A
friend got married last Saturday in Muar and ZS agreed to drive LL and I down
to Muar to the wedding. Nizam had proposed we leave early so that we could have
breakfast in Muar and try the local delicacies. So it was an early start for
us; we left just after 8 and went in search of Salak Selatan LRT station to pick
LL up. Despite the map, we still got lost but managed to reach the station 10
minutes after the agreed time. We drove on and joined the traffic heading
south, LL and I busy catching up with each other.
We
exited the highway at Jasin and drove on to join Lebuh Amj which leads to Muar
town. You come across more traffic lights at Lebuh Amj so that slowed us down
somewhat and we finally pulled into Muar just before 11 am. Nizam was already
waiting for us at Jalan Salleh and we picked him up. After parking at Jalan
Abdullah, we walked to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. It would seem that
the locals eat satay for breakfast because many restaurants and stalls serve
satay that early in the morning.
After
breakfast, Nizam drove us around and showed us the sights. We then went back to
pick up the car to Tanjung Emas and arrived just in time to board the boat for
the Muar river cruise. Well, might as well act like tourists! (Which we were
anyway!)
The
boat ride took about 40 minutes I think. It was an enjoyable ride with the
light river breeze giving us relief from the midday heat. The river was quite
large and surprisingly clean. Alright, yes, the river wasn’t clear but there
was no rubbish in it and we could even see some fishermen catching fish. We
arrived back at the jetty at 1 pm and drove on to Nizam’s parents’ house to
freshen up, perform prayers and wait for another colleague to arrive with her
family.
We
left for the wedding at 2 (apparently in Muar, guests don’t arrive early at
weddings) and arrived just before the groom did. We went to meet our friend and
after watching her and husband on the dais, we went to have lunch. It was a hot
bright sunny scorching sweltering day and I helped myself to a few glasses of
drinks. We left after an hour. I must say I was disappointed with the reception
at the bride’s side. We only welcomed by only one member of her family and that
was her brother-in-law. She has a lot of siblings and also an extensive number
of nieces and nephews but hardly anyone else welcomed us. No one else came
forward to acknowledge us, to accept our wedding presents and wedding money or
to offer us door gifts of bunga telur. It’s not that I care much about getting
bunga telur or door gifts (I don’t eat eggs anyway) but it’s the gesture that
counts. I’m sure you agree that it’s the little things that count and that, to
me, is one of those things. Plus I don’t want LL to think that Malay weddings
are that impersonal or the hosts so thoughtless and inconsiderate.
We
went back to Nizam’ parents’ and went to pick the rambutans and pulasans in
their large garden. I already have a rambutan tree at home so was not too eager
on the rambutans. I headed for the pulasan tree at the far end of the garden
and LL joined me. We picked some – all looked red anyway – and was about to say
‘OK, that’s enough’ when I got stung by some insect. Ouch!!! It hurt like hell
and I had quick tears forming in my eyes. LL took one look at me and said we
should head in there and then and led me in. I applied some sea cucumber
ointment on my hands and after a few minutes was able to offer a shaky smile at
Nizam’s mother.
We
left shortly after (the car boot was full of fruits!) and left to find the
famed mee bandung Muar. As it turned out, the locals have it quite late in the
day (say what? Why?) and we finally had to go to the food court at Tanjung Emas
for our mee bandung Muar. Nizam then took us a for a drive along the sea and
then showed us the way to the highway. It was a good 30-minute drive to the
highway (!) and it started raining heavily not long after we left Muar.
I
must have dozed off because when I woke up, we were nearing Seremban. We were
caught in crawl all the way to Nilai and then again after Sungai Besi toll
plaza. We dropped LL off and managed to find our way back to KL, thanks to her
husband’s rough description.
It
was a long day but an enjoyable one. Yes, despite getting stung by pesky
insects!
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