Monday 23 June 2008

ME AND MY WORLD.......

I AM A HOPELESS ROMANTIC ! And to me that is a virtue. I just get carried away when soft sentimental songs fill the air conditioned air in my sedan whenever I travel along the highway.It's amazing what listening to these songs can do to me. I get transported to my own nostalgic domain , filled with pleasant memories and the  magic swings of days gone by. When I listen to these songs I don't just listen to the music and the vocal , but most of all I immersed myself in the lyrics. Some of these lyrics are just beautiful ....... with narrations of sweet undying love and strong commitments to the love of one's life .What a beautiful world !!!

The ' Classic National' channel on the radio is fantastic. I just love those songs that are accompanied with instruments such as the trumpet, saxaphone  and accordion. Those 50s and 60s era have the most beautiful melody that really soothes the ear.The musical band appears  unassuming and gently persuasive, with intervals of solo saxaphone and choral blends that are aptly  intertwined.  I wish I am in a position of authority that can promote this kind of music to the modern audio world .

As for  lyrics, I simply love the lovely words crooned by the likes of Tan Sri P Ramlee, Ray Charles, Johnny Mathis and Broery Marantika. The estatic elements in the rhyme and rhythm  floats the memory to things beautiful and sentimental. And of course John Lennon's  'Imagine' helps steer the mind to dream on........

By the way , I do cry at the movies too!!!

Sunday 15 June 2008

LOST IN THE WONDER OF LANGKAWI

Langkawi is fantastic ; and I mean that with a capital F. I spent four wonderful days at Langkawi recently. My last visit was about five months ago. This time around my husband and I stayed at The Frangipani Resort. Although the rate was a bit high , the sights and atmosphere around the resort was well worth it!

We were lucky to get a chalet quite close to the Andaman Sea, where we could see the angry waves crashing against the shore and hear the restless winds lashing against the leaves of the frangipani trees .Dark green coconut palms swayed gracefully in rhythm with the whistlings.

The feeling was truly terrific and therapeutic !

Remember my motto...........when the going gets tough the tough go shopping? Well I do worry a lot about the goings- on in UMNO at the moment , and with the branch meetings due in a month's time I feel there is an excuse to go shopping and fishing. And where else can I combine these two passionate pastimes than in Langkawi!

Our fishing guru in Langkawi was Pak Hassan , a tanned fifty-something fisherman who knew the temperaments of the sea and the moods of our prey. On the second day of our stay , we took off in Pak Hassan's single engined boat with rods and baits............. ready to conquer the sea. The day's takings wasn't the least disappointing. We brought back a pail of cencarus and ikan kembong that were fooled by our appolo baits !

The third day was earmarked for shopping and adventure. I was taken in by the abundance of designs and shapes of crockery and kitchenwares on display at most of the stores. After about an hour or so of looking around I managed to put together a set of twelve different shapes of melamineware for my family barbeque needs . A heap of them and they cost less than a hundred and fifty ringgits!

Next came my usual patronage to my favourite baju kurung material shop. And as predicted by my significant other, I succumbed to temptation and bought three pieces of Italian silk. Yes they were Italian alright, and very attractive too.
Well that was enough shopping for one day............for my needs that is. The rest of the shopping
spree was spent looking for gifts for my clan and friends.

The shopping done, we headed to a simple lunch. Hubby suspected that I was already kenyang with the shopping and not really interested in food. I hate to admit it, but he was half correct.

The weather was still fine with bright clear sky and cool gentle breeze when we headed back to our hotel in our rented car. We decided to cruise along and enjoy the scenery. That was when I noticed how beautiful Langkawi had become. Travelling along the tree lined road puncuated by neat kampung houses really stirred this feeling of pride and appreciation for this beautiful island. At one point during a lonely stretch of road , I was lost in admiration and wonder. The scenery was overwhelming. The sentang tree with creamy white blooms seemed to line both sides of the road endlessly, at times forming natural arches along the way. It was as though we were travelling in a jungle with lush greenery and a tarred road winding admist this wonder of nature. It was awesome. Really awesome !

Suddenly I realised how fortunate we were to have a haven like Langkawi, nature at its best with white sandy beaches and tropical trees, shopping with choices aplenty and sports in abundance.

The BN government which developed Langkawi had done an excellent job. I pray to God that Langkawi and Kedah would return to the Barisan Nasional state government come the 13th General Election, Godwilling.

Sunday 1 June 2008

KAMPUNG WEDDING FEAST IN MODERN STYLE

As usual wedding feasts sprang by leaps and bounds during the school holiday seasons. I had seven invitations yesterday at several locations within a 20 kilometers radius of Kampong Gajah.

I had planned to go to all seven venues with my lady friends, so at 10.30 sharp seven of us packed ourselves in my brand new 4x4 and headed to our first destination. When we arrived some of the wedding guests were already enjoying the attractive spreads. An emcee somewhere announced our arrivals cos there were two VIPs among us, one a local legislator. That was very flattering, of course!

Now for the food. There was a tantalising spread, with kari tulang, rendang ayam and the never-to-be-missed pecal. Only the meal was served buffet style. I loved buffets especially at hotel restaurants and cafes.............. but at a kenduri ? I am not so much in favour. You see we ladies are all dressed up, so to go to the buffet table and dish out your own curry could be quite risky. Then there is the balancing act to the table with a dish load of food in one hand and a glass of syrup in the other amidst pebbles and loose sands. By the time we reach our table half the fun of eating is gone. Well, anyway we do not go to wedding feasts just to eat but to reciprocate our goodwill and sillaturrahim , right ?

We then moved on to the next feast on the list. As we progressed, we gradually decreased our load from the buffet table. And yes, all the feasts were served buffet style. I had VIP treatment though at Pak Abu's place where I was invited to the main table to eat with the newly weds.

All in all, the day's kenduri was fine but I don't really approve of this buffet style thing at wedding feasts. It somehow robbed me of the nostalgic mood of being in a kampong kenduri. This new arrangement reminds me so much of the hectic city life. And most of all I miss the pampering and extras that come with the old style of serving.

Guess I must be getting too old for kampong wedding feasts!