My Happiest Moment

This is Mommy's favourite photo - the photo that captures Mommy's happiest moment.

It was Juan Or's infectious laughter and giggles that makes Mommy's happiest moment - something that Mommy wants to capture forever. Well, you may be wondering now what made Juan Or so happy that made Mommy so happy too. It's none other than seeing monkeys swinging around at close range in Bukit Melawati, Kuala Selangor!

Though this happiest moment was just as simple as watching the monkeys swinging around, nevertheless, this is the story behind Juan Or’s infectious laughter and giggles.

 

Juan Or was about 1 year 1 month old when his walking ability became somewhat established. What started to be like the Frankenstein walking style.....

(animation credits from Animation Playhouse)

......improved by leaps and bound to be more and more like how a human kid walks. With his walking skill getting more and more polished, so did his appetite for physical adventure. He began to explore (and imitate) jumping, skipping and whatever ‘funny’ leg movements that he saw both on the television screen and also in real life.

One ‘leg activity’ that Juan Or particularly liked most was jumping on the bed, most probably because of the springing sensation it gave. Mommy had warned him countless times before not to get too carried away with ‘the activity’ lest he falls down and hurts himself. However, the countless warnings all fell on deaf ears. Mommy even resorted to teaching him about the consequences with the nursery rhyme on monkeys jumping on the bed which sounds like this:

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said

"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Or if you prefer to hear the nursery rhyme in the form of song and video, here is one from You Tube. 

As if to mock Mommy, Juan Or would merely laugh out loud and parrot the nursery rhyme as he continued his jumping. Mommy wondered when he will ever learn. *Sigh!*

Then, one day, in the midst of feeling high from the springing sensation, sure enough, true to Mommy’s word, Juan Or tumbled down the bed. Crash, boom, bang! – he fell down just like nangka busuk (rotten jackfruit)! If falling down the bed (and landing on the hard floor) was already bad enough, nothing could be worse than having to fall onto a kiddy stool just next to the bed and getting a cut near the lips before landing on the floor! 

There was blood all over his mouth, both Juan Or and Mommy went panicky but luckily Mommy managed to control the situation. Mommy carried Juan Or to the bathroom to rinse away the blood stain and then used handkerchief to press on the wound to stop the bleeding. 

Many weeks went by since the bloody incident. The wound healed, but the ‘wound’ in his memory did not! Whenever Mommy read him the monkeys-jumping-on-the-bed nursery rhyme, Juan Or would cringe his face and shouted “Scared! Scared!” Whenever Mommy showed him pictures of monkeys in his kiddy books, he would give the same reaction. Poor boy! Now he seemed to associate monkeys with bad fall! *Sigh!*

Then one day, Papa took us for an outing to Bukit Melawati, Kuala Selangor. Our main reason for going there was to get up close and personal with the real monkeys, but of course knowing that Juan Or was phobic towards monkeys, Papa and Mommy kept the monkeys a secret. Instead, Mommy told Juan Or all about the tram that ferries visitors up and down the hill – the one children would prefer to call as choo-choo train! Boy was Juan Or excited to ride on the tram!

Well, we reached the part of the hill top where trams would normally stop the visitors. As expected, the monkeys came in flocks to ‘busybody’ around because the visitors had food to offer. Bold ones would openly come forward and ‘beg’ for food whereas the more timid ones would merely swing around or watch from a distance and only pick up food that were thrown to them. 

What about Juan Or? Much to Mommy’s surprise, Juan Or seemed to have ‘forgotten’ about his phobia for monkeys! Was it because of watching the cute monkeys swinging live? Or was it because of the natural beauty of monkeys that can be seen so up close and personal? Whatever the ‘magical factor’ was, what was clear was that Mommy did not do anything special to break his monkey phobia and that Juan Or was obviously enjoying watching the monkeys! Maybe something in him realized that it was not the monkeys that caused the bad fall, but rather, it was recklessness and getting too carried away. 

Whatever it was, Mommy was happy that the mental wound is gone for good and that Juan Or is able to enjoy the beauty of nature without associating it with his past traumatic experience. Seeing and hearing Juan Or laugh and giggle are the simple things that make Mommy’s life so happy, beautiful and rewarding. When Juan Or is HAPPY, Mommy is HAPPY too! 

By the way, all the photos here were taken using Mommy’s handphone camera. Mommy has long been yearning to upgrade Mommy’s photography tool. So this “Happy Photography  Contest” held by Olympus and Nuffnang is a good chance to make the yearning a reality – a chance to win Olympus’ new range of PEN Lite.....

and PEN Mini digital cameras that come with high DSLR image quality.

So here it goes:  

HAPPY Juan Or = HAPPY photography = HAPPY Mommy!

Seeing Monkeys Again! (Part 2)

This is a continuation of the previous blogpost.

Remember Mommy mentioning that the tram appeared to not only take the passengers up and down the Bukit Malawati, but also a little beyond that? Well, apparently the tram went on further to Taman Alam which is Kuala Selangor's own nature park.

Immediately when the passengers got down the tram, there was a man, the park's officer, checking the passengers' tram tickets. Upon closer inspection of the ticket, then only did Mommy realized that apparently the ticket did include Fresh Water Fish Park as part of the itinerary. So looks like the RM3-per-adult fee is worthwhile after all since it not only includes the tram ride but also the fee for entering the park.

This is the ticket that covers both the tram ride and the entry into the fresh water fish park in Taman Alam.

This is Juan Or posing at the entrance of the fresh water fish park. Mommy was so much in a hurry to ask Juan Or to put up a pose so much so Mommy didn't realize that his shorts was 'eaten' up by his crotch!   ^ ^ It was only at this time of writing that Mommy realized the pose defect, but too bad, this photo is his one and only pose in front of the aquariums!

After that, Juan Or and Mommy went into the small building complexes to see the fresh water fishes in aquariums. What was Juan Or's reaction to the fishes? Well, he appeared indifferent towards them, but was clingy to Mommy in that he wanted to be carried all the time. These are among some things we saw:

A humble collection of fresh water fishes in their respective aquariums.

Fish with no name! Well, not exactly that they have no names, but rather, the name tag of the aquarium has probably fallen off and not replaced till now. But other aquariums had their fish name tags still intact at the top of the aquariums.

After the aquariums, we went out of the small building complexes to visit the 'super mini' zoo. There weren't many varieties of animals, but nevertheless, it was a humble collection. We saw....

....the porcupine,....

....the birds,.....

.....some colourful jungle fowls, ......

.....a peacock without its beautiful tail, and......

..... two peahens who seemed more vain than the peacock to want to have their photo captured!

Besides looking at the animals, there was also the nature park for visitors to stroll. So of course, Mommy asked Juan Or to pose some more.

When the next tram arrived, Juan Or and Mommy boarded it and the tram actually took the passengers for an extra three or four circles on the car park area of the park, probably to give the passengers their money's worth and perhaps to give more thrill to young children with the tram's sharp turning motion. During this time, Mommy managed to glance back at the park's direction and saw a big signboard at the main entrance stating that an adult's entry fee is RM2 and child RM1. So Mommy's conclusion is that the RM3 fee paid just now comprises of RM1 for the tram ride and RM2 for entering the fresh water fish park.

Finally, the tram brought the passengers to where we first started and Papa came to receive us back again. Papa also mentioned that during his wait at the tram stop, he noticed the tram actually brought the passengers to more than just up and down the hill, so thought the RM3 paid was worth it after all. With that, Papa announced that in our future trip to Bukit Malawati, he will be going on the tram as well! ^ ^

We went for lunch after that at Pasir Penambang (still in Kuala Selangor) at Tian Wai Tian Restaurant (Mommy has blogged about eating here before), only thing now was that Mommy was too hungry so forgot to snap photos of the food! After the restaurant, Papa took us to a stall (near to Pasir Penambang's wet market building) to drink and eat the flesh of pandan coconut. The last time we went to this stall, each coconut costs RM1.50, but now the price is RM2! This time, Mommy remembered to snap some photos (because stomach was full already!).

After the coconut drink, we were ready to leave Kuala Selangor and along the way, we stopped by at Tesco Kuala Selangor because Mommy had to buy the 9V battery for the new gas stove. Juan Or too, was pleasantly surprised that we decided to stop by his favourite kai-kai (outing) place (Juan Or always points at Tesco and says he wants to go there whenever Mommy drives past Tesco Puchong). Mommy used to wonder - what fun is in store for toddlers in hypermarkets? Well, Mommy can't think of any except for the fun ride in the shopping cart and the joy of seeing many different things or perhaps the joy of merely being out of the house!

Seeing Monkeys Again! (Part 1)

Last Sunday was a last minute decision to head the car towards Kuala Selangor. Both Papa and Mommy decided to let Juan Or visit the monkeys again at Bukit Malawati, Kuala Selangor. Just like last time, Papa parked the car at the foothill of Bukit Malawati and Juan Or was still asleep. So Mommy woke him up and he ended up fretting and crying! Luckily there was the Bukit Malawati tram passing by and lo and behold, Juan Or's teary face immediately turned into a smiling face!

This time round, Papa and Mommy decided to let Juan Or experience the ride on the tram. The ticket for an adult costs RM3 and is free-of-charge for children 3 years old and below. So Papa asked Mommy to accompany Juan Or in the tram ride while Papa waited at the bottom of the hill since the RM3 fee can be quite costly for merely riding up and down the hill - or so we thought at first.

Juan Or and Mommy then got up the tram and Mommy managed to snap a photo of Juan Or before the tram started moving.

And here's the tram from the passenger's view.

Then when the tram started moving, Mommy can't help taking some more photos, and Juan Or kept on uttering,"Train, train!" Probably he was very excited about actually riding on the so-called 'train' since all trains he has seen before are merely toy trains.

Here we go up the hill!

Still in the tram, this photo is Mommy's favourite self-portrait of Juan Or and Mommy. This angle really made Juan Or looked like a young boy, rather than a toddler.

Finally we are at the top of the hill to see the main attraction - the monkeys!

And more monkeys sitting in a row!

Juan Or was very excited about seeing monkeys and kept on calling,"Monkeeeey! Monkeeeeyy!"

At the hill, there was an ice-cream man selling bananas, longs beans, and peanuts for people to feed the monkeys. The most expensive item was the banana - a small bunch selling for RM4! And the bananas didn't look good either, but anyway, who cares, it was after all for the monkeys' consumption. Even bananas meant for human consumption (like the tasty pisang berangan) cost much cheaper for that same amount! Hahaha....if you intend to feed monkeys with bananas, might as well buy bananas from a fruit stall first before going up Bukit Malawati - it's cheaper that way!

By the way, when Juan Or saw the monkeys peeling bananas to eat, he looked at Mommy and insisted that he wanted to eat those bananas too! ^ ^ So Mommy had to console him by saying that those bananas eaten by the monkeys actually don't taste good. They are not the pisang berangan that Mommy usually buys for him (Juan Or only eats the berangan breed and nothing else!).

It would be a waste if you only go there to see monkeys, so Mommy pointed Juan Or to the scenery from the hilltop and of course, the famous Kuala Selangor lighthouse.

When the next tram appeared, Juan Or and Mommy boarded the tram to go down the hill. However, the tram didn't seem to stop the moment it reached the foothill. The tram went on much to Mommy's surprise. First thing in Mommy's mind was probably the tram was making extra circles to give passengers their money's worth, but turned out, the tram was actually taking the passengers to another destination, Taman Alam, which Mommy will narrate in the next blogpost. Stay tuned!

Trip to the Outskirts of Klang (Part 2)

From Pantai Remis, Papa drove on along Jalan Kapar to reach Kuala Selangor. We arrived at Pasir Penambang of Kuala Selangor where there is a fishing village and many seafood restaurants. However, Papa decided to stop by at a Chinese temple first for some sight-seeing.

This is the Chinese temple we visited.

This Chinese temple looks colourful and comes adorned with monkey statues. Papa is unclear as to which deity this temple is associated with but thought probably it has something to do with the Monkey God.

Any association with the Monkey God?

There was a deity consultation session going on. Mommy could see from the back of the spirit medium seated on his special chair giving consultation to a lady. Mommy decided not to snap any photo of the event for fear of offending the deity. So Mommy merely snapped photos of the temple's surrounding.

Somewhere at the five-foot way at the side of the temple, Mommy saw Juan Or and two other kids going onto the floor with their knees and surrounding something. All three of them looked excited. On closer inspection, apparently it was a huge beetle! Yes, Mommy knows this is the first time Juan Or (and the other kids) saw a huge beetle.

This is the five-foot way where Papa and Juan Or were posing where the hugh beetle was found.



The hugh beetle is definitely a big hit among young kids and Juan Or is no exception. What surprised Mommy also was that after snapping this photo, the girl and boy came over to Mommy (without feeling shy at all!) to look at the image that Mommy captured. So nowadays young kids are well-exposed - they somehow know that a handphone is also capable of taking photos!




Not too far away from the beetle, but still at the five-foot way, was a lost tiny crab (still alive!), but it didn't attract much attention unlike the beetle, but it did attract Papa's attention! The poor crab must have wondered away from the muddy riverbanks and got itself lost at the temple!

Just behind the temple is a river. That's how the poor tiny crab ended up at the temple's five-foot way.

Still standing at the same spot from where Mommy snapped the previous photo, now this view is to the right side instead. Notice the fishing village at the right side of the photo?

After the temple, we all headed for our regular seafood restaurant (Tian Wai Tian Restaurant) at Pasir Penambang, but unfortunately it was closed! Our 2nd best option of seafood restaurant (can't remember the name) was not available too because the restaurant only operates at night. However, we didn't bother to eat in the other restaurants in the vicinity because we have tried them before and it didn't taste that good. So we left Kuala Selangor immediately and headed back to Kuala Lumpur but this time via the Subang-Sungai Buloh route. Halfway through, we encountered a massive traffic jam, so Papa decided to turn-tail and used the Kapar Road to head to Klang and then to our new house in Puchong. By the time we reached Klang, it was already 1.30pm and our stomachs were already rumbling. So we decided to stop over at Happy Village Resturant in Klang (at Taman Rashna, near Berkeley Garden).

Here's what Juan Or was up to at Happy Village Restaurant:

When waiting for food to arrive.......

Papa said,"Juan Or, here's some Chinese tea poured into the bowl for you to practise feeding yourself with the spoon."



This was what probably transpired in Juan Or's mind,"First, dip the spoon into the tea and scoop."

"Eh....cannot-lah.Using the spoon is so troublesome. Put it aside first."

"Hahaha.....better use my hand-lah!"




"Use hand also cannot! Ai-yah, drink straight from the bowl-lah! Easier that way!"




And finally here comes the food!

Kung Poh Mantis Prawn - mantis prawn stir-fried with dark soya sauce and dried chillies. Papa and Mommy's verdict: Good! Juan Or's response: so-so only and at one point started refusing it.

Tauhu Kang - beancurd soup with shredded crab meat in superior stock. Papa and Mommy's verdict: Very good! Juan Or's response: so-so only and at one point started refusing it.

Sweet potato leaves stir-fried with sambal belacan (chilli shrimp paste). Papa's verdict: Good! Mommy's verdict: Very good! (but verdict may be a little biased because Mommy is a vegetable lover). Juan Or's response: "I WANT SOME MORE!"

Additional verdict by Juan Or for plain white rice: "Good! I want some more!" (Juan Or has this peculiar preference for plain white rice minus the gravy from meat dishes). Weird, huh!?

Finished eating, stomach full, feel happy already. Can act like Popeye, "TOOT! TOOT!"