Remembering Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013)

Nelson Mandela's death brought back memory of our trip to South Africa. His life was summed up by what Muhamad Ali says about this man:

 

Quote

"His was a life filled with purpose and hope; hope for himself, his country and the world. He inspired others to reach for what appeared to be impossible and moved them to break through the barriers that held them hostage mentally, physically, socially and economically.

 

He made us realize, we are our brothers' keeper and that our brothers come in all colours. What I will remember most about Mr. Nelson Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge.

 

He taught us forgiveness on a grand scale. He was a spirit born free, destined to soar above the rainbows. Today, his spirit is soaring in heavens. He is now forever free". 

Unquote.

On racial discrimination, Nelson Mandela once said, "We must ensure that colour, race and gender become only a God-given gift to each one of us and not an indelible mark or attribute that accords a special status to any"

 

Indeed, our Malaysian government of the day who so often in the past spoke highly of Nelson Mandela should truly adopt what this man advocated about genuine acceptance and tolerance of all people in our land.

 

Sadly, when some far-right individuals in the ruling party who only recently promoted the idea of "1 Malayu" instead of "1 Malaysia", "Malaya is the land for the Malays"; there was dead silence on the part of the top leadership on such intolerance and exclusivity. 

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We were unable to see Nelson Mandela in person in South Africa, but we were able to have a glimpse of an image of him at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape town on 27 May 2013.

Pause to Remember Thousands who Perished in Typhoon Haiyan

The Philippines has been pre-warned about the arrival of Typhoon Haiyan, thanks to the latest technology and satellite imagery. Yet, its distructive power is unprecedented and way beyond the imagination of everybody.

With a wind speed of 315Km/hr, this rendered Hurricane Katrina to become just a little sister with a wind speed of 215Km/hr. Timber dwelling houses are just simply structurally incapable  of withstanding the might of  this super typhoon. Coupled with waves generated at a height of 13ft to 15ft, houses erected along coastline would be flattened like stacks of cards.

To a meteorologist, the occurance of typhoon can easily be explained. But to a survivor of the aftermath of Haiyan, its killing spree is simply unjustifiable. This is more so when some refer to this natural disaster as an act of God!

 

Lok Yuk KK Class of 69 Reunion

An ex-classmate of the Class of 69 of Lok Yuk Secondary School who now resides in Hong Kong told us earlier that she would be back to KK on 5 Nov. I offered to have the reunion at my house.

 

Part 1 was dinner followed by Part 2 - a powerpoint presentation entitled "Down Memory Lane".

Class of 69 (Form 5)

Bridge Class 1964 (Colourized).

Bridge Class 1964 (B/W).

Three among the Bridge Class of 1964 finally made it to the Class 69 - Chin Miao Ling, Helen Chiam and myself). Two of these three attended the reunion that night.

Nine of the original Class of 69 attended the gathering.

The wives joined in for the photo session.

Browsing my old autograph.

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Part 2 of the programme that night evoked much laughter and nostalgia. Everyone had a great laugh to see how each of us has changed over 44 years since 1969.

 

Of course, we were reminded that some of our ex-classmates had already passed away and some are now in poor health. As we are all advancing in age, we are aware that time is less and less on our side. Though most would like to meet again, we know that this may prove more and more challenging to some of us.

I also took the opportunity to introduce my family. When they saw my grandchildren, I heard the spontaneous exclamation, "His grandson just looks like Lee Teck Kiong when he was young!". But, seriously, I could not see the resemblance!

Lorong Seratus Tahun

In the morning of the day we were to fly home on 26 October, Min and her husband Leon took us to Lorong Seratus Tahun (LST) in SS2 for a late breakfast. This restaurant is famous for Penang cuisine. I had Penang Prawn Mee, Penang Fried Koay Teow and the Penang Cendol which I did not manage to eat in the trip to Kuantan.

Ryan did the order for all of us.

Prawn Mee and Cendol.

As it turned out, everything went well. Whatever needed to be seen was seen and whatever needed to be eaten was eaten.

This trip reaffirmed the old Chinese saying "讀萬券書不如行萬里路" which literally means "It is more beneficial to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books".
AMEN.

Sate Kajang Hj. Samuri

Eating satay in Sate Kajang Hj. Samuri in Damasara Uptown was one of the travel itinerary scheduled just before we commenced our tour to Pahang on 20 October.

 

I was however advised against going to attempt this because the outlet may not be opened so early and that the traffic jam and long queue may cause undue delay to the tour. So, satay had to wait.

 

To my surprise, my nieces were very kind  and thoughtful to arrange a feast of satay specially ordered from the Damasara Uptown Sate Kajang Hj. Samuri in the evening I returned from the tour of Pahang.

They had ordered a whopping 140 sticks of beef, chicken and lamb satay.  The satay were delicious and the beef in particular was tender. Size-wise, Hj. Samuri satay is larger than normal. Two types of peanut sauce were available - one sweet and the other spicy, Both were equally flavourful. By the time we finished, we had just barely consumed half of the amount. I was declared the biggest consumer - 13 sticks! I had never eaten so much delicious satay at one go!

I discovered later that there was a synergy in the ordering of the satay by the three sisters. Sze figured out the number of sticks required, Suan drove to the outlet to buy the satay and Min foot the bill!

Thanks Girls!

Tour of Pahang - Kuantan

Our drive to Kuantan was to satisfy the curiosity of the ladies - to look at the seafood products outlets in Kuantan.

 

Unfortunately, the major outlet was closed because it was a public holiday in Pahang (Pahang Sultan's Birthday) when we went there on 24 October. Fortunately, our instant search in the internet led us to a smaller outlet in town - Hoi Hen Seafood Products. The ladies were unimpressed of the meagre selection at this outlet. Personally, I was impressed.

Since we were in Kuantan, we were hoping to try out the cendol at "Cendol Air Putih" which is promoted in the internet. Unfortunately, this was also closed. My appetite for cendol had to be put on hold.

Tour of Pahang - Brief Stop at Bentong

On our way back from Sg. Lembing to KL, we made a detour to Bentong to enable the ladies to buy the famous Bentong ginger.

 

Promoter of Bentong ginger says that this ginger is cultivated in "heavenly" environment with fresh and cool air, crystal clear water and fertile, moist and tropical soil in Bukit Tinggi. It is the best of the best.

In Bentong, my faithful Garmin GPS picked up this famous road side store next to the wet market which sells taufu fa.  We had no hesitation to try it. The man told me that his family has been running this store for over 50 years!

The smiles speak for its quality.

 

Post note: Thanks to my wife's industrious effort, Bentong ginger is now planted in the backyard of my house. Hopefully, in not too distant future, supply of Bentong ginger to our kitchen will be a mere 10-20 feet away!

Tour of Pahang - Sg Lembing, a Half Way Station to Ancestral Home

Someone counted that there are 21 things to do in Sg. Lembing. I am not exactly sure what these 21 items are. I believe I have covered almost all except the Rainbow Waterfall and probably another hanging bridge.

Sg. Lembing Museum which is located on top of a small hill used to be the residence of a manager of a mining company. It gives the visitors a brief history of the town but mainly about mining. On display are various paraphernalia used in the underground mining. It also educates visitors on the subject of geology.

A few kilometers away from Sg. Lembing is the Sungai Kanau pinic area by the river bank. Many people come here to collect pebbles as souvenirs from millions of pebbles spread over the river bank. It is also a popular spot for picnic and swimming in shallow water. Cars could drive literally right into the river.

We left Sg. Lembing after having our breakfast at the town food court. While I was eating the authentic san sui tau fu (bean curd) and noodles made with Sg. Lembing san sui (water from pristine stream) and listening to the background chattering noise in the familiar Hakka dialect, I for once thought that I was back to the ancestral home of my grandfather.

Tour of Pahang - Crystal House in Sg. Lembing

Mr Lee Yon, an ex-miner at Paching Quarry who has an avid interest in collecting unique crystalline stones could not have imagined that his hobby would make him a well known personality in Sg. Lembing.

 

After collecting crystalline stones for over 21 years, he now displays his 3,000 pieces in his house now known to tourists as the Crystal House. To make access to his house easier, the government has tarred the winding 3km long earth trail from the town to his house situated at the suburb.

 

Of course, his collection is nothing when compared to those found in many museums or galleries in China. But in a place like Sg. Lembing, this place is now a must-see attraction for many visitors.

A insight after the visit: How do you know whether a piece of rock is mere stone or that it contains precious mineral? We discovered that rocks that have mineral deposit like tin or iron ore weigh heavier than the normal ones.

Tour of Pahang - San Sui in Sg. Lembing

The most spoken two Chinese words among traders promoting their food items and products in Sg. Lembing are san sui (山水) or mountain spring water - san sui tau fu, san sui soya bean drink, san sui noodles, san sui jelly......... the list goes on.

 

I was told by a noodles store owner at the food court that practically every household, every shop and even hotel use san sui instead of tap water from the local water department. Networks of piping system to convey san sui from the mountain source to all consumers are visible in the town if you care to find out.

 

Asked why no one took advantage of this natural product and set up a mineral water production plant, the noodles store owner was quick to say that a Japanese investor indeed did make such a request but was turned down by the people in Sg. Lembing. They were afraid that the source would be over exploited for commercial reason with insufficient quantity left for local consumption. That was a right decision. If anyone wants to drink san sui from Sg. Lembing, he should come to Sg. Lembing and not from a plastic bottle marketed in KL or Kota Kinabalu!

 

In Sg. Lembing, there is no air-conditioned or 4-star restaurant to cater for diners. However, this may now be available in some of the newly set up hotels. Most people eat in the food court next to the wet market and normal coffee shops.

Breakfast in the food court.

Dinner in Hoover Restaurant, supposedly the most well known in Sg. Lembing.

San sui tau fu - firm yet very velvety and soft

Hakka Moi Choy Kew Nyuk

Making of Sg. Lembing noodles

San sui jelly