Raya Treat 2022

 

During this year’s Hari Raya celebrations, my family and I had the opportunity to attend to a Raya invitation by our roti canai seller, En.Nordin ( we fondly call him Pak Din ) and his family. We were delighted and eager as usual as we wanted to sample some nice Raya fares after some time of break. We have come to respect and truly enjoy nor just the roti canai but also the family as a whole. So, to get an invitation for a Raya treat was a most welcomed invitation after a 2 years Covid-19 break. We knew that it was just a simple celebration but I do miss the nice fellowship and also the food fare indeed. We were invited for his son’s wedding not too long ago but due to the crowd and also the raging Covid-19 spread , we were cautious over it and did not join in the meals and fellowship but we did attend the wedding makan by showing up and giving support where it is due. But we did miss the wedding makan of nasi minyak, beef rendang, acar sayur and all the lovely Malay food fare associated with a Malay wedding.

Coming back to the makan , we arrived at about 8.15pm that night and there was a small crowd at the long dining table. There to greet us was Pak Din himself together with his wife, Pn.Zaleha and their grown up children. It was indeed a very joyous occasion as they were in their simple clothes and all smiles. That's the best, actually. I guess, I was just happy to be able to see all of them after the Covid-19 lockdown and then the very strict SOPs regarding eating shops and so on. Usually, during the puasa month, Pak Din would close his roti canai stall for a month in lieu of the puasa month and this year 2022 was no exception. So, it is times like this that we could get together and have some great fellowship together.

That night, I also met up with Jaafar, an old employee of Pak Din’s stall together with his family too. It was good to see Jaafar again. He is a jovial fella and during the times when he was working at Pak Din’s stall, I had come to enjoy his presence and also his jovial ways. I had enquired on what he was doing these days and his short answer was “ Enjoy hari tua! “ We laughed on many occasions and also he made sure that I had good helping of food and drinks too. That night, Pak Din’s food spread was rather good. We had rendang chicken, curry chicken, mutton curry, acar nenas, mixed vegetables, fruits, sausages, chicken nuggets, fried chili bee hoon, plain rice, roti canai, curry dhall and sambal squid. It was already a luxurious spread and the crowd really do enjoyed it very much. I also met up with Pak Din brother’s daughter, who often helped out at the stall whenever there is a lack of workers at the stall. It was nice to see her and she greeted me enthusiastically as she had seen us many times at the stall.

 

I started off with my roti canai, mutton curry and curry chicken combo first and it was really good. The grape cordial made it so much easier to down my gluttony fanfare! Dirtied all over the mouth, I couldn’t care less as I have had not these food fares for quite some time now and it was refreshingly good. Ah! Nothing better than having the reddish pink colored tissue paper to wipe off the excess food and gravy off my fat lips, yunno! Then I continued my slobbering gob of food again. This time , it was the fried chili bee hoon with the toppings of mutton curry and chicken rendang – not too much but just enough to get the right “feel” of the silky smooth mixture of meat - mutton and chicken gliding through the mouth then through the esofargus and dumped lovingly in the cohesive stomach of mine joined together with the harmonious dance of the grape cordial drink! Ahhhhhhhhhh! Satisfaction achieved!

I believe, our family satisfied our food cravings for the year by having our food that night. SLing & SYuen seemed to be concussed by the whole food experience that evening. As more people started to come by to attend to the Raya makan, we felt it was time to leave and left it for the others to enjoy their meals. I am very thankful to Pak Din who insisted that I take an extra scoop of food or made sure that we were well fed on this occasion. Pn Leha made sure that we were properly fed and ensured we had enough to eat – very thankful to them indeed. As we bade farewell that night, I could not help but felt very thankful that the spirit of rumah terbuka especially from this wonderful couple is still strong and alive. It had been ages since I had attended one, to be honest. I really really do miss such celebrations and I often wondered why have we fallen so far behind with one another. To be honest, I wouldn’t know if my family and I would be invited for a rumah terbuka when Pak Din and Pn Leha are no more around. It really feel very sad that we have become so distant with one another. Where have we , as a nation, had gone so wrong and so divided? I miss the days whereby Malay friends in our kampong would just open their house and welcome us not just with the kenduri of food but just simple cookies and kuih raya. It is all well and good without the fanfare. It was that semangat kekitaan and that perpaduan that had eluded us all as we all grow older and as we see how the nation got even more divided. Those days, Raya cookies and goodies would be flying over the fences between neighbours so that we can feel the spirit of the celebrations. Nowadays, only the selipar jepuns will fly over or even the leaves from the decaying trees which will fall over! Hahahahahhaaaaa....sad but true, isn't it? I remembered the years when my neighbour's house was rented by a group of Malay students. Sure, they were loud and noisy but when it came to Raya, they would give us some Raya cookies from their home towns while we would occasionally get some goreng pisang, kuih muih or even some sort of goodies for them. It was done tastefully, with much respect and with great love for one another. Even, my late dad's friends, who are outstation, would somehow get some Raya cookies/ketupats to our place in those years and dad would do the same during CNY in those days; the fellowship, sharing a cup of coffee and the salam were all we needed and that’s the only things that mattered. There was no worry nor question about halal or haram matters because we really have mutual respect and known way of life with one another. That mutual respect and honor had been ingrained in us in those days and are still very much respected in each others culture, customs and way of life. Nowadays, we have become very silent and I often wondered how further divided we are.

So, I am really thankful to Pak Din and Pn Leha for inviting us for their rumah terbuka. It gave me hope that there are still others who will try to bridge that gap nearer and re-live the times of what our celebrations are all about and used to be. Thank you, Pak Din & Pn.Leha , from the bottom of our hearts!

Road Trip 2022 - Part 7 ( Langkawi - Home, Melaka )

I woke up early today as I know deep in my brains that today is the day I get back to mainland and drive back home. It is the day that my little adventure together with my friends had come to an end. Though it had been 7 wonderful days of adventure and I really do not want it to end, however, all good thing must come to an end, right? So, that morning, I went out for my last morning walk at the beach. As usual, it was surprisingly calm and good after last night’s ferocious thunderstorm. The walk was different this time. As usual, I did my devotion with God as I walked along the beach but I was saddened by the fact that I had to leave my temporary paradise after some great days here. I would have liked to stay more days. However, I take comfort that I will be re-united with my family soonest and nothing beats that, really.  Rested on that thought, the morning walk became bearable and fruitful in many ways. I am very thankful that it did not rain that morning. It was cool, calm and slightly breezy.

Walking down the right side of the beach, I had met up with another angler that morning. Abang Mie , who was from a nearby kampong and he runs a makan joint nearby at the nearby kampong. I started out by greeting him and soon, we were having a conversation. He had shared on the hard times during the MCO period and that morning, he was trying his luck out early that morning for a fish. We shared a conversation as usual about fishing and he had brought prawns for the fishing. I told him that he would get a fish that morning and I prayed silently for him. I noticed that he had made many casts that morning but nothing was biting. Just as he was about to throw out his line, I noted on the surface of the water some activity of fishes. I immediately told him to throw his line in front of a chasing pack of fish on the right and waited for the action. I guess, he did what I had asked as I believed it was out of courtesy. Lo and behold, a fish immediately yanked his line and the line flew out from his reel. It was the sweet sound of long “tzzzeeeeerrr”  and the fish was off with the bait. He yanked in professionally and soon, he landed about a 1 kg Giant Trevally fish. That’s a real beauty! I was happy that day and so was he! He thanked me for the tip but I told him that his fishing skill was exceptional and thus, the landing of the GT fish. I left him to revel at his catch and I was really happy for him. I came back to the room and by then, both Santokh and Ragu were up.  We cleaned up, cleared our rubbish and got ready to leave the resort and get some food in town. We had breakfast at one of the food shops in Kuah town but I must say, it wasn’t a nice wan tan mee. Kinda dry and doesn’t have much flavour either. This was my only complaint after some time here. Anyway, I just wanted to fill my stomach for the ride to Kuala Kedah.

We then returned our rented car , got back our deposit and headed towards Kuah Jetty ready to board the ferry for Kuala Kedah. As usual, we went through the very strict Customs checking but we had ensured that we did not flout any laws nor rules. Afterall, we are law abiding citizens la……We went passed the Customs with flying colors and soon, we were awaiting to board our ferry to Kuala Kedah. Upon boarding the ferry, this time, we were seated on the upper deck of the ferry. We snoozed for 2 hours and soon enough, we had arrived at Kuala Kedah at about 1.15pm. We were delayed as Ragu and I went to retrieve my parked car at Faiz’s parking shed. I had to negotiate the tight parking space but it was alright.

When we finally took the car and picked up Santokh at the jetty , it was quite late. We loaded up our baggage and things we bought onto the car. We sped off to Padang Serai with our destination in mind – Ragu’s house. We had been informed earlier that Mdm Villasini had prepared lunch for us and we were late for our lunch date. By the time , we arrived and deposited Ragu safely in the arms of Mdm Villasini, it was already late evening. We immediately freshened up a bit and had our meal of fried shark meat, fried stingray, stingray curry with ladies fingers vegetables and fresh raita ( fresh onion, coriander leaves and spices mixed with fluffed up yogurt – what a lovely dish indeed! ) I really loved the raita dish a lot. In fact, the entire dishes was so good that I had to re-fill my plate with rice for 3 times or was I that hungry??!! It was that good. Again, Mdm Villasini made ginger tea for us. It was really very good. Truly appreciate her care for us. 

As we bade farewell to Ragu and Mdm Villasini, Santokh and I hit the road towards Bandar Puteri, Klang. Along the way, we re-collected what had happened and we are so thankful for the great hospitality, love and care shown to us. We are so humbled by the simple gesture of kindness shown by friends and family to us. I guess, I told Santokh that we must have done something good in our lives to deserve such great honour from these people. We have been so blessed with people that we met along our journey and the great fellowship we had. We are doubly thanked that no mishap took place and everything was in great order as planned. We are thankful that God had been there throughout our journey – keep us safe and in tandem in His will.

Upon arrival in Bandar Puteri, Klang, Santokh’s wife, Jane and daughters were at hand to welcome him home and hugged him tightly.  What a lovely sight! It was heartening to see daughters hugging their dad and telling him how they have missed him. I was almost in tears but I know that Santokh had done good for his family to get such a reaction. That night , Jane had prepared some food and drinks for us. I decided to take the Masala tea ( lovely lovely drink made by Jane ) as I was still very full from the meal at Ragu’s house. Though Jane, Santokh and the girls had asked me to stay for the night and rest, I was adamant to get home as I did not want to break my rhythm of driving and I do miss home too.  Santokh and I chatted a while over the adventure we had gone through with Jane and their two daughters. We had a lot to laugh at and a lot to remember about this adventure. However, like I said, some things stay secret ; only for the adventure - out of respect to the people we’ve met! I solemnly bade farewell to Santokh , Jane and their two daughters at about 11.40pm that night. I‘ve had had the best adventure with my college buddy, Santokh in an adventure that I will cherish for the rest of my life. We’ve travelled through cities, towns and kampongs just to meet  and fellowship with our friends. We could never be disappointed as it was truly a good outing and an adventure. What more could we asked for?  

There are so many people to thank for in this adventure but most important of all, I want to thank God for allowing me to travel safely and avoiding any mishap. Afterall, anything could have happened but by the grace of God, we had made it back safely. I want to thank my family too for allowing me to journey on my own and giving me my space. Thank you to Jane and the girls for allowing their dad to travel with a crazy guy like me and taking their dad for an adventure! Special thank you to all the families we met and the hospitality shown to us. I humbly thank all of you for that. 

I arrived home that morning at 1.15am , Thursday, 28th April, 2022. SLing was pleasantly surprised to see me at the door as she had expected me to take a rest in Santokh’s house. I just wanted to be home and there is no place like home. 

Will I do it again? Absolutely, YES! You will never know when your lights will be snuffed out in your light. Therefore, live everyday as though your life depends on it, bring joy to the lives of others and let your goodness shine. Someone said to me before I started this journey,

“When our time on earth is done, money or material things will not matter. But love, time and kindness we’ve given others will shine and live on forever.”

Road Trip 2022 - Part 6 ( Langkawi 2 )

26th April, 2022 at about 5.35am , my eyes were wide opened. No matter how I turned and tried to explain to my brain that it is way too early to wake up; I could not get back to my slumber. So, I did the best next thing – shift my ass here and there while trying not to wake Santokh up from his sleep and me trying to get to a dream of my own. I tried very hard for about30 minutes and after exhausting all possible avenues, I decided to wake up and do a morning walk on the beach. As I opened the room door, a gush of cool breeze glided past my face while the gorgeous little rustling of coolness caressing my face. The sun had just peeked out from the east as if it was playing hide and seek with the clouds. Its beckoning orange colored rays soon filed across the horizon of the sea. What a beautiful sight indeed! I decided to walk on the beach barefooted and do my devotion for the day. I did not notice that it was so beautiful that I had gone to the extreme right side end of the beach where eventually I was met with a great pile of rocks and boulders at the seaside. I tried looking for edible limpets, shellfish and blue crabs. No luck this time. However, I had a great walk and a great devotion! I then decided to walk back to the other end of the beach. Now, that’s different. A middle-aged European couple was swimming in the sea and they were intimate. There was another Chinese couple of mixed parentage on the far right side. They were playing with their dog! They were playing “fetch” with the dog. As for the European couple, maybe, just maybe, they thought that no one would be crazy enough to walk on that beach that early in the morning. However, respectfully, they further refrained themselves, disengaged from their poetic embrace and went on to do their good couple stuff. Here I was on the beach imagining telling the white guy, “ Stop sowing your wild royal oats in the sea, for crying out loud! We are trying to eat good fish, ok? Don’t pollute the damn fish, will ya?“. 

Anyway, I managed to walk to the other end of the beach and it was a good walk. The sun’s rays finally consumed the sky and brightness of the day shone through. By this time, I’ve met a local angler who was trying to get some fish with beach fishing. I stopped by and had a small chat with him like what’s the size of the hook, what bait, how he is hooking it and other stuff. Incidentally, I said that fella, Amran to move to the left side a little bit and away from the European couple as they could have disturbed the early fishes at the site. He agreed and after a few casts to the further left he started battling a fish. I decided not to stay as my friends and I had a full program today in Kuah town. Upon arrival at our room, Santokh was up while Ragu was still doing his floor exercise flips and rolls. Like I said earlier, he ain’t an early morning person but we had to tell him that we have important mission to fulfil the dreams of our wives and children with the right loot consisting of Corelle set, chocolates, cooking pan, perfume and enamel pots! Chocolates were high on the list indeed. 

Somehow, Santokh and I managed to cajole Ragu off the bed , made coffee/tea for each other and ate our tidbits of bread, cakes and breakfast fair before heading out towards Kuah town. We decided to stop by at a nearby shop for some souvenir hunting but with no luck, we decided to move on to get some breakfast before going on our conquest to satisfy the family needs! Stomach filled and coffee junkies fulfilled, we went on a shopping spree at Ram’s . Video calls and calls were frantically made to ensure that the right chocolates, enamel pots, pan and Corelle bowls were bought. Satisfied with our loot of love for our families, we decided to drive to Pantai Cenang to have our lunch and a look around at that place. Man, Pantai Cenang is really a little run down and buildings are just too compact. I must say that Santokh was right in saying that this beach area is dead in the mornings and afternoons. It will only come alive in the evening and night time especially among the local tourists and handful of foreign tourists. Too compact and too old were my thoughts when I reached Pantai Cenang. The unbearable hot sun made it even more torturous to walk around. Santokh recommended that we take lunch at a place he had visited the last time he visited there. It was unanimously agreed by all of us. It was called Happy Happy Restaurant. Gin and tonic were the order of the day together with some fine Chinese dishes. No pig was sacrificed nor killed during the eating of lunch as this was a halal restaurant. The food was good, surprisingly. Before having lunch, we went shopping for chocolates at some outlet in Pantai Cenang. It seemed , according to Santokh, this shop sells a particular type of chocolates which were good. If it is good enough for Santokh, it certainly is good enough for me and Ragu. We bought what was recommended. It turned out to be good recommendations from Santokh. So, don’t judge a Punjabi by his turban, judge him by his stomach!! Hahahahahaha…………..a good round belly signals good beer and good food la!

After lunch, we decided to take a drive to Tanjung Rhu beach to re-lived the times we camped there. Definitely there we some really nice memories there especially the taking of crabs from the nets and the many mishaps later on. With or without the mishaps, it was truly a nice time out there indeed. Again, the sun’s ray was a real bitch as it was blistering hot out there at the beach. The site is still beautiful as ever but it’s really hot. We decided to get back early to rest as we had a dinner appointment with Naga and his family that evening. All of us decided to rest and relax before going to Naga’s home in Bukit Indah. Once, we were ready for dinner, the three of us looked sharp and good. 

We arrived at Naga’s home at about 7.00pm. There to greet us was Naga’s wife, Selvi and their daughter, Usha. What a lovely welcoming party! We introduced ourselves to Selvi and Usha and after the formalities were done, we had dinner. Dinner was a real good spread of Indian food namely chili fried prawns, chicken curry, French beans Indian style, rendang chicken, special curried squid and some special Indian parboiled rice which was soft and succulent. Yes! The rice was magnificently soft and lovely with some saffron and turmeric twist. It was good. The chicken rendang was awesome. The food was really really good. It was a sumptuous meal indeed. I could never thank Selvi and Usha enough for continuing to serve us spoonful of food time after time. I was truly stuffed at my end by the time I finished my meal. To top off that wonderful meal, Selvi, Naga’s wife made us Bru coffee and it was heavenly indeed. I did not know what the concoction is all about but it works and it is damn good! I just wanna extend my heartiest thanks to Naga, his wife, Selvi and daughter, Usha for putting up with our gluttony that night. The food and the hospitality were enormous and really good. I am truly appreciative of their fine gesture of goodness. Though Mdm Selvi is quiet and shy, but she has done really good in translating her culinary fare to the highest level of goodness. We profusely thanked her for meal and we are so lucky , actually.

For our nightcap, Naga brought us to the Yacht Club for some drinks together with Subra. It was indeed cozy and the breeze by the pier was good. It was a classic moment of a night out for the boys. This was our last night before we leave the island and go back to our respective homes. We wanted to enjoy our time together as we do not know when we would be able to gather together to get a night out of drinks. It started to drizzle and soon, we had t say goodbye to one another as we would have to get up early to get ready to board the ferry. We said our goodbyes rather sadly as parting is such a sorrow , actually. We take heart that someday, somewhere and some time we would be able to meet someday.

That night a fierce thunderstorm and strong winds hi our resort as we got back home. We were drenched wet from the rain and the strong winds brought the big pelting rains onto the wooden door of our rooms. As usual, we attacked our last few Budweiser before calling it up for the day. It had been an eventful day and the strong thunderstorm wasn’t what we expected. By the time I finished my Budweiser , I was already too tired and slumped on the bed planning for some exotic dream somewhere. I wasn’t sure what happened that night but the three of us just slept through and snored loudly as it had been a long day indeed. It was a much cherished day indeed………….. 

Road Trip 2022 - Part 5 ( Langkawi )

At 6.05am , 25th April, 2022, the biological clock alarm in my head sounded triggering my eyes to be opened wide with my brain knocking senses to the rest of the veins and muscle lines to twitch and ensured that I am awake. Not surprising, my buddy, Santokh was awake too that morning. To him, it was about the right time to wake up each morning. I applaud him for being steadfastly consistent on that. For me, sometimes, my brain cables could have been a tangled mess which would short-circuit from time to time causing spasms and pulling of the blanket over the head to continue sleeping for longer hours. Other than that, I believe that my Hainanese heritage plays a big part for me to wake up early or get short circuit in the brains from time to time! Whichever it is , I am just being blessed to be alive and kicking hard!

After cleaning up and ensuring that everything was in order, Santokh and I proceeded to Ragu’s house for breakfast. We were told to be there at 8.00am sharp or we would lose of breakfast privilege for the day. The privilege was sweet apom cooked by Mdm Villasini! Wow! That’s awfully hard to me and so, we ensured that we were on time for breakfast ,man! I must admit in all honesty that it was such a privilege to get such a wonderful breakfast from Mdm. Villasini, Ragu’s wife. As usual, the King of House was still in preparation in his own throne in the house and we waited anxiously for him to be coronated in his own splendors. He didn’t disappoint us either as he asked his royal subject , us , Santokh and myself to join him at the breakfast table. The sweet apom accompanied by the sweet coconut sauce were a royal joy. I am not kidding you at all when I say that this was the best apom I’ve ever tasted. This was home made and specially prepared by Mdm.Villasini. I am not trying to be funny or do a jack-up of compliments but I truly say that this is good sweet apom indeed. 

To confirm this, I had 3 pieces of the sweet apom that morning. I stopped because the diabetic indication needle would hit roof high if I were to continue eating. Look, what is sweet apom without it being sweet, right? BTW, the texture around the rind was crispy while the center mount was soft and lovely. That’s a damn good sweet apom,man! The accompanying sauce of diluted coconut santan, spices and sugar make this one sweet goodness for champion’s breakfast. Thank you, Mdm Villasini for the excellent breakfast. Oh! I forgot to mention that she served us lovely Masala tea again that morning and I would die satisfied with the combo of sweet apom and the Masala tea, man! I guess, I am one super lucky, honored and super satisfied bloke who had tasted the best Masala tea and tea concoction made by Jane ( Santokh’s wife ), Indra Ramesh, Jini and Mdm.Villasini. Those are the best tea servings I’ve ever had in my life! Thank you , Jane, Indra, Jini and Mdm Villasini!

Stomach filled to the brim together with nice cuppers of Masala tea, we were off to Kuala Kedah to catch the ferry to Langkawi. As usual, Ragu bid his wife farewell and hugged her. That was an awesome sight. I felt a little squirmish ( I don’t know why but I am an idiot coz I did the same as I hugged SLing when I left the house about 5 days ago! )  when I saw Santokh hugging his wife, Jane that morning when he bade farewell to her. Now, Ragu was doing the same. Yeah, we , Asian, had been said to have shown less affection towards our loved ones but by the look of things, this show of affection is still pretty much alive and spontaneous. To be honest, I love that scene and I believe that we should do that more often. It is very good for our relationship with our loved ones and a show of affection doesn’t cost a dime but builds the relationship. Agree? This passionate showing of love to our loved ones ought to be encouraged and supported. I , for one does the same to Soon Ling and our children whenever I could or when I am going for a trip or when they are going out for something. It is not just an outwardly expression but an inner expression of love too. Try it . You may have surprising result and effects – You may get a stare or quizzed faces at times ; but good positives reactions, I promise you!

Waking up from the sentimental occasion, we hopped onto my trusty lorry and headed straight to Kuala Kedah. Along the way, we talked and laughed over a lot of matters. Truly, it was like three Bujang Lapok doing their travel on four wheels! What a time we had - laughing, serious moments and even crazy idiotic moments! Soon, as we inched our way to Kuala Kedah, I could see that the landscape of our surrounding changed from small towns to kampong settings to further development. Though we cannot stop development and modernization, kampong settings and simple lifestyle always tugs my heart strings. Maybe, just maybe, I am still a simple kampong boy and a simpleton in heart, mind and soul. I guess, I could associate with some of the things I saw like fruited coconut trees, lush green paddy fields  ( planting & sprouting season ), kids in ragged clothes running in the red earth paths, paddy bunds and waterways and older folks chewing on tobacco. What a sight indeed! I slowly relapsed into the comatose state of the earlier says in life with the kampong folks. What beautiful days they were, right?

We finally arrived at Kuala Kedah at about 10.00am that morning. After some calls by Ragu, we met up with Faiz and parked my trusty old birdie at a nearby shack for overnight parking while we are enjoying ourselves in Langkawi. Faiz and one nice looking chick sent the three of us – laterally challenged nice looking dudes to the jetty. After unstuffing our stuff, we put out the baptism fire of water at the bathroom of the jetty as we have had some really nice tea earlier. At first, the waiting area at the Kuala Kedah jetty seemed rather empty and slow which seemed good to us. However, by the time the clock struck 11.00am, there was a sea of people trying to jostled their way into the ferry to Langkawi. I must say, Santokh was truly the coolest Punjabi dude when he asked both Ragu and I to sit down and just take it easy and let these fellas rush in. He informed us that the seats for our travel had been allocated and there was no point in joining the mad rush to get into the ferry which was simple and logical indeed. So, we watched with much amusement as some “kiasi, kiasu and kiabor” fellas and ladies too rushed their way to the ferry. We walked slowly but steadily as we inched our way into the ferry and enjoyed a good nap as the ferry sailed towards Langkawi.

After a good two hours of travel, we arrived at Kuah jetty, Langkawi. As we exited the ferry, again, an exodus of people began. There were some bumps, knocks and pushes as one exited the ferry. To us, the 3 Budak Kahwin Terlajak, it was like a slow tunnel walk out of Old Trafford Stadium or Anfield Stadium, man. As we strutted out, there waiting for us were a bunch of persistent car rental enthusiast. They were persistent, good hagglers and some sweet talkers indeed. We finally settled for a Myvi car for a rental of RM 50 per day as our stomachs were calling out in abusive screams and quivering spasms signaling that they needed to be filled! We had rented the Myvi car from one rugged looking/rocker looking fella named Khairul. Santokh and Ragu went to get our return ferry ticket before they were sold out. After a few minutes., they managed to get the tickets and now it was time to paint Kuah town red, white and blue! We’ve got hot wheels, sexy personalities and charming faces – we’ve got nothing to lose, babe! No one knows us here and no one will ever care who the hell we are! So, we’ll paint this town red while we are here but first, we had to fill our grumbling gremlins in our stomachs. Off we went to First Restaurant as recommended by Santokh. The food was good, tasty and fulfilling. Naga, our buddy from Langkawi joined us for a drink at the restaurant. We were glad to see him and certain arrangements were made. 

We decided to get our stuff of light food and drinks to sustain our stay for the next 3 days. We even made our trip to get our potent stuff…..no lar…….not ubat kuat spring la……We are definitely not that kind of fellas. We got ourself a bottle of Jameson and some Budweiser for our “ thinking and reflection” or rather the “brainstorming” session la. Again, I took up the role of driver for our Budak Kahwin Terlajak group. I guess, these guys trusted me with their lives and so, I am going to do my best to ensure that we get out of the island unscathed, alive and even more handsome with our tan and personalities! Off we go to our accommodation for the day, Labu Labi Resort. I must say that I love our accommodation a lot. Clean, nice and simple. Once you stepped out of the door of your room, the beach beckons you to caress its lush fine sand, twirl with its invigorating breeze and fall in love with its evening sunset. Yeah, man….it was that good though the sun can be a bitch at times for over playing its rays. Other than that, it is a damn fine beachfront resort and with Scarborough Café beside you can be sure of a good view! I mean, good food, good café, nostalgic feel and colorful personalities. We quickly settle down in our rooms, picked our beds and got ready to take a walk along the beach. It was a good walk and soon, we were getting ready for dinner. After washing up, we headed to the resort café and ate our dinner that night. The three of us shared our dinner of nasi goreng kampong, keuh teow and mee goreng  and eggs omelet. Naga, Subra and Ramesh joined us for dinner and nightcap with us as we talked on all range of matter ranging from education, politics, economy and the ailing state of our country. We had our share of laughter and pain but it was all done in good spirit and with spirited spirits ( a good bottle of Jameson doesn’t hurt anybody though! )  too if you get what I mean.

We ended the night in a good note and the sporadic pelting rain helped hastened our journey to sleep wonderland. The cool air conditioning and the pelting sounds of rain helped buoyed and cradled us to our much needed sleep. However, somehow, some Budweiser managed to get into our blood streams and vessels before we could switch off the lights. I wouldn’t know nor care less becoz I was on the trip to the Great Wall of China when my head hits the pillow. It was early lights out for me. I do look forward for another great day ahead as we explore Langkawi the next day. What a day we have had- staring on the high with a great breakfast and ending in a cozy sleep amidst the sounds of pelting rain and real nice coldness of the room. This is the fun and joy that I’ve hope. Seeing the two fellas on my left and right side of the bed, I must say……….. it is a damn good day indeed! Orchestra of snores starts……