Wednesday, November 2, 2011

An Afternoon with Pakcik

Eat your heart out, Aunty Ninot and Cheqna....teeheehee!

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.

Pakcik Hassan of Al-Manar. Check out his blog here.
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.
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.
Then Pakcik took out this dish of mango from his garden.....yumm.....
The same mangoes....still unripe and on the tree....
Another mango tree, laden with fruits at Pakcik's garden.
This type is called mango-apple in Malaysia.
They remind me of the R2E2 type from Queensland....hey..Mama, isn't it the mango season Down Under now?
The main reason of our visit was to have a look at Pakcik's weekend tuition class.
They were no children at the time of our visit though.
The mini library at Al-Manar (= the lighthouse).
This is Pakcik's backyard. The treehouse built for his grandchildren to play in when they visit.
Just look ahead....that's the real backyard.
Pakcik's seaview...that's why he reminds me of the Hemingway novel.
Angelina's note: Pakcik (= uncle in Malay) started Al-Manar where he gave free tuition to underprivileged children since he retires about 17 years ago. Hmm....I'm considering volunteering there as drama teacher...as I am after all a Hollywood actress. If Pakcik would accept me. Fresh fish from the local fishermen's stall would do as my wages. purrr....meow!

35 comments:

rohaizahabas said...

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 ???

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Ezza,
Mangga ranum seksi? Kelakarlah statement tu. Rumah Pakcik ni tak jauh dari Kuala Terengganu. Kita balik kampunglah last weekend. purrr....meow!

Monyet King said...

oooooohhh mangoes, my favourtie fruit (second to bananas, of course).

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Your Royal Monyetness,
We didn't see any monyet hanging out at Pakcik's garden though. purrr...meow!

Whisppy said...

What a beautiful place! And mangoes....YUMMY!

meowwmania said...

cantiknya tmpt dia..

Angelina artis hollywood?? ada sedikit keraguan disitu ahaks :D

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Whisppy,
It is a beautiful place....and Pakcik also gave us some mangoes to bring home. YUMMY....purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Meoww,
Memang cantik. Eh...tak percaya pulak kita bintang Hollywood. Tengok namalah! purrr...meow!

Kjelle Bus aka Charlie Rascal said...

Really nice of Paccik to teach the children for free !
Me and mom loved that seaview !!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Kjelle Bus,
Don't you wish we have that backyard to play in? and the tree house? purrr...meow!

Wan Sharif said...

Now I can always refer to this entry should I felt I miss that old man by the sea ;)

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
I know that you've been there too. purrr...meow!

CATachresis said...

Hemingway would be envious, I think!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Caro,
Me thinks Hemingway would cry. purrr...meow!

Al-Manar said...

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?

LP said...

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

Cat-from-Sydney said...

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!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Cottage Felines,
The mangoes are sooooo yummmy....it's a fine place to visit, for the eyes and the soul... purrr...meow!

nurmisnan said...

ohhhh... i love mangoes so much... nyum3..
manis tak? posto2...

ninotaziz said...

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.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Nur,
Mana boleh posto2...beli ajelah mango kat pasar. purrr...meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

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!

kaykuala said...

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

Tamago said...

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!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

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!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

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!

CS said...

Cat
Either your mama sedang menikmati hidangan lazat sampai tertutup2 mata, or was she dozing off??

Cat-from-Sydney said...

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!

Cheqna said...

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.. ;-)))))

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Cheqna,
Itulah pasal...jangan plan aje tapi tak jadi. Make it happen. purrr....meow!

Sandy said...

Wow ! That's what I want to do when I retire ! :D

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Tante Sandy,
You mean to live by the sea or tuition for kids? purrr...meow!

ninotaziz said...

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.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Whoa! What's happening here between Aunty Ninot and Cheqna? Sibling rivalry, not? purrrr...meow!

Cheqna said...

hehehe..sorry Ninot, I understand.

..no rivalry between us laa Cats, we "princesses" stay united. :-)))