Blissful in Malaysia

Am now resting in my village Kampong Ah Piew, and my hometown Alor Star...
It has been raining almost everyday, otherwise, it is cloudy....
The air is cool and we like it...

We had the so-called 100th day memorial for my mother the other day...
It seems that the people around Tokai (the one-street town about 2 kilometers from my village) got together to collectively secure a burial plot in Bukit Pinang...
So, it is like, 'together forever... dead or alive' for folks around Tokai area...
The highlight of the memorial was the invitation by the Taoist monk for mother to rest at the ancestral altar in my youngest brother's house...
Which means to say, my mother is now reunited with my father and all the ancestors...

We did not plan to do any scuba diving this trip...
For a change, we spend our time relaxing, and soaking in the views of the green-carpeted paddy fields, the fresh air in the village, and the songs of the little birds that congregate day and night at the fruit trees at my brother's house...

We also did something that we had not really done before...
That is, meeting up with old friends... schoolmates from secondary school...
I have not met some of them since 1975, which is like thirty five years ago...
In KL, one friend was too kind to set up a get-together at the roof-top of a condo, with sweeping views of the KL skyline and Genting Highlands...
Another was too gracious to bring my missus and I out for a night at a Lebanese restaurant...

In Alor Star, a friend met and chatted with us for hours over coffee and toast...
The same evening, yet another friend entertained us at a Thai restaurant in Jitra...
The following morning brought our friend and us together at a popular tosai joint where we met another old classmate by accident...
It was a joy catching up with him and I was too happy to accept his missus' invitation to visit them on Christmas day...
As if this is not enough for us, we are set to meet up with a bunch of old buddies and our teachers on 26th December...

We are due to fly to KL on 28th morning to connect to a late night flight to Osaka...
We are equally thrilled that a friend is organizing a lunch get-together on that day...
Wooh... how lucky can we get with these friends of ours?

Contemplating about a wood stove...

Been debating for a long time about whether to install a wood stove in our house...
A main issue is of course, the chore to obtain firewood...
Where from?
A neighbor of mine who has a wood stove gets his firewood from trees chopped down by people in the neighborhood, and also from the hills owned by a friend of his...
The wood needs to be split and put up to dry for at least a year and half before it can be used...
Which means, there must be a shed to store the wood while letting it go dry...
It will certainly be a chore...
We are using a keresene stove and a fan-heater now...
Another issue touches on where we should place the stove...
It can weigh up to 200 kilograms...
We finally went to a showroom to seek for some advice...
Hmmm, sounds good...
I found myself really attracted to what the man had to say...
It will cost quite a bomb, and the chimmney installation is very expensive as well... Still, to have a real fire in the room... wooh, cozy, I imagine...
And, I love baked food... fish, chicken, bread, pizza, cookies, muffins, sweet potatoes... plus, soup of course...
All these can be cooked with the wood stove...

Fishings boats in the night

Took these pictures last July...
The venue was the fishing port of Aji...
The night was calm, almost windless...
And the reflection on the water...

 

A week well spent in Korea

Night shot of Dongdaemun on the final night

Korean udon at Myongdong, Seoul

Spicy broth made from loach-fish in Gwangju

The various side dishes that come with any food order

Asari (clam) udon in Seoul

Dumplings filled with meat and kimchi

Night shot of Seoul from hotel room (20th floor)

The week in Korea was certainly an exhilarating experience...
First, the Malaysians have May 13, and the Koreans, May 18...
In May 1980, I was in Manila, training under PAL to be a pilot...

Korea, I am at...

Am now attending a conference in the city of Gwangju, the city of lights, if we go by the Chinese characters...Chose to stay in a non-rated two star (?) hotel for its nearness to the conference venue...
It is a bit old, but rather charming... clean, and its staff members, polite and obliging...
And what a surprise to find out just now that there is free wifi in the room...
Flew into Inchon International from Takamatsu airport on 9th...
For all of Takamatsu's claim to be the the 'gateway' to Shikoku, the only single international flight out of the city is to Inchon...
Flight time is slightly under two hours, but getting to Gwangju from Inchon required a further four hours of sitting in a highway bus...
It was interesting to observe from the bus, the many tombstones sited on the hillsides...
Was really looking forward to coming to Korea... for the food, that is...
Language is always an issue but with pictures of the menu and some finger pointing, no problems so far...
Ooh, I just love those hot, steamy, spicy soups... and this is just the perfect season to enjoy them... slurp...