Swell places....

Penang Museum...

Many people often asked me what is my fascination with museums that I would make it a point to visit museums no matter where I was. I guess, being in historical city of Melaka all my life, I have always been fascinated with old things, stories of the past, swash-buckling stories,  old buccaneers days and even old relics. I am also into heritage, culture and all things from the past. The old Melaka river days where I used to spent cycling to or even to stop by in the afternoon or even laze looking at people and at the sights, was such a buzzing place then and still is.  Maybe, just maybe, the fact that I grew up enveloping the taste, sights and sounds of the yester years that I have developed that liking for anything old , rusty and memorable. It linked nicely to my childhood days or even my growing up day. 

Peranakan Room with family....

Clowning around with my friends near the river or even sitting around at the historical sights seemed so wonderful. My one old secret actually was that my friends and I had befriended a very well mannered old Malay uncle who was the guard of the Melaka museum. This Malay man had always taken the trouble to show us around the museum and we would asked him to tell us the stories of the relics and he would obliged us. I am indebted to him for painstakingly taking the trouble to entertain us eventhough we knew sometimes his stories were far fetched but we knew his good heartedness in entertaining us. But, I was fascinated by it all and I would also sit by this old Indian uncle shop who was selling second hand books, maps and other stuff , just to read the books on history and "Movie News" then. That's how it got me started on my love for museums.

The "hisap candu" bed...those days la.....

So, coming back to present time, I had the opportunity to visit Penang Museum and Gopeng Museum. I must say that though it was hot, humid and dastardly blistering heat, it was worth it. Penang Museum is indeed a wonder indeed. It is basically to showcase the lifestyles of the three major races rich culture and heritage but I felt the Peranakans culture & lifestyle was prominently portrayed here. To all the Peranakans anywhere in Malaysia, go to the Penang Museum. ( It is closed on Friday! Don't really understand why the museum is closed on Fridays! ) There is a beautiful and wonderful hall of Peranakan memorabilia and lifestyle on display and it is fabulously nice. I just love it very much. So much to learn and so much to take in. It is just a two storey spacious building but the things on the inside is so lovely. I really wish that there were more things to be put in or more things contributed by the various communities to ensure the museums stay alive. 

At the front.....

The one museum that surprised us all was the Gopeng Museum. Nestled at the Gopeng town roundabout, this museum is only opened on Saturdays and Sundays. The rest of the days, it is closed. Rather weird for a museum until I realised that it is actually a privately owned mansion by some rich fella who just wanted to showcase some of historical stuff and things during the early days era. It is a Chinese mansion house and entrance is totally free. The stuff inside were truly marvelous and a joy to me, actually. The ground floor is divided into the living hall at the front, mid-section space which housed a barber area and a small koi pool, kitchen area and the back section which house a coffee shop. Beautifully kept and lacquered olden tables and chairs plus old things from the past were hung and adorned walls beautifully. What a sight! 

The front section....

The top floor housed the rooms, an open aired recreation space and attic reading room. It was nice to see the maintenance of a rich culture in those places. The paintings, the portraits, the items on display and the atmosphere as a whole was good. Though it can be hot and humid due to the weather, you just have to love the very idea of how one would be able to live in such place a long long time ago. I love the wooden staircase which was beautifully built and sturdy. The place is clean and no musky nor dirty smell as a team of committee members, as they are called , are entrusted to ensure the cleanliness and the beauty of this place. Like I said, there is no entrance fees but a donation box is available at the front and we contributed whatever we could as this is certainly one place so worthwhile to maintain. 

The coffeeshop...back section

I often wonder if these places would still be standing at this place as the older generations moved on to upper grounds. It is kinda sad when you think of the younger generation who would rather spend their time on the Net or their iPad or even their handphones rather than seeing the actual thing themselves. It is a sad reality that malls , shopping and more modern buildings have replaced the historical buildings and places. 

I write these articles on the places I go or the things I have experiences simply to give these places a glimmer of hope before they vanished to make way for so-called "development". Many a times, places just get "overtaken" all in the name of development. Every time I see a place of interest , my heart jumps with joy knowing that a piece of history is restored though more often than not, the historical facts had been altered or even severely distorted to suit one hundred and one people. 

SLing & SYuen at the staircase....

I want to remember these places as they were and have the satisfaction that I drew a lot of joy from it even when I am no more around. I want to pass on this experience to my children for them to pass on to their children's children. I want them to bring their children and tell them, " Yunno, my Dad used to drag us all half way to Thailand to this so and so place, museum....etc etc ...so that we can enjoy whatever little culture and heritage that was available in this country....Boy, I can remember those days!". That would have made a great conversational pieces, wouldn't you think so? 

Hey, people....make that time for your children. Take them to these interesting places and take them away from the passive internet tools. Nothing beat seeing the real thing,man. Remember climbing the jambu tree or the rambutan tree and falling off it? Remember catching ikan betuk or sepat siam in the paddy fields? Remember playing guli and throwing slippers to catch a deck of cards in the middle of the road or back lane?  Remember throwing fire crackers into the bucket system lavatory and causing the entire neighbourhood cursing under their breath at your "ingenius" activity? Remember taking away your friends clothes as they swim in the river and they had to use daun keladi to cover their privy? Or even hearing the moms shouting their lungs out asking the children to come home after the sun had set ? 

I remember those days and I DO miss them! Do you? Have a cup of coffee and go ahead, have a memory of your own ......on ME! CHEERS!

Rice land, cool land and food....

Alor Setar was my next destination as my journey continues to the North. After a good breakfast, we headed northbound to another day of fun and adventure. I must say that the sun did not let up on us and shone brightly emitting a tremendous stroke of heatwave too. Anyway, it did not seemed to damper our spirit to experience the cultural rich rice land of the North. 

Using Waze ( thanks to Wave, actually, for being the most used apps in our handphones ) , we moved along off beaten track roads, kampungs and mountainous views to arrive at Muzium Padi or Paddy Museum  in Alor Setar. Adorning the front of the museum is the intriguing Gunung Keriang. 

With lush greenery and new rest houses and restaurant, Gunung Keriang looked set to be the next place of interest though the back section of the mountain is where a bustling pasar pagi was on-going that morning. I was informed that there was also a row of crystal shops along the back section and a trail around the mountain which would interest the mountain climbing enthusiast buffs.

Coming back to the Paddy Museum , that morning, two bus load of kindergarten children were at the museum. You can imagine the ruckus and the amount of noise in the museum. You see a handful of teachers ( a mixture of young and old ) running around ; chasing the children and goading them move around from exhibits to exhibits. It was fun seeing the little children enjoying the trip and tripping one another in the process of moving along. The teachers looked exhausted, man. The museum on the whole was just a normal one. 

The spectacular of the museum is actually dome paintings of the surrounding area of the museum at the mezzanine floor. The colours, the precise details and even delicate shades were vibrant and good. We posed pictures there while standing at the rotating round stand. It is like you are on a turntable and the "music" of painting move slowly for you to enjoy the scenes. It was great. As for the items and relics in the museum, there are a lot of tools and equipment associated with paddy planting , cultivation and side activities. For one, assorted fish traps were aplenty on showcase while bird trappings were a familiar sight for me in those younger days of mine. 

By this time our stomach were rumblings signalling  the need to fill up the tummy with some goodies. Somehow, we traveled by faith heading towards Alor Setar town and we noted that there was one particular food joint where the queue was long. Equipped with the common sense that a packed crowd means good food, we stopped by at the Jawi written food restaurant by the road and decided to sample their food fare. We chose ikan goreng chili, begedil daging, kari ikan pari, telur dadar and sambal belacan. The food was quite tasty and with sitting place facing the cut paddy fields, it would have been nice if there were green paddy stalks growing in the fields. That would have been perfect,actually. Though we do get some curious smiles and stares from the people as though we "sesat" to this place,

I have only one principle when eating in a local place - don't ever stop a hungry man or his family from having their meal!! Hahahhaaaaaaaaaaaa..... To be honest, the Malay lady proprietor was courteous and accommodating to us while many customers gave us warm smiles especially when I used my fingers to have lunch. I guess, I love the taste of spices, chili and taste while eating with the fingers. Yummmmmyyy!!!! 

From here , we proceeded further down and tasted "Laksa Sekoq" which simply means laksa Kedah with a whole Ikan Kembung or Indian Mackerel ( Yes folks, I did not make this up! ) in your plate. Tasty is my verdict and this is agreeable with SYuen and SLing. I must admit, I hardly eat fish at home as I am generally a meat eater but I could not resist having Laksa Kedah as it is really nice and to my taste bud liking. So, I walloped my plate of Laksa Kedah in record minutes and never felt so full n  my life!!! 

We then proceeded toward Alor Setar town and knowing my passion for paintings, we headed towards Balai Seni. We were greeted with disappointment as Balai Seni had rented out their building to Petrosains to hold their Dinosaur Exhibition and charged an exorbitantly for entrance. Bah! We just got our asses off the property and headed towards Dr.M birthplace in town. As I passed through the town , it was great to reminiscence the days I was here to do some flood work way back then.

Dr.M birthplace and the old house looked great. Typical Malay home with a nice bottom side place when things gets hot up on the upper floor. Things from Dr.M era were intact in that house and what like most was the kitchen area with the old Malay window openings.

You don't see those type of windows no more and it is such a delight to see the simple construction of it. Yeah, I am amazed with old construction, architecture  and even wood carvings. These are memories that I grew up with as I roamed the streets at Jonker Street, Jalan Tukang Besi, Heeren Street and all the other old buildings in Melaka when I was younger. It was fun then and always will be for me, I guess.

Coming to Dr.M birthplace, there were two exhibition hall and an auditorium erected which held his doctor days medical kits, tools, regalia , certificates and all other things. Nothing fancy but a history of Dr.M nevertheless. Interestingly, looking into the family tree, there weren't any hint of Indian heritage..... that seemed strange enough.... though it seemed otherwise, right? Well, history being altered,perhaps?  You will never know , right? Or what will they do next? Hmmmmmnnn.....more mysterious that Kellie's Castle, I guess!!!!

With still time to spare, we headed toward the district of Yan to catch the cool air of Gunung Jerai. Thanks to Waze , we made it to the foothill of Gunung Jerai and were transported up there after hiring a van as it would strenuous for our car to go up. It wasn't that cold up there mainly because of the hot weather that had battered Kedah state as a whole. It would have been a great sight had the clouds cleared and a spectre of town outline could be seen clearly. The resort looked good and the occasional cold breeze brought me back to the days when I was up here with my college mates in the early years. It was so different then and presently, with better resort like room facilities and nice individual units, it would have been fun to stay for the night. However, I must say that one night would have been enough because you wouldn't know what to do being up here unless you are here to just eat, sleep and rest with no activities in your mind. 

By this time, SLing and SYuen were really exhausted as the sun had zapped their energy level. We spent about 40  minutes up at Gunung Jerai and soon, it was time for us to travel down and head home. As I was driving them home to Penang after a day of fun in Kedah, I told my two women that I hoped that someday, my children would bring their children for an adventure like this. It would have been fun and memorable even though it isn't the popular thing to do these days, Guess, the younger ones are more interested in air-conditioned malls, shopping centres and hip & trendy places rather than culturally rich museum, places of interest and even art pieces. Before I could even get any reply, I could hear the soft snores and the quietness of my two women. Both were slumped and propped nicely in their seats and sleeping away. I just smiled to myself as I drove from Yan to Penang that evening savoring every moment I had spent that day. 

I guess, these places of interest and museums are no more an attraction to the younger generation. I would be thrilled to bits if I were to walked into an old rustic cafe or an old place and just enjoy the memorabilia on the walls. They are so rich culturally and in heritage value but I guess, the euphoria of shopping, reliance on the comfort of modern things and living in the fast lane of modernisation has taken out all the joys of simple things in life we once used to treasure. Guess, there still some hardcore old school bumpkins like me who will still enjoy these things no matter what happens as the memories and things are part of my growing up years. 

Maybe I am an old fool romantic or even an old sentimental fool, you may say but those memories are just so priceless to me. How about you? Could you remember something great or even a poignant moment when you were growing up? First love, perhaps? First guppy fish or fighting fish caught in the longkang? First trip to the bucket toilet? Did it cracked a smile on your face or made you chuckled at your silliness? That, my friend , is priceless and what I hope to achieve everyday in my life while making new memories to last a lifetime!    

Unfinished mystery, nostalgic and heavenly.....

Kellie's Castle at the background.......

Travelling through the back roads, kampungs and paddy fields of Alor Setar , Kedah or even the bustling streets in Penang or even the perfect hideaway in Gopeng, Kampar and Ipoh made me realised that there are still beautiful scenery available in this country. I have made it a point to bring SL and SYuen as I wanted them to see the beautiful scenery and people through the travelling eyes of mine. I have always been fascinated with scenery and the people as I  felt that there is so much to lean about life as it is. I love museums a lot and I love scenery a lot. I also love natural surroundings and I love looking at people plus food...good food.  There is just so much to see, to learn and to eat too! I must admit that shopping malls don't interest me while I would get all sorts of pain by just being in malls! If I wanted air-conds to pamper me, I would have chosen to be in a freezer, actually! At least, I 'll die standing erect.....not that place la...you know what I mean! 

SYuen and me at the walkway......

I remembered I made a promise to SL a long time ago that I would bring her round the country to see the best in our country. Well, a promise is a promise for me. We started out this time with a timely stop at Kellie's Castle. It was a hot day indeed. Yes, we prayed for God's protection before proceeding into the castle and it was good. With other groups of tourists, we were definitely NOT alone! All the eeriness, hauntedness and all that, I must admit that I did not think of it. I was just impressed with the architecture of the castle and sweet story behind the construction. I love the history of it.   

Next was Qing Xing Ling Cultural Village in Ipoh. This was a real surprise as my colleague in the office, Ms.Kok had been there and she told me of the beautiful old Chinese setting there. Snugged between limestone hills, I could understand why it is such a beautiful Chinese village. The calm mirrored lakes between the limestone hills including plush Chinese wooden rest houses and artifacts made this place such a nostalgic places. The Chinese human rickshaw or even wooden carts made the place so authentically....Chinese, I guess. The crowd comprising mainly of men, women and children thronged this place. As you climbed up the RC stairways to the road of memoirs, one could be transported back to the olden days in a second. From the ice kacang stall to a typical Chinese family home in the woods , it is nostalgic feeling all the way. 

Qing Xing Ling Cultural Village

You just gotta hats it off to the proprietors for making the place as authentic as it could be as if you are in that olden days era. It was heartwarming seeing some things we used to have as a child or even items from our old homes of yesteryears. Truly amazing. But it is real hot in Ipoh that day,man. Perspiration flowed easily while sweat glands just continue to ooze out those precious sweat water as we consumed more water to hydrate ourselves. SL & SYuen looked tanned and the usual, " It is so hot!" or " I can't feel my legs anymore" quips ( Thank you , Symphany & Tiffany! You two lovelies! ) made us all laugh to our hearts content despite the blistering hot sun giving us a show of its sweet rays! 

SLing & SYuen

The Banjaran Hotspring Retreat was our next destination. I must say our hostess, Cik Noreen who showed us around the retreat is a perfect host. She showed us the wonderful places the retreat could offer. The place took our breath away with such wonderful spa , massage, relaxation and even limestone hill diner facilities and not forgetting, meditation room with walls and place adorned with crystals stones. What a place!  

What I liked most was the large yoga platform facing the tranquil hot pool. Now, that is a fantastic view, my friends! So calm, relaxing and so nice la........ The cost for a night could blow your mind away while I must remind myself to get a lottery ticket!!

The hot water pool.....nice....

Ivan, get that lottery ticket or dream some 4D numbers before you can get to such a wonderful place! God, please made it happen for us! Hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa..... I was just joking but to be here and get a sample of what it is like at this place - it is super priceless for an average working Joe like me.  Truly a great place for relaxing and some peace and quiet which I craved a lot. Just imagine soaking yourself is a hot water pool and enjoying the sights of lime stone hill and waterfall. Truly a captivating place.....

As I bid farewell to Cik Noreen and pulled away from the retreat, I could only reflect on the hot water shower device I have in my bathroom for the time being. I guess, that will do for the time being.......... Quoting the famous words of Arnold " I'll be back! ".........Sure, now , where did my lottery ticket go?

  

Real...

Meal times are always a great way to see the humanity side of people. I am always game for people watching and perhaps, I like to see the human side of everyday people in their every day life. While at my favourite place for breakfast this morning, I had the opportunity to see my roti canai maker, Pak Din broke into smiles and occasional laughter. Usually, he is super stress while churning out the roti canai and he can grumpier than the old auntie at the end of the street where I lived. Today, he was relaxed as the customers were not many yet and he was just working at his pace.

It was great to see Kak Leha delivering her drinks in a slower pace and drinks made without haste. I guess, the hurried pace in life will affect you no matter where or what you do. So, it was good and with the flow of conversation ranging from the effects of GST, daily living expenses, to the political climate and family matters, you could almost sense the hopeless anticipation by the every day folks. To me , the crowd at Pak Din's food joint had always been the low income and middle income group of people. If they find every day living today hard enough, you can be assured that it is affecting the people at all levels. I am as concerned as they are and when we continue to have the country's resources and richness being plundered with wasteful projects and corrupted schemes, it is very disturbing. The morning papers ( though very pro-Govt ) and the electronic media news don't lie either! Kinda depressing as you flipped through the morning papers and see your hard earned money being contributed to corrupted projects and into the pockets of unscrupulous people who called themselves "legal" representatives of the people! Might as well, get my fishing rods out and go to the nearby lake, buy myself a six packer mineral water ( cannot afford beers nor sweet drinks la.....diabetic la ! ) and lay my line in the lake hoping to land a fish at the other end!   

Anyway, the country leaders just don't give a two hoots to what we think, in all actuality. It is about plundering and depleting the country's funds into nonsensical schemes after schemes. Sometimes, don't you just wished that all this could stop so that the people could actually earn a decent living in all honesty and hardwork? You often wonder who else could be trusted with the richness and resources of the country, right? I believe in my own personal opinion that our country is run by buffoons, clowns and court jesters alike - be it from the ruling Govt to the Opposition team. What a farce!  

My mussings....

There is always a dark side to everyone. The perspective is for the light side to overwhelm the dark side but then again with so much dark happenings , you often wonder if you will be able to bear with the rising darkness that harkens the hearts of the people. In today's living, the world expect of you to conceal and hide your dark shades of hearts and be good fronted in your every day living. Thus, the coinage of masks of life. I guess, I must be honest to say that I have been the bad one for concealing my dark side all these years and at times, I am tired of it all. They say that when your dark side rear its ugly head, you just lose control of your sense and I believe that statement is true; at least for my sake.

I am no extraordinary person ; just another dumb simple bloke at times and I am constantly reminded of my good fortune to be a child of God but sometimes I just could not help feeling that the wicked, the manipulative, the greedy, the evil and even the scheming ones gets away with murder while the good ones gets trampled, ridiculed, die early and sometimes, stripped of all dignity. I know, I am constantly reminded that Jesus Christ, our Lord, took all our iniquities and took over all our shames and yet stand victorious at the end without retaliation. Plus, what could be worst than that, right? Yeah, I must look at the bigger picture of  God and the endurance He had for us and I do understand all that but it is just that I just could not grit my teeth and bear with it when truth should be spoken or something could be done over it.  To me, a good is a good ; a bad is a bad. Straight and simple. There is simply no sugarcoating of things and trying to make it look good even when it is bad. We are so susceptible to such nonsense, aren't we? That is what that makes me angry, really.   

I make no excuse that I have an explosive temper  and I have this lack of restrain , both in words and in action, when it comes to people with manipulative ways. Believe me, I have done well with my temper scale after lots of "soul searching" and much talked down by family and friends. I have learnt over the years to tone down my vile tongue/temper and I just would not put my family in shame every time I lose my temper but it is so frustrating and hard whenever you just let things go from bad to worst. Maybe I am from the old school of thought era whereby a good dosage of hard facts and some talking down would do good. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but no harm in trying to be honest, right?

I am very respectful to elderly people but I will not allow elderly people to think that they can boss around with ridiculous theories about life, "how to lead your life" or I have "eaten more salt of life than you" mentality. If respect is earned by raising the voice or throwing a fit of tantrums/anger each time to win an argument or putting forward a point,  then, to me, that is obviously, not respect. That is intimidation and succession of fear installation over the years. I find it ridiculous that some elderly people just won't listen to views no more. I find it ridiculous too when your lady/partner or friend has to nudge you at your rib cage to make you stop saying things even when they know what you say is correct and good. Even, I, in  my donkey stubborness will still sit down and listen out to views and even apologised when I am wrong. There is no shame in being in humbleness or to put it simply, there is no wrong in listening to views. As we grow older and we all will grow old, brain matter will shrink lest the quick temper and the moronic thinking at times; eventually, some ways of getting attention and forcing your decision doesn't work anymore. Even if the forced decision is accepted, it is merely to entertain the ego of old and does not reflect the agreement of the listeners. Sound decision comes from amalgamation of good reasoning, general well-being/honest intentions and a humble heart. I want chide the elderly people who thinks that they can get away with everything  just because their hair turned all white or grey. White or grey doesn't show maturity if one is too donkey or too manipulative in their own ways. It doesn't bring respect or love from their loved ones. It only brings disgust and disdain. Likewise, a humble heart and a considerate disposition plus shades of white or greying hair, helps to harmonise the blend of young and old; not make it worst for one's own selfish ends.

I also took a good look at myself and what had happened in my life. I am never proud of myself each time I explode in a fit of anger. It is as though I had become a different person. I have learned over the years to be patient and just swallow the brunt of things and listen to reasoning no matter how crap it could get, actually. If I don't do this, I am just being an ass. Every time I want to explode in anger, I am conscious to have to look around me and ensure that the people around me do not get the aftermath/brunt of my explosion. That is how I looked at myself these days. So, I am more conscious now.

As for death and dying itself, I want to assure you and say it out loud that I am NOT afraid to meet my Maker. I've said this so many times to friends and family too. To me, it is never a taboo because we will all die eventually and no one can have that elixir of life to live on forever and ever, Sure, it doesn't give us the licence to be reckless with our lives. Of course, stay healthy and be healthy but don't be a health freak or chase the trail of trying to live on forever and ever. Even fairytale stories has an ending- what more for wretched lives like ours. Only a fool would want to hang on to his/her life dearly.

This is my simplest confession -  Every day is the day I live as though it is the last day of my life. To me, do good and shun evil. Simple tagline, simple livable structure. To me, why fear death? Why fear sufferings? Have we not have good days and bad days that we have gone through and have to go through whether we like it or not? We still survive though we are bruised, battered and wounded, right? Should we fear anything else? I believe that the greatest fear we should have is always the fear of God.  The more you fear for your life, the more it will be taken from you. I say, you may not agree with me on this matter and I do genuinely respect your individual views but don't make it such a taboo that it becomes a nuisance or even a harrowing experience for others or even your own family members. Like I said, this is only my own representation of my life and one that I intend to live to the fullest each ticking......... seconds........ minutes....... and hours of the day.  

Fellowship, friendship and much laughter....

After dinner drinks at Coffeeology......

With Auntie Grace, Errol's family, On Tin and Bee Ling...

CNY visitation and birthday celebrations with family friends.....

The smiles says it all.....Colgate/Darlie adverts potentials.....

Great fellowship, laughter and fun at Joo Li & Fook Meng place.....