Machap and a housewarming party

Posted on by
Reply

A relative of Aric invited us to a housewarming party in Melaka. We decided to go there on a day trip and combine it with a visit to Machap. In January we went to Melaka and Machap with our UK friend Rodney. Our main interest was Melaka’s old town and the CNY decorations in Machap  Umboo. When writing my report, Melaka and Machap, I googled for more information about Machap and found on Wikipedia an entry about Machap Baru , one of the New Villages, created during the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960). I am quite interested in the Emergency, have mentioned New Villages several times in my blog posts, and may write a separate blog post about them.

This time wanted to explore Machap Baru and also to visit (again) the Old Mosque of Machap.

Although nobody was there, this time the gate was not locked, so we ventured inside to have a look at the mosque.

The mosque has an interesting history. In the days of the Melaka Sultanate, a trader from Makassar, Datuk Machap, supported the sultan, but had to flee when the Portuguese invaded in 1511. Following the Melaka river, he founded a few settlements and also a simple wooden mosque. In 1865, a Muslim Chinese missionary arrived in the Machap region. He collected donations to rebuild the mosque in stone. A marble slab in the mosque shows the names of the donors. More in this report: Machap Old Mosque on the website of the Alor Gajah Municipal Council.

In front of the mosque, there is the tomb of Datuk Machap and a few more graves. The signboard is less detailed but mentions that it became a holy place, a Keramat. where devotees came with offerings. Similar to the Datok Kong shrines, you can find everywhere in Malaysia.

The redesign in the 19th century by a Chinese missionary explains that the mosque looks very different from the traditional Malay mosques. There is no minaret, and the beautiful decorations on the walls also don’t look Malay. The mosque is surrounded by a verandah. On the left side, next to a Malay drum, there is the original marble tablet with the names of the donors.

Of course, we didn’t enter the prayer hall. Everything looked well-maintained, but I think the mosque has been closed.

Aric used his drone to take an aerial photo of the mosque. So quiet and peaceful. The water in front is the Durian Tunggal reservoir. Built in the 1970s as a water supply for Melaka.

Of course, I was wondering, how the situation was before the reservoir was built. I found the answer in this topo map, dating to the 1940s. Right a GE screenshot where I have marked in red some roads that already existed in 1943. Note that in the 1943 map, there are three Machap settlements. Twice Machap Umbor and one Macchap Tengah, close to the Masjid Lama, (marked Keramat). In the GE map, I have marked in blue the two Machap settlements that are now deep below the waters of the Durian Tunggal lake.

Looking for more information, I found this report, A day trip to Masjid Lama Machap, Melaka, written in 2014 by Joan Wan. A trip with her father. They meet the caretaker, who tells them that after completion of the reservoir, the mosque could only be reached by sampan until a new access road was built. And that devotees still visited the Keramat but were not allowed to burn joss sticks at the tomb of Datuk Machap.

In another report, written in 2017 by her uncle, he describes how as a young boy he accompanied his mother to the mosque. By a rickety bus, then climbing stairs to the mosque. His mother brought offerings. prepared by Muslim neighbours and a few days before their visit, they could not eat pork. Delightful report.

We continued to Machap Baru. It was time for lunch, we went to the Restaurant Mei Yuan, It was well patronised, we had nice food, Garlic pork, Lobaak, and veggie for RM59.40 only!

We drove around in Machap Baru. Here is the entrance gate and another gate for the Machap Walk. An attempt to copy the famous Jonker Walk in Big Sister Melaka 😉

In the town a mixture of old houses and modern ones. It would have been nice to meet some seniors with memories of the past. We asked about it in an old bakery, but the young owner could only tell us that the shop was old (4th generation) and had moved to here in the 1960s. Maybe from the submerged Machap settlements?

Fortunately, in the second report, mentioned above, the writer describes how he in the early 1960s, visited Machap Baru with a school friend. That was after the end of the Emergency, but his friend had visited his grandmother when the village was still fenced with a security guard. Once he was caught by the security because he brought food to his grandma, which was not allowed..

Here is a drone photo of Machap Baru. Many other New Villages, like Aulong and Pokok Assam, have now merged with a nearby town (Taiping in this case). But Machap Baru is still surrounded by nature and may be about the same size as when it was created in the 1950s.

Nearby Machap Umboo is also a new village, but not related to the Emergency and the Brigg’s plan. Many of the villagers in the river valley were relocated here when the reservoir was created. It is rather confusing that it is sometimes called a New Village, for example, le in these STAR and Malay Mail articles.

From Machap, it was only a half-hour drive to the housewarming party, as the location in Jubang was nearer to Alor Gajah than to Melaka.

In Malaysia, the house is called a bungalow; I would call it an Urban Villa. As is common these days, it is located in a gated community. It’s a big villa, with a well-designed garden. But the houses are too close to each other, I would prefer more privacy.

We arrived in the late afternoon, and most of Aric’s maternal family had already arrived before lunch. Here I am having a toast with the host, drinking a glass of dragon fruit wine! Very drinkable. He had a huge collection of expensive cognac and other liquors.

The family enjoyed watching TV and playing cards. I know almost all of them, I had a friendly chat with several of them, but of course, much of the conversation was in Chinese.

We went out for dinner to a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was crowded as it was the eve of Mother’s Day. Good that our host had booked tables for our party.

After dinner, we drove back and arrived home around 11 pm. A nice, busy day, full of variety.

2025 is a leap year!

Posted on by
2

Before you start protesting, we are not talking about the Western (Gregorian) calendar but about the Chinese one 😉 .

In the Western calendar, a year has 365 days, but one orbit of Earth around the Sun takes 365.25 days, 6 hours more! To compensate for this shortage, an extra day is added (29 February), when the year is divisible by 4. As 2025 is not divisible by 4, it is NOT a leap year. Have a look at Appendix* f for more details.

MoonThe Chinese calendar is a lunar calendar, based on the orbit of the Moon around the Earth. One orbit takes on average 29.53 days. Therefore, a lunar year is 12 x 29.53 = 354.36 days, 11-12 days shorter than the solar year.

As a result the lunar year moves forward 11-12 days yearly with respect to the solar year. The Islamic calendar is doing that.

Does that matter? It depends, for an agricultural society it does, because a lunar calendar has no relation with the seasons.

The solar year has seasons because the Earth’s axis is tilted. Here is a diagram. There are two times when the Sun is right above the equator. Day and night are of equal length all over the world. They are called the Spring equinox (~ 21 March) and the Autumnal equinox (~21 September). Around 21 June, the Sun reaches its northernmost position, the Summer Solstice, when daylight is at its maximum in the Northern hemisphere. Half a year later, the daylight is minimal. around 21 December, the Winter Solstice. (Of course in the Southern hemisphere it is just the other way around).

I wrote “around” and in the diagram a few dates are mentioned. In Appendix 2 I will explain why the dates vary, although the events are fixed.

Another way to describe the location of the Sun, is by using degrees (ecliptic longitude is the technical term).. We start at the Spring equinox (0°), and go counterclockwise. Then the Summer solstice is at 90°, the Autumnal equinox at 180°, and the Winter solstice at 270°.

Can we also divide the solar year in months? Sure, by dividing the Sun’s orbit in 12 sectors, each of 30 degrees. Each sector corresponds to a solar month. It is what the Chinese solar calendar does. It introduces 24 Solar Terms, two for each month, one for the start and one for the center. It is called the Center Point of that month. (similar to a Full Moon day in the lunar calendar). Here is a diagram of the 24 Solar Terms.

The diagram contains lots of information, the names of the solar terms (in English and Chinese) and the approximate dates. When you are Chinese, you may find a few familiar names: Qing Ming (15°), Dhong Zhi (270°) and Li Chun (315°). More about this in Appendix 3.

To explain the lunisolar calendar, we need the dates for the lunar and the solar months. Lunar data( for the years 2005-2045) can be found here and the Solar Terms (for the years 1900-2049) are here.

Here is the info for the first lunar month in 2025. The link above gives 29 January at 20:35 for the New Moon. So, the first month of CNY starts at 29 Januarty. The next New Moon is at 28 February, so the last day of the first month is 27 February.

The Solar calendar starts with Li Chun (the beginning of Spring). Using the Solar Terms link above, we find the date for that solar term: 3 February at 22:10, so the first solar month starts on 3 February. The next solar term (Rain Water) is at 18 February 18:-0, so tne Center Point is on 18 February. I have collected the results in the table below. The first lunar month contains the first solar center point.

I have done the same for the next two lunar months.More or less the same but the Solar Center Point shifts to more the end of the lunar month (8 resp. 7 days). That makes sense because a solar month is slightly longer than a lunar month.

Here are the other months for 2025. Notice the month I have given a blue color.

As you see there is a lunar month that doesn’t contain a solar center point!. When that happens, that month is considered a leap month. It just duplicates the earlier month. The result is that a lunisolar leap year contains 13 lunar months.

Notice how after the leap month the solar center point is at the beginning of the lunar month. Each lunar month it will advance 1-2 days, so after 2-3 years there will be another leap month. Not necessarily the sixth month, like this year. See Appendix 4.

In the Chinese lunisolar calendar, a lunar month is a leap month when it does NOT contain a solar center point.

Appendix 1 About a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar

A leap day is added when the year is divisible by 4. This makes the length of a year 365 + 1/4 = 365.25 days. But the solar year is actually 365.2422 days, slightly less. Therefore, the Gregorian calendar has a second rule: when the year is divisible by 100, it is NOT a leap year; This makes the average year length 365 +1/4 -1/100 = 365.244 days. A better approximation, but it can be made even better by a third rule: when the year is divisible by 400, it IS a leap year; making the average year length 365 + 1⁄4 − 1⁄100 + 1⁄400 = 365.2425 days. More information about leap years can be found here.

Appendix 2: Why do the dates for solar terms vary, while the events are fixed.

Because a normal year is 6 hours short of a solar year, the solar terms will shift 6 hours! Take for example Li Chun. In 2025 it falls on 3 Fberuary at 22:10, but in 2026 on 4 February at 4:02. Six hours later, so next year Li Chun will fall on 4 February. Another cause of variability is the time zone system we are using on Earth. All dates and times in this post are in China/Malaysia time (UTC + 8). in that timezone the Summer Solstice falls in 2025 on 21 June at 2:42. New York is using Eastern Time (UTC-4), the Summer Solstice in that timezone is 12 hours earlier and falls on 20 June 22:42, one day earlier.

Appendix 3 About Dong Zi, Qing Ming and Li Chun

The Chinese festivalls follow the Lunar calendar , with three exceptions. Around Qing Ming (Cheng Beng) Chinese families visite the graves of their ancestors. `And around Dong Zhi, Chinese celebrate the harmony in the family. Li Chun is of special imporatnce for the believers in Feng shui. All three belong to the solar calendar, they don’t move around.

Appendix 4: How to find a leap month

You don’t need mathematics to find a leap month, just the tables for moon phases and solar terms as given above. Solar Center Points advance relative to lunar months, so we must find a lunar month where the Solar Center point falls on the first day of that month. We have to continue until 2028 before we find a month that fits that condition. Here is the relevant part of the table for 2028

I2028 will be a leap year, the 5th month will be duplicated.

A meeting with distant relatives

Posted on by
4

A friend of Aric, Darren, has a big construction project in Genting Permai. A few months ago he sent us a short video of a monkey, picking up a piece of fruit, left by his staff on the grass near the showroom of the project. Here is the video, watch it. Look how carefully the monkey picks up the fruit, smells it and then climbs the tree to eat it. If you watch closely, you can see that it is a female, carrying a baby.

Actually, it is not a monkey, but an ape as it has no tail. It is a Siamang, a member of the Gibbon family. They live in trees, eat fruits and young leaves, and are an endangered species, mainly because of habitat loss. In If you have ever heard their loud and melodious “singing” in the morning, you will never forget it.

Darren’s staff continued putting pieces of fruit on the grass, and soon she got used to humans and became a regular visitor, bringing her family. Siamangs are monogamous and live as a family, in this case of father, mother, a subadult (?) and a baby. Recently Darren invited us to join him to the project. Here is a video of how the mother welcomes him, still carrying the baby. She walks on her legs, using her arms to balance. Fascinating to watch,

We had bought a big bag of apples, cut by the staff into smaller pieces. Here Darren is feeding the family. They are friendly, not at all aggressive.

Father, mother and baby. Note how hairy they are and how black.

Individual portraits

Note how long the arms are. And the fingers

Two more pictures, brightened up by Aric, to show more details.

`

It was very enjoyable to feed them by handing over a piece of apple. which they accepted politely

I tried to feed the baby, but that was not easy, because the mother grabbed the fruit already, and did not share it with the baby.

Aric took most of the pictures. Here is a selfie. While we were feeding the siamangs, we enjoyed coffee and biscuits, presented by Daren’s staff.

When they had finished the fruits, the family went back to the bamboo grove, but kept watching us. There were still a few pieces of apple left, I walked to the bamboo, and the mother came swinging down, to accpet it, this time leaving her baby in the bamboo. Aric took a short video.

What a wonderful experience.

I have given this post the title A meeting with distant relatives. And that is true, because both humans and gibbons belong to the same Ape superfamily. Here is our pedigree.

The lesser apes gibbons) split from the great apes (orang utan, gorilla, chimpanzee and human) about 16-20 16 million years ago. That is very long ago, but we are still family 😉

One more drawing of our various sizes.

A Trip up North 2025: Ipoh

Posted on by
1

After my stay in Taiping (click here for the report), I took the ETS to Ipoh, where I would meet Aric and Rodney. The famous railway station of Ipoh was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback and built in 1917.

Waiting for Aric and Rodney, I had a coffee in the railway cafeteria, a nostalgic place, but in a rundown condition. There is an ambitious plan to develop the station and its surroundings. Hopefully the heritage elements will be preserved.,

For lunch, we had the famous Ipoh chicken rice, but this time not in the popular eateries in New Town. Aric had found a positive review about a chiken rice shop Sam Ma, quite far away from the town center. Very delicious, tender chicken..

Next we checked in at the Travelodge Ipoh and had some rest.

`

Aric and I have visited quite a few cave temples around Ipoh, for example the Gunung Rapat Cave Temples. , but there are more. This time we visited the Tung WahTong, a taoist temple in the Ulu Kinta neighbourhood of Ipoh, built on the steep slopes of Gunung Layang Layang. So a lot of climbing.

There are three halls. Here is the first one.

Climbing further up, we reached the second hall. Good that there was a place to rest..

A steep climb followed to the main hall, dedicated to the Jade Emperor.

The entrance gate and the main shrine.

Two times nine Arhats on both sides of the altar.

This hall is huge, with many rock formations and artworks.

The caretaker showed us a gate, leading to another path next to the altar.

It brought us out of the cave, where we found tables and chairs to rest. Would have been a great place for a kopitiam 😉 .

A very interesting temple, relatively unknown. Aric wanted to take drone pictures, but it started to rain, so we decided to come back the next morning.

We had dinner in the Sun Kong River Fish restaurant. Upmarket and pricey, specialising in fresh water fish, for example this 9-course menu at RM 2388 for a table of ten. This menu contained one pork dish, that appealed to Aric. He called the restaurant and asked if it was possible to order only this crispy pork roll. That was possible, so here we are with a huge plate of pork. The idea is that you take a bun or a wrap and stuff it with a slice of pork and veggie. .An interesting experience, we managed to almost finish the (delicious) crispy pork.

Feeling very full, we decided to go for a walk, although there was some drizzle. We went to the Kinta River Walk.

Quite disappointing, desolate. Maybe we were too late.

The next morning we had dim sum for breakfast. There are many dim sum restaurants in Ipoh, What I liked about the one we visited was that they use trolleys to present the various dim sum at your table.

After breakfast, we went back to the Tung Wah Tong temple where Aric used his drone to take pictures, and a video.

You can not visit Ipoh without trying its famous white coffee. We drove back to the old town and had our coffee at Sin Yoong Long , established in 1937, one of the oldest kedai kopi in town. I liked the traditional atmosphere.

We walked around a bit in the old town. I had read negative reports about Concubine Lane, how it had become a tourist attraction and lost its charm. Before reaching COncubine Lane, we walked through a parallel lane, the 2nd Concubine Lane. Quite attractive and quiet.

The lane has nice mural art. Many years ago, I wrote a report about the Iph Murals. Some of them have been created by my favourite mural artist Zacharevic.

Here is Concubine Lane.. Souvenir shops, food stalls, eateries. More information about the history of Concubine Lane can be found here.

We had a look at the Birch Memorial. Birch was the first British Resident, , murdered in 1875 by Dato’ Maharaja Lela and Dato’ Sagor. I told Rodney how the two streets at both sides of the memorial were named Post Office Road and Station Road. Now they have been renamed, Station Road became Jalan Dato’ Maharaja Lela and Post Office Road became Jalan Dato’ Sagor!. Ironic 😉 .

We wanted to visit another cave temple, the Kek Lok Tong, a Buddhist Temple, but it was closed for renovation.

Insteda we visited the Perak Tong, one of the largest cave temples in the region. This Buddhist temple is a popular tourist attraction. A beautiful statue of Guan Yin, the goddess of Mercy, stands in front of the main entrance.

The main hall is huge.

Guardian statues.

Looking back to the entrance.

More statues.

Inside the main hall, you can climb up to the higher levels.

Further up, you exit the temple hall, and you can continue to the top of the hill, where pavilions have been built. Rodney and I decided that we had climbed enough.

Aric continued to the top and told us that the view was not really special.

After going down, Aric used his drone to take again pictures and a video. You can see the pavillions on the top of the hill.

Time to go back to KL, where we finished our trip with a dinner in Damansara Uptown.

A Trip up North 2025: Taiping

Posted on by
4

For a report about the first part of my trip, click here. After a cup of coffee with Paul and Fahmi, they went back to KL and I checked in at Furama. When I made a reservation for three nights, the reception told me that “my” room 201 had already been booked for the Saturday night. Of course I could have taken another room, but I I found a better solution. I like Furama, but for many years I I wanted to try the Peking Hotel, because of its heritage value.

So I booked Furama for the Friday and Sunday nights and moved to the Peking hotel for the Saturday.

Here is the Furama hotel and my favorite room.

After a short rest I walked to the Lake Gardens. Always beautiful and this time even more so, as there was no breeze at all, creating a perfect mirror.

A few more pictures, taken while walking the Raintree Walk.

The Raintree Walk was created a few years ago, when one of the majestic raintrees fell down in a storm and blocked what at that time was a vehicular road. The Taiping town council decided to make part of this road a pedestrian area, the Raintree Walk, a brilliant move. It has become an attractive place for both locals and tourists.

The raintrees around the lake are about 140 years old and have reached the end of their lifespan. More trees have fallen and are now supported by metal stilts. Here they are.

A few weeks ago a fourth one toppled and fell flat on the road. It caused a lot of commotion, because an oriental pied hornbill was nesting in the tree.

A few details. I thought it would be impossible to preserve this tree, but my Taiping friends tell me that it has been propped up!

Not all the trees fall on the road. Some fall graciously on the other side and stay alive.

What to say of this? An ugly eyesore for me, an added attraction for others.
De gustibus non est disputandum

After several days of Malay food, I was in the mood for a Western meal. I had a nice spaghetti with prawns and pesto at the Rainy Corner, near Furama. Read here the report about how the owner Andy and I met and became friends 😉 .

The next morning I had breakfast, the usual Chee Cheong Fan at Tong’s stall in the Circus Grounds, now managed by his son. Foo joined me and was willing to drive me to the Peking Hotel. That’s what friends are for 😉 .

`

This is the Peking Hotel. It was built as a private residence for a rich businessman, became the headquarters of the Kempeitaii during the Japanese occupation. From 1965 until now it has been a hotel. Many years ago I had a look inside, it was a bit rundown. Now it has been renovated and it looks very attractive.

The interior with the lobby and the steep stairs to the first floor. The reception suggested a room on the ground floor, as there was no elevator. But I preferred a room on the first floor because of the beautiful design with the stained glass windows.

The room was clean, with a comfortable bathroom, but I was surprised that the toiletries consisted of three pieces of soap, no shampoo, not even a glass. There was also no water cooker, nor tea and coffee bags, no cups or spoons.

I went out for lunch to the nearby Peace Hotel, where I had a nice Char Keuy Teow (CKT).

Walking back to the hotel, I found a 7-11 where I bought a few 3 in 1 coffee bags. The receptionist said that there was hot water in the pantry. But no cup!! She looked in the kitchen and found a mug. So I could make myself a coffee, using the toothbrush as a spoon. Not a suitable hotel for tourists. Also too expensive at RM 140.

Later that afternoon I met David, a Taiping Heritage friend, at the casual market. We discussed heritage matters while enjoying a delicious “mountain” ABC.

I had dinner with my Taiping gang, this time in Aulong. As usual the food was excellent, value for money. After the dinner, I had an interesting chat with Suet Fun who is now the president of the Taiping Heritage Society.

The next morning I went for breakfast to the Casual Market. I have been there often for CKT with my friend George, but as I had it already the day before, I had wonton mee this time.

I had a look at the reconstructed market buildings. Brand new, well done. Have a look at my report less than one year ago, Taiping, April 2024, to see how much progress has been made, This was the market for vegetables, beef and poultry. But can it still be called a heritage building?

Now completely empty. Will the original occupants, now relocated in Tupai, come back? I understand that many want to stay there.

The Siang Malam, also empty. This was a famous food court. The hawkers have been relocated near the Dobi Line. Will they come back?

The fish, fruits, and pork market. Also empty. Two stalls have been rebuilt. Looks nice but I am worried that this will just show in the future visitors how the markets once functioned. Will the whole market complex become similar to Pasar Seni in Kuala Lumpur?

Followers of my blog know of my fascination with the two heritage buildings on Station Road, opposite the KEVII School. See for example my post Taiping Bandar Warisan from 2019,

For many years they were going down the drain, so it was a pleasant surprise that in March 2024 an ambitious project was launched to transform the two buildings into the Taiping Boutique Hotel., to be completed in two years.

One year has passed since then, the billboard with all the VVIPs is still there, but no sign of any work. The Rest House is fenced off, but a backdoor is still open.

The other building is also fenced off, But there is a small door to enter. The bicycle was still there , click here for the photo I took last year. , I am sure that somebody is living (illegally?) in the building. I decided not to trespass.

I walked a lot and got thirsty, so I went to the Ansari Cendol for a refreshing cendol. The price for biasa is still RM 2 only, I had the one with pulut for RM 2.60.

I checked in at Furama, took some rest and later in the afternoon Foo picked me up for a drive to the Tekah airport. A few months ago I found on the Internet a company that organises Micro Flights from that airfield. I contacted them and showed my interest. Not cheap, but for a Taiping fan like me. a must ;-). A few days before my arrival I tried to book a flight, but they were already fully booked for the weekend! I must plan earlier next time, now I only wanted to have a look and talk with the guys.

When we arrived, we were surprised that a small plane had landed. It was a plane of the Malaysian POlice.

A group of Special Force Police was flown in from KL for parachute training. \. Friendly guys, they offered us tea. I also talked with a guy who was working for the Flytrike company. He showed me the microlight aircraft. Fascinating.

That evening I had dinner with my friends Bok Kin and Teng Hin. They took me to a restaurant in Kamunting, , Yoong lamb herb stew , where we had as mainn dish , guess what, a delicious Lamb Herb Stew 😉 .

`

After this pleasant dinner, we went for dessert to the Circus Grounds where I had a red bean soup. I often had my breakfast here but never came at night, so I was surprised that it was so busy.

The next morning I had breakfast with other friends, Yeap and his wife. A tradition, often we had our breakfast at Lian Thong’s restaurant, but that traditional shop had now been transformed into something modern. We went to a Mamak, where I had a good rava thosai instead.

I took the ETS to Ipoh, where I was going to meet Aric and Rodney. The train was full and took only 45 minutes.See A Trip up North 2025: Ipoh for the last part of my trip.

A Trip up North 2025: Gunung Jerai & Sungai Petani

Posted on by
2

My friends Paul and Fahmi asked me if I would like to join them on a short 3D2N trip to Kedah. I was happy to accept the invitation and suggested that on our way back to KL, they could drop me at Taiping, my adopted home town.

After staying there three nights, I could take the train to Ipoh, where I would meet Aric and our UK friend Rodney and stay one night. All together a 7D6N trip. Here is a report about the first part.

We stopped for lunch at an Assam Laksa stall near Kuala Kangsar. We had the laksa covered with telor sarang (a nest egg). Quite nice, the stall is popular.

Our destination for the day was the BujongValley, an archeological site on the slopes of Gunung Jerai. Here is the museum, access is free of charge.

Long before the Sultanate of Melaka there existed in Kedah a flourishing Hindu-Buddhist civilization. Remains of Hindu temples (candi) can be found on the slopes of Gunung Jerai. The museum contains artefacts, found during excavations.

The park has ruins of several candi, some of them were found elsewhere and have been reconstructed here. They are older than Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Borobudur in Java, but of course less impressive as only ruins remain. Nevertheless, the site has the potential of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

For me it was not the first time that I visited Bujang Valley. Ten years ago, on another Trip up North, I was also there. Not much has changed, the signboards have faded, only QR codes have been added. That there has been a civilisation before the Malay one cane is a sensitive topic. Read here more about recent developments.

2015
2025

We continued to the Gunung Jerai resort, where Paul and Gahmi had booked two chalets. A long day, we arrived around 5 pm, the resort was in the clouds, we had to look around for our chalets 😉 .

We were just in time for a High Tea promotion, surprisingly cheap at RM 48 (for three!).

Later the sky cleared a bit, from my balcony I had a nice view of the paddy fields in Kedah. The island is Bunting Island, uninhabited, connected to the mainland by the Bunting Island Bridge , constructed between 2002 and 2005 at a cost of RM 120 million and never used.

The High Tea was so substantial that we skipped dinner, had a drink and snacks on our balcony. Paul and Fam got hungry later and used room service to order a light supper.

The next morning we had breakfast (included in the quite expensive room rate of RM 320) and walked around a bit. Beautiful weather, blue sky.

Since my last visit in 2015 (see the link above) , the resort had been enlarged with a plethora of activities. You had to pay extra for them, many made sense, a few were a bit ridiculous like the Jerai Sky View, where you had to pay RM 10 to stand on a glass-bottom platform where you could look down a few meters to the slope under the platform 😉 .

The gardens are well kept and the chalets are comfortable. Paul and Fahmi are standing in front of our chalet, containing 4 separate units.

We drove down the winding road to the plain. Here is Guning Jerai with the famous pady fields of Kedah. Would have been even more beautiful when the paddy would have been fresh green.

Gunung Jerai has many waterfalls, but most of them are seasonal. We had a look at the Sri Perigi falls, almost completely without water.

We met a friendly caretaker who told us that we were just one month too early. That the waterflow can be much more impressive, shows the damaged bridge railing.

Our route followed the coast, with several attractive fishing villages.

In one of them we visited the market. Fahmi bought dried) fish for his family.

Looking for a nice place for lunch, we ran out of luck. A floating “mee udang” restaurant opened at 3 pm only, we continued to a hilltop restaurant, that opened ta 2pm, we decided to wait, it was very hot, we were the only visitors, very slow service. But the food was ok. Probably a place to visit in the evening and watch the sunset.

Around 4pm we arrived in Sungai Petani, where we checked in. After a rest I walked around there is not really much to see. The clocktower was built in 1936 to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V. Teh HSBC bank earby is older, built in 1922 in Mughal style. A very attractive buidling.

And of course there is mural art. Huge paintings, just using the walls as a canvas. Not really my favourite.

Later we went out for dinner and were more lucky, we found a suitable restaurant. Set Talam translates as a tray set, the restaurant specialises in it. Nice seafood.

The next morning, Fahmi had found another nice place for breakfast. Outide Sngai Petani, in very rural surroundings. A popular breakfast place.

Nice breakfast with Lempeng (kind of pancakes) and my favourite Roti Goyang.

Back to town where I took another photo pf the HSBC bank. The ony outstanding heritage building in the town.

More pictures of the mural art. Not bad, but also nothing impressive.

After our exploration of the town, it was already time to go back. My friends dropped me off at Taiping; see the next report.

It was a nice trip, but a bit too much driving for such a short stay.

A new waterfall

Posted on by
1

My last “new waterfall” was two years ago, in 2023. In my blog post CNY 2023 Waterfall Trip, I explain why I no longer explore (new) waterfalls. This year I didn’t join the traditional CNY waterfall trip. Here is a photo where a few of my waterfall gang visit the Katoh Upper Fall. Would have been too much for me 😉 .

Joshua Tee, who is now the active webmaster of Waterfalls of Malaysia, suggested to organise a trip to an “easy” waterfall, only a 15 minute hike, an easy trail and a pristine fall. That sounded attractive, although I wondered how a waterfall with easy access could still be pristine. I joined.

One day before Chap Goh Meh, Joshua picked me up from home and we drove to Tanjung Malim where we had breakfast and met the rest of the group. Many of them I had met before. First photo, from left to right Joshua and his partner Eve, Pooi Yee, and my “waterfall godson” Nick. In the other picture JT Ong, Sam, Iwen and Kendrick.

After breakfast, we continued to Behrang Station, where it became clear how a waterfall with easy access can still be pristine: to reach the trail head you have to follow plantation roads where a 4WD is needed. So all nine of us moved into Joshua’s Ford Ranger. Here we have arrived at the trailhead.

And indeed, from here it there was an easy trail to the fall, about 600 meter. To cross a small stream, I preferred to walk through the water and get my feet wet 😉 .

Here is the Gersay waterfall, my waterfall sifu Khong would call it a baby fall. A nice wading pool, and attractive surroundings.

Joshua had suggested that we all bring some snacks and drinks, he had brought two foldable picnic tables !

My contribution was a bottle of wine, here Ong is tasting it.

It was a nice leisure trip, of course many photos were taken. The last photo shows Joshua and me, the present webmaster of WoM and the former one 😉 .

An official group photo.

We didn’t stay long, as the plan was to have lunch in Tanjung Malim. Here Eve and Ong are bringing back the tables.

A few more pictures of our walk back to the car.

In Tanjung Malim we went to restaurant Fu Man.

Nice food, I wanted to be the host and pay the bill, but the others didn’t allow me. Malaysian hospitality at its best.

Here is the location of the Gersay fall on Google Earth. Tanjung Malim bottom right, Behrang Station top left. The plantation road in red, the short walk in green.

I didn’t expect to visit new waterfalls anymore, this was a pleasant surprise.

CNY 2025

Posted on by
2

It is a yearly tradition, the celebration of the Chinese New Year in Parit Baru, Aric’s hometown. Often I wrote a blog post about it: CNY 2024, CNY 2022, CNY 2020, CNY 2017, CNY 2016, to name a few.

This time we arrived one day before CNY, so Aric had time to decorate the family house. Here he is considering what to do.

Many weeks ago he had bought decorative material. In the past many of his relatives already arrived for the traditional Reunion Dinner, so he had helpers, but fewer people are following this tradition nowadays.

Here is the result.

Three families lived in the big kampung house, there were still many cousins, nephews, and nieces around, so two sessions of the traditional steamboat dinner were needed.

The common living room was also decorated and the next morning there was a praying session for the ancestors.

IIn the Chinese tradition, it is the start of the year of the Snake, one of the twelve Zodiac signs. More accurately it is the year of the Wood Snake , click here for an informative YouTube video.

Although there is nothing bad about any of the Zodiac signs, many people are instinctively afraid of snakes, probably because of our evolutionary past. That may be a reason that many CNY decorations and cards don’t show an image of a snake. Here are the two CNY cards we created, the left one by Aric and the right one by me 😉 .

For dinner we went out to the Parit Baru fishing village on the banks of the Bernam River.

Many family members of Aric had not yet arrived. From left to right Aric’s older brother, the two kids of Aei Ling, Aei Ling and me. Picture taken by Aric. Nice local, fresh food.

The second day of CNY more people arrived. Here I have lunch with Aric’s nephews and nieces. From left to right, Teng Wei, Zhen Ee, Zhi Le, Zhi Ee, Zhi Ying, Chun Yee and me. Chinese names! Two are still missing

Part of the CNY tradition is receiving/giving ang pow. Red envelopes with money inside. Adults give it to younger ones (it is actually a bit more complicated). I give it and I also receive some. “Uncle” Aric gives it to his nieces and nephews in a special way, as a kind of game. Just a few photos without further comments

Another steamboat dinner.

During the first dayss of CNY almost all shops are closed , but on day 3 many reopen, and are very crowded. Ong, Aric’s brother-in-law took me to a popular shop in Parit Baru, for roti canai. It was so crowded that we shared a table with two friendly locals. They offered me a cigarette and told Ong about a “chips” factory nearby, inviting us to visit it.

So we went there (Ong riding a motorbike and me on the buddy seat)

Interesting experience. They make cassava (tapioca) chips, mixing them with spices, then frying them and finally packaging them for wholesale. I gave a helping hand, haha.

Back in the kampong, an ice cream seller arrived and I could not resist the temptation to have an ice cream with bread! Quite popular in Malaysia 😉

A group photo is always a part of the day 3 activities. Can you spot me in the crowd? One Kwai Loh and ~ 50 Chinese.

Another tradition, Yee Sang this time the salad dishes were prepared by family members. Vegetarian, one even showing a snake 😉

I took a short video of the tossing.

Of course there were the usual deafening firecrackers

And nice fireworks

It was a nice evening, there was food and lots of beer.

The younger family members performed a dance.

For me it was sometimes a bit too much, so I found a quiet corner, where I could play a game and read a book.

On day 4 we returned home, but in the morning Ong went for a a walk with two kids to the nearby Datok Kong shrine and asked me to join. Nice countryside, palm oil plantations and fruit trees (the fruits protected by old clothes) .

As there was another prayer session, we stayed until dinner, in the same restaurant where we had gone on day 1. Here is Aric, relaxing and chatting with his favourite nephew.

It was a big dinner.

From top left, counterclockwise: Catfish, Sotong, Golden Pomfret, Prawns, Mini-octopus, Crab.

Nice evening view. THen it was time to go home. A 5D4N visit, I needed a few days to recover 😉 .

A New Passport

Posted on by
3

My Dutch passport expires in July this year, but it includes an MM2H visa which expires already in March.. So I decided to apply early for a new one. Dutch passports used to be valid for 5 years only, but nowadays they are valid for 10 years. Usually, you return your old passport, when you get the new one, but in my case, they contained MM2H visa, so I kept them after they had been made invalid.

The procedure is simple: you must download and fill out a form and then make an appointment with the Dutch embassy. I went there on 16 December.

You have to submit a recent passport photo. There are strict guidelines and that made me worry a bit. Glasses are allowed, but your eyes must be fully visible. Mouth closed, expression neutral, head not tilted, etc. I did my best and this is the result ;-). When I presented the form and photo to the friendly embassy staff, they were accepted without any problem.

Faster than expected I got an email from the embassy that I could come to collect my new passport. I decided to go by public transport and asked our UK friend Rodney, to join, so we could have a look at the CNY decorations in KLCC.

We walked from the LRT KLCC station through the park to the Naza Tower, where the consular section of the Dutch embassy is located. The weather was beautiful and the Twin Towers impressive. The Naza Tower is a modern skyscraper. Launched in 2012, it has an interesting helical shape.

It took only a few minutes to receive my new passport. Before walking back, we decided to have coffee and cake in the lobby of the Naza Tower.

Nice street art around the Naza Tower.

And of course CNY decorations. Like in Machap,visited a few weeks ago, many colorful flowers, but all artificial.

Opposite the Naza Tower a spectacular new building is under construction. The provisional name is Lot M. In the (far?) future a 700-meter tall skyscraper may rise on top of this building.

We walked back through the park. With the very blue sky, the KL skyline was breathtaking. It was a hot day, the wading pool in the park was popular for children and adults.

Kuala Lumpur can be proud of a beautiful park in the center of the city.

In front of the shopping mall, a huge CNY decoration has been constructed. Here Rodney took a picture of me, taking a picture 😉 .

Probably I took this picture. Inside the shopping mall another huge decoration.

This year is the year of the Snake, but where are the snakes? Last year, the year of the Dragon, there were dragons everywhere. Not a single snake here! Probably because many people have a phobia ffor snakes!

The walk through the park had made us thirsty, so we went to my favourite Kinokuniya cafe for a refreshing drink. Then we started looking for a suitable lunch place. I was thinking about the Asian Food Court. On our way, I noticed that there were long queues for all the restaurants.

I expected that it would be difficult to find an empty table in the food court. Then we found one restaurant with many free tables. So, for the first time in my life, I had lunch in a TGI FRIDAYS! We ordered the so-called Hangover Burger, a substantial meal.

Then we went back back home, where we arrived just before a downpour started.

Melaka & Machap

Posted on by
7

As familiar as Melaka is to me, so unknown is Machap. Aric suggested a mini-trip to both places with our UK friend Rodney, staying overnight in Melaka. He had booked rooms in the Puri Hotel, where we arrived late afternoon on Friday, 17 January. The hotel is located in Heeren Street, now unfortunately renamed after a Malaysian politician. . In Dutch colonial times, the Heerenstraat was the most important street, where the rich people lived. Opposite the hotel the impressive Chee ancestral mansion (not open to the public).

`

The Puri Hotel is a nice Peranakan house, much extended and more expensive than when we stayed there the first time, more than 10 years ago.

After a short rest, we went out for dinner to the Kapitol Satay Chelup restaurant, no longer in the town center, we took a Grab car. Still has nice food, but not many customers, I hope they can survive.

We took another Grab back to Jonker Street. The famous Jonker Walk is not so interesting anymore, but of course you have to visit it when you are in Melaka.

`
`

The (food) stalls are quite mediocre, but Jonker Street was almost as important in Dutch times as Heeren Street, so there are nice facades and clan houses to admire.

We passed a small square with a very strange statue of a bodybuilder. Actually, it is a memorial statue for Dr Gan Boon Leong, a Malaysian politician, and native of Melaka, instrumental in the creation of the Jonker Walk, but in his younger years also a bodybuilding Mr Universe!

We stopped at Koong Woh Tong for a refreshing Herbal Jelly. One of my favourite desserts, not sure if Rodney really liked it.

Arriving at the main square, also called the Dutch Square, we admired the many trishaws decorated with colorful LED lights and loud music.

We walked for a short distance along the Melaka river. Left a view from the bridge, right many of the bars on the left bank.

Before going back to our hotel we had a few drinks in the Geographer, a landmark bar in Jonker Street.

The next morning, we had a pleasant breakfast in the hotel garden and admired the interior.

`

We checked out and walked around the town. Here are two photos of the Eng Choon Association in Heeren Street.

More buildings, some beautifully restored, others still waiting for an upgrade.

We entered Goldsmith Street, now often called Harmony Street because along the street many houses of worship are located. Here is a view of the street, In the foreground a Chinese temple, further on a mosque. The Indian temple, a bit further down the street , is not visible.

The Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is the oldest functioning Chinese temple in Malaysia, founded in 1645 during the Dutch era.The main prayer hall is dedicated to Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy.

The Kampung Kling Mosque was originally built in 1748 by Indian Muslim traders. The Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple was built in 1781 and is dedicated to Ganesha. It is one of the oldest functioning Hindu temples in Maritime Southeast Asia. Pity that it seems to be closed all the time.

We didn’t see many murals in Melaka, which makes me happy, but of course, we spent only a little time in the town. The first mural is nice but nothing special. The second one is bizarre. It depicts the Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, famous but no connection at all with Malaysia. Why her? Because she has been appointed Melaka’s tourism ambassador. Apparently, to attract more mainland Chinese tourists. Melaka boleh haha.

You don’t see Buddhist monks often in Malaysia. On the facade of the shop there is a mural of an orang utan, a bit faded as murals should be. And the other pic shows Rodney and me in front of the Dutch windmill.

Melaka is a “museum” town with artifacts from the past everywhere.

We had Chendol near the river. And then climbed up the St Paul’s hill for a view. The straits of Melaka far away.

The Church of Saint Paul with the statue of St Francis Xavier. The hill has an extended cemetery with Dutch and British graves.

The remains of the church contain many tombstones.

We climbed down the hill to the Porta de Santiago, one of the few remains of the A Famosa fortress, built by the Portuguese in 1512. The other pic shows Rodney and a dinosaur.

We were planning to have lunch in the famous Kedai Kopi Chung Wah near the bridge, but it was closed. So we went to another one. Also nice Hainanese Chicken Rice.

It was already getting a bit late in the afternoon when we arrived in Machap. Here is a Google Earth map of the region. There are two villages, about 6 km apart, Machap Baru and Machap Umboo. Machap Baru is a “New Village” created during the Malayan Emergency as part of the Briggs plan. I am very interested in these new villages, but it was not our target this time. We went to Machap Umboo, an even newer village but in a different way! In the 1970s the Durian Tunggal reservoir was created, one of the main water supplies for Melaka, and the original Machap had to be relocated. I guess that its original location was near the Old Mosque of Machap, not far from Machap Baru.

The villagers of Machap Umboo decorate their village during the Chinese New Year and are so successful that it generates publicity and attracts visitors. Leaflets with the various attractions are freely available. In the other picture I am taking a phoyo of Aric admiring a persimmon tree.

It’s a fake tree, as are all the flowers and trees used as decoration. Very colorful,

This year will be the year of the Snake, so you can see (fake) snakes all over the place.

The villagers have used as much as possible recycled items for the decorations. Empty cans, old tires etc .

`

Maybe the Dutch square in Melaka has inspired them to create this attraction. And yes, the tulips are also artificial. The drizzle had become rain, time to go home.

At the entrance of the village a Snake Kung Fu master invited us to a fight.

In spite of the rain we decided to have a look at the Old Mosque. In 2019 Aric and I had made a Trip down South, and one target was this mosque. But it was closed and now it was closed again. It was raining so heavily that I didn’t even take a picture. Here is a drone picture, taken by Aric during our 2019 visit. Looks interesting, we have to come back another time.

It was a nice, short trip. Want to see more pictures of Melaka? Have a look at my report Revisiting Melaka, August 2023.