On the second day of Anya’s visit, we sent to Tasik Timah Tasoh Resort, then to the viewing point of Wang Ulu. Anya was delighted to see dinosaurs. Videos can tell the story better than still photos, or words even. Here are two videos from today.
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Floating Market in Town
Earlier today, we visited the Floating Market in Kangar, which was located close to the Denai Larian in town. Denai Larian is what we called the River Esplanade in a blog post just after we moved to Perlis. Only once did we visited a honest-to-goodness actual floating market and it was when we chaperoned students to Songkhla How does this floating market rate? It was a pleasant place to visit. There are boat rides and food stalls; even picnic spots. At far end of the lake is a fishing pond. Check out the video and photos below. Next time we visit we will rent one of the paddle boats!
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Sunday Dinosaurs
Several years ago, we drove in to check out Timah Tasoh Resort, right by the Timah Tasoh Lake not too far from the Timah Tasoh dam. I remember it that it was a weekend and although the gates were open, there was hardly anyone there. We did not even take photos as we drove through the resort. Fast forward to this weekend, and we now have dinosaurs. The dinosaurs are quite well-sculpted. They possess no feathers and I suppose featherless Jurassic Park-style dinos would be more popular with the visitors. They seem to be made from foam, so I hope the public does not damage them. Check out the video and photos above. Both contain a guest starring cat. Besides the dinosaurs, there were a whole load of other things you could do such as renting a bicycle, an electric motorbike and a children’s train ride. Check out the video […]
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A Walk at Gua Cenderawasih
There was on Star Trek Adventures session on Discord this fine Sunday morning. Earlier today, Ain and I drove to Gua Cenderawasih to burn some calories there. It was a pleasant, cloudy day. Everything was green. Various flowers were blooming, and pictures do not them any justice. There were fishies in the lake and stream, monkeys in the playground and monitor lizards basking on boulders. See for yourself: Long story short, we would like to return here to burn some more calories in the future.
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View from the Top of Wang Kelian
Earlier today, we thought we would travel to Wang Kelian to take a look at the Perlis countryside from the observation plateau there. It was a Sunday and I had just finished running a Star Trek Adventures game over Discord. We were not disappointed. I made a video of our trip there, which is viewable below.
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20th Wedding Anniversary
The story so far… 20 years ago, Ain and I took each other as husband and wife on a sunny afternoon in Pasir Mas. As it was a chaotic day, I had to spend a lot of energy to ignore what things might go wrong, what might come tomorrow and other conjectures. Instead I focused on the moment. One thing at a time, I traversed the day. 20 years later, Ain is a warrior at my side, the same as I try to be one by hers. As I approach middle age and gain a modicum of hindsight, it becomes clear that I would not have any other person by my side, undergoing all the trials and tribulations that were thrown our way a we made our way along two decades. Much more than just a partner… Much of the tribulations have not been recorded on this weblog, but I […]
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18 Years of Irfan
I still remember the day of Irfan’s birth like it was yesterday. When we left for the hospital, when she was wheeled into the labour room, when I went to see his birth and when I recited the azan in his ear. I cannot believe it has been 18 years since the day. For his 18th birthday, we had dinner at a local restaurant called Watanabe. It was the site of the old Burger Republik. Throughout an odyssey that took us through 12 years in Kuala Lumpur and 6 years in Perlis, Irfan has done nothing but make us be proud of him. I say it every year, but he has come a long way, and I wish him a blessed future and the strength to undergo upcoming tribulations with goodness and dignity. We love you, son.
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Dinner by the Bendang
A bendang is a rice field. Ain and I thought we would try out a new restaurant we saw earlier. Its speciality was char kuey tiau. Irfan decided to sit this one out as he wanted to study. Besides the char kuey tiau, we also had the restaurant cat to keep us company. He just sat at our table without asking for anything from us.
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The Outbreak Aidilfitri
And so it came to pass that Hari Raya Aidilfitri was held during the Covid-19 pandemic. We were forbidden to cross state lines, nor be in a gathering of souls that numbered more than a prescribed number. Thus we stayed at home during the first day of Eid. Ain made nasi dagang which was delicious. We packed some in takeaway packs and sent them to a number of neighbours later. But before that we held our first home bound Eid prayers. Shortly after, we had a Google Meet call with Atok and Opah and Sila’s family. Even Anya showed up for a while. During the day, I played Star Wars: A New Hope on TV, though I did not really pay attention to it. Later than night, as a family movie we watched Alien. That’s two Charles Lippincott movies in a day! As the sun dipped lower on the second […]
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Two Cousins Doing Stuff
We headed back to Pasir Mas for a wedding the past weekend. Likewise, Anya and family also travelled back from the Klang Valley. With the looming threat of the virus, we decided to attend the wedding early before the bulk of the guests arrived. Also, we ate the food away from where other early guests were having their food. Additionally I did not take any photos at the feast. In the meantime, Irfan and Anya played together as cousins are wont to do. Here are some photos of them hanging out together. In other news we also visited Pantai Senok in Bachok, where Anya wanted to fly a kite. Here is the video of the occasion: We arrived home yesterday evening safe and sound.
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Easterly Wind Festival 2020
This weekend was the Pesta Angin Timur Perlis (Perlis Easterly Winds Festival) and they have been advertising it everywhere from meatspace to cyberspace. This year, they held it at Kampung Oran which is not too far from home. Although word on the street (and digital streets as well) say that it would be more spectacular at night, we went in the afternoon under the scorching sun to avoid the crowd. We could see the kites in the skies as we approached the site. Thankfully, parking was easy and as we presumed the crowd was light. We already had lunch so we did not purchase any food offered there, except for the… Well, watch the video below.
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With Students in Songkhla
For the first time since joining the Centre, the International Soft-skills and Leadership (ISoL) camp programme committee invited me to chaperone students for two nights in Songkhla, Thailand. The camp was a joint programme between UniMAP and Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya. I thought we would go as a family (along with Syamril, the other language teacher on duty) not just to escort these young minds for their event, but also to learn from the trip. Not only did we learn quite a bit and gain new experiences, we also made new friends there. Add this event to things I never thought 5 years ago that I would be doing. We stayed at the Lake Inn Hotel with the students. Some day we would like to visit here again. Here is a short video on our trip there. However, there were more activities that were not captured on video. There […]
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Birthday Dinner in Pauh
I am now a couple of year short of 50 years old. We celebrated at a café that we have never stopped at before in the town of Pauh, between our home and my workplace. It seemed like a nice place to celebrate a birthday. Well, two birthdays, as Ain’s was 11 days before mine — although we had dinner by the sea then. This was more of a birthday bash as Irfan had ordered a birthday gift for me online. Click on the photos in the gallery below to view full images. Here’s to making it through it all one year at a time.
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Ain’s Birthday By The Sea
It was time for Ain’s birthday once more, and this time I suggested we go to Kuala Perlis after I got off work. It was nothing special as we had regular masakan panas for dinner, although Ain did get the epic ABC as seen below. Also below are photos of the occasion that night. It was small and low-key, but I enjoyed the company tonight. Happy birthday, my love.
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Year’s End Vacation 6: Heading Home
The next morning after breakfast, we packed up and said goodbye to the hotel apartment. The strawberries needed to be finished off as it was getting mushy. I can still remember the smell and the taste of the berries. We headed off with both vehicles in a convoy, but we stopped at the Kea Valley Farm complex where fresh produce was sold. Because of the traffic, I had to drop them off while pointing out an empty parking spot for Atok. Then, I spent nearly 30 minutes driving in a traffic jame down the mountain back towards Brinchang and forced a u-turn to head back to Kea Valley. I met up with Irfan who was waiting for me up front at the complex. Because we had no idea where the others were, we waited for them at the junction where we would be able to spot them emerging from the […]
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Year’s End Vacation 5: Evening Exploration
After Atok and Opah rested for the evening, we set off to look for a place that Ain once visited 30 years before: The Boh Tea Plantation. We followed the map up a hill to the north of Brinchang. It was a hillside path which allowed for only one car to pass. Unfortunately, more cars were driving in the opposite direction. We had to part in small alcoves by the hillside to allow them to pass. We also had to jump from alcove to alcove when we could. Soon, the flow of oncoming cars had dwindled. The reason for the outflow of cars, we soon discovered, is that the plantation had closed for the day. I was also looking for the Mossy Forest, which the map indicated was on this particular route. I took a side road and found the way up to the Mossy Forest. We did not advance […]
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