned rave reviews and mentions in local and national publications.

Now, take a step inside as you could go back in time to days of your forefathers. Look around, take your time  and enjoy.

There is no such object shown as a time tunnel  but at that 2nd stairway would this make you feel awesome if this  creates optical illusions which look like one?

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Location UT/MR/F-255, Jalan Sungei Burung, 39100, Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, West Malaysia

   

GPS COORDINATES:  (N4°29.829' E101°23.715')

The museum can be reached via public or private transport. It is less than two kilometres from Brinchang town or about seven kilometres from Tanah Rata. It perched next to the main road shortly after leaving  Brinchang town towards Kea Farm. 

Hours of Operation

It is open daily from 9 am to 6 pm

ADMISSION FEE: Entrance fees are RM 5 for adult and RM 3 for kids. Each pass will entitled you for a 20% discounted for any drinks. A visit to Penang Time Tunnel, you had to fork out five times more.

Grab the tickets. Sit back put on your seat belt and enjoy the ride as we take you back in time.

 If you are into antique stuffs and a sentimental old fool like I am,this place is definitely worth a visit. The collection is very rich, so many items from the past, we wouldn't have expected the time tunnel to be so vast. 

 It's a pity I can't spend a bit more time to observe and took more pictures. Hope to come back again.

Time Tunnel is a local museum dedicated to preserving the historical memory and cultural heritage of Cameron Highlands. First of all the name of the place maybe confusing to some tourist, this shouldn't be call a museum at all.  It's more appropriate to be called a Gallery than a Museum.

What other names you can think of? You might say, Blast From The Past, Step Into The Past, Back Into The Past, Cameron Museum of Yesteryear...

Hey! Check this out. There are no restrictions to photography at this place but there is a drawback. Taking great indoor photos without flash can seem impossible. You should stop relying on your phone, and buy a nice camera to capture some of the low light picture moment. 

TᕼE ‘ᑕOᖴᖴEE ᔕᕼOᑭ’

Resembling a humble old eatery (’kopi tiam’)  but are not perfect copies of, the original image.

What I remembered how a general setup of a traditional hailam kopitiam look like..

The decor of kopitiam were kept fairly basic with all the physical hallmarks of a traditional Malaysian coffee shop, tiles on the floor and running halfway up the walls, marble-topped tables and curve-backed wooden coloured chairs, ceiling fans, a cashier's counter  and a large glass display cabinet with an assortment of heavily-creamed cakes. The delicious cakes flavor still lingers in my mind ..Yummy Yummy.

History of Kopitiam:

Back to the colonial days,there was an exodus of southern Chinese to Singapore in search of a better future. The early immigrants were mainly from Canton, and included large numbers of Teochew and Hokkien.

 These Chinese settlers quickly occupied the more lucrative trades and economic niches, as jobs in those days were filled mainly on referral by friends or by fellow immigrants from the same province. Those from other ethnic groups or provinces were shunned.

The Hainanese people were late arrival have now deprived of the opportunity to finding better living.

Most of them ended up working with the British colonial households as cooks or maintenance staff. These Hainanese domestic workers became adept at western cooking and lifestyle. They learnt to make English breads and brew coffee or tea in the preferred English way. Oh my Old Chap, do it just the way I want to be.

When the British left after Malaysia has gained independence, these jobless families had accumulated some savings, decided to seize the opportunity.  These  Hainanese entrepreneurs started to open up their own coffee shops which have evolved into the franchised kopitiam of today.

Back in those days, they sold coffee and tea, cakes, breads, and half-boiled eggs.That's All? The kopitiam customers were mainly average and low income worker such as coolies (dock labourers).

It's a different world today, kopitiam proprietors selling both drinks and food or only drinks and teaming up with/renting out stall to others.

The old kopitiam baked its own cakes, made its own kaya, even roasted its own coffee beans on the premises. Today,  many shop owners procure their food and coffee from suppliers in order to  find cheaper supplies or a more cost-effective way. Eventually the taste of original Hainanese style coffee with authentic  flavors are missing except for a few family run business kopitiam.

Perhaps the most vital appliance of all was the Rediffusion radio. This box continuously stream of news in several dialects, folk tale reading, and music, it was the cable TV of its time and attracted the working man in droves. 

The kopitiam “concept” took off. The word kopi is a Malay/Hokkien term for coffee and tiam is the Hokkien/Hakka term for shop (店) but it left me to wonder why not in Hainanese word?

Something to learn:

The deep-fried Curry Puffs were traditionally made by the Hainanese, who cooked for the British when they were in Malaysia. The puff pastry component of the snack came from the British influence and the filling might have been influenced by the Indian Samosa, which had minced mutton, potatoes and onions. 

 Future generation may see only a handful of old, traditional Hainanese eateries plod on, and even these face stiff competition. Sleek version of modern "food court" gave its old kopitiam cousins a real run for their money.

Try to make time and drop in, sit, have a meal, linger awhile with one of these truly traditional Hainanese kopitiam while you still can. One of these days, you and your children may be sitting in Starbucks, you will them there used to be a Hailam kopitiam here. 

In the middle of this photo shown a  little brown box we called Rediffusion which provided
 many hours of endless entertainment for us in its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s.

Situated near the barbershop, the cafe occupies an area of about 90 square feet. Its walls are  to recreate the aura and the atmosphere of the past: they are tastefully decorated with adverts for Milo, Horlicks, Ovaltine, Gold Dollar tea, Ajinomoto, KISCO, F&N Orange Crush, Coca-Cola, 7 Up, Fanta, RC Cola, Sinalco, Pepsi-Cola, Green Spot and Kickapoo.

Some people were thinking, what the heck is Rediffusion?Ah, a long time ago..way back to 1949, it was  the first commercial cable-transmitted radio stations. 

Although televisions were popular but most families could not afford. Those days radio sets also were very expensive and reception of such stations very poor. The Rediffusion service remained primary radio service for over thirty years. 

 Takes a sneak peek into the lives of Kopitiam

Penang Time Tunnel also feature a kopitiam scene but only with painting mural kitchen background.

A koptiam must have a good coffee, it has their own trademark kopitiam, boasting of its old school style.  Only then it can be considered as an authentic kopitiam.  

Hainanese coffee shop was the common sight of coffee being made with ground coffee powder and pouring boiling water over grounds in a cotton “sock” filter.

Some Coffee Sifu(barista) stir the condensed milk into the brewed coffee but I prefer those Sifu to leave the sweetened condensed milk alone, let us do our own  stirring according to our taste. 

The hot water  supply tank is below and cups are always soaked in hot water
to get it to stay warmer longer after drinks served to customers

A charcoal fire was used to toast slices of bread imparting a smoky flavour to it, before slathering on a thin layer of melted butter and a fat coating of kaya spread. Kaya is the Peranakan version of a Western jam, made from eggs, freshly pressed coconut cream, pandan (screw pine leafs), sugar and lots of patience.

What sets Hainanese coffee apart from other coffee is the process of pouring the prepared black coffee back and forth between two coffee pots with long snouts. In a way, it's a bit like Teh Tarik.(literally 'pulled tea') 

Take a walk back to the "good old days", where you have a chance to enjoy the rich aroma of our freshly brewed coffee.

If you'd ask me I'll say, 20-Year-Old Coke Tastes So Much Better Than Modern Coke and  those good old days, root beers were the most popular choices but don't ask me try the unopened bottles of the vintage soft drink.

Boss Kira! Those days, you're most likely to find the cashier/boss using abacus to calculate. We are unlikely to hear the sound of abacus made by the clicking sound of the beads these days. 

 Won't you join us?  Not me. I have no idea how to play mahjong but study indicates they can help to stimulate
 your brain  and bring back old memories, 

 When I was just a kid, dad used to bring me to kopitiam. At the back there are peoples playing mahjong, including a few pakcik.

This is a place where time virtually stands still. Some of the history only Malaysians will be able to relate to, much more than anything in the history books.

Mom said she feel like she is travelling back in time,  back to her early years.

“These are things we all love and grew up with. Parents would come in with their families and, somehow, the conversation will always be about the things we have here. The grandparents would also tell their grandchildren stories about what their parents used to be like. 

Mom was looking at a vintage poster. This  hair tonic really help effectively in cases of hair loss but she was unable to find it anymore.

The museum is a nice place to visit if you like nostalgia or want to show your kids the recent changes in lifestyle. You can hear many of them saying look here, daddy/mommy used to....

Walking along the pathway brings back so much memories. All the things you or your parents grew up with was there for you to look at it again.

 ᑕOᒪᒪEᑕTIᗷᒪEᔕ &  ᗰEᗰOᖇᗩᗷIᒪIᗩ

The list is endless. It includes old notes, coins, postage stamps, books, clocks, analog phones, feeding bottles, transistor radios,etc.

The items on display are amazing it's just like walking back in time. Some of the things I recognized from my child hood. It contains a treasure trove of bygone memories. Suddenly I feel like I am a little kid let loose in a playground. 

For those who grew up in the 40′s to 80′s, this will be a walk back in memory ...Just like once you walk through the time machine into different eras, you will  travel back and forth through time and have a good laugh when you reminisce about your childhood .

Its a nice place to tell the kids about yesteryear's, your humble  'Old Fashioned Stories'.

One day, your children may ask you, what was you childhood like? Just let them know that you'll take them to a field trip back in time to your childhood. Well, isn't that cool!

*Bell Rings* *Kring Kring Kring - Kring Kring Kring* “Yehey! Ice Cream” 

In the days before manufacturing ice cream become an industry, the old ways of selling ice cream to customers in the form of Ice Cream Cone (is a edible cone that ice cream is served in), Homemade Ice Candy wrapper(if you been to Green View Garden they sold this in the form of strawberry Popsicle Mold Ice Candy Disposable Bags) and Ice Ball(It’s basically crushed ice shaped in a ball and covered with flavoured syrup which is served up in a little plastic- you slowly rotate and suck on syrup).

Shaved Ice Ball with syrup, favorite dessert from the 70s 

Old Man selling home made ice cream. There's no better way to cool off on a hot day than with a ice cream on a stick!  This made a brisk business that day.

English colonial decor.. I couldn't help feeling a bit creepy looking at the doll. Its like "Chucky"
 the notorious killer doll in the movie. 

It feels very creepy inside passageway. It give me a ghostly feeling.... Do make sure few persons go in along as it will be scary if go in alone. It is a bit dark. Cause this is thriller, thriller night, oowwuh...  Nah, nonsense.

My mother holding a baby doll, that's what they said. Nope, that's my sis.

Ha Ha. My mother sporting a beehive in 1964 also known as B-52 due to a resemblance to the distinctive nose of the Boeing B-52 airplane. I was wondering whether there are any bees mistakenly finds its way into her hair as natural bee hive?

These tiny shoes belonged to my sister,  still in very good condition.

Shoes in those days were made to last, for few could afford. Maybe one day, she'll donate the shoes to the museum or put on eBay and sell it. Nah, just kidding…

Hey mate I've got a song request..The way we were

Memories, may be beautiful and yet

What's too painful to remember

We simply choose to forget

So it's the laughter

We will remember

Whenever we remember...

The way we were...

 I love the music of the 80s and the videos that went along with them esp from MJ. Hopefully we'll get more of his unreleased song to come out. I shared the same birthday date with him but
 I fell sad when Michael is no longer with us.

The late 60s to the 80s was the time Malaysians began to be influenced by pop culture from outside the country.  Elvis Presley onto the 60s Tribute Bands including The Beatles of course and onto ... 70s Tributes include the to ABBA, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie ... 80s: emergence of dance music and new wave (example: Human League, wham!)

Songs from the past can stir powerful emotions and transport us back in time. ... You can feel everything as if you were actually there. The soft background music and songs played here usually popular hits of yesteryear  to provide a nice atmosphere.

Children nowadays are more interested in playing video games rather than traditional games which they are slowly being wiped out by the strong current of technology.

It is especially interesting to see the evolution of music players through the years. How much Malaysians can remember about the good old days of music devices, from vinyl records to cassette players to CD players to portable cassette players(Walkman) to video MP3 players, and is still in use today.

Just like television evolved in the 1980's to colour from black and white, the shape of the television changed from the old bulky TV screen to the sleek wall mounted TV design.

Before the days of malls and hypermarkets, the local kedai runcit/grocery store was the place to be for a kids' hangout. There, one could get everything from sweets, crackers and junk food to marbles, playing cards and erasers (remember the ones with the flags of countries on them?) The main attractions of these shops were the snacks, toys, candy and cookies inside glass jars with red-coloured lids.

Traditional games does not have to cost you a fortune to be fun and memorable.

It's important to remember that being outside does more than give our kids (and us) a chance to run, jump, and play. The old phrase 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' is certainly true.

Many of the items found in the museum are now relics of a bygone era. Most people would call it junk, except for See, and many visitors to the museum. These items are precious reminder of our past. Children of yesteryear is much happier I'll say, things were much simpler and happier, than the sadness of today.

Today's Children are under pressure to achieve, to be doing well in my exams, to get good grades, to be competitive.

There are too many traditional games to talk about. I can only remember a few of them. Other games worth mentioning are board games - Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, Scrabble, Checkers Board Game, Mastermind and many more.

If you mention the names of any of the boardgames or the traditional children games, the children will scratch their head cause they have no idea what you're talking about. They'll be more likely to say, "What's that?".

Blow up Bubble Balloons

Pierce tube with pointy side of lid, squeeze out small ball of plastic onto end of straw!

Slowly blow through other end of tube to create a bubble, pinch bubble off of straw!!

Paper Doll Cut Out Dolls 

 I wonder, do kids still play with this?

A paper doll is simply a flat drawing or print of a human or animal figure, designed to be cut out and decorated. The doll’s costumes and clothing are also drawn on a two-dimensional surface and often have cut-out tabs to fold around the doll.

What we lack in fancy video games we make up for fond childhood memories through traditional games. Those were the days when games play with joy and laughter, something video games gadget will never bring.

Traditional Chinese Bamboo Stool (mother & child chair)

It is a creative multi function. When turn a side down, it can also be a Child armchair.

 Some of the stuffs, I ever saw when I was small and bring out the memories when see it again. Feeling of nostalgia for the past and old experiences. I got some flashbacks of my early childhood days.

Families were much bigger in the olden days, although poor children would have no toys to play, they had little need for expensive toys when enjoy each other's company. Longing for those good old days ... Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture some.  I have fond memories  from childhood, riding my racer pedal cart.

Technology is slowly  ruining the quality of social interaction that we all need as human beings.They are less healthier when spending less time outside and more time indoors using electronic devices, which can lead to significant health problems.

No time for family. You are not alone. Even while sitting together but absorbed in there smart cell phones, busy texting or gaming.

 Some items have persevered until today, some in completely different forms, while others only exist as distant memories. Some may not have been invented in Malaysia, but we embraced them into our culture and history as well.

An unbelievable collection piggy banks. Before the 70's bank saving money boxes are made from die cast metal.
 Later on it was made from PVC.  I would say that, it's cheaper no doubt about it.

All parents want to teach their children good money habits from an early age.  As a child, I had a savings account opened in my name and every month mom will bring the money box to the bank. 

The bank officer will open the removable plastic seal to remove coins from the bottom of money box and he will placed inside a Electronic Automatic Coin Counter Machine where the collected money is counted and recorded. I loved and amazed with the coin sorter when electronically count my money as well as sort the different types of coins I put in.

Piggy bank serve as a great teaching tools because the child see the money accumulate to start.

What's so great about smoking?  It is nothing but burning money.

Marlboro cigarettes ads "Come to where the flavor is. Come to Marlboro country. " I remember the advertising tag lines for Philip Morris' Marlboro cigarettes well. In the past, tobacco companies exploited the lack of regulation to control tobacco promotion.

Major cigarette companies would advertise their brand in popular TV shows, newspaper, magazines, cinemas, and sporting events were still allowed to be sponsored by tobacco companies.We can watch the live sport broadcast such as boxing and football for free,  courtesy of tobacco companies.

My grandparents were heavy smokers,  they were always just huffing and puffing away. I wonder if parents who smoke tend to have kids more likely to be a smoker in the future?
In the past,  there was a general lack of awareness about the harmful effects of smoking.

For those who worked in rubber plantation, it was customary to chase off mosquitoes with tobacco smoke. My friend used to help his parents at the estate during the weekends in the past, now he couldn't quit smoking.

Stay Away from Tobacco. Smokin' Ain't Cool.

The word rickshaw originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha (人力車) is a two-wheeled, human-powered vehicle.It has a seat for two (three at a stretch) people across the axle of the rickshaw, and two long poles which the rickshaw-puller grips with his hands.   

Rickshaws were invented in Japan about 1869, after the lifting of a ban on wheeled vehicles from the Tokugawa period (1603-1868), and at the beginning of a rapid period of technical advancement in Japan. Yosuke and two other men, Suzuki Tokujiro, and Takayama Kosuke, invented the rickshaw, having been "inspired by the horse carriages that had been introduced to the streets of Tokyo a few years earlier". 

This mode of transport are still alive for travelers in some tourist places in Japan.

Rickshaws spread rapidly throughout Asia in the late 19th century, arriving in places such as India, Singapore, British Malaya, Siam (Thailand) and French Indochina (Vietnam) from the 1880s through to the turn of the century.

A century ago, rickshaws were a common mode of transportation in Seremban and other major town.

Penang Oldies

1- Hand-pulled rickshaw of the bygone era, once a common form of transport in Penang. 

2- Strange, it was like something out of The Great Gatsby. .

3- In the hey day of trishaw, there were 2,562 trishaws in Penang.(1969)

4- Trams have been in service around Penang in the past. Electric trams began operation in 1906. The company was profitable by 1913 but struggled during the war years. Trams were gradually replaced by trolley-buses from the late 1920s.  The last tram was taken off the streets in the 1960s. Will trams set to make a comeback on Penang's street by 2017?  It will looks like a scene from San Francisco tram. Trams are quieter, better for the environment but will it cause less traffic?  Only time will tell.

Penang old trolley buses

The trishaw evolved from the rickshaw. The rickshaw was invented in Japan in 1869 and was first used with regularity starting in 1929 in Singapore. Six years later they outnumbered pulled rickshaws.

In Malaysia, trishaw is called “Beca”, a Malay word actually derived from Hokkien dialect which means “be-chia” or horse cart. I think it's plausible due to the design drew inspiration from the horse and carriage.

Rickshaws were taken over by the trishaw after the world war 2. Trishaws were faster, stronger, able to carry heavier loads and for once, people could for the first time get somewhere faster than someone could walk them there. 

In Penang, Trishaw driver sits behind the passenger seat giving more spacious compared with their Malacca counterparts.

In 1936, the new rickshaw that resembles an old fashioned buggy mounted on a tricycle, was introduced to Penang, a more powerful version of the lighter cousins, the rickshaws.

The Chinese term for the the pedal rickshaw is sanlunche (三轮车). The local Hokkien Chinese call it lang-chhia(人车), may be a simpler word for human power tricycle vehicle(人力三轮车). 

The configuration of driver and passenger seats vary. In Penang, driver sits behind the passenger seat but in Malacca the passenger seats are usually located beside the driver in a side car.

Beca have advantages over their other public-transport, it can ferries tourists through narrow lanes, offering them a closer view of the town and surrounding countryside in an unhurried manner.The nostalgic feeling sitting on top of the three wheeled beca does indeed an unforgettable experience. 

It is no longer the choice for public transport. Beca is just like its predecessor, its popularity dwindling as cars, buses and other forms of transportation became widely available. 

Beca is making its last stand, it's slowly becomes a mode of transportation merely for tourists.

The riders that remained are now old and elderly, Penang iconic trishaw was once the primary mode of transport is facing product's life cycle late stage and eventually will phase out.

I spent my childhood in Penang and I love the trishaw ride but I found trishaw may sometimes caused traffic congestion during peak hours. Normal days ride is becoming unbearable as we have to breathe in the smoke emitted by vehicles and be roasting under the scorching hot sun. 

There are about 200 trishaw left in Penang which are mostly scattered around Georgetown area. If nothing to keep the trishaw heritage alive, it will Die a slow and a painful death.

The government should help modernise them according to the present needs of customers today but right now it's a game of “survival of the fittest". It's odd seeing the trishaw here  were regarded as a dying breed but other nation cities like New York  has gained popularity.

 An AIR-CONDITIONED Auto Rickshaw Service but the feeling of nostalgic trip down memory lane are gone forever. Better not to distorted from "its original form".

Those Were the Days. The present and upcoming movies those days will be advertise by leaflet distribution or by a advertisement on a billboard of  a truck that will go around promoting the movie by making
announcements through loudspeakers

So much difference with today. With a touch of few buttons you can learn about the movie and watch the trailers from the movie website.What a big difference between the old marketing and new marketing ploy.

Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow

Try to remember the kind of September when grass was green and grain was yellow

Try to remember the kind of September when you were a tender and callow fellow

Try to remember and if you remember then follow...

Gone are the days of moviegoers pushing and shoving their way toward the ticket window. With the invention of video cassette recorder, Video Compact Disc and and the introduction of satellite cable television has cause the attendance at movie theatre drastic decline. 

I remember sometimes the whole cinema occupancy viewer only less than 10 person watching. Many cinema goes out of business not long after that.

Times have change and the major cinema operator has to change marketing strategy. No longer having a big cinema hall showing one movie at a time. It has converted its stand-alone cinemas into multi-screens cineplex.

THE lowest admission prices was only 65 cent. 

Take a trip down memory lane to see if you can remember this one 

In many of the old home of Chinese New Villages you'll find there are no keys inside but a simple locking device of wood sliding latch. This traditional ancient wooden door latch with a beam is the oldest locking principle and was invented along with the door.

 Primitive Wood Door Slide Latch. 

So, what happens when you go out? You will need to arrange for someone to stay at home to open the door?

 No, at the font door closed lock with a chain on an old wooden door.

It is in fact still used today, so the concept of “bolted and barred” is still relevant. This giant temple door still use the Door Slide Latch method.

Traditional wooden pushcart used for street vending

If you travel through Vietnam, you still can see women carrying a long wooden pole across
 the shoulders dangling two trays loaded but in Malaysia this trade is no longer in existence.

In early days, it was a common sight to see traders carrying their wares. The travelling hawkers with bamboo stick had two large baskets on its either end while  masterfully balanced this heavy stick.

A long time ago, mobile foot peddlers went around the village and sell food .The baskets contain the goods they peddle.  I may be a kid but I remember particularly well a vendor selling wan tan mee who will use bamboo clapper to attract customers. May not look and feel hygienic but the food will definitely make you cannot forget ...my best ever wan tan mee I have ever experienced.

Peddlers in the Old World

PIC 1- Old school peddler trade, men  balancing two baskets of ware on their shoulder collect and recycle anything that has resale value. Do you have any bottles? ... collected every salvageable rag and scrap of paper. These days,  you'll find trucks driven by scrap dealers who collect old newspapers, magazines, empty bottles,etc such as the amplified tape- recorded messages played. 

Over the loudspeaker, his cries of ' Paper lama, Paper lama. Old Newspaper! Old newspaper!' ring out loud to alert his presence in the neighbourhood.

PIC 2-  I miss the old man selling freshly toasted bread on tricycle with the cart in front. Traditional Indian bread seller this way can no longer seen except perhaps Penang. Nowadays bread peddlers has upgraded to riding motorcycles. One thing never changed is the sound of Bicycle Bike Retro Metal Air Horn.

Modern motorcycle bread peddler, the New Wave Rotiman.

Roti Man in their olden days  tricycle with the cart in front. Only in Penang you can still  find such scene.

This is an all too familiar scene of" Roti man" that making his rounds in your neighbourhood, driving in a modified motorcycle fitted with a container that holds various kinds of bread and a number of different snacks.  The roti-man has been the primary source of bread for many Malaysian households for a number of years now.

Some people may wonder what's that empty biscuit tin doing here?

Hands down the best biscuits I've ever tasted! ..but that was a different era.  When I opened the tin, wow the biscuits aroma were awesome! Only those who tasted back in the good old days will understand.

PIC 3- An individual selling small items of household goods from door to door.While peddlers had a significant role in supplying isolated populations even with fairly basic and diverse goods such as pots and pans to homemaker.

Another independent peddlers bites the dust. In present day, most residential neighborhoods in Malaysia have at least one grocery store or big departmental store.

Vintage clip of Bird Fortune teller. The old traditions still alive at little india, Penang and many parts of the world.

 A traditional bird fortune-telling originates from the traditional Chinese bird fortune-telling which predicts one’s fortune from a card randomly picked by a bird. When the fortune-teller opens the door of the cage, the bird comes out and picks up one or several papers randomly, on which the client’s fortune is written.

"For the generation of the 60s, 70s and 80s, a lot of us can relate to the things that we see and witness here."

Just passing through Jalan Temiang, trying to catch that glimpse of Ting Ting Candy man who went around on a bicycle to peddle rock candy, ting-ting thong. There is still a hope to preserve this tradition or they will be lost to us forever.

Those who grew up here in the '50s will remember local delicacy from time past, the classic sweets called Ting-Ting Tang ( 叮叮糖). The candy seller 'breaking' the molten malt with chisel and hammer into shards. It got its name through the sound is produced when the malt is struck with hammer. 'Ting, ting, ting' was the sound heard from afar.

Sure bring back memories of tough old days! Malaya was under Japanese rule for over three and a half years until the end of the war in 1945.

No, it's not a Genie in a Bottle, just my sister

My sister standing on the podium trying to "reenact" the scenario whereby on that day, 31st August 1957 Prime Minister, Allahyaraham Tuanku Abdul Rahman in the middle of the field raising his hand to proclaim the nation's independence at the stadium. .... and the day the joyful, triumphant shouts of “Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka!

 Iconic moment: Our Father of Independence  triumphant cry of  'Merdeka' filling the air.

 TᕼE ᒍIᗰ TᕼOᗰᑭᔕOᑎ ᗪIᔕᗩᑭᑭEᗩᖇᗩᑎᑕE

On Easter Sunday, March 26,  he and Mrs. Helen Ling, his white American-born wife attended the morning services at All Souls' Church. At around 3pm that day Jim Thompson, already well known as the "Thai Silk King", walked out of Moonlight Cottage where he was holidaying with friends in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands and that was the last time he was seen.

  There are many reasons for people to go missing. Many hypotheses have been advanced, but no consensus has emerged to explain his disappearance. 

Theories range from, he has been abducted to another country but is not being held for ransom by Communists, he had staged his own disappearance possibly because he feared being exposed as either gay or as a double agent and falling into an animal trap. 

Forty years on and the mystery of Thompson's disappearance seems no closer to being solved than it ever was.   The mystery lives on.  And maybe we will never figure it out.

Regardless of his outcome, a niche has been set-aside to highlight his past. It covers an area of more than 50 square feet.

Mystery of missing Thai Silk King

TᕼE ᗷᗩᖇᗷEᖇᔕᕼOᑭ

This section is  recreating the barbershop scene.  This barbershop is as close as you'll get to the traditional “guys' barbershop” experience, its interior furnished with vintage chairs and an array of barber tools such as mirrors, scissors, hair clips, colorants, combs, hair sprays, straight razors, shaving creams, tonic bottles, curlers, hair dryers, clippers, hair cream and blade sharpeners.

The showpiece at this outfit is the barber’s chair. It is more than 50 years old. There may have still few Indian barber shop that maintain the old school barber shop. You can see a barber's pole outside the shop, it is a type of sign used by barbers to signify the place or shop where they perform their craft.

Barbers were being squeezed out by fashionable style, a threat to the old school barbershop - the modern unisex hair salon. 

This old barber chair was built to last.

Vintage shaving tools. Many different cutthroats and other shaving tools, cool decoration for barbershop

You don't see scissors cause those days a barber is trained to cut with clippers, the main tool in cutting a man's hair. Plausible. Some barbers opt to only use clippers or shears while some use both.

Hey, Check it out.  My mom uses these to cut my hair but I don't think it's working anymore.

Hair clippers are operated by a pair of handles which are alternately squeezed together and released.

Barbers used them to cut hair close and fast. While they were widely used in the distant past, the advent and reduction in cost of electric hair clippers has led to their largely replacing manual clippers.

TᕼE ᗩᗷOᖇIGIᑎE ᔕEᑕTIOᑎ

Reenactment of life of the natives (Orang Asli) in this area.  The people are maintaining the skills and knowledge by making traps out of bamboo.

Their livelihoods are sustained by its harvests through hunting, fishing, collecting wild edible plants and farming. In the Cameron Highlands, most of the Orang Asli come from the Temiah tribe. These people live mostly in villages and settlement areas stretching from the foothills of Tapah all the way up to Brinchang town and then down to Kuala Terla.  Some of you may have seen Orang Asli people selling roots and honey at the roadside to earn extra cash income.

Do you come from a land down under?

TᕼE ᑕᕼIᒪᗪᖇEᑎ’ᔕ ᑕOᖇᑎEᖇ

This place is filled with school furniture, counting aids and rocking horses. A nearby glass counter displays memorabilia like erasers, sharpeners, pens, pencils, school badges, rulers and pencil boxes.

A good exhibit is more than just a collection of objects.Some require better arrangement display and more context to explain the items being displayed

This is the section where most visitors feels the exhibit is disorganised, it seemed to be haphazardly grouped together.

Here are comments posted from one of the tourists who have visited Time Tunnel Museum:

I believe items in here need to reorganised as items on displayed are quite cluttered. For those of us from the era, will be nostalgic but for the little ones (our children and children's children), they just see old items on displayed and no educational value. If items were to be better organised with proper sequence of flow, I believe it can be rather informative for our children.

TᕼE KITᑕᕼEᑎ ᗩᖇEᗩ

Located along the ledge of the unit’s second level is the kitchen section. It's moments like this that make you wish you could freeze frame time to a stand still.

Here you will find an oddball mix of kitchenware of kerosene stoves, frying pans, woks, porcelain bowls, chili pounders, plates, spoons, firewood, meat safes, charcoal stoves, food grinders, ladles, vacuum flasks and tiffin carriers. Many of our modern gadgets would seem alien compared to the below and most of the items here are now no longer in use.

Lot's of old utilities that we used to use in our days are on display that were will rarely get a glimpse of these items in the present times. 

I know now, perhaps why my mom kitchen can also be extremely cluttered and disorganised. She couldn't get used to modern kitchen of tidy and organised. Everything have to visible without hidden. She's against having doors for the kitchen cabinets in ... just stack them haphazardly.

It serve as a reminder of what life was like in Malaysia during the pre-War years.

Its a nice place to tell the kids about yesteryear- the old fashioned kitchen. "A long time ago in a galaxy kitchen far, far away...". Nah, that's a bit exaggerated.

There is no such thing as gas stove in those days. Before my mom can start cooking, she need to start a fire at traditional wood cooking stove. It is not as simple to use as it seems .

To begin with you can't just go out and buy fire wood at grocery store as you can go and cut your own firewood. It's free in a nearby forest. One of my aunt is given the task to bring home the firewood. There are times the dry woods are found on high cliff. It was much easier going up a cliff than going down. Sometimes she has to sit on the gunny sack to slide down the cliff slowly.

To light the fire, you will need three essential materials; tinder, kindling and fuel.Some materials are good starter fuel and some are good tinder. How they intended to use?

Some materials will ignite at the slightest spark while others are readily combustible when the flame ignited. We use kindling to keep the fire going after the flame exist.

Tinder is a material that is easily ignited. We prefer to think of it as a combustible material that will ignite with a minimum of heat flux, even a spark. First put a little paper or tinder (easily combustible material used to ignite firen the tunnel,eg dry grass, paper, cotton balls).

Make a loose twist of paper, light one end on fire and push it inside the tunnel, and put the small kindling right on top of the not-yet-burning end. 

 All sticks can be loaded in vertically (up and down). They will burn at the front and bottom first, and the rest will drop down and keep burning for a good, long time. 

Good old-fashioned technologies you learned is by adding oxygen will often cause a fire to burn hotter and faster. The wood furnace space is quite cramped after adding the dry wood and not much gap left to blow in the air. It was very common in villages, to use a metal/wooden hollow tube to blow air to kindle the fire, keep blowing extra oxygen into a fire until a flame is created.

Wood smoke can cause coughs, headaches, eye, and throat irritation, no to mention
black face, black hands and arms, black clothes. 

You do remember in the movie of Cast Away, it took him a lot of work and caused him a lot of pain to figure out how to make fire so that he could cook crab. Once Tom Hanks finally makes a fire,and when he finally does, he'll start singing and yelling in excitement and relief that he finally made fire.

In today's world, all you need is a flick of switch to start the flame. My mother will say: " You don't know how lucky you are living in the modern age".

Maybe wood has a certain delicious smoke flavor that gives off savoury aroma that makes the food taste better. It's like why when firewood were used to roast the Kenny Rogers' chicken which makes it tastier compared to KFC. ( It's my personal opinion.)

Nothing tastes better than food cooked over real wood. Furthermore, who doesn't love the nostalgic sound, feel and smell of a crackling wood fire has a cozy, romantic feel.

Malaysia traditional  red bricks Chinese kitchen with open wood stoves

Explore the way our grandparents and parents lived and wonder at the way things were done only a few decades ago. One cannot help but be a bit sceptical of the authentic scene of olden days kitchen.

Well according to See, “I’ve had elderly visitors crying because it reminded them of their parents or their childhood.” .  Here is your PROOF.

 A typical list of appliances for a modern kitchen, including a washing machine,gas stove, oven refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, coffee machine , toaster, blender and water filter system.

In the old days there was not so much stress on installing a quality water filter in your house. A quality drinking water filter is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity! Polluted water is water that is not safe and not healthy for people and animals to drink or to wash in.

TᕼE ᑭᕼOTO GᗩᒪᒪEᖇY

The galleria has an inventory comprising more than 1,000 snapshots. Take a peek into the past of Cameron Highlands through photographs.The most prominent feature of the photographs are:

• A blown-up picture of P.Ramlee's old identity card.

 Gone too soon at the age of 44 years

A truly multi-talented Malaysian, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr P. Ramlee is a singer, actor, songwriter, producer, screenwriter and film director. I wonder if I managed to catch a glimpse of him while he visited a small town,
Sekinchan when I was a little boy?

My  mother loves to watch old black and white movies of P. Ramlee which always makes her feel nostalgic for the times when things were less complicated. It's film are like a bit like stepping into a time warp which takes a light-hearted look at the country in the 1950s and 60s .

It simply brought back the good old memory on the way we live. The way we drive, the way we talk, the way we eat and drink, the way we play even the way we bath.

This is a photo of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and PM Lee Hsien Loong
when they visited the Cameron Highlands in 1954.

Nobody famous, it's just a photo of my childhood years with my family.Certainly brought back some
 fond memories. I wish I could turn back the time..  

It's quiz time

 Fuyoh!! Miss Hong Kong 2008 was here before.

The TIME TUNNEL was visited by Miss Hong Kong (Ms Edelweiss Cheung), 1st and 2nd runners-up (Ms Skye Chan and Ms Sia Ma) during their tour of Malaysia in August 2008. The trio spent more than an hour at the museum.

How to improve the Time Tunnel Museum? It's just my humble opinion, that's all.

1 -  A good presentation is very important to catch the attention of the audience immediately. When you displaying the object haphazardly, it may confuse and irritate visitors. It should be well-organised like it should be in museum. It may bring wrong impression for foreign tourist, what a mess they say.  On the contrary, local Malaysian or Singaporean,  this messy display is definitely not an issue.

Antique ceramic jar at the stairs of the entrance

 In the old kampong days, the villagers does not have drinking water facility or piped water, it's customary for them to keep a big pottery jar as water container for washing ones feet before entering the house. A basin filled with water is placed on the wooden or concrete platform at the entrance. A water scope with a long handle floating inside is used for scooping water from the large basin. Those days the dipper or called "gayung" is made from coconut shell.

2 - Do not assume that visitors either local or foreigner understand; assume that they did not understand of the object exhibited. The least can do is must have wording explanation or information available. A museum label or caption is a label describing an object exhibited in a museum, or one introducing a room or area, or the whole museum. Without  that description, it doesn't ring any bell for a foreigner.

Many visitors made comments about lack of exhibit labels, visitor Quotes:

This is place a really good collection of stuff from the 1960s onward. However, the items are not properly protected or archived. Unfortunately, more often than not, the items are also not categorized according to themes or chronology. 

For example : This item was displayed at its entrance.  Do you know what is this?

Coconut Hand Grater Shredder, a common tool in olden days kitchen.

3- Although video display would be a nice feature to have them but it would be costly. Perhaps a better alternative would be a simply provide a link or title of the article where you read about it.

Advanced digital technology used by some museums is the use of bar codes on their museum labels. Now our technology has advanced more than traditional UPC bar codes.  QR codes have been on a meteoric rise in the last couple of years.  QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is able to display a website URL to take somebody to further information.

The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read using smart phones and dedicated QR reading device.

4- Sound effect, any artificial reproduction of sound or sounds intended to accompany action and supply realism as setting and place. At the TT museum old 70s pop English songs is being played at the background to add to the atmosphere. How about adding sound effect in a coffee shop?

5- A tour guide in the museum can be helpful by giving factual information and great story telling skill to tourists who often eager and curious. Maybe hiring part time Orang Asli who able to converse fluently in English for visitors to learn more about their culture.

You'll feel like this place do come alive like Ben Stiller's Night in the Museum.

6-  I do love a good museum mannequin dress up to display different costume/dress  in re-creations of period.

7- The curator should be interested to hear what other people have to say on the display arrangement or listen to their comments, thank them for their feedback. 

Services is vital if museums are to meet the needs of a diverse audience, this is where a Public Relations (PR) Officer meets regularly to review every aspect of the visitor. Who the visitors were, what they did, their likes, dislikes and ideas for improvements

8- Built a portal website which are intended as a marketing and communication media which will increase the number of visitors to the museum. It will also alert the visitors of the museum's collection and special promotions. 

9 - The lighting at the inner part of the tunnel were quite dim. This is when a real camera with flash light comes handy. I hope this darkness purpose is to create a depth and a special mood for a different lighting rather than to save electricity on lighting.

10 - It was so dusty down in the basement! Hey! What did you expect?  Basement needs additional ventilation, such as fans or a dehumidifier. Achoo! Excuse me! Let us do the housekeeping to get the museum cleaned and organised!

11- Wherever we go in a museum, the “Don’t touch” signs are there. From our childhood we are taught to keep our hands to ourselves. It's nice you may feel the object here but many inconsiderate visitors allowed their children to sit on some of the  artifact and this will contribute to their quicker decline. 

Stop! Hammer time! You can't touch this. You can't touch this. You can't touch this... but it's alright if you're at TT Museum.

12- Museums facing growing security challenge to protect a museum's collections from possible acts of vandalism and thievery. There is no people looking after those precious Artifact, not even under CCTV surveillance. 

On the other hand, people can feel uncomfortable while walking on a hallway, where they know that they are being watched. I feel extremely irritated when a sales person making a big show of having to rearrange everything I touched and following me around.

I will definitely leave without buying anything. Shop owners should train your sales people to respect privacy and not hassle a potential customer.

13- Curator need to introduce new exhibits to keep the interest alive to attract new visitors and  re-attract visitors who have already come and seen the museum in the past.

14 -  Crucially, curators also need to know how to call on external sources of expertise. If possible could seek the advice and assistance in technical aspects of museum management? Get photography club to use for inspiration, hits and tips and ideas for future shoots. Museum can relay back this information for visitors  trying to get the best angle shot.

Whatever shortcomings you may think this place maybe lacking, we need to understand this is not an official museum administered by the local government but a private collector who was kind and generous enough to share with the public his collection. 

Don't let the "few" terrible comments make you skip this place. It is true that few parts were not in proper order but the whole experience is simply breathtaking. This place is an individually run museum, and all the items were pretty well kept in their original condition.

For Malaysian we can certainly appreciate the gems from the past of our lives growing up in the olden days.

A commendable job worth applause Mr. See for his effort in keeping thousands of memorable items dated as early as 1940s.

If you love history and architecture as I do, then I think you this is a must see for sure. It's been said about TT museum you either love it or hate.

As the old saying goes,one man's trash is another man's treasure.