Camera-Shy-Me

I will be away on a long holiday (12th-24th December). During this period, I will probably have limited time as well as limited access to internet so I would like to take this opportunity (though I know it is way too early) to wish all my friends at Xanga "A Very Blessed and Happy Christmas and A Happy New Year".

Normally when I go on a trip, at the end of each day I would make a note of the places I've visited, the people I've met, the food I've eaten, any lessons I've learned or just an observation which I've made, for the sole purpose of been able to put them on my blog when I finally get to sit down and write about my trip  But for some reason I didn't do that this time round so I'm just writing purely from memory as I look at the photos I've taken. I wish I am able to post all of them but doing so will make this post way too long  so I'll be selective. An advanced warning though because some are really quite gross as I'm going to present things just as they are - no censorship

This is the most expensive bread I've ever seen in my entire life - Curry Chicken Pumpkin Bread at RM26.00 (about USD7.40) Saw this at Bidor town which we must pass through to get to Sitiawan before taking a ferry to Pangkor Island.

Journey to Sitiawan took about four hours by road. When we arrived, we sat down to have noodles for lunch AND ...

... ABC (Air Batu Campur) or literally "Water Stone Mixed" haha. It's actually a dessert - mix of corn, brown sugar and some jelly together with crushed ice.

Left: A creative way to "protect" the chopsticks      Right:... from the flies (at least 30 of them. Yes, I counted!!)

Next we dropped by a cottage industry biscuit maker. At a glance I thought the stuff you see on your right are the red bean fillings for the biscuit.

But they were actually flies trapped on sticky paper  The only consolation is that the baking process will kill everything harmful  Dare to eat ??  When I was taking these photos, the lady asked me with great concern, "what do you do for a living?". I was so tempted to scare her by saying, "I work for the health ministry" but of course I didn't do that   But I must also say that only certain places have lots of flies and NOT all in case you think so

Enough of food + flies (haha), lets take a look at something else ...

That's the museum we visited. Below are just two (trying to keep my post short) of the more than 30 old (bordering ancient) stuff I photographed at the museum.

Bicycles used by the early settlers as a mode of transportation

A printing machine

Next day we took a ferry to Pangkor Island. The journey took about 30 minutes.

God sent us an angel in the person of uncle Tan. He did us three favours:

• gave us a room (big enough for 6 people) for only RM60 against a RM200 quoted to us by another person
• helped us rent a car for only RM50 against a RM120 quoted to us
• came over to the restaurant where we were having our lunch to ensure the owner didn't overcharge us

ps: our friend cum tour guide knew uncle Tan

Following are some of the many photos I took on Pangkor Island

The strong waves at Teluk Nipah

The calm sea near Pangkor Laut Resort

I realised Pangkor Island offers many interesting opportunities for photography 

A log that has been washed ashore

Berthing places for the fishing trawlers upon their return from seas

More photos taken in Sitiawan

The huge roots of the mangrove tree. Taken at the mangrove swamp at Taman Paya Bakau in Sitiawan

Peaceful and Beautiful scene at the edge of the mangrove swamp walkway

High Tide

Took this picture from the roti canai stall which was situated along the riverside in Sitiawan. The stall was packed with customers and food was good!

While taking a shot of the scenery, the sprinklers came on

Chilli Making & Bottling Factory

Chilli in basins after basins

Turned into chilli sauce

Clean empty bottles

Bottling process - filling 6 bottles each time

Labelling process

Ready for distribution throughout the country

Before we left, the owner who is a friend of our tour guide gave us three bottles of chilli each. There are a few more places which I have been to - both in Sitiawan and Pangkor Island - but the length of this post and my failing memory (hehe) do not permit me to write about them now. Perhaps I will leave that to another time  

I stole this shot during our ferry ride back from Pangkor Island to Sitiawan.

But this is one person I must mention. His name is Diong Wei (pronounced as Chang Wei). He was the friend who let us stayed in his home in Sitiawan and I must add that his parents are one of the most hospitable and friendly people I've ever met. Needless to say, he was our tour guide in Sitiawan and his knowledge of the places in and around the town is superb. He is very passionate when it comes to sharing with people about Sitiawan, especially her history. I can fairly say that he really love and care for Sitiawan where he was born and brought up. He can put together a value-for-money tour package so if you plan to visit Sitiawan and need a tour guide, I happily recommend him to you because I know you will be in good hands. Let me know and I can put you in touch with him and that is provided he is free

Honestly I still feel that there are so many photos I can upload and so many places I can mention but that will really make this post way too long so I am bringing this post to a close but with that "it's not finished yet" feeling

You can read more about the history of Sitiawan at http://sitiawansettlementmuseum.blogspot.com/

This post is for the both of you because you asked for it!! Actually I'd planned to title it Sandy -  artsycraftsy2 - earlier but after lunch I saw that Valerie - Miss_Spunky91 - also asked for more information on durian so I decided to include Valerie too (since both of you are good friends too)

This is a picture of durian trees. The car I am sure will give you an idea of how tall they are. These are the grafted species, hence they are shorter compared to the non-grafted ones which can grow to three times the height and bearing 500 fruits each season. The scientific name is Durio zibethinus, of the bombax family, of southeastern Asia, having a hard, prickly rind, and soft pulp with an offensive odor (to some) but a pleasant taste. Durian in Malaysia fruit twice a year and each season will spread over a period of about two months. Normally loved by the locals but regarded as an 'enemy' to the foreigners by virtue of the so called offensive odour BUT we have also heard many expatriates describing their personal experiences with durian with phrase such as "from early avoidance to an enthusiastic embrace" so my personal conclusion is that "it's subjective" depending on each individual

Opening The Durian: Lay paper where you will be working, as this can get messy. Inspect the durian's husk for natural "seams". This is where you will want to focus your cutting and pulling efforts.

1. With a long, sharp knife, carefully make a deep cut into the durian about 8-10 inches long.

2. Bury your fingers into the cut and pry the hull apart. When you are finished, you should have two halves (see next photo) 

3. With the knife, make a deep cut into the fibrous divider along the center of the half. If the durian is very ripe, you will not need to do this.

4. Pull the halved sections apart.

5. Scoop the edible flesh out of the husk and repeat with the other half.

The flesh of a good durian should be yellowish like custard with lots of milk

Qtn: How do we eat durian?
Ans: Put them in your mouth and eat. (Just teasing you ok hehe)

Qtn: What do they taste like?
Ans: Sweet generally but some species are bitter sweet but a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it

There are two camps as far as taste is concerned. Durian lovers says it taste marvellous  while those who don’t favor durian have described it as smelling like rotten flesh

Qtn: Are those spikey things (thorns) on the outside painful to handle? Ans: Yes, they are so care must be exercised. Durian traders usually wears a glove on one hand to handle them and holds the knife in another to pry open the durian.

Qtn: Are durian a type of fruit?
Ans: Yes, they are

Qtn: Is there anything that you can compare them with?
Ans: "Heaven" if you ask me because of its pleasant odour but porcupine is as close as what I could think of at this moment though it's an animal.

These are the durian seeds after I've 'cleaned' up/eaten the flesh. Notice the small flat one nearest to you? Those types are the ones that gives you plenty of flesh so if you are not the big eaters, a few seeds should be enough for you. If you noticed the words "DURIAN EATERS" at the top left hand corner, that was just me playing the fool since the paper happened to be a classified section for JOB SEEKERS

The durian skins carefully and painstakingly assembled together. If one were to open it, it's empty inside. That was what I used to do as a small boy to trick my friends. Naughty not?

Well, so much about durian which is also known as the King of the fruits in this part of the world.