Journal 6-11-2013

Posted on November 6, 2013 by janstu

Back in my second home for almost three weeks already. How time flies. This time I suffered less from jet lag, maybe because I used Melatonin the first week. Melatonin is supposed to adjust your biological clock.

In earlier posts you have read that we are collecting KLM-houses. We bought many during our last visit, here is part of it. Next to it a sad picture of the present view from our balcony. The destruction of Bukit Lanjan has not stopped.

After two months of Western food I was craving for Nasi Lemak, Hokkien Mee (picture), Roti Chanai etc. But in the fridge there was still a smoked sausage (“rookworst”), so we had also a Western meal, with Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes..

After a few days of recovery I started walking again in Bukit Kiara. It is still under threat of “development”, but walking there remains a pleasure. Instead of completing the atrocious fence, the authorities should concentrate on maintenance. Personally I don’t mind the “illegal” rubber tappers, but the neglected signboard for the Sg Penchala is an eyesore.

: The beauty of nature

: An “illegal” rubber tapper

: Broken lamp posts

: Lack of maintenance: Sg Penchala signboard

When Aric was back in Sabak Bernam he sent me a picture of a beautiful bird, found in his mum’s garden. With a broken wing. For my birding friend Khong it was no problem to id the bird: an uncommon Black-backed Kingfisher

Aric took it back to KL, then a friend brought the tiny(!) bird to a bird doctor in Shah Alam. But the bird was too weak, it died. Pity.

After recovering from the flight, as usual came the craving for jungle and a waterfall…:-) I found Paul and Rahim willing to join me to a remote waterfall in the Tanjung Malim region, the Gerehang fall. Not many people visit this fall, Rahim had to do a lot of chopping to clear a trail.

During our hike of about 5 hours we did not meet a single soul. When we arrived it started to rain for a while, but after the shower, the sun came through again, so we had coffee and our lunch. Unfortunately, with the sun came also the sweat bees, many of them, and with (or because of?) all my precautions, I got stung again. A tiny sting in my finger, but it resulted in a swelling of my hand that lasted for more than one day. I did not have to use my Epipen, but it was worrying. Maybe I must stop going to remote places in the jungle. Here are some more pictures.

: We had some rain…. cold…

: Time for lunch

: My usual marker

: Enjoying a jacuzzi

Last weekend it was Deepavali, the Hindu festival of light. In the Ikana/Ikea shopping center, a beautiful, elaborate, kolam was created.

I spent the weekend in Taiping with my friends George and Jenny. Of course we visited the Lake Gardens, but also the ruins of the New Rest House. With May, another friend, I attended a delicious Deepavali lunch, offered by her Indian friends. I also took part in the Kathina festival, see my separate post. Here are some Taiping pictures

: The Casual Market

: The Peace Hotel

: The Peking Hotel

: Indian temple

: Bridge near the temple

: The Lake Gardens 🙂

: The New Rest House…:-(

: Deleicious Deepavali kunch

Malaysia, my 2nd home, full of variety

Journal 17-10-2013

Posted on October 18, 2013 by janstu

The last three weeks, after Aric went back to Malaysia, I have been busy with many social and cultural activities. I started with visits to my GP, my cardiologist, my diabetician, my ophthalmologist and my dentist….:-) Everything is under control.

My dentist used a new torture contraption, which made me look like a breedbekkikker (wide-mouthed frog, rana ore lato, can only be found in the Netherlands, lol).

I visited two more musea and went to two concerts. In the Concertgebouw I listened to Maria Pires, playing Beethoven. She got an ovational applause which she rightly deserved. With a friend I went to the Gauguin, Bonnard & Denis exhibition in the Amsterdam Hermitage museum. A bit disappointing, although the museum itself is worth a visit. Another concert was given in the impressive Neo-Gothic Dominicus church in Amsterdam. My friend Yolanda sings in a choir, they performed works by Bach and Mozart. Beautiful music, especially the Bach cantata Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir . With another friend I went to an exhibition of Hundertwasser in the Cobra museum in Amstelveen.

: Maria Pires playing Beethoven

: The Amsterdam Hermitage museum

: Bach and Mozart in the Dominicus Church

: Hundertwasser in the Cobra Museum

The Hundertwasser exhibition was a pleasant surprise. I knew him only as an architect (here is is picture I took of the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna, 6 years ago), but first he became famous as a painter, in the 1950’s. Here are some of his paintings. Both from these paintings and his buildings it is clear that he did not like straight lines, he called them devil’s tools..:-)

When I am back in the Netherlands, it has become a tradition to have dinner with Yolanda in a ‘fine dining’ restaurant. This time we went to restaurant Vandemarkt and had a delicious dinner there. The presentation of the food makes it almost a work of art.The reason that in the picture the main course looks messy, is that I could not control myself, I started eating before I thought about taking a picture…:-)

Another tradition during my stay in the Netherlands is a reunion with my siblings. This time it took place at my sisters place. My brother Ruud could not be there because he just had had a hip replacement operation, but in these days, with webcams and skype, he still was able to join virtually…:-)

: Meeting in the garden

: I have only one sister!

: Modern way of taking pictures

: The dinner table

: Ruud is also present

: Ruud and Jur watching from Cyberspace

: Good luck with your new hip!

: Dinnertime

Just before coming back to Malaysia I went to Groningen to meet Ruud and his loved ones. He was already able to walk in the garden with his crutches and could point out to Jur where the walnuts were hanging. I stayed overnight and met his two sons, my favourite nephews.

I also met many friends, former students, ex-colleagues etc. Often for a drink and food, so not surprisingly I gained weight again, will have to work hard to slim down. The weather remained nice and warm with often spectacular sunsets.

It was only during the last few days of my stay in the Netherlands that the weather became autumn-like, with some heavy rain and lower temperatures. But altogether I have been very fortunate, the weather gods must love me. On my way to Schiphol airport I finally could take a picture of the trees near my apartment in autumn colors.

I will end this post with a picture of my new watch. It is a Pebble watch, synchronised with my iPhone. It gives a warning when a SMS or email has arrived and you can choose between many different displays of the time.

Journal 10-8-2013

Posted on August 10, 2013 by janstu

Recently my friend Chadel has been on a solo kayaking expedition from Glenmarie Cove (near Klang) to Morib, following the Langat river. The ~45 km trip took him two days with an overnight stay near Jugra. He needed somebody to bring him and his kayak home after the trip and I was willing to assist. Here is a GE map of the trip.

You can find a detailed report about this adventure on his website. To thank me for my help, he invited me for lunch in one of the famous Bah Kut Teh places in Klang, the Fong Keow restaurant. Not bad.

The last two weeks I have been meeting friends quite a few times for lunch or dinner. It is a miracle that I still manage to keep my weight under control..:-) Twice I met Pat and Wim and their friends, a pleasant mix of Asians and Europeans. The first time we had dinner in the Ante Kitchen and Bar in Solaris Dutamas. A “porky” dinner, where you could bring your own wine. Which we did…:-). A few days later I met them again at the Oriental Banquet Restaurant in PJ. On Sundays and public holidays they serve a Buffet Brunch, really Value For Money! You have to make a reservation, because it is popular and crowded!

To loose some calories, I went a few days later to the Ulu Rening waterfall near Batang Kali. For the third time, this time with my Dutch friend Paul and my Semai friend Rahim. During my first visit I almost drowned in the turbulent water. This time there was less water, but still we did not take any risk. The huge pool is perfect for swimming. During our whole trip of six hours we did not meet a single soul!

Here are a few more pictures. To reach the fall you have to cross the Sg Rening a few times. In the lower left picture Rahim is looking at the turbulence. What I am trying to explain to Paul in the lower right picture, I have no idea..:-)

The following day I had lunch with Joe Yap. We went to the Ah Koong restaurant in Taipan, famous for its fish balls and cake. Nice lunch, but we ordered too much food…:-)

Finally, on the first day of Hari Raya, my friend Pola Singh invited me for lunch in his favourite chapati restaurant. But first he gave me a guided tour of the Royal Selangor Club, of which he is a member for many years. It was interesting to have a look at the interior of the “Spotted Dog”, as it is nicknamed.

From the club we walked to restaurant Jai Hind in Jalan Melayu, off Jalan Masjid India, where we had a variety of chapati and naan with different veggies and curries. A place to come back to!

Journal 23-7-2013

Posted on July 23, 2013 by janstu

For Aric’s birthday, two weeks ago, I decided to surprise him with a birthday cake made by myself instead of buying one. A simple one, with his favourite strawberries and lots of cream. Note the subtle detail of crushed rose petals for decoration!

A few days later I had a routine check with my urologist. Everything was ok for a man of my age…:-) Somewhat shy I show you here a ultrasound scan of my interior, don’t ask me what it all means.

After a few weeks rest to let my knee heal, I am walking again in Kiara. Here two “green” pictures, a beautiful (harmless) tree snake and nice green flowers, name unknown.

Breakfast in IKEA after my walk. The Kiara Bunch is falling apart a bit, but here we are welcoming back Robert (at the left) after he had been several months in Melbourne. Babysitting, a common predicament for Chinese grandparents…:-)

We are just back from a few days in Sabak Bernam, Aric’s hometown. His mother had been staying with his sister for a while, and we brought her home. I am more a cat person than a dog lover, but the cute dog in the sisters house was so adorable that I had to take a picture. The haze had come back, so we cancelled our planned visit of Bukit Melawati. Instead we drove through the paddy fields, which did not look very healthy, not enough rain?

We visited a famous temple near Sekinchan, surrounded by paddy fields, see separate post. And we had dinner in Sg Besar in a restaurant famous for its chicken feet, prepared in a special way, really delicious.

In Aric’s family house you still take a bath in the traditional way, refreshing but quite cold in the morning. So you are really awake after your “mandi” and in the mood to enjoy the beautiful orchids in the garden.

There was a celebration in a nearby temple, with Chinese opera, and offerings by the villagers. See separate post .

Journal 5-7-2013

Posted on July 6, 2013 by janstu

Some mixed news

I bought a new camera. Again?, you may ask. Yes. I am not very careful with cameras and I also use them often under difficult conditions, near waterfalls, crossing rivers, etc.Here is a collage of the cameras I have been using the last ~10 years. Most of them are no more. Only the Nikon 5100 DSLR is still ok. Nice camera, but bulky, not suitable for jungle trekking.

The last addition is the Olympus Tough TG2. A water- and shockproof camera. I am still testing it. It has a nice Macro option. Here are two examples

Last week our friend Rani invited us for dinner. He recently bought a “big” bike. Here I am posing as the owner..:-) And Aric of course has to try the helmet.

We had our dinner in an Ikan Bakar restaurant at the seaside, in Jeram. You first had to choose the seafood you would like to have. The restaurant is popular and can be crowded. Rani had booked in advance, so we had a “private” dining room! Here is a collection of pictures

: Aroma restaurant in Jeram

: Near the sea

: A nice place

: Choosing our food

: Our selection, fish, prawns, sotong

: Our private dining room

: Butter prawns and flower crab

: Enjoying our food

: Relaxing after a nice dinner

As I have mentioned in an earlier email, I monitor the traffic on my waterfall website, since November 2011. A few days ago the visitor count reached 500.000, on average 800-900 visitors daily. Half a million visitors from 173 different countries (of course mainly from Malaysia and Singapore).

In another post I mentioned the Malaysian way of parking in a crowded area: far away from the curb, to avoid that you will be blocked by double-parked cars. Here is a crazy example of such a double-parked car, a big one, blocking more than half of the road. Malaysia boleh!

Journal 8-6-2013

Posted on June 10, 2013 by janstu

A long post with a variety of topics.

One of Aric’s cousins got a baby recently and she and her husband invited us for lunch in the Fitou Brasserie (Desa Park city). Good Western food. Long time ago that I had a Rack of Lamb!

In my last post I have written already about my Wesak celebration in Taiping. As it had been some time ago since I visited my “hometown”, of course I had to enjoy the food! My friend George always knows new places to try out. This time we started with a dinner at the New Club, where the food is not that special, but the ambiance is nice. In the picture below you see also a dim sum breakfast, chicken/duck/pork rice and dumpling noodles.

We visited Kuala Sepetang, walked around in the fishing village, and went to the Matang mangrove forest, where we looked for birds, but we were not successful, as we were quite late.

And of course we visited the Lake Gardens. The most beautiful park of Malaysia. Early morning, in the afternoon, always fascinating. Here we saw more birds, a pair of hornbills, dollarbirds. Of course flowers. And quite a few couples, taking wedding pictures..:-)

: The lake gardens

: Always beautiful

: Flowers

: Fruits of the Cannonball tree

: Relaxing with a good book

: Afternoon atmosphere

: Hornbills and dollarbirds

: The famous crooked bridge

: Raintrees in the foreground

: Nice reflections

: A nice couple

: Another one

: getting lateBeautiful

: Taiping: it rains a lot!

George came with me on our way back home. After earlier “scary” adventures he had vowed never to go on waterfall trips with me. But I convinced him that a nice waterfall near Beruas was easy peasy…:-) A less than ten minute walk. After that I brought him home in Shah Akam, where we visited the shop recently opened by his daughter, and named after his wife Mary! I wish them good luck.

When my waterfall friend Teoh told me he could take a weekday off for a waterfall trip, it was no problem to suggest a nice destination: Ulu Rening, see my recent post. Edwin was also eager to go again, and another friend, Chadel, joined too. Again we had a fun time, beautiful weather! It was only when we took a picture “for the album” that we realised that we were all wearing a blue shirt! Four shades of Blue…:-)

During my earlier visit, I had a few anxious moments, when I was caught in the turbulence, sliding doen the last tier of the waterfall. So this time I did not take any risk, which gave me the opportunity to video my friends while they were sliding down.

When I was in Taiping, my friends Girlie and Yeoh told me that they were coming to KL. So I finally got my chance to invite them for lunch in my condo, after having enjoyed their hospitality so many times. As they did not know the way to my condo, but of course knew where IKEA was, I met them there for the free coffee, after which we had a Western style lunch at my place, soup, bread with salad and cheese, and tiramisu as desert.

Finally something quite different. For our dinner we often go the commercial district near to our condo. Many shops and eateries. Many cars as a result. Malaysian style many cars are double parked. Very annoying when you come back and your car is blocked. Solution? See the picture below. Even when you can park close to the curb, you do not. LOL

Journal 1-5-2013

Posted on May 2, 2013 by janstu

The last week we had some unusually heavy downpours, sometimes with strong winds. On my daily walks in Bukit Kiara I encountered several uprooted trees. I also noticed these uncommon flowers, stemming directly from the tree trunk. Beautiful.

When I had my breakfast in IKEA, there was this big group of Malay ladies, probably on an outing, having a jolly good time. I asked permission to take their picture, no problem, and after that of course I had to be in the picture too.

Sunday May 5, the 13th General Election will be held in Malaysia. It will be a battle between Barisan Nasional, in power since the Independence of Malaysia and tainted with cronyism and corruption, and Pakatan Rakyat, a loose coalition of opposition parties. BN has spent a lot of (taxpayers?) money on flags and banners, many streets are colored blue. In Bangsar and also my neighbourhood the last few days, many small flags have appeared in bright colors, symbolising the “Malaysian Spring” which will hopefully begin this weekend.

In my native country on the 30st of April, the coronation took place of the new Dutch king, Willem Alexander, the first male Dutch monarch in more than 100 years. The Dutch population in Malaysia had received an invitation from the ambassador for a Coronation Party at his residence. Although basically more of a Republican than a Royalist I decided to attend the event. It was actually quite a nice happening, there was a large crowd, more than 400 people. Large TV screens with streaming video, so we could follow the ceremony live. After the speech by the ambassador, I even joined in the singing of the National Anthem! Good that the staff had distributed the text, because to be honest, I only know the first lines of the first verse….:-)

There was Heineken beer, herring, “bitterballen”, probably not only for me an important reason to attend the event…:-)

Here is the official photo taken after the coronation, with some of the royal guests. It is a tradition that ruling monarchs will not attend the coronation ceremony, only crown princes, so that after the coronation the new king is automatically the highest in rank! And an interesting detail: for Charles, the Prince of Wales, this is the second time that he attends a Dutch coronation ceremony, as he was already the crown prince when Beatrix became queen, 33 years ago..:-)

Journal 18-2-2013

Posted on February 18, 2013 by janstu

Let me start this journal with Bukit Lanjan. The construction/destruction of what once was a beautiful forested slope opposite our condominium, continues. Here is a view of the slope. Next to the ugliness a picture of beautiful fungus found along one of the few remaining trails.

I celebrated CNY with Aric’s family in Parit Baru. It was a nice family reunion, although of course the absence of Aric’s father was felt by all. .

Here are a few pictures I took during my stay. You may wonder what the pinkish “caviar” in the left picture is…:-) They are snail eggs! The flower in the middle picture is a kind of passion fruit flower. And in the right picture a couple of sun birds is building their nest in a tree just in front of the family house. It is less flimsy than it looks. Click here for a YouTube clip of the nest building activity.

On the third day of the CNY I drove to Teluk Intan, where I met Siang Hui for a waterfall trip. See the separate Ulu Licin blog.

Back home I was invited by my friend Khong for a CNY dinner cum karaoke party. The dinner was nice, the company pleasant, but karaoke is not my favourite pastime, so I left early…:-)

The next day I visited the Nyangung waterfall. Also a separate blog, Waterfall Adventure. During our scramble down the slope to the waterfall I noticed the beautiful “tube” in the right picture. It’s not a fungus but the nest of a colony of wasps/bees. Because of my allergy, I kept my distance, but had to take a picture. So beautiful.

I will end this blog with another hill, Bukit Kiara, where I have my regular morning walk. Also under threat, see my earlier posts about the infamous fence. During a walk with my friend Pola, we came across this recently made (illegal) opening in the fence. Strange that the person(s) who did this, kept the upper part intact. The right pic shows part of the foundation. The fence has been embedded in the cement and will be very difficult to remove.

Fortunately there is still much beauty to be found in Bukit Kiara. From left to right a Bat Lily, a tortoise and some unknown flowers(?) fallen down from a tree.

Ten days full of variety…:-)

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My adventures in Malaysia and other countries

Category Archives: Journal

Journal 17-10-2013

Journal 1-5-2013

Journal 18-2-2013