Eat your heart out Ohakune

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Ohakune has its giant carrot, Taihape its giant gumboot and Paeroa its giant L&P bottle. Here in Ipoh there are these giant pomelos. It makes me smile every time we drive past. This is in the Tambun area of Ipoh, along one of the main arterial roads. Tambun could indeed be beautiful with the green hills that surround it and the dense jungle vegetation that now only exists in small pockets. However, I wouldn’t call it beautiful now that it is dominated by shabby housing, overcrowded roads and neglected shop lots. It is even less beautiful in the thick haze we are presently experiencing.

Lovely Langkawi

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This was the view from our balcony when we stayed in a resort on Langkawi last weekend. It is an island paradise with clear blue sea on one side and thick green jungle on the other. One evening we swam out from the beach and watched the sun disappear behind the hills. The next day we caught the cable car up to the highest point on the island and took in the breathtaking views, only a little obscured by haze. We ate extremely well at various restaurants and cafes where the food on offer was varied and delicious. Can highly recommend the Nam restaurant at the beautiful Bon Ton boutique hotel and the Red Tomato cafe in Pantai Cenang. Also La Chocolatine in Pantai Tengah for its mouth-watering pastries and fragrant coffee. No jungle walk for us this time round but we did see an oriental pied toucan in the trees in front of our chalet and a black giant squirrel that did a little dance on the road in front of the hired car!

Merdeka

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Today Malaysians are celebrating independence (merdeka) day and the Jalur Gemilang is flying from buildings, fences, gates and even from people’s cars. Yesterday we popped into a shopping centre to get a few things from the supermarket and happened to see a charming performance by a group of children – little boys and girls, representing the three major groups that make up the Malaysian population, wearing traditional costumes. They were standing in a row and singing (or rather shouting) the national anthem with great enthusiasm.  This was also the day that thousands of Malaysians, here and overseas, donned yellow t-shirts and peacefully demonstrated their opposition to the present government’s handling of the country’s economy. As interested onlookers, we admire their patriotism and bravery.

In praise of bookshops

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As a life-long user of libraries, I used to view bookshops as an optional extra. Why buy a book that you are probably only going to read once when you can borrow it from the library? The only books I bought were those I’d already read and knew I would read again. But there are no libraries that cater for the likes of me in Ipoh. I have an e-reader and I can and do buy e-books. However, I still prefer an actual book. So it is with great delight that I anticipate my visit to the Kinokuniya bookshop in KLCC. We are in KL for a few days and a morning in this wonderful store is the first thing on my to-do list. I sometimes feel a pang of guilt when I spend hundreds of ringgit on books that probably will not fulfill the “read more than once” criterion. But books are the staff of life and, as my daughter wisely reminded me, writers need to be supported.

Police report

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It’s happened! I was in a car accident in Ipoh last week, after having been told by several people over the last few months that it’s a case of when, not if. I was driving along minding my own business and listening to a Tchaikovsky CD when the woman who was driving in the next lane decided with no hesitation, no glance at her mirror and certainly no use of her indicator, to change lanes. She swiped the left front side of my car and then looked at me in amazement, surprised to see me there though I had been driving beside her for several seconds! After getting her details and completing my errands, I made my way to the nearest police station to report the accident. I was told in sign language (none of the police on duty spoke a word of English) I couldn’t report it there, I had to go to the central office of the traffic police in town. Not sure how I found my way there with their woeful directions and through masses of badly behaved traffic. One of the police at the front desk had some English and he proceeded to fill in the report, carefully noting that I was a foreigner, a housewife (!!) and a Christian (he deduced this without asking me). I refused to let him do the report in Malay because I had to sign it. He gave me a copy to take to the investigator who did not speak a word of English either. With the help of someone else, she ascertained what had happened and then organised for a photographer to take a photo of the damage to my car. Apparently they will let me know the outcome of their investigation. I gather, from the insurance company’s website, that I can get a no-claims repair if the police decide I was not at fault. We’ll see. All the police personnel I dealt with were unfailingly polite and wanted to help. But their offices were in a shocking state – dingy, filthy and run down. What a depressing environment to work in! People I have spoken to since tell me that the police are well-funded. If this is the case, none of the money is used on the maintenance of Ipoh police stations.

An update to this report (29 July 2016):

I have not yet heard back from the police. So my chances of getting a no-claims repair were nil. I got my car repaired and paid in cash for the cost of the excess on my insurance policy – go figure! The woman who bashed into my car got away without paying a cent. And so it goes, Malaysia style!

Monsoon

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There is no proper monsoon on the western side of peninsular Malaysia but there are rainy seasons. The rain usually falls in heavy downpours in the afternoons and brings welcome relief from the heat, though the precipitation can exacerbate the humidity. Today was one of the coolest days I’ve experienced since coming to live in Ipoh. It was cloudy for most of the day and there was rain on and off throughout the day. This meant that the temperature was two to three degrees cooler than normal and it was wonderful!  Driving in Ipoh during or just after one of these downpours can be challenging because the drains can’t cope with the volume of water and large pools form on the road surface. It is also dreadful for motorcyclists who get drenched if they can’t find a convenient place to shelter. They tend to congregate under bridges and motorway flyovers and wait out the storm.

Golf

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Living beside a golf course is much more peaceful than living next to a theme park! The loudest noises I hear are the click of a club connecting with a ball or occasionally a shout of triumph or dismay, depending on how well the game is going. Sometimes a golfer will lose his or her ball among the trees in front of our balcony and I’ve watched them attempting to hit it onto the fairway without connecting a tree trunk. Though this is amusing for me, I imagine it’s very frustrating for the golfer. Many of the people who live around us are retired and are very keen golfers. They go out early in the morning and/or late in the afternoon on an almost daily basis. Some of them even park their buggies in their carports and drive these from home to the course and back. We often get asked if we play. The answer is and will always be “No” but that in no way diminishes our enjoyment of our present accommodation.

Jungle walk

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We ventured into the jungle behind the golf course where we are now living. There is a pathway that leads to a series of small waterfalls. The water is clear and cascades over granite boulders, forming pools that are invitingly cool. The whole area is shaded by tall trees that have huge leaves. To get an idea of the size of the leaves we took the photo above, with my (very big!) feet as the scale. We were also fascinated by the tiny worm-like leeches that hurried in our direction as soon as they sensed us. We didn’t realise that any had actually latched onto us until we took off our shoes. When we removed the leeches from our ankles, the blood poured thanks to their clever anti-coagulating technique. We then took another path to get a view of the golf course and were met with the sight in the photo below. Someone had taken a lot of trouble to dump their rubbish in this otherwise pristine environment when they live in a city in which there is a rubbish collection three times a week.

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Seaside Sydney

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Sydney beaches are fantastic and many of them have tidal pools that I long to swim in. So much better swimming in a salt water pool that is regularly cleaned by the tide. The beach in the photo above is Curl Curl – what a brilliant name for a beach! We also spent  a day at Cronulla, where the surfer among us went into the waves (see pic of another surfer below) while the rest of us relaxed and read in the wintry sun. We had a picnic lunch, which we had to protect from the predatory seagulls who would try to sneak in the moment our attention was diverted elsewhere.

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La Traviata

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Last Thursday the five of us got into our glad rags and caught the bus to Circular Quay. We walked in the direction of the opera house and got to the end just as the sun was going down. We had a drink and a bite to eat while watching the lights from the harbour bridge appear through the twilight. Then we went into the opera house for a performance of Verdi’s La Traviata. It was a first for all of us and we enjoyed everything about it – the spectacular building with its views of the harbour, the orchestra playing the overture, the sumptuous sets, the singing and the familiar music. We got tears in our eyes when Violetta parts from Alfredo and were stunned when she dies! None of us will quickly forget the wonderful experience.