travelling to mainland china by ship

nowadays, it is almost unheard of - travelling on a passenger-cum-cargo ship to china. but that's what the older folks did, up to the late 70s, when they returned to their hometown to visit their relatives and friends. nothing of the cruise ship's kind of travel and comfort. more like huddled together in a tight space and during the week-long journey, enduring seasickness and hunger because of the loss of appetite and the not very appetising food.

to make the trip, the elderly folks had to scrimp and save for a few years. months before the trip, they would start collecting used clothes and other used stuff. they would also store up on non-perishables like canned food, medication and herbs which they would bundle together with other odds and ends. these would be sent to the agent whose duty was to ensure that the things got on board the ship. i remember watching my mother using cloth remnants to stitch into blankets and these would keep somebody warm in china.

other preparations for the trip included going to the agent who also doubled as the letter-writer - who lived at sophia road - to write notes to her relatives in china to let them know of the name of the ship, the expected date of arrival at the port in fujian and the name of her agent. if i am not wrong, the name of my mother's agent was hock ann.

on the day of the journey, they would board a tongkang at clarke quay which would take them to the ship anchored out in the sea. my mother would have a hand-carry bag with her. the other stuff would be in bags or sacks with identification tags. her agent would help with the tagging of the bags.

i remember accompanying her once to the ship to see her off. we were even allowed onboard the ship to have a look around. i have a faint picture of the abject kind of accommodation they had on the ship - a crammed, gloomy deck where each traveller had a bunk bed with all his stuff strewn on the floor.

i think the journey to china took about 5 days or longer and it was not uncommon for them to suffer from seasickness during the journey. however, the thought of seeing their loved ones and friends was enough for them to endure all the hardships and unpleasantness on the ship.