In 1976 , at the age of 32, I became a physics teacher, and Yolanda was one of my first students. After she graduated we kept in contact and have been friends now for almost 50 years. She and her partner Math have been traveling all over the world, but never in Malaysia. Until this year, when they first visited Sarawak, Sabah and Bali, before staying a few days at our place in KL They arrived in the evening and after a beer , we took them to 1 Utama for dinner.
We bought an ice cream cake for her, as it was her birthday!
The next day I went with them to the KL city center (KLCC).
The park has impressive ficus trees, but of course the main attractions are the famous Twin Towers.
It was a hot day, so after a short walk in the park, we went inside the shopping mall, to the top floor, to my favourite coffee shop in the Kinokuniya bookshop.
I considered having lunch in the mall, but when I saw the crowds queuing for the restaurants, I changed my mind and suggested taking the metro back to Pasar Seni. Aric had mentioned a popular mamak, where we had a simple lunch.
After our lunch, we first walked to the historical city center, passing the beautiful Friday Mosque. Designed by a British architect and built in 1909. Now overshadowed by skyscrapers.
It was getting very hot, so we shortened our walk and took only a few pictures. Three architectural landmarks. In the left picture the former headquarters of the Federated Malay States Railways (1905). In the center the Dayabumi building (1984). The right picture shows the Merdeka 118 tower (2023).
When you are interested in architecture, have a look at this blog post: KL Heritage,
Yolanda and Math are planning to visit Taman Negara. Here she is asking information at a travel agency. The other picture shows a nice piece of street art.
It was my plan to finish the trip with the KL Mural Art. But I could not find them, only a few normal ones. Click here to see what we missed.
Walking back to the MRT station, we passed the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. We were back home around 4 pm for a shower and a rest.
We had dinner at our favourite seafood restaurant, where Aric and I are regular customers.
The second day of their visit, Aric took a day off from his laundry shop to drive us around. First we had breakfast, with Roti Goyang, soft-boiled eggs on toast. A favourite of mine, here the “shaking eggs” were put on garlic toast.
Our first destination was the Batu Caves. The temples inside the cave are dedicated to Lord Murugan, and his huge statue is visible from far away.
It is a popular tourist attraction, but also a place of devotion for Hindus
You have to climb 272 steps to reach the entrance of the caves. We did it slowly to protect our knees.
As we climbed higher, the views of KL became better, although it was a bit hazy.
Many long-tailed macaques are watching you, looking for food. Don’t carry it in a bag, they will snatch it. Almost at the top of the stairs there is the entrance to the Dark Caves. Nowadays, you can only enter on a guided tour. I was lucky to visit them in 2003 with my caving friend Liz Price. The Dark Caves, the first year I used a digital camera!
I have visited the Batu Caves many times, but every time, the huge cave with the temples is fascinating and impressive.
Decorations everywhere. The peacock is the transport animal of Lord Murugan.
Math is a tall guy, had to be careful not to hit his head. Both of us have a knee problem, so we very happy that we could climb up the stairs (and later climb down again).
The caves have a few levels, with Hindu temples. Sunlight enters through an opening in the roof.
After the main cave, we visited a few more caves at the bottom of the stairs, not much climbing required. You reach them via a zigzag bridge.
Many live peacocks and peahens. Two elephants guard the entrance.
The cave has many statues and paintings from Hindu mythology. An orgy of colours.
We skipped the last cave, only took a picture of Hanuman, guarding the entrance. Before leaving, we bought some peacock feathers.
Our second destination for the day was the National Art Gallery. It was my third visit, I lke the museum very much.
During my first visit, I found that the museum had a cafe, but I never tried it. This time we did. Not cheap but excellent coffee and nice food.
On the upper floor there was a temporary exhibition of digital art.
We spent some time here, creating our own museum artworks. Fun!
A very useful digital artwork at the entrance. The whole museum collection is on this wall, as thumbnails . When you point to a thumbnail, it will be enlarged with details about date, artist etc.
We went home after a tiring day, took a rest, and went out later to SEA park to an open air eatery, specialising in nasi lemak bumbung
The next morning Math and Yolanda left for Melaka.
On my 80th birthday, 17 April 2024 , a few of my waterfall friends surprised me with a present.
`
A Waterfall Puzzle!
“How did you know that I like doing jigsaw puzzles?”. I asked. They didn’t, it was the waterfall that made them decide to give it to me as a present.
Actually, not only me, but all my siblings have been avid jigsaw puzzlers. In Amsterdam I had dozens of jigsaw puzzles and even here in Malaysia I still have a few, They are big, 2000 and 3000 pieces, the huge one has even 5000 pieces. Too big for me nowadays, if anybody is interested, he can get them for free, just contact me.
But I still like doing jigsaws. In 2020 I received (by post!) a present from my brother Arie and his wife Ineke, after I had visited with them the heritage building shown in the puzzle. Not an easy one but doable 😉 .
We even have puzzles made for us from one of our own photos, by a specialised company. Here is an example, a photo of my siblings and their partners at a reunion meeting, a couple of years ago.
And here’s another one. The photo was taken by my youngest brother Otto, and we asked him to make a puzzle of it. This puzzle still needs to be done.
All this to show that I come from a jigsaw family 😉
As I was going back to the Netherlands a few weeks after my birthday, I decided to take the puzzle with me to Amsterdam. There I started with optimism, a puzzle of 1000 pieces should be no problem.
The usual approach is to collect the border pieces first. The puzzle is of Japanese origin, high quality and the puzzle pieces fit accurately.
The next step is to select an “easy” part” of the puzzle. I chose the white region of the waterfall and discovered soon that even that part was not easy at all.
I used a few tricks, one is to spread out all the puzzle pieces, just doable for a 1000-piece jigsaw. The next step is to sort the pieces according to colour.
As I had many other commitments, it became clear that it would be impossible to complete the puzzle during my stay. At a reunion meeting with my siblings, I asked if anyone would like to give it a try. My brother Ruud showed interest, so I put the puzzle back in its box, the various colors in separate plastic bags.
When my brother Pim brought me to the airport, in June last year, I gave him the puzzle and he passed it on to Ruud when he visited him in Groningen a few months later.
Unfortunately it was getting clear that Ruud’s health, both mental and physical, was deteriorating. When I asked about the puzzle in February, his partner Jur replied that Ruud would not be able to do it. My sister Lous was willing to take over.
Then things went fast. On 9 April Ruud passed away, only 76 year old. The funeral took place on 15 April. I could attend it digitally via life-streaming. On a condolence visit Lous received the puzzle..
It was a hectic time. Two days after the funeral I turned 81 and the weekend after that was Easter.
That weekend Lous sent me this photo. She had started the puzzle on 18 April and finished it three days later. Amazing.
“What shall I do with it now”, she asked. These Japanese puzzles always have a tube of glue included, so the puzzle can be glued on a piece of cardboard and hung on a wall as a kind of painting. “Can you split in separate pieces and put them back in the box?”, I asked. Then I will take it back to Malaysia, put it together, glue it and hang it in my home as a kind of in memoriam for our brother.
She managed to do it. Here is the result. The puzzle is now waiting for me to be taken back to Malaysia.
What started as a post about a puzzle, given to me by my waterfall friends, became more personal. Although Ruud probably never touched it, it will become a memorial for him.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
My blog post headings tend to be descriptive rather than imaginative. Here is a blog post I wrote two years ago: Penang & Taiping, 2022 😉 . Very similar, first two nights in Penang, then one night in Taiping. But also different, in 2022 we went with friends, this time it was a trip of Aric and me, like the trips we made earlier to Teluk Intan, Seremban and Melaka.
On our way to Penang we stopped at the Sungai Perak R&R for coffee and Cekodok Pisang (fried banana balls).
We had lunch in Bukit Mertajam with Assam Laksa. Aric is an assam laksa fan and on our trips he is always looking for new laksa stalls. He has a website, Assam Laksa Review, which contains at the moment 28 Assam Laksa shops. This one was very good, Aric gave it a rating of 9 out of 10.
Crossing the (old) bridge to Penang island.
In Georgetown we usually stay in heritage hotels, but this time Aric had booked a very modern one, the OZO hotel in Argyll road. Interesting car parking, you drive the car in a lift, and then it is transported to its place. When you need it again, the car comes out of the lift, nicely rotated 180 degrees!
Another interesting detail, the lobby is at the 20th floor. We had a comfortable room on the 18th floor.
A room with a view !
Recently Aric had bought a new camera for time-lapse photography and that was the main reason he had booked this hotel. Here he installs the camera to take pictures every ten seconds.
After a short rest we went out again, to visit an art exhibition, the Galeri Khazanah. A temporary exhibition of Malaysian artists, from 19 July until 17 August, in the beautiful UAB building, the headquarters of Khazanah Nasional Berhad , the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia.
Free access, after registration. An interesting collection with 46 diverse artworks by 31 modern and contemporary Malaysian artists.
A variety of styles, abstract, realistic etc.
Left the exhibition poster. The other two pictures show augmented reality artworks. The white base is empty, but after scanning a QR code , a 3D artwork appears for a while in your smartphone camera, positioned on the base. Amazing,
Our dinner plan was to go to a lok-lok restautant. In 2022 we visited with friends the Peng Hwa Lok Lok in Pulau Tikus (No 2 in the link above). But it was closed this time, so we went to another one, the Ah Beng Lok Lok at Padang Brown (No 1 in the link). Also closed! Then we realisded that probably the night before there had been a Hungry Ghost event. So we gave up and found another simple stall, where I had prawn mee (also known as Penang Hokkien mee).
Back in our hotel, we enjoyed the night view. This is a “normal” picture taken with my iPhone.
And here is the artwork made by Aric with his new camera. It is a collage of 150 time-lapse pictures, with a diagonal slice of each picture.
As we had a very early dinner (around 6 pm), we got a bit hungry and went out around 10:30 pm for supper. Within walking distance from our hotel, there is a popular restaurant for prawn mee and loh mee, the Green House. We had to queue! It received a Michelin Bib gourmand, never heard about it, it is a bit similar to what my friends here call VFM (Value for money). My second prawn mee this day, better than the first one 😉 .
Walking back to our hotel, I was as usual impressed by the beauty of Georgetown.
The next morning we had breakfast with fried carrot cake, pau and coffee, in a cafe near our hotel. Befiore checking out, we had a look at the infinity pool on the 22nd floor. OZO is a bit like a little brother of the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore ;-).
One reason to visit Penang was to meet our friend Lim Chong Keat (LCK). He is the owner of the Bellevue Hotel on Penang Hill, we had booked to stay overnight there and had arranged to meet him in the afternoon. So we had a few hours to spend.
We drove to Bayan Lepas, near the airport. Aric knew about another laksa stall there, but first we visited a small waterfall, the Air Terjun Sg Ara. Never heard about it!
Unfortunately the laksa stall was closed, but nearby was a “famous” stall where they sold prawn crackers. We bought two and then went looking for another stall where we could have lunch.
We found another stall nearby where they sold Mee Siam, Mee Siam is a bit similar to Assam Laksa, it originated from Penang but can now be found all over Malaysia and in Singapore. Very tasty and the prawn crackers were the best I ever had.
After lunch, Aric suggested to visit the Wat Chayamangkalaram, a Thai Temple, famous for its large gold plated Reclining Buddha. The temple was founded in 1845 and is the oldest Siamese temple in the state of Penang.
The main hall , with the Reclining Buddha inside, is well guarded
The Reclining Buddha is one of the world’s longest (about 32 m from end to end). Very impressive.
The main hall also has a columbary.
You can spend hours here, but it was a very hot day and the bright sunlight was almost painful to the eyes.
Opposite the Siamese temple. there is a Burmese temple, the Dhammikarama temple. which is even older, founded in 1803. Both are Theravada temples. Because of the hot weather, we didn’t stay long.
Just a few more pictures. The pots in the pond are slowly rotating. The idea is to throw a coin into a pot, when you manage to do that , it will bring you good luck. Not easy.
When you are interested in Buddhism, you can just take a free book, but only when you are not a Muslim.
The two guys are happily carrying the temple bell.
At 4 pm we arrived at the family house of the Lim family. LCK was still talking with a group of botanists from the University of Malaya (UM).
With him we drove to the Bellevue hotel.
The Bellevue Hotel was originally the residence of William Halliburton, the first Sheriff of Prince of Wales Island, as Penang was called in those days. We have stayed a few times in the hotel , I love its old world charm. . The view from the veranda is fabulous.
We had a chat and a drink with LCK. He is an interesting personality, architect of the Komtar tower, now a botanist of international renown, with a wide interest in classical music, a “universalist” like his role model Buckminster Fuller.
A view of the hotel from the garden. And a view of Georgetown. In the garden a geodesic dome. There are many memories of Buckminster Fuller in the hotel.
We had local dishes for our dinner, prawns, veggie and tom yam soup.
Here is another creation by Aric, made with his new toy. This time it contains 30 time-lapse slices.
Rain during the night, still cloudy in the morning. Nice temperature.
The walls of the corridor have informative posters. We had a local breakfast, nasi lemak.
The hotel has an aviary, with several peacocks and other birds.
Around 11am we got transport down to our car. We drove back to the mainland where we found another laksa stall for our lunch. This time in Butterworth, not really special, Aric’s rating: 5-6 out of 10.
On our way to Taiping heavy rain. As usual I had booked “my” room in hotel Furama.
My friend George was also staying in Taiping, we are both friends of Suet Fun, so we invited Goerge & Jenny and Suet Fun & Peter for a dinner in Soon Lee. We thought no booking was needed, as it was the Hungry Ghost month, but that was a mistake, the restaurant was fully booked. So instead George suggested Restoran Kampoung Wan, a good alternative. Delicious food and a pleasant atmosphere.
The next morning we had breakfast in the Rainy Corner, around the corner from Furama. Very good coffee.
It is always a pleasure to be back in my adopted hometown. Here is the famous Dobi Line.
A few weeks ago I had received photos of the Lake Gardens, almost completely dried out after a long dry spell, unusual for rain town Taiping. Now the water level was back to normal.
This time I had a special reason to visit Taiping, I wanted to see how the reconstruction of the two pasar buildings was going on. To be honest, I was impressed by the progress. Left the former chicken, beef and mutton market in April, right how it looks now.
A few more pictures. I will not discuss the issue whether this kind of rebuilding contributes to heritage preservation, but at least they are rebuilding. I hope the original stall holders will return, a bit worried that it might become like Pasar Seni in KL.
A visit to Taiping is not complete without having a look at what I call the Shame of Taiping. The Rest House and the building next to it. The illegal entrance to the Perak Railway /PWD building is still there, but it was now in a makeshift way closed with iron wire. Good that I didn’t enter, because actually the inhabitant was sleeping.
The two heritage buildings have been neglected for many years. In 2019 I wrote a blog with the sarcastic title Taiping Bandar Warisan (Taiping heritage town) about them.
In my blogTaiping, April 2024 I mentioned that in March an ambitious project was launched . Quotes from that blog:
The ambitious plan is to restore/rebuild the two ruins and transform them in a 4-star boutique hotel! Many VIP’s were present. and The “Taiping Boutique Hotel” is expected to be completed in two years.
The glamorous posters are still there. But nothing else happened, as far as I know. Completed in two years ?
We took the old road to Kuala Kangsar and passed the tombs of Long Jaafar. Very well kept.
We stopped for a while in Kuala Kangsar, because I wanted to visit the grave of Major Hawkins. He died on 4 January 1876 during the Battle of Kota Lama , speared by a Malay warrior. Read my blog The Battle of Kota Lama for more info about this battle.
At Bukit Chandan, next to the former Government Rest House (now Casuarina Hotel) lies a small Christian cemetery. Part of it is a war cemetery, Only 16 graves from the Perak War (1875-1876). There is a memorial with information about this (minor) war. Sabri Zain who pointed out a mistake in my blog (right <-> left), told me about this grave. It was easy to find.
Our trip had a nice, unexpected ending. On our way back, Aric mentioned a Cave Temple that was clearly visible from the North-South highway, but where exactly he was not sure. Using Google we managed to find it, it is the Kong Fook Ngam temple.
The temple is just one of the many cave temples around Ipoh. Officially it is closed on a Monday.
But a friendly caretaker let us enter and told us that there was a “Crystal Cave” behind the actual temple. We were allowed to explore. What a spectacular surprise.
Here is a collection of pictures taken in the huge cave complex. Really amazing.
Back in the temple, I bought a candle and placed it at the Reclining Buddha.
What a trip! Full of variety. And yes, with a lot of food.
Usually I celebrate my birthday privately, at home with a birthday cake or in a restaurant with a nice dinner. The exception was my 60th birthday, which I celebrated with a small group of friends at Maxwell Hill, here is the report: My 60th Birthday 17-4-2004 . In Chinese astrology there are 12 zodiac signs and 5 elements, after 5×12 year your life cycle is full and a new one starts. That’s why that birthday is an important one for Chinese. By the way, I am a Wood Monkey.
Of course, reaching eighty and becoming an octogenarian is considered a milestone by many. But statistically it is the last milestone I will pass and that gives me mixed feelings.
Therefore I wasn’t planning to have a special celebration this year. Aric and I had booked an overnight stay in Colmar Tropicale on 16 April. But Aric’s relatives consider me part of the family and insisted that I should at least have a birthday dinner with them.
We had this dinner in Sg Besar, not far fromParit Baru, Aric’s hometown. One week earlier, on 10 April. Interesting cultural difference, in many Western countries it is considered bad luck to celebrate a birthday BEFORE the actual date, but ih Chinese culture it is taboo to celebrate it AFTER the actual date ! So we followed the Chinese tradition 😉 .
Aric and I arrived early in Parit Baru and had enough time to relax and walk around a bit.
The family had booked a private room in a seafood restaurant in Sg Besar. Two tables, 18 pax.
Left the senior table, of course I was by far the oldest. Right the table with Aric’s nephews and nieces.
Aric had gone to the restaurant in the afternoon to discuss the menu. As he knows my food , preferences, it was a very delicious dinner, here are the dishes.
From left to right, top row: Seafood Noodles,Steamed Chicken (a restaurant speciality), Prawn Curry. Middle row: Deep Fried Cuttlefish, Steamed Pomfret. Vegetables with special Sauce. Bottom row: Tofu Soup with crabmeat, Fresh Clam Soup, Steamed Yam with Pumpkin and Ginkgo .
After the dinner there was the traditional birthday cake. Not just an odrinary cake, but a durian cake for Uncle Jan ;-). A real beauty.
Blowing out the candles (while doing a wish) and cutting the cake.
The traditional group photo.
One week later, on the eve of my birthday, we drove to Colmar Tropicale. When we checked in at the reception, they told us that we got an upgrade to a suite. Almost an apartment, with a separate livingroom.
We had a nice view of the surrounding forest and even got company from a family of Dusky Leaf Monkeys.
Colmar Tropicale is a kind of extravagant “folly”, based on the French town of Colmar in the Alsace. It is basically a hotel, where the rooms are located in the various French houses. There are a few restaurants but there is not much else to do. We walked around and took pictures.
We had dinner in one of the restaurants and walked a bit more. Romantic atmosphere.
This photo was taken 5 minutes after midnight. I am an octogenarian now
Breakfast was included in the room rate. They had made an attempt to make it Western/French, even with a variety of cheese. But hahal, no pork or bacon.
After breakfast we enjoyed the cool fresh atmosphere. It had rained during the night and was still foggy, very scenic.
Before driving back to KL, we visited the Japanese Garden. A popular tourist attaction, with many flowers, even an (artificial) waterfall. Visitors can rent Japanese clothes.
Our plan was to have lunch in the Wonderland Valley restaurant, but they had their weekly closing day. So instead we went home and in the evening had a sumptuous Korean BBQ dinner.
I had told my friends that I was not going to have a gathering for my birthday. However, a few of my waterfall friends called me that they wanted to drop by for a short while and give me a present. How could I refuse that 😉 ? Here is the present they gave, a waterfall puzzle. For me a symbolic gift, as I had decided some time ago that I would no longer take part in “real” waterfall exploration.
I may write another blog post later about getting old.
This is the last part of my journal about my Dutch trip 2024. Here are part1, part 2 and part 3. The last week of my stay was more relaxed than the hectic first month.
Wednesday 29 May
A (rainy) rest day. In one week time I will fly back to Malaysia. Enjoying another raw herring for lunch.
`
Thursday 30 May
In the morning I took my bicycle to visit the Amstel park. It has a famous rhododendron valley and I was hoping to see it in full bloom. But I was too late, only a few bushes were still in bloom. The weather was nice and the park is beautiful.
In the afternoon I visited my friend Lambert again in the care home. I had bought some cake to cheer him up.
Friday 31 May
My friend Yolanda celebrated her 75th birthday and organised a party. Here she is, radiant as ever, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
It was a pleasant meeting, followed by a nice Japanese style dinner. In the left photo I am making a toast with Angela, one of Yolanda’s oldest friends.
Saturday 1 June
In part 2 of my journal I wrote that my waterfall gang had presented me with a jigsaw puzzle for my 80th birthday. And that the puzzle was a VERY difficult one, without much structure. Actually it was TOO difficult for me, I hardly made any progress. I asked my siblings if any of them was interested and my brother Ruud wanted to give it a try. As I had sorted the puzzle pieces according to color, I put them back in separate plastic bags. I wish him good luck.
Sunday 2 June
A visit to Alphen aan den Rijn, my hometown. My youngest brother is living now in the ancestral home with his family. I arrived by train, he was waiting for me. In the right picture I am standing in the garden. The top window was in my room, when I was a teenager. The family has been living in this house for 75 years!
The front garden is often admired by passers-by. In the backyard I had a chat with Nina, my sister-in -law.
As usual we visited my parents’ grave and planted some new shrubs.
When we were kids, my mother got help from a young girl, Janny, who soon became a friend of the family. When my brother told me that she was still alive, now 88 year old, I said that I would love to meet her. It was a remarkable meeting, she told us many details about her and our past. She started helping my mother in 1949, when she was only 13 year old. A few years later she went to the Martha Stichting in Alphen , a home for uncared for children. I always thought she was there as a pupil, but she explained that she worked there as a group leader. A very nice meeting.
After bringing her back home, Otto brought me to the Martha Stichting, now no longer a home, but a beautiful park. The right photo show the main building, now an Arts Center, called Park Villa.
A beautiful park surrounds the buildings. When I was a kid, it was out of bounds and the Martha Stichting had a rather negative reputation.
I used my visit to Alphen to cast my vote for the European elections, held in the Netherlands on 6 June. As I don’t have my domicile anymore in the Netherlands, I am a postal voter, so I needed stamps to send my vote. Otto provided the stamps 😉
Before I left Alphen, I had dinner with Otto and my two nephews, prepared by Nina, wo had to work that evening. Xander and Aswin are identical twins, when they were kids I could not tell them apart, but they have developed differently and now I can 😉
Monday 3 June
n the morning Annelies, a former colleague, came to visit me in Backershagen. We had coffee and cake and had a lot to talk about, because we hadn’t seen each other in years.
The last few days before my departure, I always am busy preparing the apartment, washing bedsheets, vacuuming the floor etc. I have to empty and clean the fridge, so I try to get myself invited for dinner 😉 Usually Inez does that the last night, but she was not free that day. Instead I visited her one day earlier, she had prepared a nice Dutch meal, melon with smoked ham as a starter, meatballs and spinach as main.
Tuesday 4 June
The last evening for departure I visited my friends Johan and Edmund in Vinkeveen. We had a drink in their nice garden and enjoyed Surinam food, prepared by Edmund.
A view from their garden and Edmund’s meal, BBR (brown beans and rice), a popular Surinam dish.
Wednesday 5 June
My brother Pim picked me up at 6pm, we were early at Schiphol airport, time enough after check in to enjoy a coffee and a snack.
Schiphol can be overcrowded with long queues for the security check, but this time it was a breeze. The flight was full, but I managed to sleep a few hours.
Back in Malaysia now and trying to overcome my jet lag
This is part 3 of my Dutch trip report after part 1 and part 2. Mostly meetings with friends, a busy program.
Thursday 16 May
I met Mike and Marjan in Malaysia through the Dutch Expat Society, almost 20 years ago. We became friends and after they returned to the Netherlands we kept in touch. This time I visited them in Huizen, where they liveow and where Marjan had prepared a nice pasta dinner.
Friday 17 May
I had planned a visit to my former principal Carel Poeder and his wife Joanne, but I felt exhausted after meeting family and friends almost every day, so I needed a rest day. Pity.
Saturday 18 May
A meeting with my nephew Aswin. We had a beer in the Blue Tea House in the Vondelpark. It was beautiful weather,
And we enjoyed a beer from the local Amsterdam brewery ‘t IJ (try to pronounce it when you are not Dutch).
Sunday 19 May
I went by train to Gouda where Nellisa and Ed were waiting for me at the station. We share an interest in naturism. In Malaysia it is frowned upon, but in Europe it gets more and more common. Ed and Nellisa have a house in Gouda, but in the summer season they stay on the naturist campsite De Bessenhof in Reeuwijk. A very pleasant visit. More pictures on request haha.
Monday 20 May
Lunch with Roald, once my student, now a friend, we know each other more than forty years. We met at a very interesting restaurant, A Beautiful Mess , run by people with a refugee background. Delicious food from various cuisines. I also met Stefan, Roald’s husband.
Tuesday 21 May
Meeting ex-colleague Rene and his wife Caroline in Nieuwegein. Has become a tradition, either my place or theirs. Always a pleasure.
Wednesday 22 May
Dinner with another ex-colleague, Dick, in restaurant Elements, another tradition. It is a training restaurant of a vocational school. Students have to show their skills, both in the kitchen and in the restaurant. Very good service, creative dishes and not expensive.
I had Tataki (Japanese) , Coquille (French) , Sea Bass (?) and Kheer (Indian). All delicious , and including wine only 42 Euro pp.
Another beautiful day. Sunset at 9:37 pm as seen from my apartment. In a few weeks time it will be the Summer Solstice.
Thursday 23 May
During my stay in the Netherlands, my soulmate Inez and I always try to organise an outing. This time we went to Den Bosch on a day trip. I took so many pictures that I decided to write a separate blog about the day: Dat gaat naar Den Bosch toe. Highlight of the trip was a canal cruise on the Binnendieze.
We came back in Amsterdam quite early and I was so excited about A Beautiful Mess, that I invited Inez for dinner there. She was enthusiastic too.
Friday 24 May
Our UK friend Rodney arrived by plane in the afternoon, I had to prepare my room as a guestroom for him. In the evening we went out for some shopping. He liked the green environment of my apartment.
Saturday 25 May
A full walking day in town. As I have only one bike, we had to walk to the nearest public transport, about 10-15 minutes away. I live in a suburb of Amsterdam, with lots of green.
We started at the Leidseplein, from where we walked to the town center. Rodney had visited Amsterdam about forty years ago, so everything was more or less new to him. The FEBO is an iconic automat fast-food restaurant, an Amsterdam icon. We also had a look at the flower market.
We visited the Begijnhof, a courtyard with almshouses, dating back to the 14th century.
|And of course the Royal Palace and the National Monument on the Dam Square.
Walking to the Pancake Bakery for lunch, we had a look at the Westerkerk and passed the Anne Frank House.
The Leliegracht, one of the lesser canals, very picturesque
In the Pancake Bakery we had the traditional Dutch bacon pancake with syrup.
We finished the day with a quiet dinner at home. We walked more than 12.000 steps, not bad for two octogenarians.
Sunday 26 May
Rodney had shown interest in the Van Gogh museum, so I had booked tickets for it. We had a time slot, but still there was a big crowd.
Here are a few pictures of Van Gogh’s paintings. The Potato Eaters (1885) and Tree Roots (1890), the year he ended his life.
One of his famous sunflower paintings and one of his Irises paintings
It was the first time in decades that I visited the Van Gogh museum. Not being a fan, I found it more interesting than I expected. But what made my visit special, was the temporary exhibition of Matthew Wong, a Chinese-Canadian artist , who was inspired by van Gogh.
Here are two of his fascinating paintings. More about him in my museum blog (hopefully to be published soon).
Monday 27 May
After two busy days, we took it easy, as Rodney was flying back in the afternoon. I found that there was another FEBO in the shopping mall near my apartment. We had a light lunch there. Rodney is holding in his hand the famous Dutch kroket.
Tuesday 28 May
Then it was time for me to transform the guestroom back into my office. My first rest day after a long time.
