Trip To Royal Town

My recently retired senior friend, ZK, is now back in his hometown. He repeatedly invited me to come over for durians and when he asked in early July when I would be coming over, I finally decided I would take up on his offer. I even went to Hentian Duta to enquire the bus schedules (only a couple of operators and the service is not frequent) and also tried buying the ETS ticket online before finally going to KL Sentral to buy the tickets in person.

So in early morning of Saturday, 18 July 2020, I made my way to KL Sentral. The train left at 07:05 and of course all passengers had to scan the QR code and undergo temperature check before boarding the train. The journey was smooth and I passed the time by reading my thick novel.

We arrived at Kuala Kangsar train station at 11:15, about 10 minutes later than scheduled. ZK was already waiting and before long, we were passing the Malay College. ZK brought me to the Laksa and Cendol Foodcourt by the Perak River and I had some prawn noodles. We then browsed the nearby shops selling handicrafts before we left. We drove past the Ubudiah Royal Mosque (we thought of stopping but there were police at the mosque entrance) and the sprawling grounds of Iskandariah Palace. We then stopped at Perak Royal Museum (Istana Kenangan). This was my third visit to Kuala Kangsar (the first when I was small, the second time was during a Treasure Hunt where we were made to drive around the town with no puzzle to solve) so you could say I really played at being a tourist.

Perak River

Royal Museum

Fried laksa and Milo kepal

We spent about half an hour at the Royal Museum. ZK then drove to Laksa Pak Ngah where we had early lunch. I had fried laksa (love it! If only it was less hot) and Milo kepal. I enjoyed my lunch very much. It was threatening to rain so after our lunch lunch, we drove to Lenggong. ZK had booked accommodation for me at Suka Suka Lake Retreat so after driving around the lake, headed for Kampung Kelantan where the retreat is.

You have to cross a rickety bridge (sturdy enough to withstand vehicles so don’t fret!) to enter Suka Suka Lake Retreat

The friendly hosts welcomed us and explained that the resort was built with Malay concept in mind. Over some tea made from Garcinia atroviridis (your humble ‘asam gelugur’ or ‘asam keping’), Pak Aziz, the host, explained that he bought Malay houses from all over and had them transported to their resort and reconstructed. There are a lot of local handicrafts serving as decorations in the main house. To give the Malay Cultural Heritage experience, guests can join in cooking classes and local games. The hosts would also bring their foreign guests around the village with the guests wearing batik and pelikat sarongs (they get a lot of foreign visitors but this being in the time of COVID-19, their guests are now mainly local). They had just reopened on 1 July 2020.

Just before I was then shown to my two-bedroom chalet, Pak Aziz requested me to wear batik sarong to dinner. Fret not if you didn’t bring any, they have batik and pelikat sarongs for you to borrow. Back to my chalet, one room had twin beds while the other had a queen bed and a single bed so of course I chose the room with the queen bed. Both rooms were en-suite and there were mosquito nets over the beds. There was no AC but there are fans and it wasn’t that hot with all the trees and cool lake breeze to warrant an AC anyway. I rested and even had a kip. Oh by the way, phone network coverage was bad over there. Celcom and Unifi work best. I didn’t have coverage for my DiGi and was told there was no coverage for Maxis either. The price I paid for my room included Malay dinner and breakfast. I was told during dinner that if you stay for two nights, you get lunch too.

 Room which I chose with its queen and single beds

I ventured out for an evening walk around the resort. I didn’t stay out too long as the mosquitoes were out and about.

Shame that it was an overcast evening and we couldn’t sight the sunset

I went for dinner at a quarter to 8 p.m. wearing a batik sarong which I borrowed from the hosts. There was a family of five from Lumut and they sat with Pak Aziz while I sat with Kak Asiah (Pak Aziz’s wife) and Azam (their son). Pak Aziz and Azam wore baju Melayu with tengkolok. Dinner was excellent and I had never eaten so much Malay dishes in one go before! There were two fish dishes (we were told that they usually serve one fish dish so we were really lucky), one prawn dish, one vegetable dish, chicken, sambal... the husband of the family of wife even took some dishes from our side as the three adults shared dinner with three small children (not that the small children ate a lot anyway). After a very satisfying dinner, we excused ourselves and I went back to my room to read and rest.

I woke up early on Sunday and packed up. I went over to the living area at almost 08:00 but was told that breakfast wasn’t ready yet. I wandered around and returned again almost an hour later. ZK arrived at almost 10:00 and after thanking and bidding farewell to the hosts, we left for Rumah Sungai, which is owned by a friend of ZK. Listed at no. 51 here, it had reopened from 18 June 2020 and is fully booked on weekends until end-2020. I had told ZK that I didn’t want to walk in any orchard or forest for fear of creepy crawling leeches, darn mites and blasted mosquitoes (I had a very bad episode when I visited my niece and we went to a waterfall where I had mites entering my body and suffered severe pain two days later when I was back in KL. Needless to say, I had to visit Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital a few times because of the dang mites. It put a stop to my jungle treks and visits to my nieces when they were at the boarding school). Nature is fine and all but I would prefer the creatures in it to stay in it (and I’m sure the creatures in it also prefer for humans to be out of it too!) so ZK had his friend bring some durians and mangosteens for me. Oh, the spoilt pampered city girl that I am!

 The living area bathed in sunlight

 The living area at Suka Suka Lake Retreat

 Living area from outside

 Chenderoh Lake

Bidding goodbye to the hosts and Suka Suka Lake Retreat

 The river that runs by Rumah Sungai 

The room rate at Rumah Sungai includes lunch for four. You can choose from three different sets. Each set consists of local salad, grilled fish with sambal and a vegetable dish

I wasted no time and after washing my hands (yes, important!), I dug in happily. I think the two men must be amused and amazed that little me was able to eat durian non-stop, one after another. Continuously. I was popping them like happy pills. After a while, I did stop, went to wash my hands and sat down again to attack the mangosteen. I polished them effortlessly. Me, the champ! There were some leftovers and we packed them up and being the city girl that I am, I brought a canvas bag which fit the fruits just nice. I wanted to pay for the fruits but ZK’s friend refused to accept any payment. He was bringing out lunch sets and explained to me the three different lunch sets offered to their guests. Simple but seriously appetising.

We left and after a brief stop at ZK’s house to drop off the fruits, I persuaded him to drive me to Lenggong Archaeological Museum (we passed my nieces’ boarding school along the way). We spent about 40 minutes at the museum before returning to ZK’s house to get the fruits. We packed the durian in a container and cleaned up before leaving for Kuala Kangsar.

Lunch was had at a restaurant near the station and ZK dropped me off at the station after we finished lunch. I had about 30 minutes to kill at the station before the train arrived. The train arrived on time and we arrived at KL Sentral around 17:10. This trip took place exactly 52 weeks after my train trip to Taiping so perhaps my next visit to this region of Perak will take place during the third weekend of July 2021 (or earlier if the durian season starts early!).

Fourth of July 2020 Weekend

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner into our lives including travel plans. I had plans to travel within the region and also to Central Asia but my plans have become casualties of COVID-19. I was pondering where to go after the relaxation of the Restriction of Movement Order and finally decided on a very short trip to Georgetown. This time though, I decided to take a bus to Butterworth (or Penang Sentral as it’s now known) instead of flying or taking the bus into the island itself. I’ve tried those means of transportation and both would necessitate me taking another bus to the city centre. I also checked on the ETS schedule but decided a bus would do the job equally well and besides I could only leave in the evening as I didn’t want to take leave. I then browsed my options and decided to take the bus from Hentian Duta and bought a ticket for a Maraliner bus leaving at 23:59 on 3 July 2020.

I arrived at Hentian Duta at a quarter to 11 p.m. and sat down to wait. I then went to the platform and asked which bus to board as there were two Maraliner buses passing Butterworth and departing at the same time and both were double decker. I then boarded and found my seat quickly - I had chosen the single seat in the front tow at the lower deck when I purchased the ticket.

To my pleasant surprise, the bus left at midnight sharp. As usual I had problems sleeping on the bus. I took off my face mask and covered my face with a shawl instead.

We stopped at Taiping rest area for twenty minutes to use the facilities before we continued on our journey. It turned out there was a group of young Arab men at the upper deck and they were heading for Langkawi (I overheard one of them telling so to the driver and asking if he could lower the AC).

We arrived at Penang Sentral before 04:15 and I sat down to wait for Subuh prayers. After prayers, I headed for the ferry but I missed the 06:30 one and so had to wait about 30 minutes for the next one. A ferry would bring me to the jetty in Georgetown thus saving me time and the ticket cost less too at RM1.20 for a return trip.

The ferry crossing took about 15 minutes. I walked into Georgetown from the jetty. It was a pleasant early morning walk as there was hardly any traffic or people about and it wasn’t yet too hot for a walk.

I decided to have breakfast at a Chinese vegetarian restaurant and it was a good thing I did because the vegetarian wantan noodle stall at the market was nowhere to be seen when I got to the market. I browsed the market before heading for chee chong fun but it was sold as takeaway so I decided not to have it after all.

I walked on to KOMTAR and found a seat to rest before heading to 1st Avenue where I freshened myself up first in the bathroom. I had not seen any CAT buses up to then and after waiting for one for 40 minutes (I had a thick novel with me to occupy me while waiting), I got up and walked. It was time for a mid morning meal so I went to have a small bowl of Penang laksa and ABC.

I decided to check if I could check in at the budget hotel I’d booked at and headed there after buying a couple of non-disposable face masks. The owner let me in and I was soon resting from the sun in my room. I had a brief kip to make up for the sleepless night.

I headed out just before 18:00 and walked to the Esplanade but turned away when I saw the super long queue for Hameed Pata fried noodles. I decided I would skip dinner and have dessert instead so I walked to Urban Artisan Cafe at Jalan Burma. I had to wait a while before I could get seated as the cafe allowed a maximum of ten customers inside at any one time and I didn’t feel like buying my ice cream as take away.

I returned to my room and rested.

I woke up early on Sunday and had a quick shower. I left after morning prayers and walked to the jetty. It took about twenty minutes to get there on foot and I made my way to the ferry platform. We were boarding within 5 minutes after I got there.

I walked out of the terminal to find breakfast and had nasi lemak at a small restaurant nearby. It was adequate. Then I returned to the terminal to wait for my 09:00 bus (different operator).

The bus left at 09:15 and promptly stopped outside the terminal before continuing on. I chose this bus operator because I could get down at KL Sentral. I then took the MRT and walked back to micasa.

So that was my short trip to Georgetown. I would take the midnight bus again from Hentian Duta to Butterworth and then the ferry across next time, InsyaAllah.

The Art Of War

It started with a recipe request by a friend to another who obliged her by sharing it with the group. Another friend made a pie and shared a photo of the finished product and even how to make it using Thermomix. Pretty soon, others started joining in and suffice to say for the whole of Ramadan, we had peach pies galore as our batch took up and created this accidental challenge. Before we knew it, suddenly there was a competition among us, yes, an inter-house competition. My house, Blue House (Tun Fatimah) was lagging together with Red House. Our Yellow House friends were well ahead and after a while, Green House members started catching up. The competition was friendly and those ahead were mocking those of us from the two houses which were lagging. I was content to watch for the sidelines for a while before I decided to join in.

Then my BFF, C, told me that she and a few others had created another group just for Blue House members and she asked me to join in. They planned to do their pies on Raya eve and flood the group with pictures of our pies then. I told her I dared not promise that I would produce a pie and for her to go ahead. I did, however, buy some Digestive biscuits, two tins of peaches and then scour the nearest supermarket and the two grocery stores for whipping cream. Yes, me, who had never whipped whipping cream in my entire life and had to practically google the difference between whipping cream and cooking cream. Oh, and I don’t even own a whisk or mixer so I searched and watched some YouTube clips on how to produce whipping cream without those kitchen tools. 

After working outdoors and mopping the house that Saturday morning, I started draining the pies before slicing and arranging them on a dinner plate. Next, I put half a packet of Digestive biscuits into a ziplock bag and used a rolling pin to crush them. I then mixed the crushed biscuits with some melted butter and patted the mixture into a pie dish. Having done that, I then poured an estimate of 500 ml of whipping cream into a glass bottle recycled from Korean Honey Pomegranate Tea and chilled overnight and started shaking the bottle. It took me more than fifteen minutes shaking the bottle and I must admit that I was actually surprised when I managed to produce the whipping cream successfully using pure elbow grease. Alhamdulillah. I then poured the whipping cream onto the biscuit base in the pie dish and chilled the pie before arranging the peaches on the pie an hour later. Having completed my pie, I then snapped some photos and shared them with my mate and then the Blue House group (my friend quickly added me into the group). I then suggested we called ourselves the Blues Gang and suggested we use the song ‘I’m Blue’ by Eiffel 65.

Main ingredients

Peaches all sliced up and arranged, ‘TF’ for Tun Fatimah (not T-- Foxy, heh!)

 in the middle

My final product. Decided to use props. Koala was wearing a blue necklace and blue brooch. I lack blue accessories!

Must say I was proud I managed to produce this

That evening saw us sending and bombarding our peach pie photos to the main group and Blue House emerged the Raya eve leaders. A Blue House mate even produced two short video clips of our pies and posted them the same evening (she subsequently produced two longer video clips, one with the soundtrack ‘True Blue’ and the other ‘I’m Blue’. And the other houses of course decided to copy cat us). My friend who shared the recipe was so surprised by this unanticipated unexpected ‘attack’ by the Blue House members but her dad, a former Royal Air Force Commander and pilot, was very impressed with our tactics.

The peach pie challenge lasted for one month, from 27 April to 27 May 2020, and saw entries from as far away as Houston, England and Doha, and Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. At the end of the challenge, 94 of us produced a whooping total of 153 peach pies, much to the amazement and delight of our family members. It was a good thing I did mine on Raya eve so I could whip it out to serve to my sister and family on Eid. My nephew claimed it was the best thing I did (not that I’ve done much for I’m not one who care to spend time in the kitchen). I did produce my own homemade ice-cream with the remainder of whipping cream.

And guess what, there was even an awards night on 30 May 2020. Yes, you read it right. My friend, the recipe owner, invited two guest judges (one of them Kaer Azami - of course I didn’t know anything about him as I don’t follow the local music scene) and the sponsored presents are from a leather house owned by Kaer. The awards night was held over Webex and Facebook Live with performances by the receipe owner’s father, son and daughter (one song each) and Kaer too. Who would have thought that the pie challenge would be such an event!

Blue House did not win the House with the Most Peach Pies (Yellow House), Picture Perfect Pie (someone from Yellow House) or Most Artistic Pie (my mate from Red House), but we won the Most Non-Compliant Pie, House with Most ‘Kayangan’ Cluster (Kluster Kayangan) Pies, House with the Most Kiasu Team Leader and the Best Peach Pie 2020 (our dormmate did it on her first attempt!).

Safe to say that we had a peachy time and that the Kurshian competitive spirit still lives on within us.

And what did I learn from all this seemingly simple experience? Well, it taught me the principles of The Art of War of course. Of course Blue House did not win the Most Peach Pies award but we swept four awards because our team leader calculated our chances of victory (we did emerge the victor on the eve of Eid and took everyone by surprise). We laid our plans and then we waged our war by limiting conflict among ourselves, instead focusing on our goal. We then attacked on the eve of Eid. Individually, we may not be strong or confident enough to share the photos of our finished pie but united and together, we were strong enough. After Eid, we tried to recruit a few more of our Blue House members but some were not able to commit. We still managed to finish runners-up and not let Green House (boo!) overtake us. Because we started fairly late and lagging behind the others, we used our creativity and timing to build our momentum and we gained ideas from others. Our opportunity to emerge victor on the eve of Eid came because the others and especially the then leaders did not anticipate our attack and were not able to respond then - although they did manage to regain their standing after Eid but we should all should appreciate that it’s more difficult to initiate, strategise, coordinate and execute an action than it is to react (reacting is natural, initiating is not). It wouldn’t have been possible without a leader nor would it be possible without the others’ agreement, commitment, dedication and unity.

We also tried hard not to draw others’ anger and ire towards us and our strategy and we succeeded. We tried to be flexible and hence anticipated the counter attack by Yellow House and although they outnumbered us in the number of pies produced, we concentrated on persuading other Blue House members to participate. We were also aware of Green House members who were close on our heels and breathing down our necks. It had become an open ‘battle’ towards the end.

Who would have known it would blow out to a large-scale live event, the Restriction of Movement Order period notwithstanding? Who would have thought that what started off as a peach pie challenge can teach us all about The Art of War (if we care to analyse it)? Whatever the rest of the world wants to label us by, we proved again that we are not just girls who just wanna have fun. And I proved to myself I could do a peach pie on my first attempt even though I used elbow grease to produce the whipping cream (some of my friends overwhipped their whipping cream - and they have proper kitchen tools).

Mysterious Ways

I read from a message that in this world, everything and everyone moves in their own timezone.

Some of my schoolmates like me are still single. At least two of my friends have married for a long time but have yet to be blessed with any children (so there’s no guarantee you’ll be blessed even if you marry another woman, this happened to my friend’s ex-husband). Another two friends have nine children each. One has six kids but had two babies die in childbirth.

There are people who graduated at the age of 23 but had to wait years to get a job. There are others who graduated at 30 but secured a job immediately upon graduation. And there are yet others who are offered jobs even before they even graduated.

There are whose who are already CEOs before they hit 30 but live a relatively short life. There are those who only become CEOs at the age of 50 or beyond and live a long life.

We all live in different time zones so we don’t have to feel left behind when we see others seem to have overtaken us. It’s just because our time hasn’t arrived yet. Obama retired at 55 but Trump only became a President at 70.

There are some people ‘ahead’ of us and some ‘behind’ us. We all move in different paths, at different speed, in different time zones.

Allah has different plans for us all. Why should we envy or be sad at another’s success?

You’re not late. You’re not early. You’re just on time and in your own time.

Believe in His plans. Allah is All Knowing and Wise.

Everybody Hurts

Much has been talked and continued to be discussed about Covid-19 so I’m not going to do that. What I want to say is that almost everybody hurts and is hurting from it.

 

The healthcare personnel who are exposed to all sorts of diseases and now having to include this menace into their everyday battle. They have to leave their families behind and don face masks, face shields and thick skin to deal with patients including those who think they’re above the hoi polloi.

The public of course who have to observe social distancing, new norms, restricted movement, lockdown and whatnot.

The traders, be they small Mom-and-Pop set-ups, small and even medium-size businesses.

Those in the service industry.

Those in the hospitality industry. A number of hotels have already been closed and gone out of business.

Parents who now have to do home teaching to their children.

Children who are missing their friends, teachers, schools, the parks and their extended families like grandparents, uncles and aunts.

The senior citizens are already living on their own and who view the short trip to the restaurants as a small pleasure they look forward to.

The mosque-, church-, temple-goers.

The abused wives who now have to stay in with their tormentors 24/7.

The abused children who have nowhere and no one to run and turn to.

The fishermen and farmers who couldn’t sell their catch and produce earlier because of transportation restriction (hopefully all have been resolved).

Those sick and bedridden or dying alone who are robbed of the presence and comfort of dear and loved ones in their final hours.

The family members who are robbed of performing their last duty to their loved ones.

The factory workers and other low- and unskilled workers who are made redundant when the factories and construction works are stopped.

The sportsmen who cannot train and compete.

And the list goes on and on and on.

 

Every single one of us hurts.

 

Some say we’re all in the same storm but not in the same boat. And yet some say we’re in the same boat but not in the same storm. Whichever it is, we’re all facing Covid-19 at the same time but our experiences will be different. And while some have taken up new skills or explored new sides to themselves (some may have discovered they are decent cooks or gifted painters), some may not have taken up anything. No matter. Surviving this is already a feat on its own. Every one of us have our own challenges and trials that no one else knows about so getting through this trying times is more than enough.