Obedience

POKOK PUN TAHU SUJUD KEPADA PENCIPTANYA

(Plants also know how to prostrate themselves to their Creator)

MELAKA RIVER REVISITED

Please excuse me for posting again about my Melaka River. The last time I wrote was when I visited her at night. Then the other day, I visited her again with my friends at daylight. Notwithstanding the state of the water (which we did not see at night), our group was oohhs and aahhs at the development being done on the banks of the river. Some of us did not even realise that such and such existed because most of the time we are landlubbers. Thus the boat ride opened our eyes and made us proud to be Malaccans. Let the pictures below tell their own stories :

At night it looked like a haunted house! Now under renovation, soon it will be a boutique hotel. The facade and the tiled roofing will be maintained. Many more such hotels are being planned along the river, also little cafes and dining houses.

Hey, we didn't notice that before! Narrow horizontal bricks from Holland were imported to add to the nostalgia of the place. So are the laterite blocks below, well not from Portugal, but from several off-shore islands near Melaka. The Portuguese had the blocks cut and brought to shore to build their fortress with. Now it's part of the Melaka River bank.

Notice the neat little cafe above?

I like this one. These 3 facades represent eras from the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British.

The grand Majestic Hotel, not unlike the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, recently renovated into a 5-star hotel. It was once a favourite meeting place for the British planters and soldiers. My former Australian hosts also liked to stay at the Majestic when they were a-visiting. The hotel was closed for more than 20 years I think and only recently taken over by the YTL group. The front part was retained, however I have yet to see the interior! The wetlands replanted with mangrove trees (pokok bakau) for nature conservation also preserving marine life here. There's a 'board-walk' all the way connecting the pavements by the river bank. It's pleasant to walk here in the mornings and evenings too.

The huge 'flame of the forest' offer shade to the open-air restaurant below it. We Malaysians love to eat out, don't we? Especially under canvas tents overlooking the river, watching the boats cruising by . . .

The houses in the Malay settlement were also a delight to behold. The Malays are well-known for keeping their houses well-kept especially the compound area - the area surrounding the house. It is always swept and decorated with potted plants and trees. Windows too are many and curtained. Some enthusiasts also were seen decorating the roofs with the national flag and "Merdeka" to commemorate the recent independence celebrations.

Yes, there are many interesting sights to see and be proud of. In actual fact, the face lift of the river from a sluggish, murky, polluted one with unsightly buildings to what it is today is mooted by the Chief Minister of Melaka. He was inspired by the sight and transformation of the San Antonio River in Texas. Good for him!

And then . . . more development is taking place. By 2010, we should see a much improved make-up of the river, hopefully attracting more visitors to this historical city. Below are some of them :

This area near the mouth of the river is being designed to house the Immigration Department Complex.

The mouth of the river has been closed in an effort to control and maintain the water-level. Now boats from outside cannot enter the Melaka River. Oh, how I miss the barges and fishing boats of yesteryears . . . .

And what about something exotic, eh? Well . . . what about a water-mill . . something like in Syrian style . . hmmm . . . wait and see lah.

Golden Girls Day Out

What fun we had today - my friends and I. We decided to be tourists today and spend a few moments cruising on the river boat up and down the Melaka River. This was the first experience for most of us. We parked our cars at the parking lot opposite the Church of St Francis Xavier and walked along the shops' pavements towards the Clock Tower square. I had made reservations earlier with Bernard, the boat guide, so he was not surprised to see a group of Golden Girls all set to be tourists for the day. On the right is a picture of Bernard's boat, ready and waiting.

The 14 Golden Girls (inc. camera girl) ready for the adventure.

Getting into the boat was no problem at all for us.

Attentively listening to . . . .

. . . the very knowledgeable guide, Mr. Bernard. From the way he made his presentation, we knew that he was very passionate about his job. He was serious, yet funny. We gained a lot of information that we would never have gotten from a book. And I had never met anyone before who could ratle off 'Good-byes' in 1001 languages! Come and listen to him! Keep up the good work, Bernard!

Then it was time to 'disembark'. We felt time passed by very fast when we were having fun.

It was lunch time, so we decided to adjourn to the Quayside Cafe nearby for a delicious 'makan'. Well that ended our outing for the day. Maybe we will find another reason to be together again. Thank you friends for making my day.

VARIETY IN HARMONY

I've always liked the English Country Garden with its assortment of flowering plants intermingling with one another - variety yet in harmony. That I saw on my last visit to the Smoke House (a private hotel I think) up in Cameron Highlands. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I was so taken up with the delightful array of colours in the garden that I went clicking away with my camera, being a blogger that I am. (No wonder the camera ran out of battery very fast!)

The plants were not there of their own accord but were placed so that their presence helped to enhance the others.

The Garden was so enchanting even with the ivy plants covering the walls.

Oh twinkle. twinkle little star, I wish I could have a garden like this PLUS a professional gardener PLUS a little cottage up in the hills . . . hmmmm . . . Dream on girl!

PHOTOSPEAK

Raju Strawberry Farm, Cameron Highlands, Pahang - 16/2/2008, 3.30 pm.

Bounties In The Highlands

Can't stop writing about Cameron Highlands. There were a variety of fruits and veggies, some grown locally, some imported, I should think. Whatever it was, they added colour to the already colourful scenery. There were beets, carrots, oranges, maize, of course strawberries, sweet yams, cabbages all in a row - yellow, purple, white, potatoes and many more. Below are the colours I like :

Let Her Hair Down

I had one of the best birthday celebrations ever last weekend. We were in Cameron Highlands. After a long day travelling and trudging along with the family from one vegetable farm to another, from one flower garden to another, oogling at the night market, at the so many different ways of commercialising the strawberry and dinner of a variety of fried rice, we (at least yours truly) were very tired, when the 'leaderess' of the pack announced that we were to have a private Karaoke session at the Hotel before we hit the sack. Now that woke everybody up. Never in our life had we a karaoke session among the family. To cut the story short, I had so much fun mainly watching the young members of the family and their antics trying to monopolise the mike. Surprised to see the Mummy 'letting her hair down'! The last time I saw her open her mouth to a round "O" was when she was in TKC, singing in her school choir with her smiling eyes. And also her Mr Sorr, first time I get to hear him sing. It's not the singing and dancing that matters BUT most of all the sense of togetherness as a family and the love being showered upon you because YOU are family. Thanks dear family for a very very fun weekend. I really appreciate it and terharu.

Can ah like Shiela Majid still? Solo mia . . .

You think Salamiah Hassan & daughter, Atilia, only can duet? Here's Mummy and Missy . .

O.K. lah . . the Tres Amigos from Padang Temu near the Portuguese Settlement, hee . . hee. .

"GIVE ME THE MICROPHOOOONE" .. . The Princess

"You can't get it from me!" - The King

To all Ms.Hart's friends, they are my one and only . . .

For more story-mory, click to http://hart-to-hart.blogspot.com/ and also http://sekilau1.blogspot.com/

Melaka River By Night

It's SURREAL, dramatic, mysterious and awesome! WHAT is? The Melaka River by night, that's what! I've just returned from a walk along the pavement of our grand, old Melaka river accompanied by my sis and brother, The scene was enchanting with all the lights and reflections in the river. Some parts were like scenes from Impressionist paintings, really. . . O.K, I'll let you be the judge, look at the photos I took (excuse me if some look a bit shaky, amateur you know this granny - butI HAVE to include them here!)

P.S. The swirling lights under the bridge are those of a boat with tourists cruising down river.

Can you pick out the famous St Francis Church in the distance?

That's the Kampong Jawa bridge.

This looks like a painting to me. And I like the one below too.

This ghostly-looking building across the river facing the Clock Tower, was once a go-down (warehouse) now under renovation, will be a hotel soon.

I'm glad I went for the 'night-walk' and saw another face of my Melaka River. Hope more people especially the Melakans would take the opportunity to see her (the river lah) at night. Thank you to the Melaka government for making this possible. Terima kasih.