Kelantan Maghi Part 2

Last month before we made our way back to California, we visited Kelantan. It had been more than 25 years since I was last in Kelantan and I don't remember all that much about Kota Bharu. There were two things I remembered most about that first trip. One, I couldn't understand a word of the Kelantanese dialect, and two, I enjoyed the different foods there.

This time around, I did not have difficulty understanding anyone, probably because they mostly spoke the proper Bahasa Malaysia except with their Kelantanese accent, and the food was as fabulous as I remembered! Er, except for the tough squid that I had at the food market!

One of the things that surprised me most, something I never knew about Kelantan, was the number of Buddhist temples found there. And I am not talking about little temples! These are large temples with large statues of Buddha in them. I did not associate Kelantan with Buddhist temples. In Sabah and Sarawak, and even Penang, yes, but Kelantan?

This is the entrance to the Thai Buddhist temple called Wat Photivihan.
This reclining Buddha is huge. You would expect to see a Buddha statue like this in Thailand but this Buddha is found at Wat Photivihan in Tumpat, Kelantan.


A pose with Zawi. Zawi was kind enough to take us around Kota Bharu and surrounding areas when we visited Kelantan.



This sitting Buddha is found at Phram Buddha Bharameedharm Charmruslok ... whatever that means!



I thought it strange that there were dragons in this Buddhist temple and statues of Chinese deities.

In the evening, after a day of sight-seeing Buddhist temples and being driven to some other attractions in Kota Bharu, we met up with a few bloggers and their friends and family at a restaurant serving Kelantanese cuisine. It was a popular restaurant and Doug was impressed by the food he ate.

L-R: Awin, Zawi, Pakpayne, Kamal, Doug and Captain Yusuf, and Duncan in the front. Wan Aziz is not in the picture.

Doug is now keen to see the other states in Peninsular Malaysia after that visit to Kelantan!

To Sibu in a Fokker

The first leg of our flight back to California was via Sibu. A blogger friend had just got married (we missed the church wedding) but we did make it to the wedding reception held at the Rejang Ballroom at the Tanahmas hotel.

I was quite nervous about flying in a Fokker to Sibu from Miri because it has been decades since I last flew in one! Days before the flight, I had been agonizing over the weather conditions. As it turned out, it was one pretty smooth flight with hardly a bump!

This was the plane that we flew in to get to Sibu. I do not know where it originated from before it proceeded on to Sibu. There were many foreign tourists getting off that plane before we boarded it to get to Sibu.


We let every one else get on first. Of course Doug couldn't resist taking pictures of the plane! He was a helicopter mechanic at one time and he loves everything to do with aviation!

More posings for Daddy!

Denice and Daddy sitting across the aisle from Duncan and me. The plane flew mostly along the coast of Sarawak before flying inland towards Sibu. Like I said, I was quite surprised at how smooth the flight was. The last time I flew in a Fokker, we hit several air pockets and that experience is burned in my mind! Hehe.

Kelantan maghi

We (Doug, kids and I) arrived in Kota Bharu yesterday. We flew in from Sibu (after a 2 nights stay there) to Kuala Lumpur and then onwards to Kota Bharu.

Zawi was on hand to greet us on our arrival. We had so much luggage (all of 91 kgs!) that we hired a taxi just to transport our luggage while Zawi drove us in his car to the hotel.

The last time I was in Kota Bharu was in 1981. I do not remember much of the city except for the old market which happens to be very close to the hotel we are staying in. One of the first things that struck me this time was the large number of swifts flying in the sky in the evening and the sounds of the birds. Later I discovered the loud bird noises were actually recordings. I don't remember where exactly I heard the same kind of recordings. It seems that some shop owners in Kota Bharu are using the top portions of their shop lots as places for the swifts to build their nests. A coffee shop owner told us this morning that there was much money to be made from the bird nests that the birds built on their property.

The other thing I found quite amusing was when I left Doug and the kids in the hotel this afternoon while I went out for a shampoo. I first went to a salon that I had seen earlier in the day but only to find out it was only a beauty salon. I asked the lady in the shop where the closest hair salon was, and she told me there was one in the next block. I walked along the kaki lima and looked up for a sign that showed a hair salon. I didn't see any. Then I asked a hardware store owned by a Chinese couple, and they had to think long and hard for the location. :-) It was actually a few doors down on the third floor. I had to ask some men sitting at the entrance of the stairs if there was a hair salon upstairs, and they all told me there was one on the third floor. Salon is too fancy a word to describe the place. It looked like a barber shop - the kind my father went to! I did get my shampoo, nothing liked what I got at the hair salon in Miri! The hair dresser did her best to style my hair the way I wanted it, and she told me most of her customers didn't bother with any fancy styling because they would put their tudung (head scarves) back on after the shampoo! The price of my shampoo today can't be beat! It only cost me six ringgit!

This morning we took a taxi to Kampung Kraftangan and then walked to the other museums close by like the War Museum, and an old palace. Er, can't remember what's it called! I enjoyed looking at the architecture near the place.

The wi-fi connection from our hotel room is not very reliable so I won't bother trying to upload any pictures just yet. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Vacation coming to an end

Doug is arriving on Thursday 7th August, and that means it is time to go home. We have been in Malaysia for about two an a half months already and by the time we actually leave for California it will be just a week short of three months.

But before we actually board the plane for home, we will be making two special stops. On August 11th we will be flying to Sibu to attend a blogger friend's wedding reception. I met her for the first time in Bintangor over the Gawai holidays last June. She is marrying a Canadian and Doug and I take this opportunity to wish her and her future husband a long, happy marriage.

After Sibu, we will fly to Kota Bharu on August 11th to meet up with Zawi. It so happens that during our trip there, three other bloggers will also be town. Zawi will have his hands full entertaining the visitors! Zawi has even organized a Kelantan bloggers get-together to welcome the visitors. I look forward to that gathering.

We'll be spending just one night in Kuala Lumpur before we fly home to California. I wished I actually had more than one night though. We are planning on spending that evening with a few friends over dinner. Its been years since I saw one of those friends. I am really looking forward to that evening.

The kids are totally oblivious to the side trips we'll be making before we head home! They are just happy that Daddy will be here in a day's time.

I am looking forward to being home myself. Blogging is not that fun with an unreliable internet connection! Home is where my reliable DSL connection is! Spoken like a true blogger, eh!

Home for Gawai

Yesterday I called my friend who is working in Bintangor, Sarawak. Bintangor used to be called Binatang, and because of the meaning of the word in Malay it was changed to Bintangor many years ago. The only claim to fame that Bintangor has, as far as those of us who don't live there are concerned, is that it has one of the oldest teacher training colleges in the state.

I have invited this friend to join me and my family to the Gawai (harvest festival) celebrations at my parents longhouse which is located in Saratok. Saratok is not that far from Bintangor and she can easily take the bus and I will pick her up from the bus station.

The two little girls are my nieces who took part in the beauty contest for children.

I don't think this friend, who is Chinese, has ever spent the night in a longhouse before! It will most certainly be quite an experience for her especially with the noise and merry making that goes on all night during the Gawai celebrations.

Doug taking part in the blow pipe competition at the long house.

Gawai celebrations begin on the evening of May 31. My parents and my family will drive to Saratok from Miri on May 28. It will be a long drive but at least this time, we won't be caught in a bottle neck in Durin where in the past we had to catch the ferry across the river. There's a bridge over the river at Durin now. A few days before the 31st is the busiest time on the road because many people are also making their way to their various longhouses, and the bridge will most certainly help us arrive at our destination a lot quicker.

I am so looking forward to celebrating the Gawai celebrations with my kids. The last time the kids were at the longhouse, Denice had just turned one and Duncan was 10 months old. It was not a happy time for Duncan because he fell ill with a fever the day after we arrived there.

Hopefully, this time around they will be stronger and able to take the changes in the weather better.

Disneyland - The Washer Player

We were in Disneyland last week. There was live music in different parts of the park and on the second day we were there, there was a group of musicians playing country style music. They invited the kids watching them to participate in the music playing and Duncan was given a washer to play.

Duncan's the kid on second right, wearing red jacket and white hat. Denice was not brave enough to join the merry music making.

An Evening in Morro Bay

Last week, we spent two nights in Nipomo at my in-laws' en route to Disneyland. We had a couple of friends from Malaysia with us. We didn't do much on the evening we arrived except find a restaurant where we could eat dinner.

The next day, however, we brought them to Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and ended the day with a quick visit to Morro Bay.

I am pleasantly surprised at how well these pictures turned out. It was already getting dark and I took these pictures without using the flash on my camera.

The picture above is of Morro Rock, the remains of a dormant volcano.



Fishing boats and yachts moored on the bay.

I used the flash on my camera to take this picture of Duncan. Look at how dark the background looks.

Baby Shower

A few weekends ago, I was invited to a baby shower. The shower was held at Kathy's place. Kathy is the mother of the mother to be. I think that was the first baby shower, I'd ever been invited to.

It was a very well done shower. The weather co-operated that day, and the tables and chairs moved from inside the house to the back yard.

The guests were served a Mexican lunch of taco salad and tropical fruit smoothie. Nice! I was quite hungry and forgot to take pictures of the food and the table setting!

The cake. The theme of the shower was jungle animals.

This baby quilt was the inspiration for the theme.

The fire place was done up with baby pictures of Christina, the mother to be, and her sisters and some baby clothes.

This baby will be Kathy's first grandchild and as such she just cannot wait for the arrival of the baby! She has even done up a nursery in her house!!

My contribution to the nursery was the blue gingham valance and the yellow gingham bumper pads on the crib. I sewed them for Kathy.

Christina and the cake. Her baby is due on April 1st. She and her husband chose not to know the sex of the baby. They want to be surprised. Good for them!

Because they do not know the sex of the baby, the baby stuff that we bought for them were blues, yellows, and greens.


There were a lot of gifts! In fact, everything she had listed on the baby registry was taken up. So those who were late, bought other baby stuff not listed in the registry. I think she received too many receiving blankets!

There were also some games and prizes to be won from the games. I did not win anything. Just wasn't my lucky day, I guess!


Every one went home with a little baby shower favor. It was a little packet of 3 animal shaped cookies.

All in all, a very nice baby shower.

Christmas Tree

Last year Doug and I, together with the kids, went Christmas tree shopping at the Scouts christmas tree lot in Galt on the 1st of December. I remember how cold that evening was and how much fun the kids had running between the trees.

This year the kids and I will be spending Christmas in Miri together with my parents. I got my parents a new tree (not a live one lah!) and some new ornaments. I decided on a purple and silver theme for the tree after seeing a beautifully decorated tree at the shop.

I would have got the tree sooner but my father was quite sick and was hospitalized for 5 days. I wasn't sure if I wanted the house to be too festive looking while my father was lying sick in the hospital. My father is still not fully recovered but he is a lot better than he was prior to being hospitalized.

My mother has mentioned that she is not keen on celebrating Christmas on a big scale this year. She wants to only spend Christmas with the family. But I don't think that would be possible because my friends who know that I am back in Miri would surely come by for Christmas visitation.

This is the 2nd Christmas that the children and I are spending without Doug. The kids spent their 1st Christmas here in Miri without their Daddy too. We miss Doug's presence and Doug says that we will spend a belated Christmas together as a family once we get back home in Galt in January. :-)

Here's an early Christmas greeting to everyone!