Hello Thursday, so long Mukah

I just got off the twin otter flight back from Mukah, and since I wasn't doing anything, thought I'd write about Mukah and all the three trips I've had. Actually, the time that I actually arrived at the Kuching Airport, still not used to calling it KIA, why do I even bother...

Have I ever mentioned that I loved flying. Until recently I was excited over flying in an ATR 72, Malaysia Airlines' latest addition to their domestic fleet for Sarawak. I was in for a surprise when I boarded the DHC6 Twin Otter which happens to be a 19-seater (I think, got this from Google), hmm I think in, the last time I boarded one of these was when I was about 6 or 7 to Marudi. So it has been, 25 years since I last boarded a Twin Otter. And oh-coincidentally, my friend had buzzed me over GTalk and had mentioned that to fly in a Twin Otter is in fact a blessing in disguise, as it is supposedly (as claimed by him, and others) is the safest plane for anybody to be flying in (or with). "If any of the engine fails (or both), the pilot can just glide the plane to safety", he says or somewhere along that line. The more reason for me to like the Twin Otter. I just love bumpy rides and for those who thinks that I may have had it meant the "other" way when I mentioned bumpy. Sorry to dissapoint you but it just literally means what it reads, b u m p y.

Back to the reason why I wanted to write this post: Mukah town. Let me just state a few interesting facts about Mukah.

• The Mukah airport is just 10 minutes away from the town itself
• The Mukah town itself basically comprises of the new township and the old market or 'lau pasat' (I don't know how to say old market in any other local dialects or languages)
• The tallest building in Mukah town is the Menara Pehin Seri Setiaraja (I have a funny thought with regards to the compound security which leads to this building, which is also agreed by a Land & Survey staff-friend of mine)
• The distance between the old market and Menara Pehin Seri is well measured in minutes on foot, and it's 20 minutes. How do I know? I talked the talk, and walked it myself.
  
• The distance between the new township and Menara Pehin Seri is it's a 10 minutes walk.
• The new township is right smack in the middle of your way if you're headed to Menara Pehin Seri.
• Driving around the Mukah town, well will just take you minutes for you to go around.
• The Mukah town is a laid-back likeable place.
• Finding halal food is easy, even when you're at a chinese coffee shop. There's only a handful of chinese coffee shop which are offlimits to Muslim food-goers.
• There are two type of Umai (or Umei, or you can pronounce it as 'Oooh-may'), the dipping type and the already mixed type.
• Is a haven for any sago related by-products, and of course Umai.
  
• The best way to go to Mukah is by flight, unless you prefer the 4-hours safari ride by bus from Sibu.
• If you happen to hear a conversation that sounds like Malay (not trying to offend any locals or anybody that speaks that particular widely used local dialect), and .. and .. when you notice yourself trying to strain your ears trying to understand just what the heck they are saying, then you're definitely hearing a conversation in Melanau. Don't bother yourself.

Tadaa.. more will come, as I prepare to get up from this toilet seat.

Uncle Peck's Birthday

Today's my uncle's 60th birthday, as I have just found out from my mum who just got off the phone after her birthday wish to him. My mum's 58 this year. And from what my mum had told me after my recent trip to Miri, for work of course, he actually forgot who I was when I was at his place. He must've been wondering who this fella was and what was this fella up to at his house, haha. It's kind of funny in a way, not the ha-ha funny, but knowing him at that age, well can't blame him for that. Before I know it, I'll be 60 and I might just forget who was it I'd be talking with.

...

With the recent passings of well relatives, I'm sick and tired of repeating myself especially with regards to them, of course not to disrespect those who had passed on. I've lost my cat "blackie" just last week, to whomever it was who ran him over, to them he may just as well be a roadkill but to me he is more than that. And to top that off I have run out of things to write about.

One road to freedom

Tell me which road are you travelling which road are you travelling on

Tell me who will you turn to when the light has gone

I hear somebody calling to me with so many roads to travel

There's just one can set you free

There's just one road

One road to freedom

Just one

In my life I have been blessed

In my life I have been cursed

I have lived the best of times

I have suffered the worst

Do you know which road you're travelling

Do you know where you want to be

With so many roads to travel

There's just one can set you free

There's just one road, one road to freedom

-Harper, Ben

So many things.. too little time

Yeah there you go, as what the title is obviously stating, the 24 hours in a day does not seem to be sufficient especially when dealing with people who work at the speed of a turtle, who happens to require constant following up. I've just had quite a month or two, in my previous I had mentioned my dear aunt who had departed from us, the three weeks that followed, my grand aunt had left us and lastly my dear uncle. INALILLAH WA INALILLAHIRAJIUN. It was quite a unfortunate saddening experience, I unfortunately did not have the chance to be at the my late aunt's funeral, but I was fortunate enough to be present at the funeral for both my grand aunt and uncle.

My late  grand aunt who would always fondly probe me with "Ni hau ma?" or "Lu eh ho bo?" every single time and she never misses the chance to ask me so. And as for my uncle, hmm.. it was a rather heart-wrenching to know he left us. We were all expecting for him to leave us, not that I'm saying I would want him to leave, but he has had some health complications as of late, and I can only imagine for him to find out his younger sister had left us before he did. I can only imagine how he must have felt.

And I still haven't taken the plunge, and it's a rather mind-boggling matter as I try to weigh the cause and effect of the former. But at the same time, it's a rather comfirting feeling of having knowing there's a said presence.

Dearly departed

I was just having a leisurely bath after returning from the Land and Survey Sarikei office, when I heard that my phone was ringing, three times to be precise and not to forget the two text messages. The first being "Urgent! Joneh Tenat!" and the later, "Ngah Joneh passed away". INALILLAH WA INALILLAHIRAJIUN, my aunt whom I loved dearly had departed from us at aproximately 6PM. My late aunt of whom I remember fondly for making milk coffee, biscuits, raya rendangs and curries, curry puffs, nasi lemak and aplenty of other things, will always remain in memory till the arrival of that particular day.

Expectations...

Ever since I've been coming to work on the January 28th, well things been proceeding rather slowly. A big small step back for humankind (well this particular hu-man). As much I dislike to admit it, I'm actually avoiding the general crowd of acquaintances here in Kuching. Things are proceeding slowly as I've mentioned earlier, but it still has a rather good vibe to it. Even though it does felt as if I never left, but how do you explain that 16 months gap. It does have that surreal tinge to it still though.

Ever since I've been back, I have been able to come upon the following:

1. How bad the flood was in Kuching.
2. How the prices of vegetable had increased 3-fold or more?
3. There's going to be another Starbucks outlet at Jalan Song.
4. How kids can grow up so fast (for those I have not seen in the 16-months period)
5. They've finalled closed off the old SAINS office at 3rd mile (so no more McDonalds after my official visit to that office)
6. Tunku Putra International school is now the Lim Kok Wing institute.
7. Des' blog was featured on CNN.
   
8. There are so many eateries nearby my office, and there's one just next door it's so close I can have teh tarik (kurang manis, thank you very much) sent to my office (it's not that I've done that already)
9. The difference between a want and the need to, and taking the plunge.
   

Voila, think that's that for now.