We are in the midst of new year celebrations in Ipoh. These are the lights that greet us as we drive into our area of the city. Many of our neighbours are Chinese Malaysians and they have their families visiting, large gatherings at dinner time and very loud firework displays in the middle of the night. The noise of the crackers reverberates around the limestone hills that surround Sunway City. On the first night of the new year I woke with a start, certain that I was in the middle of a war zone! One of our neighbours who is Hong Kong Chinese invited us for high tea on the first day of the new year. We sat around the table, which was loaded with sandwiches and cakes, and were plied with cups of English breakfast tea. Very pleasant particularly as they had their air conditioner going full bore. We then piled into Jim’s company SUV and drove into the old city for a delicious Indian meal. Happy year of the horse!