A Merdeka Outing

It is the 31st August 2014, so a very resolute 57th year of Merdeka! 'Di sini bermula sebuah cinta'.

So much for making plans to be at Dataran Merdeka to watch the parade in the morning. We were up late the night before so there was no way it would be an early morning the next day. So for the umpteenth time now I had to watch the parade on TV. Sheesh!

But anyway, I was adamant about making it a memorable day. So when M suggested we go to KLCC by bus from Ampang, I thought what the heck, why not? Let's leave the car behind and take public transport. The bus fare is only RM1 to, but as we discovered later, RM2 fro. Did that sentence come out correct?

We walked to the bus stand and caught a RapidKL bus to (Suria) KLCC. In the bus the passengers were mostly loud Arab women and their more subdued men.  When we got there we headed for the Aquaria but there was a long queue so we ruled it out. So also the Petronas twin towers observation deck because it was fully booked for the day. So we chose to ... lepak. We lepak-d with a very cosmopolitan crowd in front of the Symphony Lake of the KLCC Park. People-watching here was fun because it seemed like the whole world has converged on to Kuala Lumpur and spending this Sunday evening here. In between the lepak-ing, we browsed the bookshop*, had tea/coffee at Dome, and later a light dinner of my favourite Caesar salad at Chinoz on the Park before going back.

We wanted to take a taxi but instead hopped onto a rickety, old Metro bus (because it beckoned!) to get back to our destination. In the bus it felt like one was in Indonesia, because nearly all the passengers were Indonesians. In fact one (Indonesian) passenger also took it upon himself to shout out destinations as we went along. Somehow I couldn't help feeling 'foreign' in the bus. Anyway its great to be hoi polloi "the many" in a very cosmopolitan Malaysia. Merdeka!

*At Kinokuniya I bought the only copy of Nigel Slater's Toast that they held, a sweet and 'warm' memento of 31st August 2014.

A Birthday Celebration at Cafe Cafe

Happy birthday A!

We celebrated A's birthday recently at an eatery that was new to me - Cafe Cafe in Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur. Timeout deemed it to have "Continental European charm and a top class French/Italian menu in the unlikeliest of places - a dim, candle-lit nook of Jalan Maharajalela". (www. timeout.com/kuala-lumpur/restaurants-and-cafes/cafe-cafe)


The food was good, the decor mainly antique, and the ambiance, 'very the French, very the noir' (according to moi). You actually need a torchlight to read the menu! We all had either fish (salmon) or seafood. Before the main meal you get a nice sorbet (raspberry) each. Thank you SB for the wonderful treat at a restaurant with attitude!

Anyway I would never be able to find Cafe Cafe on my own but I know now its just next door to the Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka.

Coffee, Cakes & Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) of the silent era movie fame is celebrated at the eponymous Cafe located at the One City Mall in Subang Jaya. His iconic screen persona of 'the Tramp' welcomes you into the cafe and is stamped on plates, serviettes, etc. The black and white decor lends an old-time ambiance to the place. You can watch some black and white films* of Charlie Chaplin while sipping some delicious coffee and savouring delectable cakes. But of course you have to be sitting at just the right tables for this.

*Some of Chaplin's movies include: Making a Living (1914), The Kid (1921), A Woman of Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), The Circus (1928), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936),  The Great Dictator (1940), Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), A King in New York (1957), A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).

The menu at the Charlie Chaplin Cafe includes more than just coffee and cakes of course, but that was what we had when we were there recently.
PS. B & A, remember the time you both were in 'the Tramp' lookalike competition years ago? Heheh!
24 August 2014

The Beach at Pulau Carey

From Kampung Sungai Bumbun the straight road goes on nearly forever through oil palms till you reach the end - the beach at Pulau Carey. There are a few ramshackle stalls (selling fish) fronting this mainly muddy, rocky beach though there is a small stretch of white sand. You see container ships on the far horizon plying the Straits of Melaka. At low tide the sea is really far out and there are families with children (and buckets) looking to find and harvest shellfish on the mudflats.

Swimming in the sea here is out of the question because the Straits of Melaka, it seems, is really rather polluted. But then the fresh sea breezes entice. So despite the stray dogs, M and I get out of the car to enjoy a few lungfuls of FSB. Huh? Fresh sea breeze, lah.

24 August 2014

A Glimpse of the Mah Meri, Pulau Carey

At long last, on the Sunday yesterday, we managed to make a road trip to Pulau Carey. The Carey Island famed for being the home of the Mah Meri* Orang Asli (Indigenous/Aboriginal people). There are five OA villages here completely 'sheltered' within the ubiquitous oil palms of the Sime Darby plantations that cover the whole island. We visited the Cultural Village at Kampung Sungai Bumbun for a glimpse of the culture of the Mah Meri although we knew (from their website) that on this day no cultural performance /demonstration was scheduled. There we met Encik Sayor who seemed to be minding the Cultural Village, and his 12 year old daughter Siti Aida. We also later met Madiah (aka Genui), Siti Aida's grand aunt. They are rather friendly but quite shy.
* pronounced Maq Miri?

A with Encik Sayor & Siti Aida (CNB 2014)

There are beautiful nipah palm and pandanus leaf weave decorations set out all over the Cultural Village. These woven decorative pieces of birds, fishes and flowers/leaves can be found by the archways and doorways and also placed in strategic positions on tables/counters and long poles. (Additional information: Take a look at our 10 sen coin. The Orang Asli motif on the back of the coin is the unique weave pattern of the Mah Meri!)

Palm leaf weave decor and rattan toys (CNB 2014)

B, Encik Sayor, Siti Aida & moi (AB 2014)

The Mah Meri belong to the Senoi subgroup which includes the Che Wong, Jah Hut*, Semoq Beri, Semai and Temiar. The Mah Meri (and Jah Hut) are famous for their wood carvings. The sculptures display their daily lives, mythical beliefs and cultural values. Their mystical wood art including wooden masks and moyang sculptures have acquired the Unesco seal of excellence.

Some Mah Meri wood art on display (CNB 2014)

Encik Sayor, A, Madiah, moi & Siti Aida (BB 2014)

From information gleaned from a few sources, the Mah Meri living in the five villages in Pulau Carey (named after the former British Civil Service Officer Valentine Carey; who acquired the island originally called Pulau Si Alang from Selangor Sultan Sulaiman) are mainly fishermen farmers with increasing numbers being employed in the oil palm plantations.

B is all smiles in a Mah Meri tempok/songkho (plaited headband)
(CNB 2014)

We hope to visit again on a day when there are performances and perhaps during the festivals of Puja Pantai and Hari Moyang (Spirit's Day) in February/March. Also to visit the open air work place of Mah Meri craftsmen (like Gali Adam), to see the haunting mask sculptures (carved out of the swamp hardwood Nyireh Batu) for which the Mah Meri are famous for.

Decorations of palm weave at the wedding dais (CNB 2014)

B, M and A pose by a moyang sculpture (CNB 2014)

At the model Rumah Moyang (AB 2014)

Mah Meri Cultural Village, Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Bumbun, 42960 Pulau Carey, Kuala Langat, Selangor.

References:
1.  www.mmcv.org.my
2.  www.bnm.gov.my/microsites/2011/coins
3.  Orang Asli and Their Wood Art/Anthony Ratos. Marshall Cavendish, 2006. Ex Libris CNB 1921

Note: The first I heard of the Mah Meri (aka Ma' Betisek) was when I met Dr Wazir Jahan Karim while working in USM. She was the first woman to do anthropological research on the Orang Asli in Pulau Carey. Her research was published as "Ma' Betisek Concepts of Living Things" (London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology - 54. (1981, 2004).

A Wedding Reception at KGSAAS

During this month of Syawal, every weekend seems about fulfilling invitations to open houses or wedding kenduri/receptions. At noon today A and I attended the wedding reception of the son of my TKC friend Siti (and her husband Dato' Hamzah) at the Kelab Golf Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (KGSAAS) in Shah Alam. We wish Zul Hafiz and bride Lilyza, Selamat Pengantin Baru! 

SA Garden Catalogue: Lady Palm

Scientific name: Rhapis excelsa
Common name: Lady palm
Family: Palmae (Alt. Arecaceae)
Origin: South China

The Lady palm or Rhapis excelsa is a cluttering fan palm with leaves split right down to the stalk into 2-12 segments. There are varieties with leaves split into 24 segments and also variegated ones. This palm grows up to 2 - 3 metres tall and is very tolerant of light conditions from full sun to deep shade. Propagation is by division of clumps.

This Lady palm is one of only two palms I have in my teeny tiny garden. I brought it from Pulau Pinang in a large ceramic container which has since split but not broken.

The August rains started mid month and have lowered the temperature a bit. With quite a bit of rain falling heavily nearly every other day, hopefully Selangor will avert any water rationing.

The Garden, Lady Palm on the right (CNB 2014)

Ref: Tropical Horticulture and Gardening/ Francis S P Ng. Ex Libris CNB 1866