Life is so Fragile!

I was torn in between either to update my blog or continue on with my current (work) project, Separation Pending List. Wooo hooo....thrilling. Sometimes you just need to be senile to accept such project! Then I was starring blankly on the lap top screen for sometime and layan saja my mind.....

Alright. I am all yours tonight....work can wait....at least one more day..................

30-Dec-2014, 7:15 am

Woke up late since I had an uncomfy stomach since last night...its the time of the month when 'P' is back .....Went downstairs to the kitchen, wind up the shades and opened up the window.....hmmmm nice......cool breeze swipe my face......boiled a pot of tea for breakfast. Chicken curry steamed bun on the stove.....I reached to my cheap mobile and start scrolling down my messages.....First thing that caught my eyes were 2 missed phone calls....who could it be?

Sheri......6:04 am,

and then....Mom....7:12 am.

then....it hit me.....something has happened.....I called Sheri but she didn't answer. Seconds later.....Sheri was on the line and I picked up,.....

Sheri : "Tried calling you, but tak dapat....I nak let you know, Acik dah passed away this morning.... We are going back to Ipoh."
Me : "I was not well since last night due to my 'P' so I woke up a little late. My phone was charged over night. Oh my,...innalillah......"
Sheri : "Dia orang akan kebumi lepas zohor."
Me : "Ok thanks, insya Allah we will be going back."

That is the reason I do not like receiving calls wee early in the morning.....there has never been good news,......yay! I passed my driver's permit...yee haw...! we would normally receive bad news at this hour of the day...always....

Went upstairs to the bedroom and composed myself to wake up and inform my other half the of news I'd just received. We hugged and I started to sob....

Acik was what we called him,....retired as a Major in the army. He is the youngest of 8 children on my dad's side of the family. He graduated from Royal Military Colleage and joined the Royal Armed Force since then....

To his nephew and nieces, he is Mr Cool. He was my favorite uncle amongst all. Yes,...because when I was 9 or 10 years old, he would bring us back loads of chocolates every time the comes out from thick jungle of Borneo for a short R & R. Yup, that's what he does, if he's not on R & R, he'll be in the jungle.....He would bring us back Kit Kat,  Cadbury.....I would follow him to Jaya Supermarket and Horizon Music shop was the first stop. He picked several cassettes, paid and left. Loves cartoon. He's funny. He would tell us jokes. All of us were about to throw up because of this human log, sitting in front of the tele, watching cartoons day in, day out for a week,.....when finally his R & R was up.......

.....he resembles very much that of my dad....

.....he introduced me to Carlos Santana......and..

......hardly 2 months ago we got the news that he has cancer in the lungs....stage 4.

I called Salyna and told her I need to take an emergency leave from work. Approved!

Dropped a message to Sheri and send a condolences message to Aunty Sarina, Acik's wife.  It was hard composing a message for some who just lost her husband....and that husband happens to be my Uncle. Tears rolled down my face...Shakiel happens to walk in and he came over to give his mommy a hug....I leaned against his shoulder.....mmmmm.......life is so fragile.....

After packing our emergency over night bag, we left and headed Ipoh.

Made 2 stops along the way when we reached Simpang Pulai. I text Sheri for any updates. She called and told me that alls over and he has been buried. What? I thought lepas zohor.....it seems the organizer request it is appropriate to bury him soonest. It was just a moment ago I was relenting the memories of Acik in my mind, the funny times and troubled times....and now the fact that I can't even see him for the last time...

I don't know. I don't know what am I feeling? I am angry and upset deep inside....I am angry at someone but who.....? ......4 internal monologues going on in me......so who is it? who is it to blame?....

Alhamdulillah, in spite all the above, I cherish the time we last spent on 17-Dec-2014 at Pantai Puteri Hospital Ipoh. Just came back from his radiotherapy treatment....thinner.....short of breath.....fragile. We were positive and telling him about our journey, the search for unique names of small towns in between Puchong and Parit, then tomorrow's adventure doing white water rafting.......but, you know.......when you have cancer.....at stage 4......(I am sorry I reserved my comments.) 


I decide let's just go to Acik's house. When we arrived we saw a few of our relatives standing and talking outside of the house. Beautiful house.....love it....at night you can see small planes land or take off... I walked about the house and saw his 3 cats in the cage, pokok ciku, pokok kedondong, some on-going extension on the premise .......sayu rasanya.....

1st Chemo treatment

After 1st chemo treatment.

Aunty Sarina said after the 2nd chemo, "Acik was still going strong. I think it's the steriod." PEACE.

Semoga Allah memcucuri rahmat ke atas Acik and tempatkan dia di kalangan orang yang beriman. Amin. Kalau jumpa Abah, sampaikan salam Shera pada dia........

Al-Fatihah.

Part Six - White Water Rafting (Final)

Once we checked in at the hotel, we cleaned ourselves before one by one dozed off...Yes, we need to get up early for breakfast. We were willing to forgo 2 free breakfast at the hotel for this best street food in town....Restaurant New Holly Wood in Canning Garden.

Let the pictures do the talking....

This place was recommended by my Malay colleagues who recently traveled to Ipoh. You just have to go there before you make any judgement. Jangan be misguided by the shop signage.

From 12 o'clock char koey teow, 3 o clock wontan noodle kicap and wonton soup, 6 o clock chee cheong fan with shrimp filling and finally deep fried Yong Tau Fu/Foo chuk.

Wonton noodle kicap with wonton soup as accompaniment.

 Steamed Chee Cheong Fan with shrimp filling.

Fried Yong Tau Fu at the top and Char Koey Teow.

Roti goyang

What more can I say......we arrived at the right time, simple street food, enjoyed our food, and left just as the crowd start to fill up the shop. After breakfast we went back to the hotel. The kids want to hit the pool.

We checked out from the hotel at 11:30 am and headed to my aunt's house. Stayed a while, didn't asked too many questions about my aunt's conditions as I didn't want to up set her. I mean it is not easy to cope with both relatives who are closed to me suffering cancer at the same time.... I pray may Allah give us His compassion and strengthen our faith during this hard times. Our storyline was written before we were born.

Moving on.....heading back to Teluk Intan to try the well known Kedai Makan Mustan Ghani. We had mee rebus and it was okay...nothing to howler about unless we got the wrong Mastan Ghani....ooppps?

We decided not to make a stop in Tanjung Malim since it was out of our way. And we headed back home.....by 8:30 pm we were home sweet home.....

Thank you to all directly and indirectly concerned during the making of this unforgettable holiday. This trip was all about quality time well spent. It was educational and fun filled adventure. And it is also about eating great food. I forgave myself for gaining weight during this trip. But I value more the satisfaction look on each an every one of our face when taking about this trip.....it's a pleasant feeling.

I want to feel that way again and am looking forward to our next adventure....insya Allah.

THE END....alhamdulillah.

Part Five - White Water Rafting

Lunch was over by 2:30 pm and were just killing time between lunch break and dinner. My other half took the kids to the paint ball target shooting  while I am already started with my Part One of this story.....Just lepak and relax....listening to some music.

My other half came back and decided to take a spin around Adeline Villa on a three wheel motorbike.... Shakiel and myself tagged along......it was hilarious especially going up and coming down the slope. My laughter filled the air and no one can stopped me from squealing and shrieking out loud. Me bump hurt but it was lots of fun.

When we reached at the top of Adeline Villa, the view was green and so breath taking. We decided to pose for more selfies.

Soon it was dinner and I barely touched them. I was still full from lunch. We stayed on until 7:30 pm and decided to call it a day.  We said our good byes and left for Ipoh where we will be putting up a night. We have 3 more places to cover on day three before our vacation expire....

its not good bye but till we meet again. Thank you for a fun filled adventure whom some 'person' I know did not expect my dark side....muahahahaha.... Adeline Villa & Resort... merci beaucoup...

TO BE CONTINUED....

Worst flood ever?

Just to divert a little bit from my recent trip, some states in Malaysia have been experiencing with disastrous flood in Kelatan, Trengganu and Perak being affected the most. Many families out there are barely surviving with no electricity, no phone line and no food stock pile since they had to move and leave their homes in the mercy of Allah to a designated temporary relief centers.

Roads were closed and food donations were not able to reach affected areas. There has been pouring support and also those who takes advantage of the situation. My prayers goes to those affected and hope things will go back to normal. Yes, we need to move on and stay strong.

Just sharing some photos I received from my whatsapp. At the time I received these photos, information shared is valid. However, correct me if in anyway I have mistakenly identifying them. 

MRSM Kuala Kerai

Stadium Kota Bharu

Hospital Kota Bharu

Donations pouring in but due to road closure, items were unable to reach the relief centers.

This is more close to my heart. My kampung, Parit. That's the bridge connecting Pekan Parit, Pulau Chempakasari and smaller villages accrossed Sungai Perak. It was closed due to the increased in Sungai Perak's water level. 

And that's Pulau Chempakasari....or what's left of it....

A few bloggers have hold on posting food articles in respect to the current flood situation which I think was commendable. If you find the remaining screens seems to be inappropriate, kindly ignore them. No offense whatsoever, but I still need to finish my recent trip journal before the idea dries out.

Part Four - White Water Rafting

Woke up to a refreshing day and went out to get breakfast. Around 8:30 am we left Parit and headed for Adeline Resort, Kampung Itik, Gopeng. And mom headed for Sheri's house in Subang Jaya. She has a family kenduri to attend tomorrow.

Signage to Adeline Villa and Resort

It was less than an hour drive and we were almost there until,.....

....we got lost in the thick jungle....hahahaha

We arrive at the resort around 9:30 am and was greeted by a female worker and informed us the the white water rafting group will leave at 10:00 am. We made our registration, completed consent form and we proceed to the equipment area where we select our shoes, life jackets, helmets and paddles. I was a bit nervous yet excited to get on with this adventure.

All equipped and hopped on the truck to take us to the rafting location.

When we arrive at the rafting starting point, we were briefed on boat safety and water safety. Then off we go in 2 rafts. Our guide was Capt. Jack Sparrow...hehehe ia la tu...kikikikik....So off we went...

Rest area. Selfie with Capt. Jack Sparrow.

Finally the adventure was over. I am already thinking I want to come back here again. I love it!
The transport arrived and all of us hopped on the 1 tonne lorry along with our raft. We passed by a few small villages in the vicinity: malay, chinese and orang asli...it was a long drive but the thrill has yet to disintegrate...I'll go for another round if somebody would have open their mouth that day.

Yes, we did it!

Upon arrival at the resort, lunch was already being served. Food here was glorious. I had loh hor fan, tried all the dishes such as udang petai, fried river fish, kangkung belacan, sweet sour fish fillet, chicken curry, fried chicken, rojak buah, jemput durian and most of all I just loved the nyonya carrot cake. I was really full and just waiting the right time to grab a pillow and....the you know the rest is history.....

Nyonya Carrot Cake. I had 2 helping of this.

Hmmm the sauce was spot on and look how generous the ground peanuts all over the Rojak buah.

Don't want to over do it....Jemput durian....delicious.

Exciting adventure. Delicious food. It you wanna eat and play, this is the place. You can visit their website here http://www.adelinevilla.com/index.html

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Part Three - White Water Rafting

We left Kampung Mak Teh and headed north to Gopeng. We came accrossed  Kopisan, Lawan Kuda and Kota Baharu, all in Gopeng, Perak.

By now the kids were already irritated by our adventure...and what more to brighten them when we are headed to Ipoh for lunch. We left Gopeng and Greentown Dim Sum Cafe....here we come! Fastened your seat-belts kids......makan.......

We arrived and parked our car. I looked around and there it is, just on my left....

Greentown Dim Sum Cafe, the green fabric rooftop.

And we had these....

Noodle in dark soy sauce with foo chok broth.

White rice with chicken cooked in ginger.

Egg Noodle in hot broth.

chinese fried rice on the top and,...le creme de la creme...dim sum.

The damage? It was a good damage!

After lunch we head to Pantai Hospital to visit my uncle Hashim who is doing cancer treatment there. We chatted and stayed about an hour or so and left headed for Parit...We will be putting up a night at mom's. She already had plans for dinner. After Maghrib we drove to Bandar Seri Iskandar. It was mom's treat and dinner was at Ikan Bakar Pak Teh.

We had satay, rice, kangkung belacan, fried squid, grilled genahak, gulai daging salai, sambal udang dan petai.

So that was how we spent our first day of vacation....we need a good rest for our journey on day 2.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Part Two - White Water Rafting

So off we headed to Kampung Chui Chak, Langkap, Perak. The village is made up mainly of ethnic Chinese, mostly from the Hakka dialect group.

With Wase we were headed to the right direction.   Along the way the view was beautiful and so serene, the whole way were paddy fields…..luas terbentang....how far it was? phew sejauh mata memandang. This reminded me of a song by Sudirman.
 

Sawah terbentang dan padi menguning 
daun nyiur melambai angin timur membelai
riak air di kali bagaikan bersedia
membasuhi tubuh mu dari debu kota.

Sayu-sayu terdengar merdu suara seruling

Mendendangkan lagu anak desa

Humming the tune as I digest the yellow/green scenery of the paddy fields. Ada lagi tempat macam ni kat Perak kan....the feeling was indescribable.  A sense of peacefulness. Alhamdulillah rasa besar sungguh kurnian Allah...speechless  but deep inside singing Je T'aime!....Je T'aime! running across the paddy field and have Van Diesel catching up with me, scooping me up with his muscular arms.. ...then.....on second thought, eerrrk tak pe la....bila teringatkat pacat and lintah...hehehe...

Berangan punya berangan,...somehow we missed Chui Chak.....we should arrived after 3 km from the main road. We thought we were there but again, signage is nowhere to be seen.

So we lost Kampung Chui Chak and we were determined to locate the next town, Kampung Mak Teh...and we drove off. Along the way we discovered Kampung Changkat Petai,....I'll be damned! I've heard of Changkat Jong, I've also heard Changkat Jering, but Changkai Petai? We got out of the car and snapped a few pictures and continued to search for Kampung Mak Teh...

Kampung Changkat Petai. How unusual,...mesti banyak pokok petai kat sini agak nya. True enough this place has a lot of Petai trees...it has medicinal effect in controlling diabetes.

 In our quest to locate Kampung Mak Teh, we stopped at the signboard below.

Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil. Penjara Tapah or Tapah Prison was just 200 meters away from the spot we were standing.

It was supposed to be time well spent with the kids but most of the time they were not cooperative. Shakiel was a real pain at times. His mind is at Adeline Resort and paint ball games.

And we continued with our journey until we found Kampung Mak Teh. My other half has a cousin whom we called Mak Teh, so we took a photo and sent to Mak Teh...hahaha...and later that night we had dinner in Sri Iskandar at Restaurant Ikan Bakar Pak Teh...hehehe...Pak teh is Mak Teh's husband. Moving on we found Chikus, Mambang Di Awan, Air Kuning, Lawan Kuda, Kopisan, and Kota Baharu. After all that we headed for Greentown Dim Sum, in Ipoh.

Chikus. Mostly inhabited by local Malays and has acres and acres of paddy fields. Chikus came from the word tikus or rat. Paddy farmers had major problem with rats destroying their crops just in one night. The farmers said it was bad omen which  was brought down on them after they disobeyed some rituals.

Air Kuning. Nothing yet can be found about how Air Kuning or Yellow Water got its name. Maybe the water everywhere was yellow once?

Mambang Di Awan. Once used to be a tin mining town and mostly inhabited by local chinese. According to myth, an English officer by the name of George Maxwell named this place as 'Fairies Among the Cloud' or Mambang Di Awan because he saw fairies flew down from Gunung Bujan Melaka. However another version mentioned that a group of hard working miners after a days work saw fairies came down from the sky. Finally the last version by an historian Chye Kooi Loong in 1886 recorded a charismatic and dynamic Malay leader by the name of Imam Prang Jabor discovered and opened a Malay settlement which he later named it as Mambang Di Awan after the name of Gunung Mambang Di Awan.

Finally we reached Kampung Mak Teh. Just to be sure, we circled the small village before determining with the signage we have found Kampung Mak Teh! No history of how it got its name. The length that we have driven since 5:30 am this morning seems worth a lot to my other half...

Let the picture speaks for itself.

or...wondering...what is Shakira leaning against?...

TO BE CONTINUED....