On 31st March 1996, during breakfast I looked into the face of every man, looking for the culprit but did not see or maybe did not recognise the face in the morning glare. I went down to the jetty to see the majority of the guests off and when the boat came back to take the few remaining guests to mainland, I clambered aboard to enjoy the boat ride. Because I had driven myself, I needn't leave the island early like the rest of the guests to find public transport to the city. On mainland I strolled along the beach looking for seashells in the blazing hot sun before heading back to the island for lunch. After lunch and with heavy eyelids due to the heat and the warm, cool breeze coming from the sea, I lay on the sofa to sleep. I was awoken a number of times due to noise and people asking me for things but I somehow or rather always managed to lull off to sleep again and again. All the staff came to jetty to see the remaining of us off and I say my farewells.
Upon clambering from the boat, I start walking to wash my feet in the sea and from there I leave the wonderful island with hopeful thoughts of returning to it. I found solitude, obscurity, independence, friendships (simple and honest). The simpleness of the people, the place, the atmosphere made me so contented.
I have gone back to the island a number of times, alone and also with my 2 boys Aryan and Aidan and they love it too! Running on the rickety jetty, falling asleep on the speedboat (can you believe it!), the blanket of stars in the night sky.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Day 2 - Twin Beach Resort, Pulau Sibu
I woke to a bright, windy and sunny day as compared to the day before; bathe, changed and headed to breakfast. All I needed was coffee, coffee and more coffee. Those other guests started on their singing sessions early, my God!!. After breakfast I get up to get away from the din and walk to the jetty, didn't feel like getting in the sea to swim considering that I just had showered. At the jetty, the boatman invites me to join him to go into the nearest town on mainland called Tenggaroh to buy groceries for the barbecue which the resort is hosting for its guests in the night. I accept since I love boat rides and further, there was nothing for me to do that afternoon considering I don't like snorkelling (makes me I feel like I am dying, tried it once during a trip deep sea fishing) and wasn't keen on wandering into the other resorts or the kampung (village), maybe next visit. We promised to meet after lunch.
I leave the jetty for lunch with Kak Atiyah (who was personally employed by the resort manager to look after me during my stay since I was travelling alone) and I informed them that I was following them to get groceries later. At about 3pm, we all get up and head to the jetty, climbed on board the boat and left for Tanjung Leman. Upon reaching, we climbed into a van and drove to Tenggaroh (an immense oil palm plantation) to get groceries. If you are not used to the up and down roads that fork left and right and not know where to turn to get to where you are, you are doomed I tell you (after 3 trips following this first vacation, I can find my way around now). We get back to Tanjung Leman, we wait for another guest for an hour but they never arrive so we head to the bobbing boat with 4 Taiwanese who want to charter the boat to get to another resort on the island. At Twin Beach we unload the groceries then leave to drop the Taiwanese at their resort. The boat trip there was wonderful and I managed to see all the other small resorts dotted along the hillside of the island but none impressed me like Twin Beach.
The barbecue that night was abundant in seafood and vegetables which I had helped to prepare, me given any situation to cook or prepare to cook, is no problem; and sitting on picnic tables on the beach with bamboo lights burning all round us was a sight to behold. I leave them all after dinner and head to the jetty to smoke and read and while the night away. Too bad couldn't get whisky or vodka, only beer sold but that's not my drink. At 3am I get up to head back to my chalet to sleep, leaving behind the last night of my stay away from the moonlight, the water and sea breeze that blows.
About 5 minutes into lying down in my chalet, I hear someone call at my window. I asked who it was but the person never answered and I somehow was not afraid so I got up, switched on the lights and opened the front door, asking the person to come to the front of the chalet but still the person persisted to be at the window. So I closed the door and walked to the window and horror! it was a stranger asking whether he could come in. I asked him what for and he replied that I should know what for. This remark made my blood boil and I told him to go back to where he came from and shut the mosquito screen and curtain, turned off the lights and lay down to sleep again. But my eyes remained wide open and found myself suddenly afraid. I kept looking out for shadows that may pass up the stairs to my chalet or climb up to the side window, so after a while of scaring myself silly, I switched on the lights and read until my eyes closed upon seeing daylight creep into my chalet.
I leave the jetty for lunch with Kak Atiyah (who was personally employed by the resort manager to look after me during my stay since I was travelling alone) and I informed them that I was following them to get groceries later. At about 3pm, we all get up and head to the jetty, climbed on board the boat and left for Tanjung Leman. Upon reaching, we climbed into a van and drove to Tenggaroh (an immense oil palm plantation) to get groceries. If you are not used to the up and down roads that fork left and right and not know where to turn to get to where you are, you are doomed I tell you (after 3 trips following this first vacation, I can find my way around now). We get back to Tanjung Leman, we wait for another guest for an hour but they never arrive so we head to the bobbing boat with 4 Taiwanese who want to charter the boat to get to another resort on the island. At Twin Beach we unload the groceries then leave to drop the Taiwanese at their resort. The boat trip there was wonderful and I managed to see all the other small resorts dotted along the hillside of the island but none impressed me like Twin Beach.
The barbecue that night was abundant in seafood and vegetables which I had helped to prepare, me given any situation to cook or prepare to cook, is no problem; and sitting on picnic tables on the beach with bamboo lights burning all round us was a sight to behold. I leave them all after dinner and head to the jetty to smoke and read and while the night away. Too bad couldn't get whisky or vodka, only beer sold but that's not my drink. At 3am I get up to head back to my chalet to sleep, leaving behind the last night of my stay away from the moonlight, the water and sea breeze that blows.
About 5 minutes into lying down in my chalet, I hear someone call at my window. I asked who it was but the person never answered and I somehow was not afraid so I got up, switched on the lights and opened the front door, asking the person to come to the front of the chalet but still the person persisted to be at the window. So I closed the door and walked to the window and horror! it was a stranger asking whether he could come in. I asked him what for and he replied that I should know what for. This remark made my blood boil and I told him to go back to where he came from and shut the mosquito screen and curtain, turned off the lights and lay down to sleep again. But my eyes remained wide open and found myself suddenly afraid. I kept looking out for shadows that may pass up the stairs to my chalet or climb up to the side window, so after a while of scaring myself silly, I switched on the lights and read until my eyes closed upon seeing daylight creep into my chalet.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Curious Epicurean - Prawn Curry
Try this simple dish please.
Ingredients :-
3 medium sized red onions
4 cloves garlic
thumbsize ginger
2 onions and 2 tomatoes, quartered
3 sprigs curry leaves
a pinch each of fennel, mustard & cummin seeds
3 Tablespoons chicken curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 cups water (or 1 1/2 cups for thicker sauce)
600g medium sized prawns, body only shelled
Method :-
1. Grind the first 3 ingredients.
2. Heat 5 Tablespoons of cooking oil and fry til fragrant (but not burnt!) the ground ingredients,
curry leaves and seeds.
3. Add the curry & turmeric powders and fry to combine, til fragrant.
4. Drop in the quartered onions, tomatoes and water.
5. Allow to boil for 4 minutes to ensure that curry powder is cooked through and thickened.
6. Add prawns and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
7. Off flame, the remaining heat will cook prawns through which will result in a perfect texture
for prawns.
Eat with plain white rice please.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Day 1 - Twin Beach Resort, Pulau Sibu
I had driven a long way on 29th March 1996 up to the point that I thought I was heading on the wrong track to reach Tanjung Leman in Johor. The road to the coast is snaked by long aimless looking roads that wind uphill and downhill through oil palm plantations and forests of monkeys. One driving for the first time would definitely think that one was heading the wrong way, for no way would one assume that an idyllic island resort lay off the coast at the end of those endless roads.
Finally, a sign showed that Tanjung Leman had been reached, the road that leads into it is terrible unless one drives a four-wheel drive, upon parking my car under a tree on the open space, I obtain a boat to get me to one of the resorts on the distant island. I board the boat alone, as it seems I am late by 2 hours and all other guests have gone on ahead of me; the sky looks threatening. The boatman offers to carry my knapsack but I decline as it was so light but contained everything I needed for the 3 days and 2 nights of my stay on the island. The sea is choppy and the ride awfully bumpy and it rains. I let my hair down and let it be blown by the wind and rain. By the time we reach the resort, I am truly wet.
My chalet looks dinghy and not at all comfortable. I tried to switch on the light for the bathroom and realised that the generator for the electricity supply is only on from 7pm to 7am. I bathe, change and head back to the reception for my late lunch while reading facing the wide beach, sea and another distant island, Pulau Tinggi. I then go for a walk to the jetty and to a path that leads to other resorts. The resort staff informs me that if I want to swim, I am not to swim too far out from shore as it is open sea and there is a drop in the sea-bed about 30feet from shore. The beach is a lovely stretch of soft white sand with emerald waters accompanied by bunches of soft foamy waves breaking up on the sandy beach.
I am truly in love with the jetty as I was to find at the end of my stay. It is serene, quiet and peaceful compared to the other side of the resort where the waves are big and noisy due to its opening to the South China Sea. The jetty is the arrival point where the water is calm and clear with a hue of deep green rather than the blue of the open sea. I spent the evening smoking, reading and just staring into the water observing the jumping fish, watching the sun set, thinking of absolutely nothing but then thinking as well.
After dinner, the guests head towards the reception, to my horror, for karaoke! We smoke, talk some more then they get up to leave and I head again to the jetty. It was a windy night and cold, and with the mosquitoes making a meal of me, I head back totmy chalet to sleep for the first night at 1.30am.
Finally, a sign showed that Tanjung Leman had been reached, the road that leads into it is terrible unless one drives a four-wheel drive, upon parking my car under a tree on the open space, I obtain a boat to get me to one of the resorts on the distant island. I board the boat alone, as it seems I am late by 2 hours and all other guests have gone on ahead of me; the sky looks threatening. The boatman offers to carry my knapsack but I decline as it was so light but contained everything I needed for the 3 days and 2 nights of my stay on the island. The sea is choppy and the ride awfully bumpy and it rains. I let my hair down and let it be blown by the wind and rain. By the time we reach the resort, I am truly wet.
My chalet looks dinghy and not at all comfortable. I tried to switch on the light for the bathroom and realised that the generator for the electricity supply is only on from 7pm to 7am. I bathe, change and head back to the reception for my late lunch while reading facing the wide beach, sea and another distant island, Pulau Tinggi. I then go for a walk to the jetty and to a path that leads to other resorts. The resort staff informs me that if I want to swim, I am not to swim too far out from shore as it is open sea and there is a drop in the sea-bed about 30feet from shore. The beach is a lovely stretch of soft white sand with emerald waters accompanied by bunches of soft foamy waves breaking up on the sandy beach.
I am truly in love with the jetty as I was to find at the end of my stay. It is serene, quiet and peaceful compared to the other side of the resort where the waves are big and noisy due to its opening to the South China Sea. The jetty is the arrival point where the water is calm and clear with a hue of deep green rather than the blue of the open sea. I spent the evening smoking, reading and just staring into the water observing the jumping fish, watching the sun set, thinking of absolutely nothing but then thinking as well.
After dinner, the guests head towards the reception, to my horror, for karaoke! We smoke, talk some more then they get up to leave and I head again to the jetty. It was a windy night and cold, and with the mosquitoes making a meal of me, I head back totmy chalet to sleep for the first night at 1.30am.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)