Category Archives: Culture

Stabat Mater

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In 2012, I published a blog about Stabat Mater, composed in 1735 by Pergolesi. In that post, you will find more information about this beautiful composition, one of my all-time favourites. Many composers wrote music for the Stabat Mater, one of them being Antonio Vivaldi. In 2024, I wrote another post, Antonio and Andreas, about a recording of Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater by countertenor Andreas Scholl.

A few weeks ago, I found on YouTube a compilation of six Stabat Mater compositions, by various composers, from Palestrina (ca 1590) to Arvo Pärt (1985). Here it is, Pergolesi and Vivaldi are of course included, but others were unknown to me. Click on the screenshot to watch the video.


I decided to search for more Stabat Mater compositions and soon found this amazing site: The Ultimate Stabat Mater Website. A Dutch music lover, Hans van der Velden, started in 1992 to collect Stabat Mater CDs. Five years later, his partner, Hannie van Osnabrugge, created the Ultimate Stabat Mater Website. The site is now managed by the Ultimate Stabat Mater Website Foundation, created in 2020. At the moment, the site has more than 300(!) CD recordings of the Stabat Mater, with lots of information about composers and compositions. Click on the screenshot below for more information about the history of this monumental website.

There are many ways to access the information, alphabetically, by country, or chronologically. I used the chronological option to look for Stabat Mater compositions, composed in the 18th century, when the transition took place from Late Baroque (Handel, Bach) to Classical (Haydn, Mozart).

I found 50 composers of a Stabat Mater. Amazing. Only those are listed where a CD exists, so there have been more. Most of them are unknown to me. I selected a few that appealed to me. Of the four 18th-century giants, only one (Joseph Hayden) composed a Stabat Mater. The other three (Handel, Bach and Mozart ) composed religious masterpieces, which I have in included in the following list for reference.

1712 Antonio Vivaldi

According to Wikipedia, Vivaldi composed the Stabat Mater in 1711, with a premiere in 1712. Written in haste, only eight stanzas of the hymn are used, and the music for the first three movements is repeated for the second three. Still, it is considered one of Vivaldi’s early masterpieces. There is only one soloist, originally a castrato, nowadays sung by a countertenor or a contralto. The Ultimate Stabat Mater Website gives 1727 as the year it was composed.

There are numerous recordings. I have chosen Jakub Olinski’s Here is a screenshot, click on it to watch the YouTube video. Olinski is not only a brilliant countertenor, he is also an experienced breakdancer. Click here for his role in another work by Vivaldi; you may be shocked.

1723 Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti is famous for his operas, but he also wrote religious music. In my post Dixit Dominus, I mentioned him. His Stabat Mater was new to me; I found it on the Ultimate Stabat Mater website. It is beautiful music.

He was the father of Domenico Scarlatti, who wrote 555 keyboard sonatas, but also composed a Stabat Mater for choir, without soloists.

1736 Giovanni Pergolesi

Originally, Pergolesi composed the Stabat Mater for a male alto and a male soprano (a castrato!), customary in his days. Nowadays most recordings are for (female) soprano and either contralto or countertenor. I found this delicious recording by a boy soprano and a boy alto.

1741 Handel (Messiah)

Handel, one of the great composers of the Late Baroque, wrote numerous religious works, but never a Stabat Mater. In 1741 he wrote the Messiah, for me his most impressive creation. Here is a recording by the Choir of King’s College in Cambridge

1749 Bach (Hohe Messe)

Bach also did not compose a Stabat Mater (although he used Pergolesi’s music in his Psalm 51 . The greatest of all Baroque composers wrote many religious works. In 1749 he wrote the Hohe Messe. Here is my favourite recording by the Thomaner Choir in Leipzig

1767 Joseph Haydn

The transition from Baroque to the Classical Period took place around 1750. Haydn represents the early Classical period, and when you listen to his Stabat Mater, the differences are obvious. It was on the Ultimate Stabat Mater website that I discovered it. Beautiful music. The recording was made during the COVID pandemic, without an audience.

1781 Luigi Boccherini

Boccherini was an Italian composer and cellist. I knew and liked his string quintets, but I discovered his Stabat Mater only in the compilation mentioned above. I liked it so much that I decided to write this blog post. He belongs to the Classical era, but is a bit of an outsider. His Stabat Mater still has a Baroque setting, in my opinion.

Actually, he revised it in 1800, adding two more voices. and an ouverture. I prefer the original version.

1791 Mozart (Requiem)

Mozart didn’t write a Stabat Mater, His most famous religious composition is the Requiem Mass. started in the year of his death, but not completed. So many recordings on YouTube, how to choose one? Here is one, recorded in the Condertgebouw in Amsterdam. I lived around the corner for 25 years.

Immersify

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Probably everybody knows KLCC, the Kuala Lumpur City Center, but what about BBCC, the Bukit Bintang City Center? It is a mixed-use development on the former site of the Pudu Prison in Kuala Lumpur. The monumental entrance has been preserved.

We found a parking spot in the huge Lalaport shopping center, had a look at the iconic Merdeka 118 skyscraper, and decided to have a drink near the old prison entrance. Expensive, but the cake was delicious.

Our plan was to visit the Immersify multi-media exhibition in The Labs, part of the BBKL. A journey beyond imagination, as is announced on their website. The ticket price is not cheap. RM 68 for adult Malaysians, RM 50 for me (senior discount). They use a time-slot system, but it was not busy.

It was a fascinating experience, worth every Ringgit. We stayed more than two hours, enjoying each of the eleven exhibition halls. Visual and sound effects, we really became immersed. I will just show a few pictures from each zone, using the same names as in the folder.

Zone 1 Glowing Garden

Zone 2 Mystic Waterfall

A thundering waterfall, where fowering trees grow and elephants emerge from the water. Absolutely breathtaking.

Zone 3 Moonlight Memories

Zone 4 Starlight Garden

Zone 5 Turning Moment

Zone 6 Illusion Road

Zone 7 Neon Jungle

Another fascinating hall. The proboscis monkey jumps and shows off, The ape gets angry and destroys the glass window.

Zone 8 Canvas Oceania

We stayed a long time here. You take a paper with the outline of a fish and color it as you like it. Then you scan your drawing and within a minute your fish is swimming in the tank. Aric created the fish with my name on it.

He made a few more drawings, one with his name and the other with his dive devil gang.

Most people stayed longer here. I also did one, but I am not so creative, easy to guess which one was mine.

Zone 9 Prism Shine

Zone 10 Surreal World

Mesmerizing.

Zone 11 Art Gallery

A very unexpected ending, for me the apotheose of Immersify. Paintings of three painters were shown, as the “real” painting together with a digital tarnsformation on the surrounding walls. Combined with classical 19th century music

Claude Monet

Gustav Klimt

Vincent van Gogh

What an amazing exhibition. First I thought that this exhibition would only temporarily be in KL before traveling around the world. But no, it will stay here in a building specially designed for it. A Korean concept, until now only materialised here, in KL. Malaysia Boleh.

We were a bit hungry, but the food in the Lalaport didn’t attract us, we went to an eatery nearby where we had nice hokkien mee.

A final look at the Merdeka 118 building, before we drove home.

We took many videos, should have taken even more.

Here is a collage

Gua Lepak

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In Malay language, gua means cave and lepak is a verb, meaning to hang out, relax. Gua Lepak, the Hanging out Cave, has a restaurant inside a cave. We had dinner there on 15 February after Aric had read about it on the Internet.

The cave is one of the many caves in the Batu Caves limestone hill, famous for the Hindu temples inside the main cave. This cave is a much smaller one, about one km away at the south-eastern side of the hill. See the GE screenshot. Notice how the hill has been encroached on all sides by urban development.

It was an interesting experience. We needed Waze to find Gua Lepak, located in an industrial area. Parking was no problem, maybe difficult in daytime, but the Gua doesn’t open until pm. Entering we first passed a number of food stalls, most of them closed, a bit of a desolate atmosphere.

Before ordering our food, we decided to explore the cave first. Walking down a few steps, we reached the entrance. Nicely decorated. Although the neon sign might suggest otherwise, smoking is not permitted inside the cave.

It is clear that a lot of work has been done to make the cave easily accessible, with (often colorful) lights everywhere. A smooth walkway, here and there, paintings on the wall. Near the entrance we noticed tables and chairs.

In many places the ceiling is very low, easy to hit your head. Interesting rock formations everywhere.

It is not a large cave, after a few hundred meters you exit near where you entered. In the picture you can see the steps to go out.

At the exit, just outside the cave, again some fancy decoration.

Near the entrance there is a Malay stall where we ordered food and drinks.

We entered again and found a suitable table. They had given us a number, so they knew where to serve us.

Service was fast, and the food was quite nice.

It was not crowded, but there were a few more (Malay) customers.

Back home, of course I immediately Googled for more information about Gua Lepak. I found two useful STAR articles, both published on 11 March 2024. In the first one, concerns are voiced about an eatery in the cave, because it might endanger the efforts of the Selangor state government to create the Gombak-Ulu Langat Geopark in the state. The newspaper article contains a poll where citizens can give their opinion. The second one is an interview with the young Malay entrepreneur who, with his family, is managing the Gua Lepak complex. He argues that the rock formations in the cave have not been damaged, only some mural art has been added.

Not surprisingly, the result of the polls (~2000 votes) was that a large majority was against the eatery in the cave, less than 10% was in favour. A few days later, on 15 March, the STAR published a third article, that the Land Office had issued an eviction notice and closed the eatery.

End of story? No. A fourth article in the STAR of 21 January 2025 wrote that the eatery in the cave had reopened, already in October. Repeating concerns about the Goepark After this publicity I expected that the Gua Lepak would be closed very soon again. I suggested to go soon with our UK friend Rodney and only three days later we visited Gua Lepak again.

The atmosphere was the same, not much activity. I had read that the manager and his family actually had a license to operate food stalls in front of the cave.

Also that they had plans to add more options for families and groups of friends to hang out and chill. Like a karaoke room, a surau, a game room, and even a homestay. That explained the fancy decorations in this part of the establishment.

Entering the actual cave, after we had ordered food.

There were a few groups of Malays enjoying their dinner. I think not many other races will visit this place.

We had the same food package as during our first visit.

After our dinner, we showed Rodney the cave. He really enjoyed it.

In the STAR article, the manager had pointed out that they had not damaged the structure, only added some mural art. Some of the paintings are very Islamic.

They left the structure intact. Another activity they have added is rock climbing.

My expectation that the authorities would immediately close the eatery again turned out to be incorrect. In a fifth article in the STAR of 23 January, it was reported that the manager had applied for a temporary occupation licence (TOL). Maybe that request had been granted.

A few weeks ago we went again, this time with our friends Paul and Fahmi. There were no other stalls open, except this one where the lady recognised Aric ;-).

We ordered the same package again.

After the dinner we walked through the cave. Mind your head, especially Paul.

Some parts of the cave have a higher ceiling.

The cave still has a bat population. Aric managed to take a few pictures.

A few more pictures. In the last photo we are standing outside the cave, probably where there can be rock climbing.

We will see how the situation develops. It is a nice location to visit with guests from abroad. With proper management, it could become a major tourist attraction in KL I would have voted in favor of Gua Lepak in the STAR poll 😉

CNY 2025

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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 😉 .

Winter Solstice 2024

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Celebrating Dongzhi (the Winter Solstice) is a Chinese tradition that goes back to the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Winter Solstice falls on 21 or 22 December, this year on Saturday 21 December. We went to Parit Baru, Aric’s hometown, to celebrate.

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is a time for families to meet and eat together. One activity that occurs during these get-togethers is the making and eating of tangyuan, balls of glutinous rice, that symbolize reunion. When we arrived in Parit Baru, a large number of these rice balls had already been prepared in various colors.

We went out for dinner to a local seafood restaurant.

Prayers for the ancestors are part of the celebration. An offering table is prepared with all kinds of food and drinks. Parents, grandparents, the table was set for nine ancestors.

Hell Money (joss paper) has to be folded into a roll, so it will burn easier.

Praying for the ancestors.

Here Aric and his brother are making the pyre.

And lighting it.

Aric makes sure that everything burns.

The rice balls are served warm in syrup. The bigger ones are filled.

Before going back home we had our tangyuan.

The Sak Dato temple in Broga

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Broga Hill is a popular hiking destination, but I had never heard about a Sak Dato temple in Broga , until Aric suggested to visit this temple, as it was famous for its monumental statue of the Monkey King.

It’s about a one hour drive from KL Broga Hill is located in Selangor, but the village and the temple are situated in Negri Sembilan.

The temple is a Datuk Kong temple, where Chinese devotees worship not a Taoist deity, but the “spirit of the land”. The tradition started in the 19th century when Chinese settlers arrived in the country. Often Datuks were once humans who were greatly respected by society. After their passing away, people started to worship their spirits for protection. Often they were Muslim Malays. Interesting about this temple is that Sak Dato was an Orang Asli. He supported the Chenese tin miners in the 1860s and probably became a Taoist himself. See also the appendix

Here is the entrance of the temple. Most Datuk Kong temples are smaller, often even just shrines. This is a large complex , apparently very popular, although it was quiet during our visit.

Climbing the steps, we soon reached the statue of Guan Yin, the goddess of Mercy.

A large hall is dedicated to her.

Climbing further we arrived at the Sak Dato hall.

The interior is simple without images. Inside the hall we noticed a picture of the former PM Mahathir, handing over a National Temple Beautification Award.

There is another Sak Dato shrine in a cave next to the hall. Probably the original one. There is also the grave of the Sak Dato. It was originally located inside the cave, but has been relocated to its present position..

Climbing highere there is a split.To the right leads to a hanging bridge, we first explored the left side which took us to a kind of park with an intriguing collection of art works and statues. A very enjoyable place.

A dragon-turtle is pulling a cart with treasures and a bit further on there are the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.

Of course we had to take pictures with our Zodiac signs,

The park must be a popularr destination for families. There is a wishing tree but you can also hang your wishes here. Everywhere benches donated by devotees. There is also a stall, but it was closed during our visit.

Finally we went to the suspension bridge and walked to the hill qwhere the statue of the Monkey King is located. Quite a steep climb up.

A warning sign for dogs, but the dogs we met were peaceful and sleepy.

I am sure all Chinese know about the Monkey King, one of the main characters in the 16th century novel Journey to the West. For those who don’t know this wonderful folk tale, you can download it here .The statue of the Monkey KIng is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Recirds as the tallest one in Malaysia. It is quite impressive. The other picture shows the monk Tripitaka and his other helpers.

Aric had brought his drone to take video and pictures. Here are a few.

In the hall inderneath the statue, walking around three times is supposed to bring luck.

After visiting the Monkey King, we had to walk down and cross the bridge again.

After our visit (about 1.5 hour) we drove to Semenyih for dinner.

Nice food, steamed cuttlefish with lemon and garlic, paku belacan and deep fried tilapia

Nice, relaxed atmosphere

And a beautiful sunset

A perfect outing.

Appendix

Although the Sak Dato temple in Broga is a popular destination, with numerous hits when you Google for it, it was not easy to find background information.

I found useful information about the Sak Dato temple in this scholarly publication ( page 209-211).

The Temuan, an Orang Asli group, were the earliest inhabitants of Broga. Because of rich tin ore, Broga was settled in the 1850s by Hakka miners from Huizhou, China.

Broga became prosperous, first because of tin, later rubber.

During the Japanese Occupation (1941–45), many shops in Broga were burned by the Japanese and many villagers fled. In 1950, the British colonial government resettled the Chinese in the area in Broga New Village.

The Sak Dato Temple in Broga is one of the oldest Datuk Gong temples in Malaysia.
The temple still holds many old plaques; the oldest one was offered by a devotee Li
Yuchang to Sak Dato in 1904

Since 1910 , the Sak Dato procession at Broga has been held annually, even during the Malayan Emergency. After the establishment of Broga New Village in 1950,entry and exit were strictly controlled, so the villagers brought the spirit tablet of Sak Dato to a small new shrine in the New Village. Following the end of the Emergency, the villagers returned the spirit tablet, and renovated the old temple in 1965. In 1991, the temple was renovated again, at a cost of MYR700,000.

Also useful is the inscription next to the grave of Sak Dato

.So the original shrine in the cave is old, the worship of Sak Dato started in 1868. His bones were relocated a few times (?) after the temple was rebuilt in 1991 and finally put in the present grave only last year (?)

Finally here is a very readable travelogue, written in 2013, where renovation of the Guan Yin timple is still going on.

So the Sak Datu temple is old , but the enlargement and extension are recent.

I found confirmation by looking at the historic imagery of Google Earth, This screenshot shows the sutuation in 2010. I have marked the places where I took pictures. There is not yet a park, and there is no suspension bridge. They are working on the Monkey King

Here the situation in 2022

The Sak Dato temple committee has been very successful in developing the temple to attract more visitors.

My first waterfall in 2024

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There have been years when I visited more than twenty waterfalls, but that is over for various reasons. In 2023 I visited one waterfall only, during Chinese New Year, the Lata Juang.

As an octogenarian I have decided to visit only waterfalls with easy access “grandfather falls haha), so I was interested when my friend Edwin recently updated me about Lata Khong. When Khong and I “discovered” this waterfall, almost 20 years ago, access was already quite easy. Now the local Orang Asli community has made a cemented footpath for the last 100 meter to the fall , making access even easier. It makes sense they charge a small fee for parking and entry.

When we arrived in the kampung , we were shocked that access to the fall was impossible. An OA boy explained that a few days earlier the police had inspected the access road and decided that it was damaged/dangerous. Not really clear what kind of damage. Closure until January!. Read the hand-written notice.

That was disappointing, we had been driving from KL for about one hour, so what to do? The solution was to visit the Chamang waterfall near Bentong, another grandfather fall in the same region. I first visited this popular fall in 2004. The recent heavy rainfall made it even more impressive now.

Also here “development” has taken place, it is now called Taman Eko Rimba (Ecological Jungle Park) Chamang, with opening times and an entrance fee (RM 10 for me, a bit steep). There were a few tourists only, they stayed for a while at the huge signboard, then left.

Workers were constructing something new, we could not go down to the waterfall.

Which photo would you prefer?

Even with all the development the Chamang waterfall is still a very attractive one, but you must look for a suitable view point.

On our way back we had lunch at the Fantasy Valley restaurant in Kampung Bukit Tinggi. Very scenic location along the Tanglir river.

Aric ordered Claypot Prawn Glass Noodles and veggies. Big Udang Gala (Freshwater Prawns), not cheap, but so delicious!

Although we couldn’t visit Lata Khong, it was a very pleasant outing.

Muar trip, July 2024

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One year ago I joined Paul and Fahmi on a trip to Kota Bharu. This year they invited me again, a 3D2N trip to Muar. I had visited Muar more than 10 years ago, see my report Penarikan Recce. Here are two maps of Muar, one from ~1940, the other one a Google Earth screenshot. I have marked a few POI’s and the location of our homestay. A bridge across the Muar river has replaced the ferry.

When we arrived in Muar it was still too early to check in, therefore we first drove to Tanjung Emas, a public park near the mouth of the Muar River. It was a bit too hot to explore, we decided to come back in the evening.

Driving back to the town, we passed the impressive Sultan Ibrahim Jamek Mosque, constructed bewteen 1925 and 1930. This royal mosque looks more like a palace.

We passed the former High Court Buildings.

Before we had lunch, we visited some of the murals of Muar. In recent years there has been a proliferation of mural paintings in Malaysia, starting with the iconic ones of Zacharevic in Penang. Sometimes (often?) of mediocre quality. Muar is teeming with murals, and although there are enough of the simple ones, often depicting cartoon characters, there are also many that have artistic value. Commissioned by the town council? They show aspects of traditional culture, heritage and nature. Here are a few.

This huge one shows, in the form of a a mural, many of the heritage buildings of Muar.

For reasons unknown to me, Muar has been officially named (since 2012 only!) the RoyalTown of Johor (that should be Johor Bahru, right?). Muar, the town of Murals, would be more appropriate. Murals are really everywhere.

Time for lunch. We went to a famous Mee Bandung restaurant in the town center.

The food was nice. There was a photo collage of illustrious visitors on the wall, for example the Sultan of Johor 😉 .

Of course we had also our pictures taken. Maybe we will end up on the wall as well?

After our lunch we continued looking for more murals. I was surprised to find this collection of art works in one of the lorongs (back alleys). Not graffiti-based, but almost like in an art museum, complete with description tags!

Abstract Tactile
Embedded Wood Frame
Busy Board
Rainbow Wall Mirror
Telephone Communicator
Screen Wa;; Panel
Sensory Texture Wheel

I was pleasantly surprised by the general atmosphere of Muar. There are lots of nice facades, often painted in bright colors. Looking at the dates on several gables, the city must have had its heyday in the 1920s .

It is a very clean city, some lorongs are decorated with ornamental plants, the five-foot ways are well-kept, and everywhere you find rubbish bins.

Our homestay was modern and comfortable, three bedrooms with aircon and fans. In a nearby supermarket we bought some groceries and we took a rest.

In the evening we went out again to an open-air food court in the center of town, near the Muar river. Muar is the fourth-largest town of Johor, but it still has aspects of a fishing village. The food court had a very relaxed atmosphere. We had otak-otak, sata(r) and satay.

After our dinner we drove back to Tanjung Emas, where we walked around and took pictures. There were more people now, but not as many as I expected.

The next morning we went for breakfast to the cafe of Pak Inchik. I had Roti Pool, one of their specialities.

Starting our walk, we first had a look at the Muar High School. The building dates back to 1915.

We continued visiting more murals.

Of course there is more than only murals. Left the Old Dutch Houses, right the Nattukkottai Chettiars Temple, dedicated to Lord Murugan.

And I found one ruined colonial building. As my followers know, I have a fascination for those remains of past glory. I would have liked to explore inside (like I did and do in Taiping), but the building was thoroughly fenced.

We had coffee in a famous Muar cafe, named Kopi 434.

Finally a last round of murals. I always like the 3D-ones. The last one is also a bit 3D, a relief created against the wall. Beautiful

Asam Pedas (Sour and Spicy Fish) is a speciality of the region, there are many eateries serving it, but not for dinner. We found one for lunch, Pak Ndak, again beside the Muar river. They also served fresh oysters and we could not resist the temptation 😉 .

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We had seen enough murals. Fahmi and Paul had found on Google that Muar had an Art Gallery. We decided to have a look and found that it was not an art gallery but, according to their FB, a “new community concept”, There was a cafe and a shop where they sold objects made of rubber tree wood. I was intrigued by a wooden phone holder, shaped as a resonator, to amplify the sound of the phone. I bought one 😉

Back to our homestay for a rest. Dinner later at a Malay restaurant, not far from our homestay, as we were lazy to drive again into town. We had nasi goreng, fried squid and Thai salad.

The next morning we checked out and went to Pak Inchik again for breakfast. This time I had Lontong, delicious.

One last POI during this trip, outside Muar, the Beca Gergasi Muar, a giant tricycle. You may wonder who decided to create this object here, in the middle of nowhere.

Halfway on our way back, we stopped for lunch in Tampin (Negeri Sembilan). The Lomak Salai restaurant is really an experience, a kind of Malay style IKEA restaurant.

You just take a trolley, and collect the dishes you want. A place to keep in mind for a next visit.

It was an interesting trip, well organised by Fahmi and Paul. Fahmi is a vlogger with his own YouTube Channel . He created a vlog about this trip, have a look.

Dat gaat naar Den Bosch toe

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When I am back in the Netherlands, it has become a tradition to have an outing with my “soul mate” Inez. This time our destination was ‘s Hertogenbosc, the capital city of the North Brabant province. The name of the town is usually shortened to Den Bosch. Dat gaat naar den Bosch toe (That goes to Den Bosch) is the title of a Dutch folk song. Click here to listen.

It is less than one hour by train from Amsterdam. We arrived around 11 am and first went for coffee with a Bossche Bol.

We were lucky that we could get tickets for the Binnendieze cruise, because it is a popular tourist attraction and tickets for that day were almost sold out.. The Binnendieze is a river/canal system within the city walls of Den Bosch, very different from the Amsterdam canals, because a large part is vaulted.

The boats are electric “whisper” boats and as most of the canals are at the back of houses, you don’t hear the din of the city life. Amazing. Our experienced guide told many interesting details about the history of these waterways.

Here are a few more photos. The canals are so narrow that you have to keep your hands inboard and sometimes duck your head. Does the last photo remind you of Gaudi? The architect who restored this vault, was clearly inspired by him 😉

The cruise took about one hour and was the highlight of our outing. But Den Bosch has much more to offer. We walked to the market with the statue of Hieronymus Bosch, who lived here

And we visited the St. John’s Cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, with a complicated building history (1220–1530).

Many artworks inside

Visiting a church I always like to light a candle (and make a wish). The organ of the cathedral is one of the most important ones in the Netherlands.

The Noordbrabants Museum was next on our to-do list, but Inez suggested that we should visit first the Slager museum, dedicated to the many painters in the Slager family. I had never heard of them, apparently they were well known in Den Bosch.

Left an interesting painting by Piet Slager sr, depicting the veterans of the Battle of Waterloo. Right the world-famous painting of the Marskramer (the Wayfarer) by Hieronymus Bosch. But wait a minute, something must be wrong, that painting is in the Boymans museum in Rotterdam!

Actually the paining is a reconstruction of the original. The museum shows reconstructions of many masterworks in a temporary exhibition Het Geheim van de Meester (The Secret of the Master). Click here for an explanation (in Dutch).

After our lunch we visited the Noordbrabants museum for a short while, as we had to board the train to Amsterdam before 4 pm (our tickets not being valid during rush hours). The museum has a good collection of paintings by Jan Sluyters.

Back in Amsterdam we had dinner in restaurant A Beautiful Mess.

A short outing this time, but very enjoyable.

The Gang of Four at Jugra

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After a twenty-month hiatus, the Gang of Four organized another outing. Here are the earlier trip reports: The Gang of Four at Kampar and The Gang of Four in Janda Baik. This time we decided to visit the Istana Bandar in Jugra.

After the Klang (1867-1874) war, Jugra became the capital of Selangor. Not for very long, the state capital moved to Klang , then to Kuala Lumpur and finally to Shah Alam . The royal capital moved to Klang until now.

Jugra went into decline, overshadowed by nearby Banting. But there still are many historical remains. Left a GE screenshot of the region, right a detail.

On our way to the Istana we passed the Royal Alaeddin Mosque . Unfortunately we could not walk in because Khong and I were not properly dressed (wearing shorts). Pity because it is a real beauty. Wikipedia is wrong in dating the construction of the mosque as 1903-1905, it was much later, 1925-1926, here is a convincing report. After a recent restoration it has been repainted in white, it was yellow before. A major improvement.

The date error may be caused by confusion with the Istana Bandar, situated only a few hundred meters away. That palace was completed in 1905. Both were built by Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah, the fifth sultan of Selangor (1898-1938) Although the Royal Town was Klang, the Sultan often resided in the Istana Bandar. After his death the palace was abandoned, it was given a number of other uses.

When I visited the palace with my friends Pat and Roger in 2013, it had recently undergone restoration and was closed, although we managed to get in. Click here for a report. Now it was open to the public, but completely empty inside.

Ther architecture is interesting. We took many pictures.

The interior is empty. It would be a good location for a museum about the history of Selangor.

The only “decoration I found inside.

Opposite of the entrance there is a huge balcony.

Everywhere you see nice ornaments. The Visit Selangor website writes that the design is largely Islamic,  mainly of Indian and Middle-Eastern origin.

There are also nice gardens.

A worthwhile visit. There were no other visitors, many Malaysians don’t know this place. When we left a few men arrived to take photos.

There is a lot more to see in Jugra, but we got hungry. We had a look at a nearby fishing village, Kelanang. Always picturesque.

We had lunch in the Kang Guan Seafood Restaurant, with a nice view of the Langat river.. As usual Khong selected the dishes.

Here is our lunch. Five dishes, fried sotong, mantis prawns, tofu, chicken, meehoon. Total price : RM 110. That’s what the Gang of Four calls VFM (Value For Money) 😉

Nearby is a business district, which explains why there were so many formally dressed customers.

It was a nice trip and we agreed that we should not wait a long time before having another outing.