At the airport upon return to Bangkok around midnight, I whispered to a Malaysian backpacker not to be scammed by the limosine taxi people, and to opt for the regular metered taxis outside. A few minutes later another backpacker from his group recognized me - a fellow Free, SPM year of 1996, though we didn't really know each other when we were back in school. In Free School spirit, the backpackers took up my invite to spend the night, all eight of them, before heading off to Cambodia the next day. It was fun to say the least - pictures later. The timing seems right for another dose of Penang Free School senti.
A Free School hallway - literally, it's the hall on the right, and a quadrangle on the left. Most students have a more impressive view of this, since most students are, well, shorter. (View panning is everything.) And I would say most Frees would have memories of this view connected to the digestive tract - when one is in a position to have this view in Free School, one is either walking from the canteen after eating, or passing by wishing it was time to eat.
Things were more interesting when the Hall wasn't always locked, though one would have to go back a decade plus to get that. An impressive thing, the PFS Hall, not the least because its design is that of the hull of a ship, inverted. And way back, there used to be a trap door in the stage with the most unbelievable junk below - not to mention the little alley connecting the Hall to the teachers' dining room, which as temporary changing quarters became important in our annual stage productions.
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