Gecko

2 Comments

gecko

Every morning I do what I call the gecko patrol – going through the house cleaning up any mess left by the numerous geckos that live in our house, always grateful that there are no carpets and that the highly polished floor tiles are easy to clean. Despite this, I like having the geckos around – they are the reason we have relatively few insects inside. They also provide some entertainment! Our landlord attached a huge TV screen to the wall in the living room and behind this screen is obviously a favoured living and hunting space for a gecko, judging by how fiercely the gecko resident there defends his territory against any intruders. The gecko who lives behind the adjacent curtain makes attempts on the TV screen gecko’s space quite often and this leads to loud arguments and the occasional losing of grip on the wall. The local nickname for gecko is ‘chit-chat’, which seems really appropriate when you hear the arguing. Before you think that my life has been reduced to watching geckos, let me assure you that I also keep a careful eye on the bird life in our garden from my desk at the window!

Chinatown

Leave a comment

IMG_3749

The Guan Ping Festival was in full swing when we got to Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday. There was a procession down Jalan (meaning ‘street’ in Malay) Petaling consisting of lion and dragon dancers, these lovely ladies, stilt walkers, as well as representatives of the local Indian and Malay communities. The festival aimed to bring prosperity to local businesses. There were hundreds of people in the streets watching the parade and presumably they bought food and other things from the numerous stalls and shops that exist cheek by jowl in Chinatown. The shops along Petaling Street sell made-in-China tat and designer knock-offs. But look past that and up at the buildings and you get an idea of what the old Chinatown must have looked like. In the Lee Rubber Building we found the wonderful Peter Hoe store and cafe (go to this article http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/magazine/peter-hoe-beyond.htm to see why I loved exploring this store). And later on we found the Old China Cafe (http://www.oldchina.com.my/) where we had a drink and enjoyed the ambiance. So good that you can still get a taste of the old Chinatown.

Dates

Leave a comment

dates

Ramadan begins on 28 June and there are large displays of dates in all the supermarkets. It is believed that Muhammad ate dates when he broke his fast. Dates are also an excellent source of nutrients for people who have been fasting all day. The supermarket displays include elaborately boxed dates, which are imported from all over – Egypt, the UAE, Tunisia. Dates have long been one of my favourite snacks and often, on a Sunday morning, I will make a batch of date scones for breakfast. I have struggled a bit to find dates in the supermarket but not now with Ramadan approaching. Yesterday I bought a box of almond date rolls (yum!), which are imported from the USA, and was amused to read on the back of the box “Kosher for Passover”. I refrained from laughing out loud!

Living in a Graham Greene novel

Leave a comment

IMG_3466

I don’t necessarily want to live the life of a Graham Greene character but this news agency in the old town is reminiscent of a film version of one of his novels. It sells newspapers, magazines, drinks and snack food. I go in there to buy the parking tickets that we need for parking in most places around the city streets. These tickets are nifty in that they are like scratch cards – you scratch out the appropriate date and time and leave it on your dashboard. They cost RM1.50 (55 NZ cents) for an hour’s parking but many locals don’t bother. Then they incur a RM40 (NZ$15) fine, which they don’t pay. These fines build up till the next election when a general amnesty is declared as a way of garnering votes. And so the world goes round Ipoh-style!

Washing day

Leave a comment

IMG_3603

Monday has traditionally been laundry day so it seems appropriate to post this photo today. Many of our neighbours drape their washing over the railings at the front of their houses and even on trees and shrubs in their gardens. I am not sure why they do this because most properties around here have lines at the sides of the houses where you can hang your laundry out of sight. Returning from my walk this morning, I was treated to the sight of a long line of underwear strung along the front fence of a nearby house. There are many laundries, called dobis, around the town where you can get your laundry washed, dried and ironed for a reasonable fee. We saw these dobis in Taiping and the sheets, curtains, shirts and trousers billowing in the sunshine were eye-catching.

Buying flowers

1 Comment

_3618

I like having fresh flowers in the house, especially now that I am home such a lot. Before coming to live in Ipoh, I had visions of markets full of exotic tropical flowers that I could buy for the house. This has turned out not to be the case. Florist shops here are filled with artificial flowers and you can only find a few bunches of fresh flowers in fridges at the back. When I bought some lilies from one of these fridges for my neighbour who had had surgery, I got the distinct impression that this was not welcome and that perhaps fresh flowers were only suitable for funerals! The Hindu community buy fresh flowers, usually a mix of chrysanthemums, as offerings either for the temple or their prayer rooms at home. They also buy elaborate wreaths (see pic below) for important religious festivals. On a recent trip to Taiping (a town about an hour’s drive north of Ipoh) I was delighted to find some flower stalls by the side of the road. I bought several bunches from this lovely woman and they lasted for many days in a jug on the dresser in the living room.

IMG_3629

My birthday treat

2 Comments

concert hall

We spent the weekend in Kuala Lumpur and went to the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra’s Brilliant Brothers concert. The impressive concert hall is at the base of the PETRONAS towers. When you walk towards it at night, the lighted towers loom overhead and are a marvellous spectacle. The brothers were Canadian violinists Timothy and Nikki Chooi. They played a duet in the first piece, which was Bach’s concerto for two violins complete with harpsichord. This provided a quiet start to a rousing concert that included Saint-Saens’ violin concerto no. 3 and Bruch’s violin concerto no. 1, with each of the brothers in turn playing the solo part. It ended with Tchaikovsky’s overture to Romeo and Juliet, which uses almost every instrument in the orchestra, including all the drums, the cymbals and a tuba! I loved it. And I enjoyed ambling back across the park to our hotel in balmy late evening air. My first birthday in Malaysia has been great!

The old town

Leave a comment

IMG_3480

One of our favourite Ipoh outings is to the old town, where the buildings date back to the beginnings of the 19th century mining town and the footpaths are uneven stretches of beautiful tiles. Some of the buildings have been sympathetically restored, with the facades reflecting their history but the interiors suiting their modern uses as cafes, galleries or specialist stores. One can stand at one corner and look along the arches that span the length of the block. We usually have a coffee at one of the cafes where we are now regarded as locals and greeted accordingly. Then we wander the alleyways and always find some feature that we’d not noticed before or meet someone new. Last Saturday I met a friendly florist who had recently opened her charming shop, styled after a similar store in New York. She’s just returned to Ipoh after spending time in the Big Apple.

Flies

2 Comments

Flies

I am somewhat reluctant to post this photo because I want to encourage you to visit us in Ipoh but it is too good a story! On our recent trip to the Cameron Highlands with our visitor from Auckland, we went into the Sungai Palas Tea House. She noticed this tray on the counter while fetching our tea and scones and snapped this pic. Have you ever seen a tray of flies on display? Fortunately all the food we’d ordered came from inside the glass cabinets and none of us suffered any ill effects from our afternoon tea. We enjoyed the view from the tea house (see pic below) and finding out about the Boh tea company, which is still run by the Russel family who started it in 1929. There is also an interesting gift shop. Well worth a visit, the flies notwithstanding.

Sungai palas tea house

Our first visitor

2 Comments

Banjaran spa

We’ve had one of our Auckland friends visiting us this week and it’s been such fun. As I had anticipated, having a visitor was an inducement to go out in my car and see some of the Ipoh sights. In the words of Winnie-the-Pooh, “two is better than one”, particularly when it comes to driving through the frenetic traffic and trying to follow the GPS. We went to the old town, the Perak Tong and the Cameron Highlands, though Jim did that drive – just as well because half of Malaysia seemed to be up there with us and some of the driving practices require a strong nerve! We also went to the Banjaran Spa (see pic) for a treat and what a treat it was! Beautiful surroundings, lovely people and luxurious treatments as well as a look into the restaurant and wine cellar built into a labyrinthine limestone cave. I have had such a wonderful week and look forward to another visit soon.