Blood Vessels

Doctor Choo could not draw any blood from my good hand. The main vessels were blocked. Chemotherapy does that to your veins. Its the chemical reaction, I was told. I was there for my annual blood test.

"You mean blood is no longer flowing through these veins?"

"Don't worry. They'll flow through the other capillaries. You have lots of those." 

He can't draw blood from my bad hand. (That's the side where the mastectomy happened.) It had something to do with the lymph nodes which were surgically removed, thereby affecting the drainage system. So, we had a problem.

I offered my leg.

He laughed. It was unprecedented in medical history but why not? Why not, indeed. I was asked to lie down. He found a vessel on my right foot and drew the blood from there.

"We're going to go down in history," said the good doc. "We should be in the Guinness Book of Record. This is the first time blood is drawn from a foot for a blood test."

"Really?"

"Actually, its been done before, for patients who went into shock. Usually, we cut up the vessel."

Ya, right!

Boutique Hotel

18 individualized bedrooms ensuite bathrooms A/C breakfast in the courtyard free WII Rates: $400 ++ (to be increased to $600 ++ soon.)

Psst! I heard its haunted.

According to one of its original tenant (pre-restoration) who had lived there for most of his childhood, the room by the cast iron spiral staircase on the right wing was haunted. It was never occupied during the period of tenancy and left open during the day. Every evening, the room would be locked up but by the next morning the locked door is found mysteriously opened. Many tenants have seen the ghost of a sobbing 5 or 6 year old boy outside the room near the foot of the staircase. This apparition often appeared during the day and lasted for a few minutes. Another spectre, a White Lady, is often seen gliding at night on the same corridor leading to the same spiral staircase. It was not known whether both apparitions were connected to the haunted room which was never let out.

The so-called tenant who reported this could well be one of the illegal squatters who were evicted when the property changed hands. Perhaps he had an ulterior motive for sharing this tale. Perhaps not. Who knows?

In any case, our guided tour did not bring us to the "cast iron spiral staircase" as it were, not that I wished it did.

Feng Shui

The mansion was built with strict adherence to the rules of Feng Shui. Wary that future development might put a T-junction outside his front door, our man built a row of five shophouses directly opposite it. This became the original domestic annexe for his mansion. The five shophouses stood to this day. (Believed to be owned by the Boon Siew Group.)

I'm not sure I understood this. Bats, butterflies and the "wedding" word are auspicious? These are crafted into the top of the beams where it met the ceiling.

We were ushered into the first open courtyard (air well) and made to sit around it. Our feet settled on the courtyard which is two to three steps below. (Depending on where you're seated.) This sunken area collects water when it rains and since water is "money" it bodes well. Excess water escaped through holes such as the one on the right into the underground drainage system.

Water from the roof gutter is similarly drained through copper pipes embedded in the walls into the underground drainage system.

"Its all about symmetry", said the tour guide as she circled her hand above her head.  "A Chinese house is typically made to fill up all available space so you often see rectangular ones. If there's a staircase on the left, you will find one on the right. See?" She continued.

"Feng Shui should not be taken lightly" One of Mr Cheong's grandson migrated to Australia. He took along with him a stone lion and kept it in his storeroom. He collapsed and died shortly after. Stone lions are not meant for homes."

Notice the number of steps leading to the courtyard. (See pictures below.) That'll be two steps towards the front of the house and three steps at the back. The back portion of the house stood higher than the front via split level flooring.

This had something to do with the feng shui rule of having the mountain at your back and the river in front ... or something to that effect.

Guided Tour

Guided Tours are provided. We were told not to take any pictures because parts of the mansion had been made into a boutique hotel with paying guests who needed privacy. Still, we managed to sneak a shot here, a shot there to come up with a handful. DAILY GUIDED TOUR  11 am 2 pm 3-30 pm Cost: RM16 pax

"Do not touch anything", the tour guide warned at the beginning of the tour. "See that gaping hole in the gilded wood carvings? A little boy did that. He disappeared together with his parents before we could say anything."

So we kept our hands to ourselves.

Tiles of this design are imported from England. Small individual tiles are pieced together. Flooring of such make are reported to be older than a hundred years.

Blue Mansion

THE BLUE MANSION (aka Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion) 14 Leith Street George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site 38 rooms 5 courtyards 7 staircases 220 windows

The property was originally a swamp teeming with lotus flower. Mr Cheong built his dream home on this property but never lived in it.

According to his Will, none of his assets can be disposed until after the death of his last son. This son died in 1990 at the age of 74 and the Mansion was quickly put up for sale. At the time, it housed 34 illegal squatter families and was in bad shape. Developers were eyeing the property. The current owner (believed to be Boon Siew Group) restored the mansion to its former glory. The house had been stripped bare. Nothing of value was left except for the gold-leafed timber lattice work.

The distinct blue colour of the mansion was derived from a blend of lime and natural blue dyes from the indigo plant.

Ceramic shard used to decorate roofs, gables and verandahs.

Pink flowers growing in a row outside the Blue Mansion.

Mr Cheong's mansion at his birthplace.

An Extraordinary Man

He was a cowherd who sailed  to South East Asia to escape the Second Opium War. The New York Times called him the Rockefeller of the East.

A Chinese Consul based in Penang, he became a mandarin of the Highest Order, a Consul General of the Ching Government, the Special Trade Commissioner for South East Asia, director of China's first railway, China's last mandarin and first capitalist.

He established China's first winery (Chang Yu Winery) with  imported cuttings from the US as well as Europe. He built the first Chinese school in Penang.

He assisted fellow Hakka Dr Sun Yat Sen, in funding the revolution against the Manchus in 1911. As one of the main donors of the Kek Lok Si Temple, his statue has the highest place of honour today. His death was marked by flags flown at half mast by the British and the Dutch in the East.

I first heard about him last month after watching Part One of "South of the Ocean."

His name is Cheong Fatt Tze.

All that's left of him today is his Mansion in Penang. It is called The Blue Mansion.

Status Report

Exasperated looks exchanged angry vibes at the waiting area of the hospital. The dirty look from the young mother said "He's just a kid, for crying out loud.". Her kid was throwing a tantrum. It was the mother of all tantrums.

Mothers, it is YOUR fault when YOUR kid threw tantrums in public. Kids are not made to throw tantrums. They are made to purr delightfully and bask in the sweet innocence of childhood. If your kid is in the habit of bawling at the top of his lungs, something is wrong with you. Yes, you!

Why aren't you in control of the situation? Kids get bored and restless. Distract them. Tell them a story or two. Occupy them. Being a kid is not an excuse for bad behavior. And pushing an IPad into their greedy palm is not a solution.

I had such a head-dy-ache from all that yelling.

A businessman who was in a hurry once entered the sole elevator at his condominium. To his disgust, almost all the lights of the different floors were lit up. This meant that the elevator will stop at every floor. Inside the elevator was a young mother and her kid. She was beaming with pride. Her brilliant son had just demonstrated how well he understood the elevator system.

As the boy was about to punch more buttons, the businessman snarled. The defensive mother exchanged angry words with the man. "He's just a kid!" Well, this is one just-a-kid who will grow up to be quite-a-nuisance to us all.

Just saying ...

So I went for my first mammogram. They ushered me into a room where my pound of flesh was compressed between two plates on the mammogram machine, first horizontally, then vertically. It was over in a sec. My next session will be in a year's time. It appears that yearly mammograms are required once you're diagnosed with the big C. If not, it's once in two years.

The ultrasound was next. I have two small benign mass which will be monitored. The good professor wasn't concerned about it since it is rather "common".

I was told to watch out for weight changes, coughs and backaches. Coughs meant that the Beast had breached the lungs while backaches indicate that the bone is in trouble.

As she ushered me out of the room, she said that I was "looking good." I liked "looking good". It made me optimistic. My appetite is improving but my hair is still short. Did I mention I've dyed it light gold?

The nail on my fingers are "looking good" but my toe nail carried etched markings, a legacy from my chemotherapy days. The good news is that I no longer have to paint my finger nails. As for the numbness, it's still there though greatly diminished.

Some of you have been asking me to post pictures of myself here. What's the condition of my hair and all that jazz. I am painfully shy but yeah ... why not? I'll meet you halfway. Somewhere in the following posts, you will find me in one of the pictures or videos. So look out for me, buddies.

The current rage is dengue. Close to 4500 dengue patients had been admitted into the hospitals here.

I went back to church last Sunday. My cell leader and his wife missed me. They thought we've moved on to another church. Apparently, one of our pastor had breast cancer too.

Meanwhile, "looking good" (that's me!) is feeling good so I baked me some buns. Cheese and cranberry rolls. They're "looking good" too.

Before

After

That's about it, folks! Here's me "looking good" and signing off ... until the next post.

Time lapse Montage

An excellent piece. Found it on Vimeo.



Timelapse Montage from Mike Flores on Vimeo.

Natural Batik Village

Natural Batik Village is a tourist attraction dealing in all things batik. A busload of Chinese tourist were given a batik tour, the guide expounding on the basic of batik creation. Batik products were selling like hot cakes but I was there for something else. (See picture below.)

BATIK BOX SET One 20" X 20" white fabric with brown waxed sketches. Four bottles of dye. One brush. Each set costs $20.

INSTRUCTION

1. Brush dye onto fabric. Wax prevent smearing of colours. Mix dye for desired colours. Leave to dry.
2. Pour sodium silicate into a basin. (To be purchased separately at $10/bottle.)
3. Soak painted fabric in silicate solution overnight. (Min 6 hours.)
4. Drip dry fabric.
5. Rinse in cold water.
6. Drip dry.
7. Soak in hot water. (To remove wax.)
8. Drip dry. 
9. Go to Part 2

Waxed sketches

Brushes and dye

ADDRESS
Lot. 4898, Batu 9 1/2, Jln. Kemaman,
Kg. Chengal Lempong,,
Kawasan Perindustrian Gebeng,
26100 Balok

Beach Goats

A family of goats at Balok Beach. Goats typically avoid crowded places so this beach can't be a tourist spot.

Is that a goat bell around it's neck?

Balok Beach

More people appeared as the morning progressed. We waited until the waves came in to about two feet from where we were seated before getting up for a walk. Along the beach we found a wooden shack where we breakfasted on pre-packed nasi lemak. Salted fish is a part of their nasi-lemak. It tasted ... for want of a better word .... weird.

There wasn't much to do after breakfast and sand flies were becoming a nuisance so we checked out. The plan was to take a leisurely drive home. Someone recommended the Natural Batik Village so that became part of the plan.

Balok Beach

On the way to the Natural Batik Village, *WAZE took us to Balok Beach. We drove past Kuantan Port and the Lynas processing plant in Gebeng. Balok Beach is beautiful and pristine. Not many holiday resorts were dotted along this stretch. * WAZE is an android apps for navigation.

The tire marks on the sand tells me this must be the favorite local haunt. Perhaps it is even the favorite spot where couples park. It is quiet enough.

The picture below looked like a sleeping giant. I'll bet there's a local legend somewhere in these parts to tell us how the sleeping giant got here.

Sunrise

We rose early the next morning to catch the sunrise. It was pretty dark when we left our chalet but even at that hour, many beach walkers were already sitting on the sand waiting to catch the sunrise. 

Mr Roast The Squid (not his real name) was already seated on a small stool with his wife. You'd recall that his family of five occupied the chalet on our right. They were roasting squid the previous night and flashing their camera in the dark. This morning, Mr Roast The Squid sat on the little stool with a digital SLR on tripod playing the waiting game.

Not to be outdone, I whipped out my monopod and screwed it into my camera. We waited. It was a disappointing wait. The sun did not rise where it should, like where my camera was directed.

Instead, it sneaked into the hills and rose behind dark clouds. After the clouds dispersed, two dog clouds appeared. I missed my dogs.

Shady Ground

It's just a short walk to the sea. The chalets were built on the beach and the tide pulled in the sea to a few yards before the trees. See previous post for chalet detail.

I remembered staying at another resort at Siar Beach a couple of years ago. The sea was clean but full of jellyfishes. I saw dolphins in the distance. The bedroom floor was covered with sand. (I won't even imagine how those got there.) The mattress was smaller than the bed frame so I saw the headboard resting on a pile of bricks. Piles of bricks reminded me of centipedes so I didn't sleep well that night. (I have way too many phobias.)

This reminded me of a book I read a couple of weeks ago. John and his wife Penny was on another road trip. They were one of those flexible types who can sleep anywhere, even inside the car if no motels were available. They spent all day on the road starting at 4 am in the morning and calling it quits only after 10 at night. All they had was a road map and they detoured often to check out anything interesting. On this particular road trip, Tom and wife joined the couple. Tom is John's colleague.

Tom's wife complained when the window is opened. It messed up her hair. She complained when the window is shut. Stuffy. She complained that the back seat is bumpy and made her sick so she sat in front with the road map. She couldn't navigate because she did not understand road maps. This frustrated everyone. By 6 pm, she insisted on checking into a motel and wouldn't rise until after 9 the next morning. This was a great disruption to John and Penny's plan. After two nights, they left Tom and wife in a motel while they drove away.

How nice it is to have a happy-go-lucky-devil-may-care attitude towards life. I think I got myself into this mess because I fret too much.

My niece ~~~ dangit! I'm always spelling "niece" as "neice" and having to correct it over and over again. I'd tell myself ...

"i" before "e" except after "c"

... correct the error, and then repeat the mistake the next time nieces entered my keyboard. Is it me or is it just me?

Hmm ... where was I? ~~~ Right!

My niece slept in a holiday chalet in a paddy field in Bali. She told me what a singularly fantastic experience that was. (No, Serena. I won't be caught dead in one of those. Paddy fields and snakes go hand-in-hand.)

Then there's the time we went to Penang and having decided to stay the night, went looking for a room. Most of the hotels were fully booked and after some search, we found one in the middle of the old commercial hub. The room was dark and dank. The toilet bowl wasn't clean and the bathroom floor wasn't tiled. But that's okay, you understand?

What's not okay was what my son (who was about four years old at the time) found under the bed. It was a black lacy pair of knickers. I couldn't sleep that night. I imagined all sorts of wild rendezvouses happening in the room and thought up a rash which wouldn't go until we left the hotel.

Nah ... I'm not one of those flexible types.

Chalet

I'm not one for the great outdoors and although I gravitate to beaches, I'm not exactly accommodating when it comes to accommodation.  This particular chalet had a ceiling fan and an old one horsepower air-conditioner. The water heater in the bathroom didn't work and the quilt cover is the blanket. Other than that, its clean.

The toilet bowl is something else. Brown water marks under the inlet told me the water here is probably unfiltered. I've checked out the other chalets. There were about 10 in all. Some had two rooms and a living room. The rates differed. Contact detail in THIS POST.

We had crab for dinner at a seafood restaurant about a kilometer or two away. The cashier was an old lady who was sleeping on the job. The waiters were from Myanmar as was the cook. No, I didn't ask them. I didn't have to. Myanmar was written all over their Myanmar faces. How were the dishes? Bad. This restaurant is classified *F&L. A white kitten came and sit by my feet. I'm not a cat person but this particular kitten had adorable eyes. For the first time in my life, I gave it some food. It's mother scampered towards me. I'm not a cat person but it isn't nice to feed one and ignore the other so I fed the mother too, albeit grudgingly. After that unwholesome meal, we wheeled back to the chalet. Yup! What do you know? Missed the sunset.

I had planned to walk along the beach but it was a moonless night and we didn't have any torches so we sat at the veranda with ground nuts and chilled beer enjoying the sea breeze as it swept in. The chalets were fully booked that weekend. A family of five occupying the chalet on our right were barbecuing. Whiffs of roasted squid joined the incoming sea breeze. The effect was not unpleasant.

A young couple occupied the chalet on our left. Armed with hand torches, they walked along the beach before returning to the chalet to clean up, then go out for dinner.

I couldn't sleep.

Notice that pile of sand just yards from the chalet? That's how far the sea came in. I fretted that the sea might breach its perimeter and come pouring over me while I slumbered. After all, Nature is known for her unpredictability. Then I thought about the tsunami. If it were to come in on this night, this wooden chalet would be washed away in an instant. And I'd become so much debris.

My better half (bless his soul) spoke about tsunami warnings and how we'll get plenty of notice. When the floor board started to tremble deep into the night, I stayed awake for the impact which never came. It's a simple plan, really. The more you try to stay awake, the sleepier you get. The sea was rather loud that night but I dozed off ... eventually.

I liked the sea. I do. Like all wonders of Nature, they should be respected and admired from a distance. Having the tide pull in the sea right to your doorstep isn't cool. I've witnessed the fury of king tides while in Sarawak. Although it is an awesome sight, it can't be fun to be caught in one.

* F& L (First and Last)

Beach Creepers

Morning Walk

Well, the beach was great. The sand flies weren't. Someone said that sand flies were the bane of our shores.  Aye!  I had 35 bite marks on my leg. I counted.  It's been more than a week. The itch is gone but the bite marks are still there.

Beach Holidays

Five of us sank our heads into the water at Morib Beach some forty years ago. It was an amazing feeling only because sound became softly muffled when you're in the water. When we resurfaced for air, a lump of feces was floating near Jackie. We were utterly gobsmacked. Some memory that was.

The best beaches are in Sabah and Sarawak but the ones at the east coast? They're pretty good too. Pristine and untouched in some ways.

Ranting Beach Resort of Cherating had about 10 assorted holiday chalets for those who've never experienced the Malay kampong ambiance. The chalets are clean, the beach is clean, the air is clean.  Here's what the beach looked like.

More pictures to follow ...

Ranting Beach Resort Sdn Bhd
Lot 1006, 1008 Kg Budaya Cherating
26080 Kuantan
Pahang
Tel No: +609-5819068

Dancing Ladies

According to a garden buddy, these are gregarious plants.  They thrived well in clusters. Split them up and they'll pine away with grief. It was an opinion I pooh-poohed at the time.

Dancing Ladies

Until it happened in my garden.

We had a dead tree trunk planted into a huge pot a couple of years ago.  The Dancing Ladies were strapped onto the trunk where they multiplied and bloomed prolifically.  In time, the trunk crumbled. It had to be removed. The colossal cluster was divided into smaller portions. Most did not survive. Those which did would not bloom. That was about ten years ago.  Recently, the blooms reappeared. It appears that our trespasses have been forgiven.

Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis

Bougainvillea - Pink Champagne

Purple Cattleya