Reliving lost childhood years in retirement through flying kites
KUCHING: There is nothing more fulfilling and enchanting for 78-year-old pensioner Ng Siaw Kee than to fly his kites and watch them soar high in the sky.
He usually spends his a ernoons flying kites at a wharf near Wisma Mahmud here, sometimes on his own, but on most days with his friends.
In an interview with The Borneo Post, Ng reminisced about the days where he was deprived the luxury of experiencing a ‘normal’ childhood, as life for him back then had forced him to prioritise on more pressing ma ers.
Kite flying, for Ng, reminds him of those lost childhood years, and it was also the nation’s favourite pastime during his generation.
The children of his generation would make their own kites, with the most basic one the traditional diamond-shaped kite made from two pieces of thin sturdy bamboo sticks, string and thin sheets of paper or cloth.
Having retired at the age of 70 in 2014, he decided to get back into what he once considered a luxury hobby, making it a daily affair.
“I got into kite flying and cra ing in 1988. I made a kite using bamboo strips as its frame, and the transparent, oilresistant kite paper as its sail, and therea er going through the process of colouring and designing it. To be honest, it was difficult for me to source for certain materials locally, leaving me with a limited option in kite cra ing,” he said.
“It was only until 2014 when I started to get serious in kite making where I managed to get materials sourced from overseas to create fabric kites,” Ng said, recalling his first ever fabric kite masterpiece which he named ‘The Minion’.
His creativity, skill and passion in kite flying have grown and developed over the years, and since then, he never looks back.
Ng passionately shared his experience in making a kite, of which he would first begin with the design that he had in his mind. Secondly, he would transfer the design onto a template, while carefully deciding on the colours that fit the kite’s theme and design.
He would then use a soldering iron to a ach the pieces of fabric before sewing them together.
A er he had done the sail, he would later search for appropriate materials for the kite; for its frame, the bridles or even its tails.
It usually takes Ng about a month to make a large-sized kite, taking into account his precision and a ention to detail.
According to Ng, the most common kites are the Delta kites, Quad kites, Diamond kites, Parafoil kites, Rokkakus kites, Traction kites, Wau Bulan (Moon kite) and the Ring kites.
When asked if he has his own favourite piece of kite, Ng noted that he favours the Quad Kite (a four lines kite) the most.
“Quad kites are made with light material using ‘Icarex’ (polycarbonate fabric) or light Ripstop nylon fabric with light carbon rods, and they are my favourites because they are easy to maneuver and are also handy for a person with weak in the knees,” he chuckled.
Ng’s kite-flying playground is the wharf near Wisma Mahmud due to it being close to his house.
“I’ve been flying my kites here with my friends for over seven years and almost on a daily basis. The kites that I would bring along depend on the weather conditions and the wind range.
“In general, the larger and lighter kites fly easier when the wind is light to moderate. Like now for example; the wind is not consistent, so we are playing the waiting game, waiting for the wind,” he explained, while cracking a joke in between.
Besides being his passion and a reminiscence of his childhood, Ng views kite-flying as therapeutic and promotes good health as well as improves agility.
“For me, it is just beautiful seeing a kite flying high up in the sky, and even more so at the sight of it during sunset over the Sarawak River,” he said, while adding that he and his friends would occasionally head to Pasir Panjang or Telaga Air in Matang and Sematan in Lundu to fly kites.
Holding on to his kite as it is getting windy and ready to fly, Ng remarked that he would love to see people take time out of their busy schedules and find the beauty of life in simple things, such as in kite-flying.
“Stop and smell the roses, but in this case, stop and fly the kites,” Ng ended the conversation as he headed off to fly his Ring kite to ‘capture’ the sunset.