Sunday 3 January 2010

Backtracking 24/12/2009

 (Updated with pics of hubby's drool, as per the endorsement in his comment)



 On this day,  we left Cherating to continue our trip North. 


To recap, we had arrived from KL at about 4.30 pm the previous day spending time in the evening and the next morning walking on the desolate beach. There was not much else that we could do anyway. Red flags were up all along the beach indicating danger.




My sarong non-kebaya flapping in the wind



We wanted to play some ping-pong to help digest a sinful dinner. We were quite willing to pay the RM5.00 per hour, unfortunately the Suria Resort where we were putting up, had only 2 battered bats and they couldn't find any ping-pong balls anywhere!!! I mean... had someone mistaken them for turtle eggs? Or worse, did someone replace the eggs the turtle laid with the missing ping-pong balls?

The only saving grace for the resort was the free kejap-ada-kejap-takda wi-fi that was available only at the lobby. Which was better than the RM10 per hour and RM35 for 24 hours usage, that the Grand Continental in Kuala Terengganu offered . We did not take it up due to my hunch that it might have connectivity issues; which turned out to be correct because we heard another guest complain about not being able to get his Firefox to run.

Oh yes, the sinful dinner - hubby fully focused. Me, right-hand saying yes,yes and the other clenched saying don't! Right always wins:

The place - hasn't changed in 20 years:














Anyways the drive up was a sentimental journey of sorts for hubby. A quarter of a decade ago he was with an  Oil & Gas company and had been assigned to a project in Kerteh for about a year. I was working in KL and he used to commute at the weekends to see the children, ahemm. Kerteh has really changed and we saw how run-down the officers' quarters where he used to live, are now. Actually they have left the houses unoccupied as they were only temporary housing at that time. Paka is also very built-up now when in those days the road passing through the town was not even lit.

This he clearly remembered because of an incident that might make an old pirate snigger. It was a hot sunny day sometime in May and late in the afternoon hubby thought it would be nice to cool off by swimming in the sea off Paka. Hubby loved swimming and still does, and as always he swam a short distance away from the beach. When he was ready to swim to shore, he found the current very uncooperative and he was in fact just swimming in place, not getting anywhere. Exhausted, he decided that all he could do was to just lie back on the water spread-eagled as a starfish and let the current deposit him on shore where-ever - it turned out to be at a nearby bay. "Nearby" was a few kilometres away from where he had parked his car - it was already failing light and so he had to make his way back on to the road and walk all along it in darkness in his sexy swimming trunks to the car. He felt cold and passing cars were few and far between but none stopped nor did he hail any - the drivers probably thought he was a crazy person anyway. He felt tired and hungry, but happy to be able to walk even though bare-foot and half-naked. So yes, the current off the east coast waters are treacherous even in the non-monsoon season and the sea is calm, and you really need to keep your head when you are caught in a current like my hubby had.

Those days too, the river near where hubby worked was also very clean and calm. One day it looked so inviting he decided to go for a swim. It was a deliciously refreshing swim which he enjoyed thoroughly. Some boys were watching him from a bridge on the river. He beckoned them but they kept on watching him. When he got back to his car that he had parked near the bridge, he told the boys about the nice time he had and asked why they did not jump in with him. They calmly said "Ada buaya".

And they were waiting for some kind of action in the river! I think it was hubby's luck that the crocodile was not hungry that day.

All these tales made us hungry as crocodiles by the time we got to Dungun. And there I had my first taste of Nasi Kukus - steamed rice served with freshly-fried spicy chicken, acar, popadoms and a curry sauce, all of which is set on a piece of banana leaf and served wrapped up in brown paper. It was delicious and I loved it.



We had it here:



Continuing on, we soon arrived in Kuala Terengganu. Checked in at the hotel and then went to check out the famed Crystal Mosque. We followed our GPS Garmin's navigation and you'd think that the gadget would take us to the right place, but we ended up traversing the narrow lanes of Pulau Duyong instead. Here's the Pokcik who told us where we actually were and that he has an anok ka' Bangi.




These pictures were taken at the newly-built  jetty area on Pulau Duyong.

That night we set Garmin's destination to Taman Tamadun Islam on Pulau Wan Man where the Crystal Mosque is actually located, and where we had so-so Arabian food for dinner. The Crystal Mosque at night is a splendid display of lighting in changing colours.



We rounded off the night at the home of a friend who served us superb curry-puffs just off the kuali and hot tasty black local coffee. Complete satisfaction...

18 comments:

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,indeed, I was once swep away for 15 hours in the high sea off Kapas back in 1982. Long story but I just survived. In fact, as I had mentioned b4, I nearly got drowned already 3 x times so far.
,,,unfortunately, its in the papers today, another 3 cases of drowning. 1 off Paka and 2 off Kuching. Geee !! That is why, nowadays I teach people to swim too at every opportunity on the island. Just 30 mins in the water with me, you will be a swimmer-lah...but not during the monsoon.

Red Alfa said...

Ah, Z missed writing about the delicious sup tulang/lamb curry dinner we had at Cempaka Bakery near Suria Cherating on the night of 23rd.

Here they got quality control truly right for oghang Ganu. Many many years ago they had served really mean lamb curry dish for lunch which I would polished clean with the freshly baked roti tempayan. The sup tulang was also outstanding. The taste and service were as I had known and enjoyed those times. I complimented the owner/cook who has since taken over from the grandfather running this humble yet remarkable eatery.

I hope for the sake of my very endorsing comment they will remain the same for many more years to come.

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra, your take ??

.........yaa ALLAH !!

,,,the feudalism of malay society is what needs addressing by the existing leadership i.e. the political rajas since they have kind of robbed that role from the sultan rajas. If the value system and ethical code needs changing then either these leaders lead or its up to new leadership like the likes of you and many others to show the way by good examples. Such in a feudal society of ours, leadership plays indeed a BIG role. Its also about time that the islamic faith be properly interpreted to our malay brothers/sisters without fear or favor. Most unfortunately the present malay society indeed needs therapeutic diagnosis and assistence, such is the desperate situation in which most malay find themselves but there is no one to turn too readily. So they can easily be taken advantage of and dominated by dirty politicians and the likes.
,,,In actual fact, all MALAYSIAN society needs such a review, in the attempt to pinpoint our basic faults that must be corrected or adjusted to help progress forward for a better nation.
,,,In ALLAH’s name, lets all utilize this subject issue in good faith and perhaps its just the tip of the iceberg for bigger things.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Eek Zee, what's this 'gostun'back tracking posting? I like your 'quarter of a decade ago', hahaha only 2& a half years what, u bikin macam so long ago, cheh!

Tommy oso got bad experience with water before, flat-lined twice in my younger days; I think the thoughts of my parents grieving actually made me more determined to 'come back'; real frightening stuff seeing the white lights!

RA, I too is a keen fan of soup kambing dunked with french loaf; especially the mamak roadside stalls one with bench top where u can squat on whilst slurping :)

Cheers,

Tommy

P/S - Hey Zen, what's that comment b4 me? Ekin Cheng shok ser mok, woah ai ni, thar mak terk wang pah tan :))

mamasita said...

Lucky buaya kenyang that day..to think the boys were waiting for a free buaya show!! Ingat macam kat zoo Thailand ker??
hahaha..grosteque!

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, I'll say this - never think it's not macho to wear inflated armbands while swimming in the sea or a life-jacket for that matter, unless of course one is competing in the Iron Man, when he definitely should be ultra comfortable in the water for this.

Zendra-Maria said...

Err Bang RA, you might offend oghang Pahang with your misdirected praises. Chendor is still on their side of the border hahaha.

Zendra-Maria said...

Yikes Captain, what do i know about this high-brow thing malay feudalism? They didn't teach us this in History class at school but I remember vaguely about Malacca Sultanate, Hang Tuah, Tun Perak and the lady patriot Tun Teja - hey maybe I'm descended from her lah. Or is this about Al-Lah, an arabic word meaning God also used by Christian Arabs, and Jewish Arabs? I say, get real. If our children are fundamentally strong in their faith, which is our duty to make sure of that in the first place, what is there to be scared about Catholics using the same word in their publications? After all, we've not heard of Muslim Arabs converting en masse just because Christian Arabs use Allah in their Arabic-language Bible, have we? To me it's all down to fundamentals Capt, fundamentals.

Zendra-Maria said...

Alamak apalah bende mengarut ni???

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Hey Tommy how do you say "GET LOST" to this sicko?

Zendra-Maria said...

Sheesh..... C4'd it into oblivion

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy, gostun good for rewiring the circuitry in the brain. It says here http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20090508/walking-backward-may-sharpen-thinking "backward locomotion appears to be a very powerful trigger to mobilize cognitive resource."

But i did not notice my blunder!!! Hahaha I meant "century" lah. Everywhere people are blabbering about the new decade, it got subliminal with me... cheh!

Hey you had the white lights experience? Did you see your own body from up above? Gosh, how did you fight it hah? My friend whose little girl, just before she breathed her last from advanced cancer, said to her "mama, it's all white" and my friend told her that it was OK, just follow the angel...

The previous comment I deleted - wo pu chetao lah - dare not open his/her blog.

Zendra-Maria said...

mamasita, lucky for hubby that day the croc already had it's lunch hahaha... or maybe KL meat not appealing to crocodile tastebuds?

Red Alfa said...

Capt

Presumably you are referring to the debate now raging on Malay Muslims MUST have the exclusive right and priviledge to their Tuhan being referred as Allah?

The Allah in the Quran and the Hadiths is distinctive. Muslims who read the Quran, pray and make supplications to Allah do not/cannot have any ambiguity.

Any less of being sure he is surely a non-believer and no Christian or anyone else surely cannot be held responsible for this!

Anyone stating any definition about Allah is welcoming an invitation and it would be a great opportunity for a Muslim to explain his belief in Allah's existence with the spiritual and intellectual terms described in the Quran.

I am very uncomfortable with the Malays reacting in so wrong a manner in particular that a Malay is a traitor to Islam if he does react as such. Are the Malays so ready and willing to mengkafir the other on this right and priviledge to exclusive use of Allah?

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zen & RA,

,,,thanks. Salute to both, well said.
,,,lets hope our political leaders don't jeopardise the ordinary rakyat's daily efforts towards national unity too.
,,,hate to see any forms of national retrogression too. Give it up, play with it and you/we/all lose, my sincere advise-lah.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hey Zen, I tell u hor, the white light experience is truly surreal, sort of an easy peaceful glowy feeling, but somehow the love & affection for my parents are much stronger & I supposed there’s lot of unfinished business on my part to really2 want to come back, hehehe ‘heaven can wait’.

This happened not once but twice over those early years & I promised myself not to go near water as in the open sea as I won’t be so lucky the 3rd time round perhaps. So nowadays if I happened to be near the beach (which is very often, since I’m only 5 minutes from the Indian Ocean coastline), it’s only up to ankle level for me, swimming pools are alright so long as there’s people around. I truly believe there’s a guardian angel around me working overtime & she’s doing a magnificent job looking after me :))

Cheers,
Tommy

P/S – It never ceases to amaze me the amount of issues, dramas propping up in Malaysia day in day out, pitting friends against each other. Me, I never like to go near those issues, I rather go back to my little corner to read a book or listen to my music. Indifference, selfish on my part???? What do u think?

PP/S - Out of body experience?, yes I did toyed with Tibetan Lobsang Rumpah's Astral travelling in my high school years. Truly amazing seeing one own body attached to the spiritual soul by a cord. Ya the spirit can travel any & every where; no bull :)

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, that was only my personal view, certainly I don't possess that teropong statesman or teropong ulamak Malaysia, maybe they see further than me to be more worried of weaknesses rather than confident of strengths.

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy, peaceful glow .... wow. I get that too after a relaxing time at the spa hahaha. But seriously, yes I've seen quite a number of people who had just passed away, with that peaceful countenance, especially those who had been in pain before.

So now you're scared of water. Wonder what exactly happened before.

Actually issues and dramas make one learn and appreciate the opinions of both sides. You might want to take a stand or you might not, doesn't matter - it's a democracy. But I'd prefer if people can agree to disagree and still remain friendly with one another.

Aiyo I wouldn't want to fool around with this sufi mystic kind of astral thing, though I knew of 1 person in early 90's late 80's who took his newly-wedded wife on astral honeymoon to Mecca. Serious, no joke. But psst, don't come spy on me at home aah. This one also got story - a trainee sufi missed his family so much while studying, his guru took him by the hand and walked through a wall and lo and behold he was back in his home watching his family going about their day. Brrr... goosebumps.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

No lah, not scared of water, once bitten, twice shy, three times sure to die…hehehe. So better not muck with fate.

Some issues & dramas should be best left (discussed) within close doors. Not many people can handle the truth. Like this current issue, a no win situation for all concerned. Unduly upsetting too many people :(

Haiyah, oready been to your house twice what, didn’t u sensed somebody watching u…..hehehe, I knew what u did last summer.

Watching U

Goosebumps too,
Tommy