Al Fresco Dining the Hawkers Style.

I've had just enough time...  to have my favourite noodles the Al fresco style

Al fresco dining the Malaysian style

In the early evening, in a parking lot on a corner by the side of a busy street of Kuala Lumpur, hawkers were busy setting up food stalls for the night business. Carts and chairs were arranged on every available places trapping cars left behind by drivers that were not aware of or were slow to remove them. Tables and stools were arranged in the center framed by hawkers stalls selling all kinds of mainly noodles dishes in various styles of preparations, “dried” style with black sauce, different “soup” styles – beef, beef tendon, chicken, chicken spare parts, pork, pork spare parts with light soup, curry or a whole varieties of different stocks and flavors. They may be a rice stall such as chicken or duck rice, or a “roti chanai” (Indian flat bread) stall among them as well as various other types of food and desserts. It will not be surprising to find a stall selling a local fried burger or Western food such as Maryland chicken and chips. It was a food heaven.

This is a typical food stalls congregation in any city or towns in Malaysia and they are always crowded and a fun place to be. The scene we are seeing is in the early evening when the stalls is just being set up but already a few early birds are already tucking in. Another hour, and you will find patrons waiting for a seat to be available. No one managed the place but it seemed to be very well organized with each stall contributing towards maintenance of the area for the benefits of all concerned. The prices are very economical and is a fraction of that available in restaurants. The food are generally also quite hygienically prepared and is safe for consumption. This is the favorite form of food consumption for busy Malaysian who are not cooking at home.

The Caterpillar or the Leaves

I've had just enough time...   to harvest a butterfly

The caterpillar hiding under a branch...

Two pots of ailing

Flowering plants

Nursed back to health.

New leaves from

Barren branches

Pleased me.

Shocked me

To see leaves of

One stripped bare.

The next day, the

Rest disappeared.

The culprit was found

Fat under a branch

Shyly hiding from

The sun, leaving me

To decide the fate of

The caterpillar

Or the leaves

My prosperity flowers whose leaves were devoured.
Can you see where the caterpillar is hiding?

I wanted the flowers

Of the plants nursed

To health, but strange

Are the fruits of the

Tree one sowed

I harvest a butterfly

Instead.

What would you choose?
The leaves or the caterpillar or...

Autumn in My Garden - Visiting Autumn

I've had just enough time...  to reacquaint myself with autumn

I love autumn so much I planted autumn in my garden...

Memories hanging

Like the last leaf of autumn

Reluctant to fall

So I can be moody even when the sun is shining brightly...

After the last leaves -

Silhouettes of trees lined hills

Desolate beauties

Because sometimes, one just want to be melancholy...

I love autumn or I love the romantic fantasized idea of my imagined autumn. Melancholy, bittersweet, beautiful whether in glorious colors or gray outlines of desolated trees. I imagined sweet loneliness, long walks in snapping cold, chilly winds that cuts and reminded me to preserve this fragile body, time to go deep into reflection, to visit the boundary of depression and know that dark country, to slow time down and view the false promises of progress, ambition and speed; a time to gather, recharge and wait for the hibernation of winter and the rebirth in Spring. Maybe the actual autumn is none of these. Maybe it is just my illusion having never lived through an entire autumn though I have visited autumn in several countries over a long span of time. Maybe those living in autumn countries will laugh at my ridiculous notions. Maybe they are living too close to autumn. Whatever, I love my idea of autumn. So much so that I planted autumn in my garden so it can lead me there even under the tropical sun. And as fate would arrange, I'm going to reacquaint myself with autumn - tonight.

I am traveling again, flying off tonight. This time to Billund in Denmark and then off to Parma and Milan in Italy until the end of the month. So this is the last post until then. See you when I get back...

We Are Blind Because We Can See

I've had just enough time...   to learn that truth can be hidden in plain sight

You may not see the truth even if you have compound eyes...

I was so sure of my sight because I could see

Better than others, I thought

So I did not heed those close to me

"Beware! Things are not what they seem"

But I trusted my sight more because I, could see

We were so sure of the rights we fought

That we could not be wrong

Justice, compassion, transparency, truth

I thought all who came under the banners

Fought for the same God

The battles had been fought and lost

The banners strewn on the battlefield

With the corpses, as I retreated I reflect -

Blindness is such a strange ailment

We are blind because we are so sure we see

Taken of the moth in my garden who reminded me that truth can be hidden in plain sight...

How our eyes deceived us. We would not have been fooled if we were blind. I saw the path I was shown. I saw it lead straight to the castle. And we charged. But we did not see the swamp that bogged us down. That made us easy preys to the hidden foes and the circling vultures. We felt the slings of arrows taking up arms against a sea of troubles. No more! I lay down my arms but not before I reluctantly slay the beautiful illusive dream. But worry not about the dreamer, he dreams new dreams without bloodshed instead...

Your Window to the World

I've had just enough time to...   open my window to the world

A lovely window that I chanced upon in Malacca...

How you look at the world

Shapes how you look within

Your window to the world is

What It sees when it looks in

You see more through the views

Of others than what you yourself see

Look at the world

With love and compassion

So that the world

Will look at you the same

...said a lot about the owner.

The Lady in the Flower Cheongsam Promise Me Love

I've had just enough time to...   deliberate on the complexities of Love & Life

The Lady waiting on the stairs by the street of Malacca

The lady in the flower cheongsam

Promise me love 

But I don’t have the currency 

She said she doesn’t mind 

But many do 

And do I 

Mind we are of different worlds 

Mine beneath hers

What about pride?

Love conquers all when you’re in love

But love is like soft petals on sunny days

All too soon it fades away while

Pride is sharper than steel and

Harder than the boulder

That stood in our way

Love on her mind

Coward! She cried

Your pride is too fragile

Hitting me where it hurts

How do I make you understand

A man’s pride is his being

Without which he is a bitch

I can give you my life

But I can’t sell you my pride

What about love?

What about love?

Without love a man can survive

A lesser man he may be but a man still

Without pride a man is a dog

Its tail licking its heel

Life in the way

I am a woman.

I need no pride which

Makes me more a man than you

I am willing to die for love but

I am not willing to die for pride

I am willing to give up everything

For that sublime feel

You are not willing to accept heaven

To your brittle pride you yield

She stood at the top of the stairs

I stayed below

She dared me to go up

But all I could think of

Is the same promise

Made by the farmer’s daughter

One love is as good as another

But a shattered pride

Stay shattered forever

Looking Out The Window With A Smile

I've had just enough time...   to look out the window into the world with a sad smile

The clown looking out the window into the world in historic city of Malacca

Looking out the window

Into the world

With empty eyes and a smile

The small kid runs, laugh

And pointed

He likes it best on hot afternoons

When only stray dogs

Roam the silent street

On cloudless night when pebbles

Reflects the moon’s silvery lights

On rainy days when heaven’s tears

Spear the lonesome Earth

Always with the same smile

The same empty eyes

Looking out the window

Into the world from behind bars

I was wandering through the street of one of my favorite city. The historical city of Malacca where there always new discoveries to be made. At a corner building of the Ironsmith Street “Jalan Tukang Besi” away from the maddening crowd, I saw a Chinese Clown in a T-shirt looking eerily out a window of the brightly painted orange building. Its fathomless eyes unreadable and its sardonic smile uninterpretable. What are its thoughts to be looking out the window every day? I tried to imagine but it is not easy to be a clown with sad eyes and an uneasy smile.

A Broken Bowl of Rice

I've had just enough time...   to smash my iron bowl

Found this broken bowl of rice in Kuala Lumpur, will I deliberately break mine?

He had an iron bowl

That cannot break

So he cared not

If it dropped

Till it was replaced

With one of clay

To his chest he cradled

But it accidentally dropped

Smashed to pieces

Overcame with fear

He lived on edges

Till he discovered

His life was saved by

A broken bowl of rice

In another section of the hall opposite to the one with the sculpture of sealed lips (see last post), was one exhibiting works by different artists employing the same theme “bowl”. Though this is not very original, it is still my favorite as it resonates with me and reminded me of all the fears we experienced worrying about breaking our bowl of rice. But same as the sealed lips, it may not necessarily be a bad thing to go beyond our comfort zone. And sometimes, we need a disaster to push us out of it. 

Cactus Rain

I've had just enough time to...   bear the stings of the cactus rain

Cactus and Cactus Rain outside my office one sunny day

Yesterday when the sun was hot

Of a sudden, it rains like needles

Take cover!

It’s the cactus rain, falling down

Like needles from Heaven

Piercing the ants, stabbing slugs

Spearing the fish, drowning cats

What it cannot kill, it hurts

Oh, how it hurts – the cactus rain

I am a cactus,

I hate the cactus rain!

Even the cactus doesn't like the cactus rain

I love the rain, most of the time. I love gentle rain that lasted for hours, like a mist cover. I love cool rain after the heat that brings immediate relief. I love heavy rain that smear the land into indistinctive shapes. I love violent rain that shakes and makes the coconut palm dance like one in trance. I love the rains at night when they raise the frogs’ sound. I love the rain, most of the time. But sometimes, it rains on my parade. Sometimes, it adds insult to injury. Sometimes, it makes me miserable and wet. Sometimes, it hurts like the damn cactus rain.

Minions Rule The World.

I've had just enough time to...  try to foil the Minions domination of the world.

The 9 Minions that invaded Malaysia...

There is a despicable plot going on. And it is worse than World War Z – worse than the hungry zombies. After all, the zombies only bite. But Minions do worse! They turned you into giggling idiots singing bananana and potatos! They made you listened to a language you do not understand but laughed at hideously anyway. No one understands how they did it but world leaders are seriously discussing a global wide immunization or even lobotomy as a last stand against this insidious infestation.

Minions Attack!

And the Minions are doing it through the assistance of diabolical McDonald entering homes unsuspectingly through the happy meal. There have been reported cases of madness and fights in every McD outlets in Malaysia where the most serious cases of Minion Mania in the world were observed to occur. It has been speculated that the “Kiasu” (“scared to lose”) syndrome of the average Malaysian must have made them especially susceptible to the Minions attacks. It was reported that a lunatic bid of RM38 millions for a set of the minions was made in ebay.

This is an emergency announcement. Up to now, it has been confirmed that 9 “species” of Minions have been sighted in the country. They are all highly dangerous. Do Not, I repeat Do Not tackle them on your own, do not own them, do not bring them into your house. Shut your ears and eyes and run away as fast as you can if you come across one. Our Special Intelligent sent out this warning regarding these dangerous “creatures” among us. They are –

(1)  Tim Giggling,  (2) Tim Giggle Grabber,  (3) Dave Gadget Grabber

(4) Evil Minion Chomper, (5) Tom Googly Eyes Grabber

(6) Stuart Light Up Grabber, (7) Stuart Babbler Grabber

(8) Jerry Breakdancing, (9) Evil Minion Noisemaker

Stop giggling. You have been warned! 

叶子 - Leaves

I've had just enough time to...   be thankful for leaves

Taken in the garden village of Sungei Buloh, Malaysia

I was in the town of Sungei Buloh (River of Bamboo) shopping for orchids before the Chinese New Year. In those old less enlightened days, this place was used to isolate a leper colony from the general populace. A vocation was needed for these displaced people and in an ironic way, growing flowers and plants was the profession chosen for them. Now it is a thriving town engaged predominantly in the gardening business. The city has expanded and engulfed the area making it a very valuable real estate. Now, those once shunted lepers and their descendants are not only businessmen and women but also millionaires putting a final irony to the Town of The River of Bamboo.

Everyone was looking down because there were flowers in glorious bloom everywhere. On both sides of the small lane, on every multiple racks, in every stall and corners, any space that can be squeezed in, flowers of all varieties and colors and forms smiled back at you. But my attention was up, at that wondrous spread of rain tree branches and the millions of tiny leaves blinking at me. Whenever the wind stirred, a few shook themselves from the branches and floated down in an erratic but graceful dance to join the other fallen leaves on the roof. 

I love flowers but it was the leaves that talked to me that day.  And leaves always reminded me of that sad song  叶子yèzi (Leaf ). I heard that haunting voice as I stood by the road shoulder looking up feeling deliciously sad while boisterous trading were happening all round me. And what made it even more poignant is that I will never hear her singing a new song again. '阿桑' (Ah Sang) had a hard life. She was discovered singing in a pub and “Leaf” made her famous. Just when it appeared that Life is finally giving her the break she deserved, she quietly left the entertainment scene. Not long later, the world was shocked to learn that she has succumbed to breast cancer. She was only 34.

叶子                                                                         Leaves

阿桑                                   Ah Sang

叶子 是不会飞翔的翅膀                   Leaves are wings that cannot fly

翅膀是落在天上的叶子                    Wings are leaves dropped in the sky

天堂 原来应该不是妄想                  Heaven is not wishful thinking after all

只是我早已经遗忘                           It's just I've forgotten long ago

当初怎么开始飞翔                           How it is then, I could fly

孤单 是一个人的狂欢                      Loneliness is the reverly of the lonely

狂欢是一群人的孤单                       Reverly is the loneliness of the crowd

爱情 原来的开始是陪伴                 Love has its beginning in togetherness

但我也渐渐地遗忘                           But I've gradually forgotten

当时是怎样有人陪伴                       How it is I had you for company

我一个人吃饭旅行                           Now I eat and travel alone

到处走走停停                                  Wandering aimlessly

也一个人看书写信                           I read and write alone

自己对话谈心                                  With myself, conversing

只是心又飘到了哪里                       But where is my heart floating to?

就连自己看也看不清                       I can't see clearly

我想我不仅仅是失去你                  Just feel it is not only you I lost