22/09/09

An epic upload of pics from a magnificent day out.

Stayed overnight chez Henry and Liz in Sungai Buloh, a town north of Kuala Lumpur.

Breakfast of roti canai at a local Tamil restaurant.

Swirling and turning the dough into a paper-thin sheet.

Folded four times to make a pseudo puff pastry base.

Griddled with loadsa ghee and additonal Planta margarine.
Ghee almost sounds like a swearword when it comes to dietary issues, clarified butter seems more forgiving.

The usual accompaniments of fish curry sauce (no morsels as standard) and dhal apply.
The best roti still comes from Uma Rani, see here.

Driving through rural Selangor.
Our destination was the small town of Kuala Selangor on the west coast of the peninsula.

Climbing up the steep steps leading to Bukit Melawati.
You know you're old when you've been lagged behind at some distance!

The lighthouse on top of the hill is supposed to be iconic to the town of Kuala Selangor, but no mention of it in Mikipedia.

There's always something about the sky near the coast...

...and unlike KL, no smog to speak of.

Not quite the Amazon, but the country still has a decent amount of rainforests. Catch it while you can.

The benches don't look too unlike the headstones found in the Chinese cemeteries nearby.

Nephews Nic (6) and Ethan (3).
Boisterous and hyperactive are polite descriptions of them.

Their Mum, Liz...

...and Dad, Henry.
I've been incessantly reminded that we look alike.

Nic gaining a good depth effect of...

...the eagle.
If only I had a 500m lens. A group of keen birdwatchers from the States were euphoric with the sight, one of them even went on to say that it was more difficult to see their own bald eagle in the wild.

The top of the hill is also home to an old fort in ruins. The Dutch were responsible for these historic remnants, the fort was constructed to protect the lucrative tin trade in late 18th century.

Hitching a free ride on board the hill bus
(We found out later that it wasn't supposed to be free, just a case of poor policing and the staff have given up on the passengers' leisurely hopping on and off antics. Henry did at the end of the day make a purposeful contribution.)

Long-tailed macaques or monkeys.
This lot are less extrovert than the one shown below.

Our next destination.

The girl who sat next to me on the bus.
She totally ignored the scenes on the descent, she was fixated by my camera.

Male Golden Pheasant captured at the forest reserve of Taman Alam Kuala Selangor.

And his missus.

Mangrove plant life.

Cheeky monkey.

The small fishing village of Pasir Penambang.
The cars shown belong mainly to the city folks from KL in search of a seafood meal.

Sleepy village, time forgotten shops.

Hyperactivity postponed for the time being.

The seafood restaurant, perched rather precariously on wooden stilts.

Food is one of the primary reasons why Malaysians thrive on getting together. They'll also travel great distances just to have lunch or dinner.

Mum and a tired looking Ethan hoping for a glimpse of mudskippers.

Steamed Grouper.

There's only one way to serve fish freshly killed from the tank, simply steamed.
Delectable.

None of us were that hungry after the roti breakfast. In addition to the fish we had some forgettable butter prawns and excellent locally grown beans.

For afters Henry popped over the road to the bakery.

One can't beat deliciousness that come out straight from the oven.

Bay Tay Saw.
Hokkien biscuit filled with sticky maltose.

The boy has regained his form and relishing the warm biscuit.

This is a fishing village, so the following snapshots apply.

Salted Fish.

Prawn Crackers shop/factory.

Sun drying the discs of precooked crackers.
You can forget about the ones they thrown in at the Chinese takeaways back in Britain or the prepacked supermarket variety; this the real thing and they contain real prawns.

Bucket of Pissing Prawns.

The one shown is around 5" long. They crawl with their legs and I think of them as aquactic woodlice. The pissing tag comes from the excitable squirting of water when they're manhandled. Like crayfish, they taste bland.

Fisherman/fishmonger/villager taking a well earned break away from the frightful sun.

A big thank-you to Liz and Henry for an illuminative Sunday Tuesday.