Despite the irritating children between 1am and 2am I woke as usual at 5.30am, in my luxurious room.
Its 10.30am now and I will finish today at the Orchid Conference preview! How different can it get?
By 6am, clear full moon, I was walking towards this CC hoping its open, determined to stop for the first stall open. Why am I always famished at 6am despite full dinners? What a good choice.
The stall family couldn't understand me, but a customer in his 20s translated and we sat together. Soon I had teh with milk and rice with an egg, ok its the typical stirred-up egg in a fried egg shape. He had jasmine teh and rice porridge. He told me he works in JB (Johor Bahru) as do the workers more and more driving past us, some stopping for a takeaway pack of a scoop of rice, a scoop of sembal and this egg, quickly wrapped up in a square of paper by the elderly shop owner.
This man was surprised I had heard of Pontian let alone come here, he apologised for the run down appearance - but the taxi driver and also the restaurant man had done the same yesterday and immediately said 'but the people are very friendly' so I knew the appropriate response. He said, it is cheap to live here but the jobs are in JB.
The visitors are mainly from elsewhere in Malaysia, Singapore of course, Thailand, maybe China and Taiwan or middle east. They come for the seafood experience. The people in the wooden dwellings over the river are the actual fishermen, a mix of Chinese, Malay and Portuguese, and also a mix of religions.
7am walking along, the tide was in and many more little boats by the 'shacks' up the river - kinda long dinghies with a shade cover and a small outboard motor. The dawn was lightening and no sign of life so I wandered about the little back street or two, Kulong Atap. The dwellings mostly had a car parked, not new, and many had little Buddhist? shrines like I'd seen outside the fabric shops and other little shops, with offerings of two apples and two oranges.
Also, many had Chinese style lanterns. At the 'street' frontage, many of the houses are wow! just like the 'traditional Malay' replica in the Stadthuys Museum - the budget version - a bedroom to each side with fans evident in the ceiling, and a centre room with the front entrance and maybe the lanterns outside.
CC closed.
Cruised back to the hotel via the rocky sea shore to look at the mangroves. Stop and observe the mudflats are full of camo wading birds. And, here comes a huge heron out of the mangroves - very tall, stately, wading serenely.
The sea was timeless with two men near the shore in one of these little boats, the full moon setting and the sun now blazing about 20 degrees off the horizon.
Freshen up, pack up, store my luggage at the hotel and thought I'd better return here to let you know I'm ok. So my cheap warehouse sandals have already covered maybe 7km today. I stopped at the same family hotel for second breakfast (I'm a good hobbit)they were happy to see me, this time I had noodle soup with pork, very nice about $2 including a cup of teh and I used their square of paper to wrap up and present to the elderly lady my last two choc milkbiscuits 'NZ snak' I said to the son.
As you can tell, the CC is now open. These teenage boys peering at loud screens.
I have left the hotel manager a COS orchid badge with a note about it being Pt banksii.
Have also passed on the karma of my queue-jumping friend by photocopying my WOC registration and writing on it that he is my friend and asking for him to get express entry to the show.
Now, back to the hotel for the pack, I will pay for a taxi to the station as it will be hot out. Then an hour back to Larkin, over the causeway and into Singapore, and to find the Hotel Miramar on Havelock Road and let the 20WOC Begin!
I will be sad to leave Malaysia. It's been a fascinating and upbeat experience. Wouldn't say I've been on holiday, well not on holiday mode too alert for that, but, has it only been a week?
xxM
