OK, now that I got that out of my furry chest, let me tell a story of an unlikely friendship between a feline and "an old man by the sea" (can't help it, Pakcik, you remind me of Hemingway's classic). It started a couple of years ago when we saw Pakcik's call sign at Uncle Awang Goneng's blog. I don't remember the subject that Pakcik blogged about that first time but we left a comment and since then the friendship flourished. We also share a mutual friend - the late Hj Abdul Malek of Sydney - who was Pakcik's school mate in the 1950s but our neighbour of five years in Sydney. We've been wanting to visit for the longest time but only last weekend we made it. What was planned to be just a short visit became almost three hours of delightful laksa/black glutinous rice bubur/mango/coconut juice session.
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| Pakcik Hassan of Al-Manar. Check out his blog here. |
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| I must say that we were fascinated by the design of Pakcik's house. This is the angle from the "wakaf" at the back towards the main building. |
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| Pakcik Hassan and Makcik Salmah flanking "you know who". We just had laksa (rice noodles in fish and coconut gravy) and dessert of black glutinous rice in sweet coconut gravy at this point of time. |
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| Then Pakcik took out this dish of mango from his garden.....yumm..... |
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| The same mangoes....still unripe and on the tree.... |
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| Another mango tree, laden with fruits at Pakcik's garden. |
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| This type is called mango-apple in Malaysia. |
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| They remind me of the R2E2 type from Queensland....hey..Mama, isn't it the mango season Down Under now? |
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| The main reason of our visit was to have a look at Pakcik's weekend tuition class. |
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| They were no children at the time of our visit though. |
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| The mini library at Al-Manar (= the lighthouse). |
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| This is Pakcik's backyard. The treehouse built for his grandchildren to play in when they visit. |
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| Just look ahead....that's the real backyard. |
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| Pakcik's seaview...that's why he reminds me of the Hemingway novel. |
35 comments:
Ohh ini lah Almanar,...cantik nya kawasan rumah dia dan seksi nya mangga ranum tu...
Semuga segala usaha dia mendapat ganjaran di sana nanti..Insyaallah...
err..rumah dia ni kat mana ???
Aunty Ezza,
Mangga ranum seksi? Kelakarlah statement tu. Rumah Pakcik ni tak jauh dari Kuala Terengganu. Kita balik kampunglah last weekend. purrr....meow!
oooooohhh mangoes, my favourtie fruit (second to bananas, of course).
Your Royal Monyetness,
We didn't see any monyet hanging out at Pakcik's garden though. purrr...meow!
What a beautiful place! And mangoes....YUMMY!
cantiknya tmpt dia..
Angelina artis hollywood?? ada sedikit keraguan disitu ahaks :D
Whisppy,
It is a beautiful place....and Pakcik also gave us some mangoes to bring home. YUMMY....purrr....meow!
Aunty Meoww,
Memang cantik. Eh...tak percaya pulak kita bintang Hollywood. Tengok namalah! purrr...meow!
Really nice of Paccik to teach the children for free !
Me and mom loved that seaview !!
Kjelle Bus,
Don't you wish we have that backyard to play in? and the tree house? purrr...meow!
Now I can always refer to this entry should I felt I miss that old man by the sea ;)
Ayoh Wang,
I know that you've been there too. purrr...meow!
Hemingway would be envious, I think!
Aunty Caro,
Me thinks Hemingway would cry. purrr...meow!
C-a-F,
Two mistakes:
Must you show my picture? I always showed the picture of that dashing 24-year old.
Secondly you have forgotten to advertise my 'homestay' - special discount if booked through the appointed agent, the Cat. Nothing comes free these days. Ini musim hujan nak pergi kelaut tak boleh. Apa nak makan?
What a beautiful home replete with a room with a view! :)
Wonderful that you were able to befriend one another.Wonderful that he tutors children in need.
Wonderful mangos (LP's favourite!)
the critters in The Cottage xo
Dear Pakcik,
Oooops....I had to show people your resemblance to Hemingway... about the homestay, I haven't advertised it because we have yet to decide whether people should pay in cash or kind, RM500 per day or 1 containerload of tuna. purrr...meow!
Cottage Felines,
The mangoes are sooooo yummmy....it's a fine place to visit, for the eyes and the soul... purrr...meow!
ohhhh... i love mangoes so much... nyum3..
manis tak? posto2...
You are still segak, Pakcik. Do not be so camera shy. Both of you!
Sigh...Cat had to rub it in. She, and her whole jimbang v
crew knew I'd be clawing my green cat eyes out with envy. What a backyard. What a treehouse. What calm serenity.
And the mangoes. That bit reminded me of my kampung Chenor and my grandpa posting me the first ever mango apple from his tree to me at my hostel.
Insyaallah, we will meet. Hopefully sooner than later.
Aunty Nur,
Mana boleh posto2...beli ajelah mango kat pasar. purrr...meow!
Aunty Ninot,
You have finally emerged. I thought you were still lying on the floor in Arkib Negara! It was an impromptu visit as we were attending a wedding in Dad's hometown. The sea was very fierce on the day we visit, not serene at all. purrr...meow!
Dear Angelina,
You've been around in KT did you! Your Mama too, huh? Been connected with Pak Cik for close to a year but as yet not able to meet. Lucky you! I thought KT fresh fish should be your choice. You enjoy mangoes too?
Thanks for visiting Rainbow.
Uncle Hank
What a gorgeous place!! I really love Pakcik's back yard. So huge and beautiful and oh, I love the view of the ocean! It does remind me of Hemingway, too :-)
By the way, the picture from the previous post is way too scary!! This image will haunt me for a long time!
Uncle Hank,
It's the monsoon season now so we don't know how fresh is the fish. Whereas the mangoes were fresh from the garden for sure. You must go visit Pakcik soon. purrr....meow!
Tamago-san,
Despite the raging sea, I felt peace at the place. Mama would have plenty of exercise chasing after felines all over the place. I'll be up one mango tree, Nicole on the other, Mike up a coconut tree, Brad runs off to the fish stalls, Nikki up and down the stairs while Tom changes nap spot ever so often. You find my zombie-fied pix too scary? So sorry about that....forgive me. purrr...meow!
Cat
Either your mama sedang menikmati hidangan lazat sampai tertutup2 mata, or was she dozing off??
Aunty CS,
We have to choose between closed or opened mouth as she was ketawa terbahak-bahak. Didn't notice the eyes though. purrr...meow!
Cats,
menci, menci...it could have been me who'd make the first visit and taunt you but what to do, mum was not feeling very well during my last visit 2 weeks ago, and the weather was not that good too.
hope I can go this time, insyaAllah.
:-)
p/s - 1) pak cik will not have to worry, I won't put up his pix in my blog without his permission.. :-)
2) syhhh...hope i can make it before Ninot!.. hehe.. ;-)))))
Cheqna,
Itulah pasal...jangan plan aje tapi tak jadi. Make it happen. purrr....meow!
Wow ! That's what I want to do when I retire ! :D
Tante Sandy,
You mean to live by the sea or tuition for kids? purrr...meow!
Ok, that those shots at me, Cheqna.
For me to move anywhere takes major planning. With the kids to tote around and two cats to be babysitted....it's tough.
Whoa! What's happening here between Aunty Ninot and Cheqna? Sibling rivalry, not? purrrr...meow!
hehehe..sorry Ninot, I understand.
..no rivalry between us laa Cats, we "princesses" stay united. :-)))
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