Jiangnan: Multi Talented Chefs

In Shanghai, we were taken to a Japanese Restaurant known for cooking all their food on a hot plate - teppanyaki barbecue style. Chefs manning the stations were young and they looked more like fresh university graduates than chefs. Suddenly, they all stopped cooking when music of guangnam style was played. They all proceeded to line up in the alley in the restaurant, put on dark glasses and began to dance. That was cool!

In China, survival is a challenge. It takes more than normal trained skill for a working adult to be gainfully employed and to excel.

In many countries, any such demand of an employee to work beyond the normal scope of duty probably would have triggered resignation or filing of a complaint to the Labour Authority.

Jiangnan: Shanghai Skyscrapers

When we visited Shanghai in April last year, we were told that Shanghai Tower would be completed by 2014 (Read here). During our recent visit to Shanghai in September 2014, its whole structure has been completed. Opening is expected in early 2015. It is indeed a major achievement to have such a massive project completed in just over six years.

Human ingenuity and technological advancement has truly changed the way people erect tall structures. The Great Pyramid of Khufu, the tallest pyramid in ancient Egypt which now stands at 455 feet (138.8m) took 23 years to build. It has a footprint of 55,000 sq. m. compared to just 30,370 sq. m. for Shanghai Tower. Tall structures now are much slenderer!

Shanghai Tower once completed will be the second tallest building at 2,073 feet (632m) high. It is still significantly lower than the highest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai which stands at 828m.

The opening of Shanghai Tower in 2015 will complete the development of Lujaizui Finance and Trade District of Pudong. Shanghai World Financial Centre stands at the east while Jin Mao Tower at the north.

Shanghai Tower

Shanghai World Financial Centre, many people call it the "Bottle Opener" because of the opening at the top of the structure.

In April 2013, we paid to access the Observation Deck at the 97th Floor (439 m) to have a bird eye view of Shanghai by night. This time, we had a bird eye view of Shanghai by day, a different visual experience.

Jin Mao Tower

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The night cruise in Huangpu River allowed us to have a spectacular view of the skyscrapers in Pudong.

Jiangnan: Bird's Nest Stadium in Suzhou

Anyone who is familiar with Olympic Games would be familiar with the Beijing Bird's Nest Stadium. However, not many people know that a mini Bird's Nest Stadium was built in Suzhou before the official permission was granted by China top leadership to proceed with the Beijing Bird's Nest Stadium.

According to the itinerary, we were supposed to be taken to this mini Bird's Nest Stadium when we were in Suzhou on 21 September 2014. Unfortunately, this was not the intention of the tour guide as we discovered later. He just casually mentioned when our bus was on the way for dinner that the tour bus would just drove passed the Stadium. Hardly anyone noticed it by the time we turned to have a glimpse of it.

After the dinner, we insisted that we be taken to have a look at this structure. He relented and had the bus driven to the front of this stadium. With the little time allowed, we could only take photos from a distance.

This is the problem with the so-called sight seeing tours in China nowadays. The tour operators working in cohort with big manufacturing/marketing companies are only interested in promoting sales to boost their commissions. This "unethical practice" has caused tremendous resentment among foreign tourists!

At night, the bird's nest profile was not very noticeable. The non-stop changing of the LED lights are probably what draw the visitors.

Moderate Voice in Rising Extremism in Malaysia

Mission schools and government-aided Chinese schools in Sabah have long had a love–hate relationship with the Federal Government. On one hand, they often find certain education policies difficult to accept, sometimes even repugnant. On the other, they are occasionally “appeased” by grants or handouts to their institutions. Since education falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal rather than the State Government, this dynamic has been a recurring theme for decades.

That said, the State Government of Sabah has also played a role in supporting education. A good example is the new wing of the Kindergarten operated by the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia in Kota Belud. The project would not have been possible without a state grant. Even so, the grant only partially covered the costs, and it took seven years (1999–2006) before the building was fully completed.

On 14 November 2014, the Kindergarten celebrated its 20th Anniversary. I had the privilege of being invited to the celebration, having served as the Consulting Engineer (C&S) for the new block on a pro bono basis - a contribution that made the project personally meaningful to me.

It was evident that the Kindergarten had chosen the right guest of honour for the occasion: former Chief Minister and current Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, Salleh Keruak. On that day, he spoke less like a parochial politician and more like a national statesman. His message was not the rhetoric of exclusivity often associated with his political party, but one of inclusiveness - affirming the place of all Malaysians regardless of race or religion. He explicitly supported the Kindergarten’s policy of welcoming and educating children from both Muslim and non-Muslim families, a stance that resonated deeply with the audience.

What set him apart even further was his courage to take a moral stand against his party’s prevailing narrative. He was, in fact, one of the few within his circle who openly “admonished” the former Prime Minister for tacitly endorsing a Muslim NGO that had outrageously suggested the burning of Bibles containing the word Allah. In a political climate where silence or conformity is often the safer path, his voice stood out as rare and refreshing.

The audience responded warmly - his speech drew such enthusiastic applause that it fell just short of a standing ovation. His support for the Kindergarten also appeared genuine, underscored by his consistent annual allocation of RM15,000 from his YB fund to sustain its operations.

Sadly, in Malaysia, too many politicians speak not out of conviction, but out of calculation. They say what they believe will secure votes, not what they truly believe is right. Their priority is to cling to power; everything else is secondary.

Whether Salleh’s sincerity marks the beginning of a shift, or merely a solitary voice in the wilderness, only time will tell.

Friends of a Life Time

After meeting Jun Shi’s family and before driving to BP, we took the opportunity to reconnect with some of our university friends, together with a few of their spouses, for a reunion dinner. All of us once lived in the 5th Residential College of the University of Malaya and were active members of the 5th College Christian Fellowship.

There is always a wave of nostalgia whenever we gather, recalling the 1970s when we were carefree young adults, focused mainly on our studies, yet occasionally daydreaming about building successful careers and happy families.

Today, many among us are already grandparents. With the passing of time, our circle has naturally grown smaller. The loss felt even more real after one of our dear friends, Mooi Eng, passed away on 21 August 2014 (Read here). That reminder of life’s brevity stirred in us the resolve to plan another reunion, this time in Sabah, possibly next year.

Right after the dinner, someone suggested creating a WhatsApp chat group to link up all of us ex-Fifians. I gladly took on the task, and before long, most members were instantly connected through their smartphones. Only a handful remain unlinked, as they have yet to switch over to using smart devices.

From left: Guek Yean's husband, Lai Har's husband, Sim Lai Har,
Teoh Guek Yean, Mary Ooi, Ho Wai Suet, Jenny Wee, my wife and me.

Paloh

After the meeting with the Lai's in KL, we drove to BP, my wife's home town. Taking advantage of the time available, we decided to select a nearby town in Johor to explore. We chose Paloh.

 

Paloh which is 60 Km northeast of BP is indeed a very small town judging by the less than twenty thousand inhabitants living there. Yet, I believe it was probably because of the substantial output of rubber in the old days that convinced Malaya Railway to have the rail line constructed through this little town. Today, practically all rubber plantations have been replaced by oil palm plantations.

 

The only place we stopped by in Paloh was Ling Nam Kedai Kopi, an 85-year old Chinese coffee shop which I came to know through a blog in the internet. Mr. Wong, a Hainanese who now runs the shop with his wife and son is the third generation since his grandfather set up the business in 1929. He was exceptionally proud of his coffee shop when the Malaysia Tourism Board included this outlet in the Booklet published to promote famous Chinese Traditional Coffee Shops in Malaysia.

Coffee, tea or whatever drinks made in this outlet are prepared from water drawn from a 60-ft deep well dug at the back of the shop. 

His kaya toast is unique. Home-made kaya is squeezed into pocket cut in slice of white bread after the toasting.

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Mr. Wong also keeps all sorts of can openers and he has no hesitation when asked to demonstrate his can opening skill. He could open a can in just 3 seconds, blind-folded and using a type of opener people found least likely to achieve the feat. So far, his 3-second record has not been surpassed. His closest rival managed to open in 5 seconds.

 

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Mr. Wong is also an avid antiques collector. He keeps a stock of old drink bottles. He was thorough to talk about this particular olive-shaped bottle which also resembles a hand grenade. According to him, this bottle was made in Hong Kong more than a hundred years ago!

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Mr. Wong is also a sharp shooter. He used this "bullets" rolled from cut pieces of old cigarette boxes and propelled by rubber band to get rid off the home lizards in his coffee shop. Old timers who are familiar with this gadget would remember its name - "Lastic". His shop is now lizard free. But he said he had faced criticism from animal lovers for such act. He "silenced" them with this typical answer: "Do you like to eat in an environment where there is a chance of having animal droppings landed on you of your food items or otherwise?"

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On our way out of this town, we were held up for more than 5 minutes just to wait for this goods train to pass through.

Informal Formality: Meeting Future In-Law

Marriage is not just the union of two individuals but the coming together of two families. With this in mind, we took the initiative to formally invite the Lai family for a lunch at the Way Modern Chinois in Kuala Lumpur on 8 November 2014. This was not the first time that we met our future in-law. We last met in Temerloh when we did a driving tour of Pahang in October 2013 (Read here). That was more a meeting of acquaintances rather than a meeting to discuss about marriage proposal and wedding.

The meeting as it turned out was casual and informal. It was meant to iron out a few issues which were already known but needed to be brought out face to face as a matter of formality. It was a frank and friendly conversation. We truly enjoyed the meeting. The ambiance contributed to the relaxing atmosphere. Of course, not everything could be worked out in just one discussion. Until the day of the major event which is about eight months away, many details still need to be worked out and arrangement to be made.

The meeting venue, Way Modern Chinois was chosen based on recommendation by my niece, Suanie. This is a classy and unique restaurant specializing in Chinese and Asian cuisine.

We were offered the spacious private room which was conducive for discussion.

The dessert was unique but the quantum was surprisingly "small" and insufficient to satisfy the appetite of diners.

Jiangnan: Daylight "Robbery" in China

I last visited Shanghai in March 2013. If there was anything noticeably different that I found during the recent visit in October 2014, it would be that more people were seen taking selfie. This is not just happening among the young and trendy but the seniors as well.

We decided to get a selfie stick to avoid the need of seeking a third party to act as photographer whenever we intend to take a photo for two of us. In China, selfie stick is an inexpensive item. Still, getting a good selfie stick at a reasonable price could be a tricky thing. One can easily be conned if one is not careful. We almost became victim if not because of our prior knowledge of its market price.

In the first outlet in Shanghai AP Plaza where we found the selfie sticks, the shop keeper first offered us at RMB160 for a stick. That was daylight robbery because one of our group had earlier bought a similar stick for just RMB29 which was less than one fifth of the offer price, We said it was way too expensive and decided to leave the premise. He then offered a stick for RMB40. We said it was still much higher than what we could get in other place and proceeded to walk out of the shop. He chased after us and finally offered us for RMB30 a stick. We took the offer.

A short while later, another nearby outlet offered the same selfie stick for just RMB 25. I bought a second stick.

Trying out the new selfie stick in the compound of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum which is adjacent to AP Plaza.

Remembering a Friend - Quah Mooi Eng

It is never easy to handle a sudden death especially old couples who have been together through thick and thin all their lives. It is understandable when an associate and a friend of mine DM who has lost his wife a year ago has decided to travel overseas rather than to stay at home to confront the anniversary alone. As he put it:

"This is an emotional and poignant time for me as I approach the first anniversary on ..... of my dear wife leaving this world and going to heaven. I felt I could cope better while travelling, so I am going to visit interesting places..............."

Death sometimes finds its way to "strike" when least expected and even in the midst of utmost joy. The news of an untimely death of a friend also came in the form of an SMS when we were in the midst of our tour in England:

"Just to inform you that my mom passed away peacefully (while we were standing around her praying) this afternoon. Thanks so much for praying alongside throughout her sickness. We are thankful for her and God's mercy in taking her home and ending her suffering these past weeks".

Her death truly evoked much emotion and memory. Both our families had spent good and memorable time together.

One of her students remembered her with these words:

"Death always has its way to appear in our times of utmost joy. This is God's way of reminding us of our time on earth. Madam Quah Mooi Eng was an inspiration to BB boys and she made sure we really enjoyed and understood the reason why we went to school. Thank you for making my school life and teaching life memorable. People come and go from our lives. But memories never fade. May you rest in peace Madam Quah"

One of the Ex-Fifians summed up all our thoughts:

"Yours was an ordinary life, extraordinarily well-lived! Whatever roles you played, be it within home or outside, you blessed countless many others by your Christ-like loving kindness and surely our Lord and Master is saying to you, "Welcome home, you good and faithful servant!" Truly, you fought a good fight, finished the race and kept the faith".

She, my wife and I went to the same university at the same time way back in 1973. We got to know each other in the 5th Residential College Christian Fellowship. Upon graduation, she taught and eventually rose to become the Principal of Bukit Bintang Boys School. We kept in contact even after graduation. Her family came to visit us in KK in 1992 and we in turn spent time re-visiting our old university campus in West Malaysia together with her kids in 1993.

Whether by coincidence or by divine design, she has a son named Sam and so have we. Both Sam's now work in Singapore and worship in the same church!

She will always be remembered as a person with a generous spirit and a warm heart.

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Mooi Eng, her mom and her three boys came to KK and stayed with us for a short visit during the year-end school holidays in December 1992. At that time, we stayed in our old house in Taman Kim Leng.

From left: Mooi Eng's mom, Mooi Eng, 3rd son (youngest) of Mooi Eng,

my wife, me, Peter Lai, Joyce (Peter's wife).

Children of the Lee's and the Leong's

The two families.

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Re-visiting University Malaya in April 1993.

Inside a lecture hall at the Faculty of Engineering, University Malaya.

At the front porch of the Faculty of Engineering, University Malaya.

On the steps at the 5th Residential College where we once stayed.