BALIK KAMPONG

22/11/2014

SATURDAY

Woke up early this morning after a restless night of tossing as I was having chills and stomach pains.... probably a touch of food poisoning over last night dinner.... but nothing is going to deter me.... today is our family trip balik kampong..... 

to witness the wedding ceremony of our my nephew and his new wife... 

The strict instructions that came from the host -my brother/sister-in-law: be punctual or else the bus will leave promptly without you at 7 am for the kampong.  Some of my siblings gathered together for "cho cha" (early tea/dimsum) and I was glad that I did not promise to join them since I was not feeling well. So, we waited and waited and finally the bus arrived ..... it lost its way in PJ!  Now can we trust it to make its way to the kampong? hahaha.    

YZ's first bus ride ... with his "bong-bong" and poh-poh .... 

the  senior "twin" sisters with junior  niece.....

we are ready ..... 

and let the trip begin..... 

After getting their best seats, everyone settled down and soon its time to catch up with our beauty sleep for the 2 hours bus ride.

We arrived at  Jengka around noon time and after going through a maze of winding roads, finally reached the destination....    

the bridegroom waiting for us in one of the bride's relative house.

This house is huge and the makcik told us that she is staying alone now as her husband passed away recently and her 5 children are all in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.  Looking at the house, I understand how she manage to pass her time..... her beautiful crochet pieces are everywhere... 

including this fan cover!

The house is spotlessly clean and you can see the extensions added to the house by the different coloured floor tiles in each section of the house.  

After refreshing ourselves, its time to get ready for the bridegroom's procession to get the bride.

the kampong suddenly came alive with the sounds of the kompang and even the tress are decorated with the happy couple's bridal photo.

YZ:  "Bong-bong,  come let me take your hand and walk you there"  

the radiant bride peeking at her groom..... 

the epic kiss ....

Nephews of the Bride:  "don't play-play with us... we are the little men in black and white"!
while their  father (beside the groom) looked on. 

"this duty is too heavy for me alone"  Little Chloe is a picture of demure and sweetness 

"Look at my blushing bride" Love overflowing 

The 2 "nyonas" - my sister-in law and Esther   

We were lead to the bride's house and right in front a magnificient feast was laid .... waiting for us... stomach groaning and saliva started to drool......but there were more important things to do first.... and we were ushered inside the house.... 

where the happy beautiful couple were seated on the lavishly and opulence bersanding dais 

the father blessing the couple while the mother looked on as it will be her turn next 

"Mission accomplished and look what I got"

blessing from the uncle...

and the aunties...

I also got one! 

makan-time.... 

family photo

a photo for remembrance..

We are all elated to welcome another member to our big family and  may God be with them always. 

BE PATIENT....... YOU WILL BE REWARDED

22/10/2014

Heard so much about Tanjong Sepat so when my friend asked me whether I wanted to join them for a day trip on Deepavali, the answer was yes.  Little did I know that this day trip was in fact more of a shopping spree!  I was getting a bit irritated with all these shopping- you know getting on off the bus is not a joke with my poor knees!    We stopped by the Dried meat factory, a ling-zhi factory, a tapioca chip factory ... all of which I did not indulge in the shopping.. except these.....

Dragon fruit orchard..

The pitaya plant can reach up to 40 feet tall and can start to bear fruit within 1 year of growth and it will continue to  bear fruits for 5 months every year for at least 20 to 30 years. 

The flowers open in the evening and last only  a night hence it is also call the night-blooming cereus which has traditional medicinal properties.  The  fruit will take around 50 days before reaching maturity and can be harvested.  

Seems that Malaysia will soon be able to produce wine ..... 

My sister - she was the ardent shopper that day... really boosted the economy! 

These are Buddha's hands fruit aka chayote

the trellised plants..

Big plump dragon fruit... these are pink flesh which are much sweeter than the white flesh ones.

 Next we visited the Longan orchard.... only in season yet... can only see bunches being secured on the tree.

my "other twin sister"  

Is this all that is to Tanjong Sepat?.... what a letdown..!

We only viewed the beach from the seafood restaurant where we were having our lunch. 

the rocky stone barricade prevented us from getting onto the beach.. 

bits and pieces of the dried pine cones

Final dropoff..... Fo Guang Shan Zen temple in Jenjarom...,the best part of this trip....

awesome copper tooling (?) art depicting the life of Buddha.... from his birth to his enlightenment. 

We were persuaded by this pleasant volunteer to take just 5 minutes of our time to copy the words of Buddha ... great stress relief

zen moments ....