Last weekend we were back in Sitiawan where Abang Long, the second cousin of Sila and I, had his wedding in Kampung Permatang. The bunga manggar above marks the occasion of a wedding at the house. The pelamin in Wan Alang’s living room, where the bride and groom will sit. Later when they were sitting there I was unable to see anything or take any pictures because of the crowd. The grand meal set up for the groom, the bride and the bride’s family. Some tasty stuff there. The official photographer and his assistant stands by for the occasion. The guests flood in and Abang Long’s younger brother Abang Ngah greets them and directs them to the dining tents behind him where the buffet was served. Irfan and his Pak Cu Hazwan await in the shade. For some reason on three separate occasions, people thought Hazwan was my son. Suddenly, […]
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.
As We Turned the Corner…
It was a fine sunny day as we sped southbound the Gua Musang road from Pasir Mas to Kuala Lumpur. There were still thirty kilometres or so from where we were to Gua Musang. Sparse but sometimes breathtaking limestone hills flank us, each hill seemed ankle deep in the greenery of oil palm trees. The radio was on full blare with Raihan’s Puji-pujian and the road was following along a curve. Suddenly, a shocking sight was revealed to us. We avoided colliding with the car, passed it and parked beyond. It must have had happened very recently since we were the first car that stopped to give aid. There was no other vehicle apparently involved, therefore it must have been barrelling down the road with some speed. It must also have rolled over at least once since its roof was pressed down into the car. There were three occupants in […]
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Irfan In Pasir Mas Once Again
Irfan’s grandfather was discharged from the hospital two weeks ago and we would have been there sooner to visit if not for work and exam (as mentioned in the previous entry). He’s feeling much better now, although getting Irfan’s Tok Bah to rest is next to impossible as he’s used to being on his feet and running errands. Meanwhile, Irfan was running about in and about the house, burning off but never exhausting his seemingly boundless energy reserves until near midnight. Inbound to Pasir Mas from the direction of Tanah Merah. Still groggy from just waking up from being asleep for some hours. Here is one of Irfan’s favourite places from which he watches the TV. For most of the day, Cartoon Network dominates the television screen. It’s that time when we all went visiting Putrajaya when Irfan was barely one, if I recall correctly. He seems to be very […]
Continue readingEuropean Adventure V: The Castillo Overlooking Jaen
After we checked out of our hotel in Malaga, we took a taxi to the bus station. We would have to take the bus first to Granada and then from there a bus to Jaen. It was past noon by the time we checked out. In the end, we took the easy way out and just took a taxi to Jaen. We wanted to make it to Jaen before it got too late (no point burning daylight). Happily, we arrived in Jaen in time for a late lunch (lunch is late there anyway). Vin is a professor of Spanish and during his graduate studies he lived in Spain for a total of 4 (non-consecutive) years. His very first year there was spent in Jaen and he first went there 20 years ago this September. So this is truly a return to his Spanish “kampung” (hometown). He lived for 3 years […]
Continue readingIrfan Around Lumut
Last weekend, we were back in Sitiawan to attend a couple of kenduris. On Monday, Irfan’s grandparents decided to take us to Teluk Batik and Lumut. It was great, but the weather was hot and there were too many people about thanks to the school holidays. [[image:tbatik01.jpg:Bike’s getting too small for him:center:0]]Before we went out on Kereta Atok, Irfan was riding his bicycle. He wanted to ride his bicycle bicycle bicycle so much he wouldn’t leave without it. So, we put it in the trunk after which we pretty much forgot about it until we got back. [[image:tbatik02.jpg:Irfan and a tree stump:center:0]]Approaching the beach from the car park in Teluk Batik, both Irfan’s Atok and I tried to get a picture of Irfan. Usually getting a picture of him standing still is difficult, but he obliged us with this pose anyway. [[image:tbatik03.jpg:With Ummi & Opah:center:0]]Ummi and Opah posed for a […]
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Midnight Jaunt to Lumut
At midnight we went for drinks at the Lumut Waterfront cafe, on the newly reclaimed land on Dindings River opposite of Kampung Acheh. At nearly midnight the well-lit playground of the place was filled with kids and even babies in prams (pushed by parents, and not moving on their own accord, duh). Irfan was of course fast asleep with his grandparents. After drinks and telling of old campfire tales, we all went round the place, scoping it out. With the blatant “under the sea” motif and theme running on all the structures of the place, I’ve now come to rename it Bikini Bottom. Here are some photos from the night. Edit: Woon Seong’s Photos Added (Feb 2 2006)
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CNY at Teik Sing’s House
This afternoon, Ain, Irfan and I went to Teik Sing’s house to celebrate New Year. The last time the former ACS students of SPM 1990 gathered together was during Independence Day 2005 in 1 Utama. I almost missed the gate into Teik Sing’s house, which Warren and I remembered to be bigger. 15 years of memory can play tricks on a person. Later tonight, after Teik Sing and Michelle are finished with Fearless with Jet Li at Arasu theatre, we might meet up for a drink at the Lumut seafront stalls. Irfan is asleep, so he’ll be staying home. More pictures then. Here are the photos from today’s gathering: And Mrs. Ting and Ivy broke out the old Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys for Irfan. Shortly before leaving, as usual, Irfan dumped his load and stunk up the entire neighbourhood as he usually does when […]
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Squiddies!
The best fried calamari (sotong celup tepung) on this planet, as well as several other planets and moons (including the seafood industry on Europa), is located at the Medan Ikan Bakar FELCRA at Simpang Dua, Sitiawan. The taste and the texture is just right. And saying that the price is very affordable there is an understatement. In Sitiawan, this is where we’d like to engorge ourselves on seafood on special occasions. Last night we went there to celebrate Irfan’s grandparents 34th anniversary. Here are four of the photos from the dinner. …strangely enough, there were no pictures of Atok and Opah.
Continue readingOpah Irfan’s Wayward Purse
We only noticed it when Ain got off the car to buy some drinks in Kuala Kangsar. It was on Ain’s seat, hidden beneath her when she sat. It was a small coin purse labeled Adamas Goldsmith. Wondering when Ain bought the purse, I took it. Irfan saw it and said, “Opah punya.” And within it was Opah Irfan’s driver’s licence and identification card! We called Opah and told her we had her important documents and figured a return to Sitiawan would be in order. But Opah told us to keep going. If we were late, we’d be driving along the East-West highway after dark. We told Opah that we’d send the documents back to her by courier. But when we got to Pasir Mas it was almost 7pm. I didn’t kick in the afterburners because of the dodgy state of the car’s shock absorbers and the weight load of […]
Continue readingDeath In The House
We arrived in Sitiawan two nights ago with Emma and F in tow. Today we head for Pasir Mas. However, upon arriving at Irfan’s Atok’s house we were told of two tragic deaths in the family. [[image:fishies.jpg:Ku Lat and Ku Su:center:0]]Apparently there was a pool maintenance error with Tok Irfan’s fish pond and these two fish suffocated due to lack of water and oxygen. Thankfully the rest of the gang are still alright. They’re all good fish, and friendly too. Tok Irfan laid them in the yard to prepare them for a burial. But before it could be done, a cat covertly crept up to their corpses to chew on them some time after the photo were taken. The obscenity! They will be missed.
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Eid Mubarak from Sitiawan
Eid Mubarak, and Selamat Hari Raya from Irfan Shafiq, Khairul Hisham and Nurul Ain. Here are some family photos from the morning of the first day of Aidilfitri. Present are Irfan’s grandparents and the family of his Opah Ngah. Unfortunately, Tok Irfan wasn’t feeling to good earlier in the morning. He went for a check up at the clinic and discovered his blood pressure was low. So what did the doctor tell him to do? Go back home, eat as many of the Aidilfitri food as he can. If only the rest of us were that lucky. 😉
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Pre-Aidilfitri at Pasir Mas
As was blogged earlier, three days before Deepavali were spent at Lubuk Tapah, Pasir Mas. Not only were there the pre-Aidilitri preparations going on, but they were also getting ready for the wedding of Ain’s cousin some time after the festivities, which Ain & I will have to miss. What is there to report at Tok Bah and Tok Ma’s house? I really like the solok lada at dinners. Irfan hoarded all the pillows in the house and buried himself under them. Biscuits were baked (picture below). It rained quite a bit, which was pleasant. We didn’t even leave the kampung in the day, knowing full well that the traffic in the town of Pasir Mas would be horribly jammed because of the balik kampung season. Irfan discovered the joys of Cartoon Network on Astro. Here are some of the pics. Irfan smiles for the camera at Tok Bah’s […]
Continue readingIrfan Goes To Opah Cu’s House
Earlier this year, when we were in Sitiawan we went Irfan’s Opah Cu’s house in Ipoh, the capital of Perak. As usual, upon arriving at a brand new location for him, Irfan took a dump in his diapers. (That never fails, by the way.) Besides that, he had a lot of fun with his great aunt, his aunt and two uncles. Perhaps this Aidilfitri he’ll find some time to return there. Hopefully, since it’s not his first time already, he wont crap in his diapers for the visit. [[image:ipoh01.jpg:Opah Cu’s sliding door:center:0]]A large yard! Much better than the no yard at his own house. [[image:ipoh02.jpg:Opah Cu’s yard:center:0]]Pak Cu trying to get close to Irfan, who’s still shy at this time. [[image:ipoh03.jpg:Opah Cu’s bathtub:center:0]]After finding out his steaming pile, we decided to give him a bath. [[image:ipoh04.jpg:Opah Cu’s bedroom:center:0]]As Cik Emma puts on his clothes, Irfan is unable to contain his […]
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Sila’s Wedding: A Photojournal
Herein lies a selection of pictures of Sila & Vin’s wedding.
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Prelude To A Wedding, Part 2
So on Tuesday Vin had to be at PERKIM for a crash course at 10 am. At the same time, Sila’s Marriage Course cert has to be retrieved. With Ain at work, we sent Irfan to day care at his Opah Cik Timah’s. The remaining members of the squad split up. I drove Vin & Sila to PERKIM while Emma went to get the certificate. At PERKIM, we met Arab-born, Indian educated Brother Sayid, whom Sila & I thought would have made a better Islamic studies teacher than most of the ustaz we had in secondary school, and especially boarding school. Return to Sitiawan: First Sortie Ain & I were considering the idea of me driving Vin & Sila back to Sitiawan Tuesday afternoon to help with the transporting of their bags, which would be inconvenient for them to bring back on a bus. So, we decided that I should […]
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