This year we spent Eid-ul-Fitr in Sitiawan. Here’s a photo of everyone during Eid morning. Then later that night, we had guests over the internet in the form of the Renstroms. Yaya and Adik also joined the fun. Adik wanted to crawl through the computer screen to join us, but Yaya held him back. EID MUBARAK!
Continue readingTag Archives: Balik Kampung
Where Woon Seong once sleepwalked and chased us all over the grounds way past midnight
Blog posts where we go back to Pasir Mas and Sitiawan. This tag will now include Pandan Indah as Irfan’s kampung.
Abang Ngah’s Wedding
Six years ago we attended Abang Long’s wedding kenduri at Kampung Permatang during a balik kampung trip back to Sitiawan. It was now time for his younger brother Abang Ngah’s wedding, though technically the aqad was performed in Ipoh the previous weekend. As always it was great to see relatives pooling together to get the kenduri running, working the logistics, greeting and serving guests. We had visited the previous night when they were building up the main table and backdrop from scratch. The following morning it looked like this: Here are assorted photos from the kenduri that day. Congratulations again to Abang Ngah & Kak Ngah.
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How Everyone Lost Their Tooth In Sitiawan
We balik kampung to Sitiawan the other week and everyone – Irfan, Ain and I – lost one tooth each while there. Irfan extracted his own tooth even before we arrived at Atok & Opah’s house. He proudly showed his freshly drawn molars. He’s been doing it a lot with his baby teeth lately. Then, we thought we’d visit the government dentist for a check-up, because it’d be less expensive than going to a private clinic in Kuala Lumpur. Ain had a wonky tooth and she had that extracted. Come my turn and the dentist discovered a dead tooth. It was a different colour from other teeth and the top part was brittle. Ain had complained for a long time that my mouth had a strange smell – a rotten smell. A silvery, glistening needle was produced and I swallowed my fear, and allowed the cold metal to plunge into […]
Continue readingAidiladha 2011: Back To Sitiawan
This Aidil Adha we drove back to Sitiawan. As per standard operating procedures, we took a family photo Aidiadha morning, before heading out to visit others. [[image:aidiladha-2011-01.jpg:All who were present at Aidil Adha 2011:center:0]] I love this photo of Irfan on the wooden pier by the river. I should have waited 30 seconds later, because by the time I stowed the camera, a little boat went by with a happy-looking bunch of children. Here follows a selection of photos of our time in Sitiawan. [[image:aidiladha-2011-02.jpg:Behind Opah Long’s house at Kampung Permatang:center:0]] [[image:aidiladha-2011-03.jpg:Irfan and Opah:center:0]] [[image:aidiladha-2011-04.jpg:Huorns! Huorns on the loose!:center:0]] [[image:aidiladha-2011-05.jpg:Beachcombing at Lumut:center:0]] [[image:aidiladha-2011-06.jpg:The Lumut Naval Base can be seen in the back:center:0]] We didn’t stop to have ABC at the Lumut Promenade though. Eid Mubarak everyone.
Continue readingSalam Aidilfitri from… uh, Ipoh?
That weekend we tagged along Abang Ngah’s engagement convoy from Kampung Permatang all the way to Ipoh, or more precisely near Simpang Pulai. As usual the adventuring party that was formed by the family was a fun and boisterous one – despite the inordinately hot day we had. [[image:aidilfitri-2011-ipoh-01.jpg:Atok and Opah at the kenduri:center:0]] One thing’s for sure: the food prepared by the other family was very delicious. [[image:aidilfitri-2011-ipoh-02.jpg:Negotiations:center:0]] The adults negotiate the terms of the future wedding as the rest of us kids play. [[image:aidilfitri-2011-ipoh-03.jpg:Abang Ngah and fiancee:center:0]] Abang Ngah and his fiancee posed for photographers after the negotiations are done. [[image:aidilfitri-2011-ipoh-04.jpg::center:0]] Abang Ngah’s brother Abang Long with his younger son awaits outside. Once upon a time, Abang Long’s wedding was also featured in this blog!
Continue readingBest ABC This Side of the Euphrates
When we balik kampung to Sitiawan, we try to drop by at Ain’s favourite ais batu campur (ABC) restaurant, which just happens to be at the Lumut Esplanade, overlooking where the Dindings River meets the sea. Most times we arrive, there is an festival-like air to the area which has a food court by the water as well as a children’s playground. Anyways, here’s the ABC: [[image:aidilfitri-2011-abc-01.jpg:ABC:center:0]] That evening, there was a TLDM (Royal Malaysian Navy) warship docked right in front of the food court. [[image:aidilfitri-2011-abc-02.jpg:Some warship:center:0]] Alas, we did not have a lot of time. So, we only had the ABC. [[image:aidilfitri-2011-abc-03.jpg:This photo is here because Ain looks so pretty in this shot:center:0]]
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Salam Aidilfitri from Pasir Mas
This year it’s balik kampung to Pasir Mas for Aidilfitri! And for the first time ever, we flew to Kota Bharu. Why did we fly there? Cause I don’t think the car can survive an 8 hour cross-country trip. Heck, it can barely survive a trip to Sungai Buloh. Here is our only family photo taken for the celebration. We had so many visitors the first two days there was no time to take photos. Cars upon cars upon cars arrived in no time! A couple of days earlier: Irfan had fun on the porch during the rain. We watched pelepah nyor and stuff fell as the rainstorm did its work. When it wasn’t raining, Irfan performed his favourite chore: raking leaves from the yard. Back to Hari Raya: Thanks to technology stolen from the future during a time travel jaunt, everyone could speak to and see Irfan’s Cik Su […]
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The Great Nerd Archaeological Dig of Sitiawan
Earlier this month, we went back to my hometown of Sitiawan where I dug up my old stuff in my cupboard and wardrobe, then posted them on Google+. Here is a compilation of the posts, along with further elaboration, as well as a new photo near the end. Ancient cache of geekery unearthed at my parents’ house included a single Bill Mantlo / Gil Kane’s Micronauts comic. I’m sure there was another where the ‘Nauts battled a gentleman by the name of Professor Prometheus – at least on the cover. I don’t remember much of what’s inside. I found a pair of old Dazzler comics – featuring the mutant disco performer who transduced sound to light – still readable with their pages still intact. Several years later, she would be a member of the X-Men. I bought the West End Games’ Star Wars RPG module titled Crisis on Cloud […]
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Eid Mubarak & Happy 7th Birthday
Aidilfitri greetings to everyone from us who are spending the holidays in Pasir Mas this year. This year, our family was garbed in black on Aidilfitri morning. The next day was Irfan’s seventh birthday. There was no place in the fridge to store the cake so we cut the cake that morning. Irfan’s cake was very nicely decorated by the cake shop, complete with edible Donald Duck, Doraemon, Ultraman, some funky cat and for some reason, an unidentifiable Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with a goatee. He must be evil. Meanwhile in the kitchen, Ain was leading the team to cook her nasi dagang, which I sampled quite a lot of before the end of the day. Later that afternoon, Aiman came to visit from Salor with his parents, so Irfan and Aiman did their regular things together, watching TV, chasing each other all over the house and playing with the […]
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That Is One Big John Fruit
The last leg of the vacation was a couple of days back at Ain’s kampung at Pasir Mas, Kelantan. When we arrived, Irfan’s cousin Aiman and family were on their second-to-last day there before returning to Kuala Lumpur. They had a few hours together to play, with the Atok’s ball from Sitiawan, and the bubbles. That night Aiman slept over at his paternal grandmother’s house. They came to visit the next morning before leaving. Fruits were abundant. There were roadside stalls which sold tons of them. Ain bought a pineapple to be turned into pajeri nenas. Tok Bah and Tok Ma also bought mangosteens, as seen in the above photo. It had been a while since I had some. Irfan poses beside a jackfruit tree, where a large jackfruit waited to be cut down by Tok Bah. We brought the fruit with us back home. We are slowly eating the […]
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Here There Be Mountains, Ryan
En route between Sitiawan, Perak and Pasir Mas, Kelantan we had to drive across the Titiwangsa mountain range. It was about one hundred kilometres between the towns of Gerik and Jeli, both major population centres that flanked the range where the federal road crosses over. There was a rest stop along the way where we bought lunch, though we did not eat there. Irfan, by the way, had just woke up from a long nap in the car. We drove further down the road to stop the car park of an abandoned army shooting range, which had an abandoned restaurant in front of it. I ate here once. Across the road was an abandoned army outpost which I hadn’t noticed before. While we had lunch Irfan blew bubbles:
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The Monkey-Swamps Of Lumut
What are these monkeys up to? Where do they come from? Do they have insurance? It was late afternoon when Irfan, Ain and I went for a drive toward Lumut. We drove through the little tourist town which was jam-packed with visitors from out of town. It was after all the school holidays. After getting through the traffic jam, we drove to the area beside the old defunct Lumut Hospital where we could walk on the sand, see ferries head out toward Pangkor Island and view frigates at their dock at the naval base. Then from Lumut we headed Sitiawan-wards but took a detour to the Mangrove Park. It looked far better than it used to. The walkways had been extended to other parts of the mangrove jungle and there were lamps everywhere. Everything looked shiny and tourist-friendly. There were lots of visitors that day, even a recently-married couple taking […]
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LOL! PraWNED!!!111
Once upon a time, Atok and Opah told us of a little out of the way place named Bagan Nakhoda Omar, Harbour of Captain Omar in Anglic. Who was Nakhoda Omar and ship did he captain? I’d like to know that as well… On our way to Sitiawan for school holidays, we thought we’d stop there for lunch. It was a warm sunny day, but not sweltering at all. There was a cool breeze coming from the sea and we took a table under the undulating shadow of some coconut trees. We ordered the specialty that Atok and Opah told us about: fried meals with prawns. Ain & I ordered nasi goreng and Irfan the meehoon goreng. While waiting for lunch to be cooked, Irfan explored the area around the food stalls, chasing a small monitor lizard into a pool under the gazebo where most of the tables were situated. […]
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Objects At Rest
Comrades, some since Standard 1 in ACS Sitiawan way back when the town had one main road running into it and there were swathes of rubber trees between small clusters of houses and stores and buildings. 20 years after I officially left the school, it’s time for another gathering in Sitiawan, this one precipitated by none other than Chinese New Year. Apart from Gnana, Sathya and Alvin, I haven’t seen this bunch for at least 18 years or so. Coincidentally Alvin and the Chipmunks was playing on Star Movies or Cinemax or whatever they had running on TV. When we arrived it was just beginning. We left just after the credits rolled. In between, we talked of old friends and old times, some of which shall not be reprinted her for posterity’s sake. 😉 There were lots of laughs too. Perhaps more gathering of the old crew should be planned.
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The Exercise of Vital Powers
Another month, another new year – making this the third new year in two months. What’s a new year – especially Chinese New Year – without a vital trip to the nearby FELCRA seafood restaurant, as previously seen in this entry from a couple of years back. As usual, the highlight of dinner is the fried calamari a.k.a. sotong celup tepung. The crew depicted above is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the squiddies. However, Irfan is easily distracted as shown in the following photo. When the stingrays were done, Irfan fed its gristle to the cats, who as far as we can tell appreciated the food. Above, Ain happily shows off the batter-fried calamari, which is the best we’ve had the pleasure of tasting. The dinner commemorated group of three birthdays and one anniversary, some of which had just passed and some has yet to come.
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Manjung District Scout House
Being in the 1st Troop Manjung of the Scouts was great. Some memorable experiences while there. A bunch of us sometimes went down to the district Scout House on Fridays to see if one of the other schools had a camping excursion there. Then we’d sign up to be the camp ground guardians, keeping watch on the campsite all weekend as the kids as they and their respective Scoutmasters went about their work. Last week I went for a quick drive into Kampung Sitiawan where the old Scout House stood, and was saddened by the fact that it stood no more. The camp warden’s house was totally gone. Even the “haunted” trees with the unknown talismans tied to them surrounding the camp ground behind the scout house had been long uprooted. I wonder where the district Scout Troops are based now. Below are photos of the Scout House from behind […]
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