Month: August 2014

Swimming

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Pool

My usual form of exercise when living in Ohaupo was to head out for a walk, often with a bucket of food scraps for the grateful pigs who lived two country blocks away. This was a beautiful scenic walk, just the right distance, with an end point and a purpose. Since living in Ipoh my walking has been severely curtailed by the climate – if you don’t get out before 7am, it is too hot. So I decided to try and find somewhere to swim – getting exercise while keeping cool at any time of the day. Neighbours pointed me in the direction of a new housing complex on the edge of Ipoh that has a recreation club with a lovely pool. I can go as often as I like as a casual visitor for a small fee. I have been going once or twice a week and benefiting from the exercise, which doesn’t make me feel like I’m going to expire from heat exhaustion. We’ve been in KL this week because Jim has meetings down here. We’re staying in the lovely Gardens Hotel and I’ve been swimming in the pool (see pic) every morning. I usually have it to myself and afterwards can lie on one of the loungers, reading till I’ve dried off and am in need of a coffee. How lucky am I?

Rain

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IMG_3823

As I look out of the window from my desk, I see rain falling, making the river ripple. It is overcast, almost dark, and cool, or cooler than it usually is. I love the rain here! It intensifies the greens of the tropical vegetation and gives us welcome relief from the heat. Loving rain is a strange phenomenon for a New Zealander – we usually long for sunshine, especially at this time of the year when winter seems endless. I have a growing collection of colourful umbrellas at the front door. These are usually used to ward off the sun, as in the photograph above, when we were visiting Penang Hill. I find an umbrella is more practical than a hat – it gives one more shade than a hat would without cutting off the air supply to one’s head. It is advisable to keep your head open to whatever breeze there may in the Malaysian heat. Don’t worry though about bringing your umbrella with you when you visit, I’ve got plenty to go round!

Wine with lunch

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On the days I spend in KL, I usually treat myself to lunch, ordering something like smoked salmon salad or vegetable quiche – things that are not on the menu in any restaurant in Ipoh. But almost more important than the food, is the place itself. I choose a restaurant that has white tablecloths and serves the food on china plates. Most Ipoh eateries eschew tablecloths and you often get your (very tasty) food on a plastic plate. Yesterday I was at one of KL’s stupendous shopping centres where I found a restaurant that ticked all the boxes, plus there was wine on the menu! It is rare for me to be able to order a glass of wine so I thought why not? There I was at my beautiful table with my delicious meal on a white china plate, my glass of wine and my book. In came a woman and her daughter, both with their hair veiled and dressed in voluminous garments. The mother gave me a very disapproving look, the corners of her mouth turned down. They sat at a table a good distance away from me. The photograph above was taken at Wither Hills in Marlborough on a splendid summer’s day. Now that was a glass of wine to remember!

Moon cakes

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moon cakes

Hari Raya dates have been replaced in all the shops by displays of moon cakes. These cakes are round pastries filled with a rich thick filling usually of red bean or lotus seed paste. They are eaten as part of Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. This festival dates from the fifth century, involves lunar worship and is associated with the legends of Chang’E, the mythical moon goddess of immortality. I found a lovely tea shop in central Ipoh this week. It has a beautiful cafe where one can drink tea from delicate china cups and eat Chinese delicacies, including moon cakes. Since I was on my own I didn’t stay but I did buy some cakes – I chose green tea pastries filled with date paste (and no sugar added!). It is an acquired taste but, having just eaten the last wedge of the first cake, I can report that it is growing on me. Perhaps next time we’re in town, we’ll sit down for tea and moon cakes – join us if you like!

Peace and quiet

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This is the courtyard at the side of our house at Lakeside Villas and we spend a lot of time out here. It is cool, catching any breeze that there is, and there is a large fan in the ceiling. There is also a small table where we often eat all three meals. However, we are driven inside when the nearby theme park (http://www.sunwaylostworldoftambun.com/) starts playing music over its very loud sound system. The bass beat reverberates off the limestone hills straight into our courtyard. We have complained in person and by letter/email and were told that Sunway (the huge property company that developed Lakeside Villas and other housing complexes in the area, and owns the Lost World of Tambun theme park) seeks to provide “wholesome, family entertainment”, which obviously involves loud, repetitive “music”. Noise seems to be part of our lives here. The beautiful grounds around the area, which are also maintained by Sunway, are kept in shape by workers using very noisy tools – the grass is cut by teams of people each wielding a screaming trimmer and there is often the drone of leaf blowers. No “soft sighing of summer lawns” here! Renovating houses, which are barely seven years old, seems to be a favourite pastime of home-owners in Lakeside Villas. Several of our neighbours have moved out and left us to endure the noise of jack hammers and tile cutters. But today all is quiet – the builders have moved out of our street and the Lost World is not playing any music. Today we’ll enjoy our lunch in the courtyard.