Jingle bells

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I’ve heard just about every version of this ubiquitous Christmas jingle after three days in KL, where every shop is cashing in on this Christian festival. It always seems strange to me that in Malaysia, where over 60% of people are Muslim and not even 10% are Christian, Christmas music and decorations are so prevalent. I snapped this photo from upstairs in the Mid Valley mall. It was teeming with people, many of whom were taking selfies in front of the elaborate decorations. It seemed ironic that that particular day was Maulidur Rasul (Prophet Muhammad’s birthday).

Golf

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As readers of this blog know, we live in a golf resort. Neither of us has ever played golf nor do we have any aspirations to learn. I can see the green of the 18th hole from our balcony. The other day I observed four golfers painstakingly taking turns to get their four little balls into the little hole. I watched for five or ten minutes as they stood in the searing heat making their many attempts. It seemed like a complete waste of time and energy and I got tired and hot just watching them. However, there must be some compelling element to this game because so many people around the world play it, many of them spending vast sums to do so. I can’t imagine that I would ever be tempted to take it up, especially in a tropical climate but living on a golf course means that our surroundings are very pleasant and for me, the most positive aspect of the game is that it is quiet.

Queuing in Malaysia

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Malaysians are not very good at queuing. I have been at a counter when someone else comes up beside me and asks the assistant a question. The assistant then stops helping me and attends to them. When I have remonstrated with the pusher-in or the assistant, they look at me blankly because this is usual practice here. However, if you go into the post office, a bank or a mobile phone store, you have to take a number (like the one in the photo above) from the little machine at the door and wait your turn. At any time of the day any of these places will have scores of people sitting around waiting for their number to be called. Once when I was waiting endlessly at the bank, I asked one of the assistants how long the average wait was and she pretended not to understand me though her English was faultless. Worse than all this though is that you cannot make a doctor’s appointment. Instead you arrive when the rooms open and register at the desk. You may have to wait all morning to see the doctor. I have all the time in the world so I am not sure why this practice irks me so much. I think it’s because it’s so inefficient and unproductive.

KLCC

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The Petronas Towers at KLCC are the emblem of Malaysia for many international and local visitors. There are hundreds of people at KLCC at any one time. It felt like there were thousands there yesterday afternoon when we arrived for the philharmonic concert in the splendid concert hall at the base of the towers. It was a dazzling programme with works by Tchaikovsky, Dukas, Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky. The orchestra filled the stage and included two harps, an expanded percussion section and impressive woodwind and brass sections. But the hall was not nearly full and going out into the throng in the Suria mall afterwards, I felt it was a pity they hadn’t been there to experience it. Hundreds of people were enjoying the piped Christmas music, taking selfies in front of the cut-outs of Santa and his reindeer and shopping in the numerous designer stores that line the mall. Good on them but I think we had the more enjoyable experience.

Morning walk

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Apart from the heat (about which I know I sound like a stuck record), taking a walk in Ipoh can be hazardous. I go out early most mornings when it is still dark in order to get a little bit of exercise while it is relatively cool. But there are no footpaths so I have to walk on the road. Because most motorists here drive at well over the speed limit this is a hazardous undertaking. Then there are the dogs, many of which are feral and roam around in packs. The other morning I was barked at ferociously by a guard dog that had come out of a property through a small gap in the fence. Many of the large houses around here have guard dogs enclosed in their yards and warning signs posted on their gates. I usually feel sorry for these animals, who are not pets and never get paid any attention. But I am accustomed to them barking at me from behind sturdy walls. Encountering this dog on the road was very frightening. Fortunately some golf club workers came along on a motorcycle just then and chased the dog away. It is far better if we go on a jungle walk (see pic above) but to do this, we have to get up really early and walk up hundreds of steps in the dark to reach the jungle before it gets too hot, so we don’t do it very often.

We needed cheering up

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Feeling sick after watching Trump accepting his win yesterday, I went out and bought flowers. I arranged them in my lovely gold Burslem vase, put them on the coffee table, poured myself a glass of Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc and watched Sense and Sensibility on DVD. Did it make me feel better? Not really in the face of what feels like an unmitigated disaster for the US and the world.  To quote Garrison Keillor I’m going to spend the next four years “raising heirloom tomatoes, meditating, reading Jane Austen, traveling around the country, tasting artisan beers” or a version of that.

In praise of pigs

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I love pigs. When we lived in Ohaupo I had a dedicated bucket in which I collected all our food scraps, which I took to the pigs at a nearby farm. They would see me coming down the road and run to the fence in anticipation of a tasty treat. It used to intrigue me that they would sort through the fruit and vege scraps and eat certain things first – the blackened banana skins were always the first to go. They grunted with pleasure while eating and when all the scraps were finished, they’d look up me as if to ask is that all? I wasn’t surprised to learn that according to the Chinese zodiac, I was born in the year of the pig. The pig in the photo is a Kunekune from the Yealands wine estate, where they have introduced these cute, clean and trainable animals to keep down the vegetation between the vines (http://www.yealands.co.nz/petes-blog/2012/07/09/our-new-addition-kunekune-pigs).

Food for Deepavali

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We shared several Deepavali meals with friends and colleagues over the weekend. They couldn’t have been more hospitable and welcoming. And the deliciousness and quantity of the food was overwhelming. The amount of planning and sheer hard work that goes into the preparation of celebratory feasts like this is mind-boggling and the generosity of our friends here in Ipoh is amazing. We came home with containers full of food and will be continuing to enjoy Deepavali food for days to  come

Rude awakening

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For the last two mornings I have woken up with a start at 5 a.m. It takes me a minute to orient myself and realise I am back in Ipoh and what has woken me is the amplified sound of one of the local mosques. And then I remember with a pang that I am no longer in Auckland. Why 5 a.m. today when the official time for the first call to prayer is 5.47 a.m? I have asked some of my neighbours why this particular muezzin begins at 5 a.m, which is at least 45 minutes before the required time, but have received no coherent answer. By the time the other two mosques within hearing range start their calls, I am wide awake and thinking about my first cup of coffee.  I guess I’ll become accustomed to it and sleep through as I did before my recent trip home.

So long, Auckland

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I am heading back to Ipoh in a few days and will miss everything about being in Auckland –  my family and my friends, the coffee, food and wine, the walks and the birds, and the changeable spring weather. It will be hard to leave but wonderful to be reunited with my beloved. If only I could be in two places at once!