It is many years ago that Aric and I attended a Chinese wedding dinner! When our friend Henry Hor came to our place in April, to invite us for the wedding dinner of his son Benjamin, we accepted his invitation. When I decided a few weeks later to visit the Netherlands, I planned my timetable in such a way that I would come back just one day before the dinner, hoping that my jetlag would not be too severe 😉 .
For those not familiar with the tradition of Chinese wedding dinners, here some information. A Chinese wedding dinner is a big and expensive event, where hundreds of guests enjoy a traditional many-course dinner. The size of the event is indicated by the number of tables, where eacht table is for 10 pax. The price for one table can easily be in the range RM 2000-3000. At this occasion there were 30 tables. To contribute to the cost of the event, the guests don’t give the wedding couple a present, but an ang pao envelope with money. On arrival we presented our ang pao, and we were given our table number. Henry is busy here, doing some checking.
Left the wedding dinner invitation. Benjamin is living in the US, Anita in Malaysia. They met via the Internet and married last year in the US. Now Benjamin came back for the church wedding. He brought quite a few of his American friends. Anita who is planning to move to the US, is Chindian. So the dinner was Chinese, but the company was an interesting mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay and Mat Salleh, very Malaysian.
A few pictures of the hall. On the invitation a starting time of 6 pm is mentioned, but almost nobody comes that early. We arrived at 6:30 pm
Still enough time to greet friends. Left Aric and George, right Khong, George and me together with Henry
At around 7 pm the couple, Anita and Benjamin, entered the hall.
They were seated at the main table, near the stage, with their close family. Then the dinner could start. An eight-course menu. Free flow of wine and beer.
The first course is always a variety of starters. Read the menu for details.
Followed by seafood soup (left) and and chicken chop with mango salad (right)
In the meantime the MC (master of ceremonies) introduced the speakers and also photos and videos were shown on the big screen above the main stage. Here is “our” table.
There was one more table with our friends. Left photo (from right to left) George, Boon Chee and his wife. Right photo (from right to left) Richard Yap, Teoh and his wife. We know each other through Bukit Kiara and IKEA, before COVID disturbed our lives.
Fourth course: steamed pomfret with ginger in soy sauce.
The next two courses, left butter prawns with egg floss, right mushroom and broccoli
Henry, Anita and Benjamin at the VIP table, listening to the speeches on the stage.
Then it is their turn. Benjamin has to open a bottle of champaign (or maybe sparkling wine),preferably with a loud pop ;-). Then groom and bride have to fill the tower of glasses. This is a traditional element of the ceremony.
Next is the official toasting with all close relatives and friends on stage.
Everybody has to sing yam seng, cheers in Cantonese, litterally “drink to victory”. The “yam” must be kept as long and loud as possible, followed by a short, explosive “seng”. Here is a short video, showing that not everybody was familiar with this very Chinese custom. the MC had to help 😉 .
These events are very suitable to meet old friends. Left the Gang of Four, we still meet regularly. Right Boon Chee, Andrew and I, we have not met each other for many years.
In the meantime the last course had arrived, Mixed fruits and a dessert of sea coconut and snow fungus. This time Aric was serving the others at our table.
The finale of the dinner. Bride and groom visit tables for another yam seng toast and pictures.. Not all tables, just tables with their friends and relatives.
Here I am toasting on the good luck and happiness of the couple. Yaaaaaaaam Seng.
A pleasant evening, nice to meet old friends. i had no problem with jetlag!
In 2015 I published a blog Trip up North and two years later another one, both about trips to the northern states of Peninsular Malaysia. During my present stay in the Netherlands I have made two trips to northern provinces, so here is a report about my Dutch Trip up North 😉 .
During my stay in Valkkoog with my sister Lous and brother-in-law Arend we made a day trip to Den Helder, the most northern town of the province North Holland. It is the main naval base of the Netherlands. There is a maritime museum which I may visit another time, because Lous and Arend wanted to show me two other attractions of the town.
The first one was unusual, a public library: School 7. From the outside it looks like a modern.building.
But look at the facade on the onther side and you will see something different. The modern library is an extension of a primary school, built in 1905. The structure of the old building has been cleverly preserved and is visble everywhere inside the library.
Originally the school had two floors , each with six classrooms and toilets for the pupils. The former toilets are now places where you can read a book, listen to a poem or watch a video.
Here are a few pictures of the modern extension. Not suprisingly the library has won prizes, both in the Netherlands and internationally. More info about the awards here (in Dutch).
The library has a friendly atmosphere, you can sit down and read a book or enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack.
We had lunch at Lands End, the most northern (mainland) point of North Holland.
Two seals are watching the Wadden Sea. At the horizon you can see the Wadden island of Texel.
Another surprise in the afternoon, the Hortus Overzee, a botanical garden in the center of Den Helder town, in a residential area. Started in 1939 as the City Nursery, but around 2000 transformed into a tropical botanical garden, with for example a Japanese garden, a waterfall etc. Amazing.
The Bird of Paradise flowers (center) are quite common in Malaysia, but it was a surprise to see them here.
There are several greenhouses, where tropical plants are kept.
It was a real pleasure to walk around in these gardens.
One week later I visited my brother Ruud and his partner Jur in Groningen. On my way I first stopped in Dokkum, to visit my friend Gerrit, who was my student when I started teaching in 1976. So we know each other more than 45 years!
We walked around in Dokkum, a nice historical town.
In the past Dokkum had as harbour, ships could use the Dokkumer Diep to reach what in those old days was called the Lauwerszee.
Left the city hall (1610), right the windmill Zeldenrust.
Left the public weigh house of Dokkum (1593).
The St Boniface church (1871) built in Neogothic style by Cuypers (Rijksmuseum and Central Station in Amsterdam). In 754 Bonifacius was murdered in Dokkum, I learnt in primary school 😉 .
This is one of the 11 fountains , a series of art works, created in Friesland in 2018. This fountain is cooled inside, so the outside is often covered with hoar frost, but during my visit it was too hot 😉 .
A nice town, worth a more detailed visit in the future.
I continued my trip to Groningen where Ruud picked me up from the station. Beautiful weather, time for a refreshing beer. 0.0% beer, getting more and more popular these days.
The next day we visited the northern part of Friesland. Right the Keersluis Munnikezijl, built in 1882 to improve water drainage in northeast Friesland.
Flooding was always a problem in this part of Friesland. After the devastating Christmas Flood of 1717 it was decided to block the Dokumer Diep. The Dokumer Nieuwe Zijlen were completed in 1729 and are now National Heritage.
Left the monument that was erected in 1729 after completion of the works. The right picture shows a monument to remember the resitance fighters who lost their lives against the Germans at the end of WWII.
Our next stop was at the small village of Moddergat (~ Mud Hole). It was a fishing village where in 1883 17 of the 22 ships were lost at sea during a storm, killing 83 fishermen. A few of the fishermen houses have been restored and are now an interesting museum.
In one of the houses the interior can be admired. Often two families lived in one house.
It was another day with beautiful weather. The right picture shows a monument to the women who, especially after the disaster, must have had a tough life.
Our last stop was at Wierum, in the past another fishing village. Built on a terp, a man-made hill. Originally the church was the center of the village, now it is close to the dike, because part of the village has been swallowed by the sea.
More monuments, left a memorial for the 22 fishermen who perished during another severe storm in 1893. Right a statue of a fishermen’s wive who had to walk across the mud flats to stab sea worms, which were used as bait by her husband, What a life! More info about Wierum here (in Dutch)
This part of Friesland was virtually unknown to me. . Here is a Google map of the region, where I have marked the places I have visited.
The next day, on my way back to Amsterdam, I stopped for a while in Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, to have lunch which my friend Nellie. We know each other since 1961, when we both were freshmen at the Free University of Amsterdam. The work of art near the station is another one of the 11 fountains, mentioned above.
A tiring, but rewarding 3D2N trip up north in the Netherlands.
Before starting to write this blog, I decided to take a look at the two blogs I wrote about my visits to Taiping last year, in March and June. I noticed that my Taiping visits are usually very similar: I meet friends, enjoy the Lake Gardens, explore the town and its heritage, have nice food. etc. This visit was not different, so be warned ;- .
On 15 February I took the ETS to Taiping I like train travel, it is more relaxing than driving. I always choose a seat in coach C, because the canteen is there 😉
In Taiping my friends Lay Chun and Kar Seng were waiting for me. We had lunch in the 226 Kim Hai restaurant in Aulong, where they are regular customers.
Nice food and as usual they didn’t let me pay for it. Malaysian hospitality!. From left to right, pork ribs, bitter gourd omelet (my favourite) and mantis shrimps.
After lunch they dropped me at Furama. From my hotel room I always had a view of a beautiful (but abandoned) bungalow. I was a bit shocked to see that the bungalow had been completely destroyed and replaced by a non-descript eatery.
After taking some rest I walked to the Novotel where I met my friend Derrick and his “gang”. They were on a road trip, staying overnight in Taiping and he had asked me to show them Taiping. As they had already been walking around in the Lake Gardens, I took them to Kuala Sepetang (Port Weld), where we walked around. Here a view from the bridge.
The first railway in the FMS, from Taiping to Port Weld, was opened in 1885. Dismantled in 1941, now only a signboard remains. On our way back we had dinner in Matang. The Light House restaurant is famous for its seafood porridge.
The next morning my friend Yeap picked me up from my hotel. We had breakfast together, another tradition. This time we had thosai in a mamak.
I had asked Yeap if he had contacts in the Taiping Sikh community, because I was interested to visit the Gurdwara Sahib. Not surprisingly he had, after breakfast we went to the Gurdwara where we met Datuk Balraaj Singh. The present Gurdwara was built in 1970 to replace a beautiful building, completed in 1921. The Taiping Gurdwara Sahib has an interesting history, going back to the times of captain Speedy, who in the 1870s went to India and came back with a group of Sikh sepoys to protect the interests of Ngah Ibrahim. A few years later they formed the Police Corps of Perak and in 1881 a wooden Gurdwara was built in the police compound. During the first world war, most Sikhs left to fight and many didn’t come back. Access to the gurdwara was problematic for their families (high security), in 1916 it was decided to build a new gurdwara.
Left the modern gurdwara, right the only remaining image of the beautiful old building.
Yeap’s wife was interested to see the gurdwara and joined us. Visitors are welcome, but you need a headcover. I had brought my cap, for Yeap and his wife there were shawls. What a handsome couple 😉 . We first visited the main hall (called the darbar), the entrance door was decorated with the Ik Onkar symbol, meaning literally There is only one Creator.
The darbar is a big empty space, dominated at the far end by an elevated throne on which rests the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism. First I thought we were alone, entering the hall, but coming closer to the “throne”, we noticed that somebody was sitting behind it, reading the book. It was the Granthi, the ceremonial reader of the Guru Granth Sahib.
A gurdwara also has a langar, a community kitchen, where free vegetarian meals are prepared by volunteers for everybody, irrespective of religion or race. There is also a school and a library. Left the communal kitchen, right a few classrooms.
The courtyard of a gurdwara always has a big flagpole, carrying the Sikh flag. As there was no wind during our visit, you can not see the Khanda on the flag , the official symbol of the Sikh faith, After finishing his reading, the Granthi came to greet us and offer us a cup of tea. Here I am standing between him and the caretaker of the gurdwara.
A nice experience and a very interesting religion!
I went back to my hotel but stayed there only a short time, until Goh, another THS friend picked me up and took me to his house. He is a good photographer, a few years ago we had explored Taiping, resulting in an blog Taiping Old and New. He is also an avid gardener and I had asked him if I could have a look at his garden. His wife prepared coffee and we had a nice “senior” chat
He had a big collection of Desert Roses. We are trying to grow them at home, not easy. He also showed me the budding flower of the Queen of the Night, a species of cactus that only blooms for a single night. I asked him to send me a picture of the flower, which he did the following day. So beautiful.
It was almost lunchtime, we went to the Casual Market, where we had char kuey teow. There are two stalls in Casual Market, preparing this popular food, this time we had the fishball variety. The official name of this food court is Larut Matang Hawker Centre, sometimes also called the Cashier Market, but Goh was adamant that this was not correct.
After lunch we drove to the foothills of Maxwell Hill. The next day an exhibition “A Tale of two Hills” would be opened in the Maxwell Base Camp, we decided to have a look already
Everybody was busy with last-minute preparations, but they still had time to show us around. Left Suet Fun (mentor of the project) explaining the project to another early visitor. Right a description of the four contributions. Narrative and narrator are the new fashion words 😉
The contributions contain photos, videos, text. Here are two narrators with their narratives.
After Goh dropped me at my hotel, it was time for a well-deserved rest, Later I went to the Lake Gardens. A few years ago part of the Circular Road has been closed for traffic after a few raintrees had fallen on the road. It is now the Raintree Walk, very popular. One more part , until the Zoo, is now also for pedestrians. Very good initiative of MPT (the Taiping town council).
Until now four of the majestic raintrees have fallen on the road.
Several other trees have fallen in the opposite direction and still manage to survive.
Some more pictures of the Lake Gardens. I like the photo of the ladies who have brought a table and chairs and are enjoying an afternoon tea (?) at the water edge.
A walk in the Lake gardens in not complete for me without having a look at the cannonball trees.
I had invited Bok Kin and her husband for dinner that evening and they suggested the new Brew House, next to my hotel. I asked them to notify me when they had arrived in the restaurant, then I would join them in a few minutes 😉
The food was not really that special, but it was very nice meeting them.
During my visit in June I had visited a number of Hindu temples with Muthu Pulai, another THS member. He had suggested a day trip to a Muniswaram temple in Prai (Penang) for the following day, but when I was back in my hotel, I received his message that he had to cancel the trip last-minute. So I had to improvise a program for the next day.. Fortunately my friend Halim was free.!
I decided to start with Chee Cheong Fun breakfast at my usual stall no 37 in the Circus Grounds food court opposite Novotel. Very close to Furama, on my way I passed the colorful Dobi Line.
At the CCF stall I met Foo, earlier working at Furama, having breakfast with a friend. The stall is now managed by the son of Mr Tong, who has retired. Food quality still the same.
Later Halim picked me up from my hotel. First we went to his house, He has a lovely house and a beautiful garden.
Halim has recently started painting and I was interested to see the results. I was quite impressed. A few months ago he had a mild stroke, causing him some speech problems and I was even more impressed by the way he handled this (hopefully temporary) handicap. He carried a notebook to write down what he couldn’t tell and was not shy to communicate with other people.
There are several places I always like to visit when I am in Taiping, many of them heritage related. We had a look at the Residency pillars, cleaned a few years ago by THS and other NGO’s. See my report Taiping October 2020. They still look quite impressive.
The same can not be said of the remains of the former Casuaria Resthouse, still a ruined mess.
Then it was time for lunch, in the nearby New Club
Halim told me that he could see a waterfall from his home in Taman Lake View and that he would like to visit it. I told him that it was the Kamunting fall (Sg Ranting fall). After lunch we drove to the Indian temple near the Water Reservoir, where the trail to both Taiping waterfalls starts. I told him the trail to the Ranting fall is not that easy. We will see, during my next visit.
Back in my hotel, there was the usual afternoon rain.
Trail head to the waterfallsRainy view from my hotel room
After the rain stopped, I walked around the town. The egrets were still coming back to roost, It is a fascinating sight to see the flocks of birds return around 7 pm
In Jalan Kelab Cina the façade of a shoplot has collapsed a few months ago, damaging a few cars parked in front. The owner has now put up shielding with a warning sign “Park at your own risk”. Through a hole I could take a photo of the interior. Will be interesting to follow the development, if any, of this property. Taiping has (too) many of those ruins.
Next I walked to the Central Market. Part of it, Siang Malam is being renovated. Left a picture I took last year June, right how it looks now. There is progress !
Left the interior of the Siang Malam, still a lot has to be done. Right the main building of the market. No visible activity since last year.
Not really hungry after my lunch in the New Club, I just had some snack food in my hotel.
The next day I woke up early for a day trip with my friends Henry and Soon Lay. Visiting temples and caves around Ipoh was the target of this trip. We did so many interesting things, that I wrote a separate blog about it Take Your Time. Here two pictures, to give you an impression.
The next day was already the last one, going back by ETS in the afternoon. First I had breakfast with Henry and Soon Lay in D’Cherry , Tupai district.. According to Henry the best Nasi Lemak in town. Quite good.
After breakfast they were willing to drive me around the town, so I could have a look at a few of my “favourites”
Recently the STAR published an article about the Taiping murals A total of nine has been planned. We passed one that was still under construction. Here is a picture taken by me next to a Google Earth Street View. Personally I have reservations about this approach, using the wall just as a canvas. Compare it with what Zacharevic has done in Penang and Ipoh, basically using the structure of the old wall instead of obscuring it..
Then it was time for what I call the Shame of Taiping, the two heritage buildings on Station Road, the former Perak Railway building and the Rest House. In 2013 and 2019 I wrote blogs about it, Shame on Taiping! and Taiping Bandar Warisan. Here a few photos, when you compare them with the two blogs, you will see that the decay has progressed.
The Perak Railway Building (Later PWD). At least now solidly fenced off (after the interiors was demolished completely)
The Rest House has also been fenced off, but it is still easy to enter.
Opposite those two ruins, the impressive buildings of the King Edward VII school. But don’t be mistaken, when I visited the school in 2018, parts were not accessible because they were infested by termites.
Finally a photo of me and my favourite ruin. Located at Jalan Sultan Jaafar, behind KEVII I read that the the land is for sale for RM 1.3 million. I would like to find out who were the original owners/tenants and why this bungalow was left to rot.
After Henry and Soon Lay dropped me at my hotel, I packed my stuff, checked out and waited for Halim. Our plan was to visit the Kota Ngah Ibrahim, have lunch, after which he would drop me at the Kuala Kangsar station.
First we went to the Ansari Chendol, where the biasa chendol was still only RM 1.80.
Then we drove to Matang where the fort has now be renamed Muzium Matang. Because it is more than the fort now. The building next to it, which I always called Speedy’s bungalow, has been renovated and is open to the public, free of charge. That was the reason for our visit, the fort itself I had visited many times,
The beautiful building next to the fort was actually the Security Guardhouse of Ngah Ibrahim’s police force.
We spent quite a lot of time in the museum, lots of information, the captions were not always easy to read
The restaurant Halim had in mind for lunch was Selera Azrorasa, located in Matang Gelugor. Famous for its fish curry, he said. Nice location, very remote. We ordered food and soon discovered that the service was very slow. And it was still quite far to Kuala Kangsar. I was getting worried.
Finally we decided that we had to leave, we asked the waiter to “tapau” the food (common practice in Malaysia to “take away” food) . Ten minutes before departure I arrived at the station. Halim took our lunch home and told me later that the food was good. I ordered coffee and sandwiches in the train canteen 😉 A funny ending of a very rewarding Taiping trip.
In December 2021 we moved to our new penthouse. It took us more time than expected to do the renovation and furnish it according to our (mainly Aric’s) taste 😉 . Recently we have started to receive guests..
Our first guests, in November, just for a drink, my Gang of Four.
In December a real dinner, prepared by Aric, for a group of friends.
And in January we invited Aric’s family for a drink at home after a dinner with them in a nearby restaurant.
After all this went well, Aric wanted to invite his family and relatives for a CNY gathering. About 25-30 people, in Chinese style where everybody brings a dish for dinner . Actually in the US this is called a Dutch Party 😉 We didn’t expect the party to be noisy, but Aric decided to “warn” our neighbors anyway, by putting a friendly note on their doors.
His sister Aei Ling arrived early to help with the preparations.
It had been raining heavily, after it stopped Aric had to put back a Chinese decoration that had fallen down.
Around 6 pm the first guests arrived.
The younger generation
And the older one, enjoying a glass of Malaysian Timah whisky
Many of the ladies were helping to prepare the dinner. I just provided drinks.
Our huge dinner table was very useful now, Here the ladies are putting everything on the table.
Dinner is ready! A delicious variety of food. Aric is inspecting.
He had himself also prepared various dishes, durian cake and blueberry cheesecake, but I took only a photo of one of his signature dishes: abalone.
Time for dinner. There was enough to satisfy everybody.
After dinner there was time for chit chat and watching TV.
The kids were playing cards in Aric’s office.
And the seniors were having a chat in the garden
Before leaving of course the traditional group photo had to be taken. . Here there are two, they look the same, spot the difference 😉
A few weeks ago I published a blog post Me as a Physics Teacher. Searching my archive for photos, I came across several pictures taken during my “student” days. So here is a post about my life as a student.
Here is the only photo I have about the start of my “student” life 😉 Taken when I was 5 year old, during my stay at the kindergarten school.
Some photos must have been taken during my primary school time, but I cannot find any in my archive. My results were good, I skipped a class and was only11 year old in 1955 when I went to the Christelijk Lyceum in my hometown Alphen a/d Rijn. In those days a Lyceum was a school type with two courses, a five year one (HBS) and a six year one (Gymnasium). The Gymnasium stream had Greek and Latin as additional languages (besides Dutch, English, German and French) and prepared for university.
I was admitted to the Gymnasium stream. Here is my 2 Gym class in 1956-57. I am standing, fourth from the right.
One year later, class 3 Gym. I am standing in the back row, third from left. Next to me my best school friend Bram and my physics teacher Smit, who played an important role in my decision to study physics.
Our Gymnasium class was already quite small, but in class 5 Gym it was split in two, Alpha and Beta. The alphas got more Greek and Latin, the betas more mathematics and science. Here is the small 5 Gym Beta class with our Greek language teacher Flink. He was a nice old-fashioned gentleman, and we accepted willingly the awful smell of his pipe tobacco (smoking in the classroom was still permitted in those days). Can you find me? Sitting in the center, next to my friend Bram.
The usual school photo, in class 5 Gym Beta. February 1960, I am still 15 year old, will be 16 in April.
The final examination for Gymnasium classes was quite special in those days. In addition to the written tests, there was also oral ones, taken by your teacher and a university professor. After an exciting day, the end result was discussed by teachers and visitors in the staff room. We had to wait in a classroom for the verdict. Luckily in our small group everyone passed.
Time to celebrate, here in front of my family house.
Many of us continued our studies at various universities. The famous Leiden University was close to my hometown and a logical choice, but I was the first in my (extended) family to go to university and my parents preferred the Christian Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. They managed to find lodgings for me with a nice (Christian) landlady. I was only seventeen year old, in retrospect too young.
I enrolled for physics and mathematics. and I also joined the student corporation of the VU. In those days the student corpora had severe initiation rituals. The aspirant members had their head shaven and were humiliated in many ways a couple of weeks, before they were accepted. Here is a picture I found on the Internet, taken in 1961. I still vividly remember the experience.
At the end of 1961 a few of my classmates had a kind of reunion. Our favorite teacher of Dutch language, Miss Dubbeldam, was also present. Notice that my hair is growing back already, pity that I don’t have a picture when my head was clean shaven.
My room in Amsterdam was actually a kind of garden house. Private, but to reach it, I had to pass through the house of my landlady. Here I am standing in front of my rooms, around 1963. I did not really enjoy those first years at university, as soon as the lectures finished (Saturday morning!) I took the bus back to my hometown and stayed there with my family until Monday morning.
After I was accepted in the student corporation, I became a member of the sorority (“dispuut”) Odysseus. Weekly we met for drinks and there were regular meetings, where you could train/show your oratorical skills. A nice “cultural” dispuut, but still too macho for the immature guy I was. After a few years I left the club.
I had a few good friends. One of them is Nellie, we first met when we were both freshmen, more than 60 year ago. Here I have joined Nellie at a party of her :”dispuut” Notice how formally dressed I am, in a three-piece suit..
I was a diligent student. On the wall of my room the certificate that I was a member of the student corporation.
In my room with some more friends. Jan, my best friend in those days, is trying to sing something from Bach. We were a serious bunch.
Pictures taken at the same time. I had bought an old piano and was still following piano lessons in my hometown. It must have been a party, with the bottles stored in the piano, but I don’t remember what we celebrated. .
In those days university studies were split in two parts , the “kandidaatsexamen” and the “doctoraalexamen”, more or less equivalent to present day Bachelor and Master degrees.
I passed my “kandidaats” in 1965. In those days taking four years for this degree was quite normal. For the second phase, we had to follow lectures, pass tests, but also .work in the physics laboratory, taking part in excursions to other universities etc. I chose nuclear physics as a specialism and worked in a group, led by Anne de Beer, who was doing research for his PhD thesis. A very enjoyable few years
In 1967 I took part in a trip to the UK where we visited several laboratories
At the end of the trip we enjoyed a nice dinner. Notice that we are smoking cigars.
At the end of 1967 an important event took place in my life, resulting in a big change in my outward appearance. It was hippie time, my hair grew longer, my clothing became informal and I got interested in popmusic. See my blog Musical Nostalgia.
In those days military service was still compulsory, but you got a deferment if you studied. In 1968 I was given a test to determine whether I had leadership qualities. It was fun, here I am (no 26), I didn’t try to qualify because I had already decided to become a conscientious objector in case I had to go into military service.
Anne, the leader of my group defended his dissertation on 20 December 1968. He asked me and another student to be his paranymph, an old tradition. Formally dressed in white tie, but with long hair, I was of course subject to funny remarks.
A few months later I obtained my doctoraalexamen (Master of Science degree), I became a doctorandus .My university asked me if I would like, to stay , get a part-time job as scientific assistant and do research for a Ph.D. .I was honored and accepted. As my interest was more in theory than in experiments, it was decided that I would do research in theoretical nuclear physics.
Although I was no longer a student, I was still entitled to a student identity card
For various reasons it took me a rather long time to do my research and write my thesis. Here are a few pages of my thesis.
Here I am defending my thesis, 2 September 1976. Paranymphs were no longer needed.
It was a public ceremony, colleagues from the physics faculty were present, my proud family on the first row. My physics teacher from the Lyceum was there (second row, second from right), I had already accepted a job as physics teacher and started a few weeks earlier. The principal of my new school was there and a teacher colleague with a few young pupils from one of my classes (one row below the top row, in the middle).
In 1976 I started as physics teacher. at a secondary school in Amstelveen. The physics department had an amanuensis (technical education assistant), Dick Vader, who was also an avid photographer. Of course we are both retired, but still in touch. Recently he sent me a collection of photos taken by him during my first decade of teaching and I can not resist the temptation to publish them in this blog.
I was a hippie in those days, 32 year old when I started, with long hair, that was already beginning to thin 🙂
1976-1977, Dick Vader is assisting me to make dry ice, for use in physics experiments
My first year was not easy. As a flower-power hippie, I found it difficult to exert authority. Fortunately I had a small group of final year students, where I could relax after hectic junior classes.
Preparing a demonstration of an alternating current motor
Look how they are watching the demonstration. A teacher’s dream.
I was still smoking pipe in those days. Not in the classroom of course, But no restrictions in the staff room and even the students were allowed to smoke in their own student canteen, and outside the school premises. Those were the days ;-). Soon I changed to cigarettes, to smoke pipe you need to be more relaxed
As I played the flute in those days and there was a school orchestra, of course I joined. Here with a French language teacher.
Still in my first year teaching. Explaining electrical circuits. I should have cleaned the blackboard better 😉 .
1980-1981 Helping my students with their homework.
In 1980 Rubik’s Cube became a popular toy. Once I had a competition with my students who could solve it fastest. I remember that I was not bad, but I didn’t win.
A teacher also has administrative duties (left). Not sure what I am doing in the right picture. Reading a stopwatch? My blackboard is still a mess. Pictures from around 1982
1983-1984 Here I explain a bit of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. Not really part of the physics syllabus, but I liked to show my students a glimpse of what they would learn at university (if they decided to study physics 😉 ).
1983-1984 Students in their final year had to do experiments themselves and report about them.
I had also to do experiments myself.
1987 I don’t remember what I am doing here and why my students are so interested to watch me.
This was the last photo , taken by Dick Vader. I continued teaching for another 15 years.
For a long time there has been a plan to visit a waterfall with Aric’s family, but it was not easy to find a suitable date. As 10 October was a holiday, we decided to make a trip to the Kanching waterfall between Selayang and Rawang. When we arrived at the carpark, it became clear that we would not be the only visitors, it was full, we had to drive a bit further to an additional parking. Here we are ready to go, notice the many bags with food for the picnic 😉
There are 7 waterfalls (and 2 more far upstream). Here are the first and the second fall.
The third fall, the Kapor fall, is the most popular waterfall. Too crowded, so we walked further up.
Where the cemented steps end, a trail continues, we expected that less people would hike that far. And that was the case, but there were still many people at my favorite fall no 5. I managed to take a picture of the fall without people!
We found a suitable, more quiet place between fall 4 and 5, a big rock where we could enjoy our lunch.
There was a small cascade next to our rock, a perfect place to enjoy the cooling water.
A few of us went for a while to fall no 5 to take a shower.
During my waterfall hikes I always liked to leave a stone marker at the waterfall. Here there was no need to do that because another visitor had already built two ones. In the right picture Zhi Le is blowing bubbles..
Ready to walk back.
Two views from the bridge. Left the rock where we had our picnic ( of course we left no rubbish) and the small cascade . Right looking down to fall number 4.
The Kapor fall was even more crowded now. Near the entrance we met an ice cream seller, I could not resist the temptation to have a roti ice cream 😉
We were still hungry and decided to go to Restoran Tom Yam Serendah, where we had enjoyed nice food several times in the past. Then it was a small basic restaurant near the main road, but now it had moved to a new location, very clean but less atmosphere.
The food was ok, although the tom yam not as nice as before. Still cheap, RM 180 for 11 pax!
Driving back we looked for a kopi tiam, but we were not lucky. Finally we ended, almost home, in the DIB restaurant in Damansara Perdana. DIB stands for Deaf In Business, it is a relaxed, very friendly place, where we come regularly.
We had coffee, I was not yet hungry, had only a waffle with ice cream
it was a very nice outing, worth repeating (but preferably on a weekday)
The last trip of the Gang of Four (Khong, Stephen, George and Jan) was in January: The Gang of Four in Kampar. High time for a new outing. Khong suggested Janda Baik with a visit to the garden of Al Attas and of course nice food,
We started with a late breakfast of wantan mee and coffee in Bukit Tinggi, a charming village beside the highway.
Khong knows the region well and drove us deep inside the Janda Baik region, until the end of the road
IIt was a long time ago that I had visited Janda Baik and I was a bit shocked about the “development” that had taken place. Everywhere resorts and campsites. A funny kind of campsites, meant for town people who are afraid of nature 😉 I love camping, see my blog Waterfall Camping, but this kind of “glamping” is not my cup of tea.
And of course there are places where you can rent ATV’s.
Our next stop was at a ‘forest’ of wild ginger. George was interested to harvest some bunga kantan, buds of the torch ginger, used for the preparation of assam laksa and tom yam.
Here George is in action cutting the flowers, while Khong is practicing his new hobby, close-up photography.
George’s harvest of bunga kantan
I was taking pictures too.. The right pictures looks like a bird 😉
Nearby is a parking for people who are going to climb Gunung Nuang, the second-highest mountain of Selangor at 1493 m. Nowadays the ascent from Janda Baik is getting more popular than the traditional one from Pangsun. In the past I have hiked part of this trail until the Cemperoh waterfall. It was free and easy then, now you need permits. Here is an interesting and detailed comparison of the two ascents: Janda Baik versus Pangsun.
Final destination was the house and gardens of Al Attas. I had visited this place with Khong a long time ago> At that time we admired the garden and the numerous flowers and plants in it. For this blog I searched for more information about the owner, Prof(?) Syed Hussein Alattas, better known as Pak Habib. Quite a character, founder of the University of Life He was not at home, but Eddie, his caretaker said we were welcome to walk around the gardens.
Here are some pictures of the house and the gardens. According to Khong, the house looks like it is from a Disney movie.
Here is the food we had. From top left, clockwise: .kangkung in prawn sauce, BBQ pork ribs, deep-fried squid with salted egg, yam basket with stir-fried cuttlefish and steamed lala in giner/garlic sauce..
Te location of the restaurant is idyllic, next to the river. Food was good, price reasonable. I liked the wall decoration with empty bottles. And I had to take pictures of the men’s toilet 😉
It was a nice trip. Here is a Google Earth map of the region. Top left the highway, with the village of Bukit Tinggi.
From 8 until 25 August 2022 my brother Otto and his family visited us in Malaysia. A report of what we did, can be found here. Part of our program was a 8D7N trip to a few of our favorite “haunts” and here is a report about this trip.
We decided to limit ourselves to the West Coast of (Peninsular) Malaysia. Below is the route we followed. Our first destination was the Suka Suka Lake Retreat, next we stayed two nights in Georgetown. One night in Kuala Kurau and in Taiping, finally two nights in the Cameron Highlands.
It is a three hour drive from our condo to Suka Suka, we travelled in two cars. .Using the highway we stopped only for some snacks at the Tapah R&R. The Suka Suja lake retreat is located on the bords of the Chenderoh reservoir, one of the oldest in Malaysia. Left a drone picture of the reservoir, right Suka Suka, marked with an X.
When you enter the resort, it feels like going back in time. Traditional Malay houses, built on pillars. Here the main building with some pictures of the interior..
The resort is managed by a family, Aziz, his wife Asiah and their son Azam. I have stayed in the resort many times and they have become friends. Very friendly and hospitable. We were welcomed with a drink and some fried chempedak.
Aziz has bought old Malay houses from various locations in the country, taken them apart and rebuilt them in his resort. Original design, he only added modern bathrooms. Here are the two houses where we stayed.
Suka Suka is a place to relax, for example in one of the gazebo’s
But of course you can also explore the resort.
Staying there is not cheap, but meals are included and Asiah is a very good cook, eager to explain the various Malay dishes she prepares. She lent us sarongs and asked us to wear them during dinner. Actually we should have eaten, sitting on the floor, but looking at the seniors among us, she suggested that we could sit on chairs 😉
After the dinner she explained to my nephews how to play congkak, a traditional Malay game. Here are the rules, if you are interested. Of course a photo had to be taken with all of us wearing our sarongs.
The next morning Asiah prepared breakfast for us.
The resort has kayaks which can be used by the guests. Aric and I had done that during an earlier visit and we nearly got lost, orientation is not easy with all those small islands. So we left the exercise to Otto and Nina, and to the twins. They found their way back without problems
Then it was time to say goodbye and continue our trip. Azam used a tripod to take this nice farewell picture.
Our next destination was Georgetown in Penang, in 2008 declared a World Heritage Site, because of its historical past. You could spend weeks to explore everything, but we stayed only two nights.
On our way, we passed Kuala Kangsar, the Royal town of the Perak state. Two landmarks, the impressive Ubudiah mosque, a masterpiece by colonial architect A.B. Hubback, completed in 1917 And the Istana Kenangan, the former Royal Palace.
Aric did some droning, here is an aerial view of the mosque. with the present Royal palace in the background and the Royal mausoleum in the left foreground
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We had some snacks in an R&R and arrived in the afternoon at the Airbnb booked by Aric. Located in the historical center of Georgetown, it was a nice house in Peranakan style. Left the façade, right the (very) steep stairs, leading to the bedrooms. Notice the traditional screen shielding the ground floor rooms from the entrance
Left the screen as seen from the entrance, and two pictures of the bedrooms. The house was well furnished and comfortable.
Having some refreshments before going out.
During our last stay in Penang, Aric and I had visited the top floors of the Komtar tower, where you can look down 250 meter, through a glass floor. We liked it so much that we wanted to show it to our guests. Here are Xander and Aswin, sitting relaxed on the (very) transparent glass.
Nina had said that she would scream, but she did not. Bravo ;-). I took a photo of our group.
The top floor has a skywalk. Here Aric took a picture of us. I found this a lot less scary. We stayed until after sunset, to take some night pictures.
Dinner at the New World food court. Aric ordered a selection of dished. Without him we should have been at a loss what to order. From top left clockwise: popiah, lobak, vegetarian spaghetti and dumplings.
The next morning. Two brothers having a relaxed cup of coffee in the front yard of their temporary home.
We did a lot of walking that day. First we had a look at some of the famous Zacharevic murals. If you are interested, I wrote several blogs about Penang Mural Art. A lot of copycatting, I am not sure about the top right one, and the lower right is definitely not Zacharevic.
Then we walked to the clan jetties, another landmark of Penang. We selected the Tan Jetty and were a bit disappointed that we could not proceed until the end, from where you have a fantastic view of the harbor front. I could only take a shot through an opening in the gate.
We had a refreshing coconut there
On our way back we passed the famous Khoo Kongsi, the most impressive clan house of Georgetown. We entered and walked around. I have visited this place so many times, I did not take many photos.
After some rest in our Airbnb, we discussed what to do the rest of the day. We decided to take the cable car up Penang Hill and walk around a bit there, having a drink at the Bellevue hotel. This colonial style hotel is owned by a friend of mine and has a spectacular view of Georgetown and Butterworth on the mainland. We stayed until after sunset before taking the cable car down.
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The next morning we first had breakfast in the famous Toh Soon cafe. We had tried the day before but found it was closed. Now it was open with a long queue of people waiting. It is famous for its coffee and its toast. I had my favorite eggs on toast.
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A trip to Penang is not complete without a visit to the Kek Lok Si temple in Air Hitam. The Buddhist temple is dominated by the huge statue of Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy.. You can only take a photo of the whole building when you are far away 😉
The construction is not yet complete, you can donate roof tiles. The family bought a tile and wrote NOPAX on it (Nina, Otto, Pascal, Aswin and Xander)
Nina also bought a candle.
There are many temples in the complex. This is the main one.
You can climb the beautiful pagoda, but I had done that already in the past. So I waited at the bottom while the others climbed up.
Before crossing over to the mainland, we visited another temple, the snake temple. Inside(!) the temple and outside in the trees many Wagler’s pit vipers live. When you don’t disturb them, they are harmless (although venomous). During our visit there were only a few snakes inside the temple, sleeping. But many in the trees of the courtyard.
After a simple lunch opposite the snake temple, we crossed the bridge and drove to Kuala Kurau, a fishing village at the mouth (= kuala) of the Kurau river. Years ago we had discovered in this village a nice homestay, located right on the river with a terrace from where we could observe the many activities on the river.
The owner of the homestay, a young man, studied and worked in the UK, but came back to his hometown, missing the rural life. Nicely renovated house.
For dinner the owner suggested a restaurant from where we could enjoy the sunset. In this kind of seafood restaurant you start with looking at the fish tanks to select what you like to eat, Can not be more fresh. The food picture, from top left clockwise: seaweed soup, stingray, mantis shrimps and crab. The bottom right picture shows how people here leave the table after a nice dinner 😉
The restaurant was about1 km from our homestay, as the crow flies, but to reach it by car we had to take a long detour. Crossing the Kurau river we saw the numerous fish farms in the river.
Back in our homestay it was time to relax.
The next morning Aric woke up early to take drone pictures of the river and our homestay (marked with a yellow x). Notice another fish farm in the river.
We had breakfast in the village and walked around. Of course there was a fish market.
On our way to the Hua Seng Kong Temple near Kuala Gula, Aric got a flat tyre, which he changed superfast . The temple is located in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by plantations. We were the only visitors.
This Buddhist temple has strong Mahayana and Taoist influences. It has a rustic atmosphere, no exquisite art here. Left the family at one of the entrances. When you kneel on the metal plate, as Nina does, the statue starts pouring holy(?) water.
Very interesting is the depiction of “Hell”, where people are punished for the sins they have committed in their life. A small scale version of the famous Haw Par villa in Singapore.
Here Xander and Aswin are waiting for their judgment. After the punishment everybody gets a cup with the tea of forgetfulness, so they have no memories after being reborn.
It was not far to Taiping where we had lunch in the Old Railway Station. Finally we had Assam Laksa, Aric’s favorite food. He has a special Assam Laksa website. Try to find his verdict about this assam laksa (hint: there are three assam laksa entries for Taiping)
We had booked rooms in the modern Flemington hotel, next to the Taiping :Lake Gardens. After some rest we walked around, we were lucky, Taiping is named the rain town of Malaysia, it rains often in the afternoon, but we had nice weather,
At sunset we watched the colony of egrets, roosting every night at the Lake Gardens. Thousands of them. We also had a look at the rain trees that in recent years have fallen down on the road. The town council took the smart decision to leave them there and make part of the road pedestrian: the Raintree Walk. Now a tourist attraction.
Dinner in the Double Tap, a modern fusion-style restaurant near the Lake Gardens. I had spaghetti with smoked duck, curry leaves and salted egg! Very eatable.
A special feature of Flemington is the infinity swimming pool on the top floor. I had told my family to bring swimwear, they did, but I was actually the only one using the pool haha. We had a buffet breakfast the next morning.
Here is the Raintree Walk during daytime. During evenings and weekends teher can be a happy crowd.
As the “godfather of Malaysian waterfalls”, of course I had to bring my family to a waterfall North of Taiping there is a nice waterfall, not yet discovered by the general public, although easily accessible on a clear trail
The Air Hitam waterfall is an attractive one, from where I took the photo, you can still continue to the bottom of the falls, but that is more tough going. Aric took a drone picture of us.
We could not stay long, because we had a (late) checkout before 1 pm. We had lunch in the Lighthouse restaurant in Matang. The famous Teochew fish porridge (Aric is Teochew himself).
Our last stay was in the Cameron Highlands, two nights in the Lutheran Mission Bungalow. A lot of the Cameron Highlands has lost its charm because of agricultural (over)development, but this bungalow is still relatively unspoilt. Left a drone picture, the ugly gray plastic roofs are approaching. Right the bungalow, built in the 1950s as a retreat for Lutheran missionaries.
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How I discovered this bungalow (12 years ago) is too complicated to tell here. Read my blog What Happened to Jim Thompson. I have been there many times and booked three rooms in the main bungalow this time.
For our dinner we went to the Jin Jin Steamboat restaurant in Brinchang. Steamboat is popular in Malaysia and specially in the Cameron Highlands. You get a bowl with hot broth and plates with meat, fish, veggies, mee etc. You prepare your own food. Although it was a weekday, it was very busy, we had to wait for a table. But it was worth it.
Traditional breakfast the next morning..
The view from the garden is still very nice. and there are lots of flowers.
One of the attractions of the Cameron Highlands are the tea plantations.
We visited the BOH Tea Centre Sungai Palas and we were not the only ones. The tea house has a spectacular location, overlooking the tea fields.
Of course we had BOH tea and cakes. I had scones
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Pity that the tea factory, where they process the tea leaves, was closed for renovation. Of course we took many pictures of the tea fields.
Another attraction of the Cameron’s are the strawberries, strawberry farms everywhere (with the ugly gray plastic roofs) When you buy Cameron strawberries in the supermarket, they are very sour, but the ones we bought here, were surprisingly sweet.
In the afternoon we hiked to another waterfall, the Parit fall. On the way back it started to rain a bit. We have been very lucky with the weather during the whole trip.
Back in the bungalow Otto and I enjoyed a glass of whisky on the balcony. You have to book for dinner and breakfast in advance. The food was not bad, colonial style: fish and chips for Nina and chicken chop for the others.
The next day we took another route from the CH back to KL. Passing through Raub, a famous place for durians, we stopped at a stall and Aric bought one. For RM 132 , yes durians can be very expensive. But we just had to let our guests taste the “King of Fruits”
I am addicted to durians, judge for yourself what the others though about it.
Our last stop was at the Chamang waterfall, until recently always open without paying tickets, but now closed. It is called development :-(. But at least we saw a nice group of long-tailed macaques along the road.
We did a lot during our 8 days trip ;-). and came back quite exhausted.
During my time in Malaysia, several of my siblings have visited me. The first one was my brother Pim in 2000 and again in 2006; Beautiful Malaysia (16-27)-9-2006. One year later my sister Lous visited me, Beautiful Malaysia II (11-23)-5-2007. In 2011 we had visits of Pim and Nanda in February and three months later of Lous and Arend, Family visit, May 2011. Of course my other brothers were welcome too, but it never resulted in a plan.
Until this year. During my stay in the Netherlands in April, I visited my youngest brother Otto, Otto & Alphen, and we talked about a trip to Malaysia, either by Otto himself, or with his wife Nina and sons Aswin and Xander. We had moved in December to our new penthouse, but our old condo was not yet sold or rented out. So they could stay there during their visit!
On 27 May Otto whatsapped me that they had booked tickets, from 4 August until 25 August. First a few days in Singapore, the other days in Malaysia. More than two months to make plans and prepare the old condo for our guests. Here are some pictures of our former condo, ready for them.
On 8 August, late in the evening they arrived from Singapore by Aeroline bus. We picked them up from 1 Utama and drove home, where we had a nightcap in our roof garden before calling it a day.
The next day was a rest day, we did some shopping and in the afternoon I walked with Otto in the Orang Asli village below our condo. In the left picture our penthouse is marked with a yellow x, the right picture shows one Mat Salleh (Caucasian) and four Temuan (orang asli) kids 😉
What about our first dinner with them? We got the impression that they were slightly overwhelmed by the Singaporean food courts. And Nina was pescatarian. But we had also to show them that Aric and I are foodies. So we decided for a Japanese (!) restaurant in 1 Utama. Aric ordered a large selection of dishes. It was quite a success.
The next day we started with a hike in Bukit Lanjan, my local playground. Not too difficult, we walked to the “Sunset Boulevard” viewpoint, there were ropes on the steep parts.
In the afternoon we went into town, using public transport. We visited KLCC with the iconic twin towers and walked around in the park. We had coffee and cake in the cafe of Kinokuniya, my favorite bookstore.
We had dinner that night in the Seapark food court. Aric selected a variety of food, taking into account that Nina liked veggies and fish. Clockwise from top left: otak otak, popiah, Hokkien mee, cuttlefish, BBQ stingray and Cantonese mee,
The Hokkien mee is a specialty of this food court, prepared on a charcoal fire. I am tasting the cuttlefish. Everybody enjoyed the food.
The next morning Otto told me that they had not slept well, because during the night they had been bitten by tiny critters. Bed bugs? The condo had not been used for several months, could they have been come from the Singapore hotel, in their suitcases? Anyway, a thorough cleaning operations was needed.
In the afternoon we drove to a viewpoint, from where you can see the KL metropolis. During the whole trip. we used our two cars. Otto and I in my Axia, Aric and the others in his Subaru. I don’t like driving, fortunately Otto does and he had no problem with driving at the “wrong” side of the road, while I was his guide, using Waze.
It was a bit hazy that day, so the view of the town was not perfect. The tall buildings in the center are the TRX building (right) and the Merdeka 118 skyscraper (left, still under construction)..
Aric used his drone to take pictures.
Not far from the viewpoint there is a restaurant where Aric and I have been several times, the Veg Fish Farm Thai Restaurant. Location is nice, next to the fish ponds and the food is good.
Here is a collage of the food Aric ordered. In the center me with a glass of toddy (coconut wine). Starting from top left, clockwise: kerang (cockles), mango salad, fried rice, cuttlefish, dessert, deep fried spinach, fish (tilapia) and okra (lady fingers)
On our way back to KL, we stopped again at the viewpoint for a night view
We also stopped for a while at the historical town center, where we walked around a bit. The former colonial government offices are impressive. The confluence of the Gombak en Klang rivers has been beautified recently. A bit too blueish in my opinion ;-).
The following day we went to the Batu Caves.. . You have to climb many steps to reach the Hindu temples in the caves. The temples are dedicated to Lord Murugan, the son of Shiva and Parvathi and the brother of the elephant god Ganesh, my favorite Hindu deity.
From the cave entrance you have a view of the city.
There are several temples in the cave. Very scenic. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, and already a “tourist” attraction in 1890, when Kuala Lumpur was still a small village..
All deities have their own transport animal, for Lord Murugan it is the peacock, so you see many peacocks in and around the Batu caves, real ones and artificial ones.
There are also lots of monkeys around, trying to steal your food, for example your ice-cream !
Hindu temples are always very colorful, it is easy to keep taking pictures. Here is a collection.
We had lunch in an Indian restaurant near the caves. Roti canai and thosai.
Back home we started preparing for our trip up North the next day. We went out for a simple dinner in a nearby restaurant and had a drink later in our roof garden.
About our trip I will write a separate report.. Here is an appetizer. Our route in the center. Top row, from left to right: Suka Suka, Komtar tower, Penang Hill. Middle row: Kuala Kurau, Taiping Bottom row: Air Hitam waterfall, Cameron Highlands, Boh Tea plantation.
After we came back, our guests went to KL a few times on their own. They visited the Aquarium, the Bird Park, Chinatown and several shopping centers.
Our kitchen was not yet fully operational, so we did not cook for them. But one evening we ordered delivery food. It is called a fishbowl. We had dinner in our garden.
One afternoon we brought them to Kuala Selangor. Bukit Melawati is of historical interest, the lighthouse was originally built in 1794 by the Dutch. Aric used his drone to take pictures.
The hill houses a group of Silvery Langurs, a very beautiful and friendly monkey species. Notice the orange colored baby in the left picture. And notice how contented my brother Otto looks 😉
Kuala Selangor is famous for its seafood restaurants, from where you have a nice view of the Selangor river.
General rule for this kind of local restaurants: the more basic they look, the better the food is.
From top left, clockwise: Stingray, Oat prawns, Seaweed soup, Cuttlefish , Bitter gourd omelet , Salty egg crab. Total cost RM 245. Value for money.
The plan was to visit the fireflies at Kampung Kuantan, but it started to rain heavily, so we had to skip this excursion.
Their stay was coming to an end. Nina was interested to go to an Indian restaurant, so one evening we went to a mamak restaurant in Kota Damansara, the Original Nasi Kandar Penang
More than 20 years ago a picture was taken of me with my two nephews. I asked Aric to take another picture, as similar as possible.
For our farewell dinner, the last evening, we went to the May Chixuan Restaurant near our home, where we are regulars. Their signature dish is curried prawns, served in a coconut. The other dish is tofu in a thick pumpkin sauce.
The next morning, at the ungodly hour of 6 am, they left for the airport. It was a memorable visit.
