6th day of CNY

Day 6 of the Chinese New Year. Was caught up with watching Survivor Palau last night, and didn’t sleep until the wee hours. Finally finished the series by late afternoon. Comparing the Survivor Australian Outback and Survivor Palau, there were interesting bits about both. The Australian ones had more interesting and likable characters, but Palau can hold its own. Initially, Palau did not seem as interesting, but there were some characters out there which shone. Palau’s game was more cut-throat, and when it got to final four, it was so intense. I think Tina and Tom both deservedly won, and the key was the way they answered the juries’ questions towards the last tribal council. They had different strategies, but both came out tops in the end. Survivor for me, remains one of my favourite series to watch. It’s how people adapt and change things around to suit their game. Some take it purely as a game, and can be extremely ruthless by backstabbing others. Others take it on as a challenge to hold on to their honour and integrity, and play it as how they would live an everyday life. For quite a few I think, it was a very life changing experience, to show that in desperation, what would you do, and in some cases, wouldn’t do, for a million dollars. Been following up on these two series, as the Malaysian TV did not show Australia (I think), and skipped Palau for whatever reasons.

Palau was very intense in that one team (Koror) totally dominated the immunity challenges, and one man (Tom) won five out of the seven individual immunity challenges, and it was one of the most cut-throat series I have ever seen in Survivor (even among alliances) and the redemption at the end. I think who stood out most for me, were four characters, Stephanie and Bobby Jon from Ulong, and Ian and Tom from Koror. Stephanie because she was so strong as a woman, in terms of physical strength (and stronger than most guys physically) as well as mentally. She knew what she was doing, but luck was not with her in the game. Bobby Jon, well, because he was another likable character, who was extremely hard working, and was very intense when it came to the various competitions. He stayed humble to the very end. Ian (the dolphin trainer) initially played the game by forming a strong alliance, but was found out to be lying and flip-flopping towards the final stages. When confronted, he tried to hedge his way out. During the final immunity challenge, when he stood at the buoy for over 11 hours, he thought through how he had played the game, and I guess guilt overcame him. He redeemed himself by giving up the chance of a million dollars, so that he could leave the game emotionally stronger, with better maturity on the outlook of life. What more can I say, but a very good series.

Today, went out for a bit to buy some grocery stuff with my mum and sister to the main town. So, what is Chinese New Year without some lion dances? Saw two different troupes of lion dances going around the various shops for additional “angpow”. Tried to take some pictures, but it’s pretty hard, when they only did their bits for a short period of time, and I couldn’t get the angle I wanted for the shots. However, it was subsequently pointed out to me that one of the troupes comprised completely of people of Indian heritage. It’s pretty interesting in that I had never expected it, and had unrightfully assumed that it would be Chinese guys (or girls) doing the prancing around, etc. It was also a bummer that I was not observant enough to notice it.

Have not started my new trilogy yet, having been following the entire two survivor series these past days. Will be looking to catch up on other things later tonight.

Tried out our home DIY foot-spa. Quite cool! A bit of hot water here, put a dab or two of the Aromatherapy Treatment (I used Gentle Lavender + Vitamin E) for relaxing and moisturising, sit back and chill in the comfort of my own room! Didn’t know we had this until I saw my younger sister using it in her room. Thought I would try it out at least once during this trip home. As for the round thingy near my ankle? When I press it down with my foot, it acts as a massager. Cool! Was wondering what it was for initially. There were three other options available as well (i.e. brush, “file”?, and another type of massager I think). Any negative thing? Well, after the whole thing, as per any DIY home stuff, need to tidy up for myself, as opposed to having someone pamper me by cleaning up after. Oh well, at least I don’t have a time limit and can use different settings (like the bubbly bits or the gentle tremour like sensation for a “quieter” feel, and even a combination of both). I remember going to Singapore with some friends for a holiday towards the end of last year, and we soaked our feet in the tub with hot water after all the walking. I can only hope that one day, hotels would include this foot massage thingy as part of their room service, after all, the hotel I stayed in previously already included a free massage chair in the room. Hey, you never know, it may come true one day!

5th day of CNY

Day 5 of the Chinese New Year, and it’s time for the dinner in Kuching. The restaurant is called “My Restaurant”, and is runned by a lady from Taie (a small place along the Kuching / Serian highway), and her husband who is from Austria. Oppss, I did not wear the maroon shirt to complement the yellow and orange shirt, and did not gel my hair again! You can just about make out the name of the restaurant in the picture.

The menu reminded me of “Eurodeli” type of food. The ribs were highly recommended, and so, I thought I would give it a try. Also saw in the menu that there was a coke float (ice ream in coke), and since I haven’t had that in a while, thought I would also have a go at it. I am not sure “float” thingy is that popular in West Malaysia, but A&W has the root bear float which is just fantastic. In the younger days, I used to eat ice cream in my mug of coke from the local ice cream shop. Before the main food came, there was a complimentary dish of roasted / grilled meat. I think it’s because my uncle knew the owner and is a regular at the restaurant. The food’s ok, but slightly different from what I had expected. The ribs were grilled, but the sauce was separately served.

For dessert, my aunty recommended the French Apple Tart (something like an apple pie with ice cream), but alas, they ran out. Had a banana split instead, which I shared with my cousin (no whipped cream on mine though). There was also a complimentary platter of fruits, which I thought was a nice gesture. Another cousin had this chocolate cake thingy with mint ice cream. I nicked a bite of the chocolate cake, but didn’t fancy anything minty. All in all, it was a very “FULL” dinner, and I overate again… sigh…. definitely have to work out all these excess intake of food after the holidays.

4th day of CNY

Day 4 of the Chinese New Year. Didn’t get much done today, woke up late again after catching the first few episodes of Survivor Australia (Season 2) until late last night. Was continuing for a couple more episodes later towards the early afternoon.

My dad suggested going out for dinner at this eatery place called Shan Foo Seafood Restaurant situated along the Kuching / Serian highway. More commonly known as “at the 22nd mile” place. My elder sister kindly mentioned that the dinner will be on her. What I had initially thought of as just a family dinner turned out to be a bigger event, when some of my other uncles and aunties were also invited. There were about 17 adults and 9 kids, all squashed to 2 tables. Luckily we made reservations, and pre-ordered the food, cos’ we later found out that there was going to be a wedding dinner there at the same time. And yeah, when we went, I didn't gel my hair again!

It took about 20 minutes drive from Serian, and my family got there just before 6:30pm. Surprise, surprise, my other uncles and aunties were all late, and the last one trotted in with his family just before 7:00pm. Whilst waiting, we stood around enjoying the view of the pond (with lots of fishes swimming around). At one moment, there was a group of white birds (at least 50 of them I think), which flew around the place. Against the backdrop of the hill behind us, it made a wonderful sight indeed. Alas, I wasn’t quite enough with my phone camera to snap a picture before the moment passed.

Was seated next to one of my uncles, and when the rice came, we noted that the there was a lot of rice put into the various bowls of rice. My uncle commented that is was a “car road” (direct translation from Hakka) serving. Implying that it was “backwards”, and that the rice should be just filled to the top of the bowl. However, he mentioned that last time (my dad had 13 brothers and sisters all together), there was a lack of food when he was younger, and that my grandmother had to mix potatoes to the rice. Rice was expensive and was under ration in the 1940s. My grandmother also insisted on eating rice with chopsticks. The point of the comment? Well, I think he was just thinking back to old times and comparing what there was to eat then as a large struggling family, and now, with food in abundance. I recalled my younger aunties mentioning previously, that my grandfather discouraged talk during dinner. My uncle said of course it was the case. Nobody wanted to talk, as the food on the table would be gone by the time you finish what you wanted to say with so many hungry brothers and sisters around.

Our food came, seven dishes in total. We had “su-choi” (don’t know how to translate that, but it’s a green vegetable dish), hot plate venison, sweet and sour pork (but of course!), fried chicken, a cold dish (with at least five different varieties), steamed fresh fish, another veggie dish and lastly dessert. We also had lots to drink, combination of soft drinks to iced-coffee (Kopi-O-Peng, and Kopi-Peng), and even 2 bottles of red wine which we brought ourselves.

Half way through the dinner, it got dark outside, and sure enough, we saw some fireworks at a distance. The young ones were so excited, going around here and there. The wedding dinner “next door” so to say, had a karaoke session and we were entertained to Chinese songs all through our makan session. I must admit, one or two of the singers were very good, but mostly “can do’lah”, even though I didn’t understand a single word of what was being sung. Some of the songs were very upbeat for a dinner I think, but I guessed it added variety to the entertainment.

There will be another dinner on Thursday (i.e. tomorrow), and the cuisine will be western, as invited by my uncle. It is thus not surprising that I put on weight every time I come back to Sarawak (even for a short break).