Cheque collection in Seremban

“Maybe that’s what life is… a wink of the eye and winking stars...”- Jack Kerouac

(Street Arts in Seremban around the lawyer's office)

We were on the road early this morning. Today we made an appointment with the lawyer's office for our cheque collection and finalisation of the sales of our Pedas land.

On the way to Seremban, we stopped at Elmina R&R to have breakfast. 

(Early breakfast at Elmina R&R Northbound)

(Nasi Lemak, Kuew Teow goreng and Roti tib-tab)

The  transactions with the lawyer was fast and efficient. As we still have time to spare before lunch time, we visited the Negeri Sembilan State Museum. It was raining quite heavily when we were in the museum.

we drove back to our Bidara House and stopped at Elmina R&R for lunch.

(Lunch at Elmina R&R Northbound)

(Asam pedas set and Sup tulang for lunch)

Selling off our Kebun in Pedas...

 "Never measure your life by possessions. Measure it by the heart you touched, the smiles you created, and the love you shared..."

(On time for our appointment)

In mid 1995, a few BNM colleagues and I decided to purchase a piece of land in Pedas, Negeri Sembilan. 

I took a loan from Bank Rakyat to partially finance the purchase. The rest came from whatever savings I had that time. The land was divided into about an acre each with varieties of fruit trees planted on the land. For a few years, we engaged someone to look after the land.

Our three children were still young then. Almost every other weekends we visited the kebun and had fun picnicking under the fruit trees and clearing bushes. Once the children left home and stayed in the hostels during their Primary School years, then to colleges, we visited the kebun less and less.

Busy with work commitments and travellings, we completely ignored that piece of land. A few times we tried to sell it off but could not find a genuine buyer. Until recently, someone came knocking at our door to ask whether the land was still for sale.

And finally, we managed to sell our Kebun in Pedas at a right price.

 

(The lawyer office in Seremban)

(Carefully checking the terms of the S&P)

(Contract signing)

Still bearing fruits...

"Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms..."

(Old durian trees)

(A good harvest)

The durian season is in full swing.

Two weeks ago when hubby visited our kebun in Sungai Rambai the fruits were still unripe and gave no indication of dropping. But since last week, they have started harvesting. The harvest it quite bountiful so we shared some with siblings and relatives in our kampung.

These few days, I am going to indulge in durian feast. Contrary to popular belief, durian is not harmful to our health. In fact, this king of fruits has good monounsaturated fats that can actually lower cholesterol levels and moderate high blood pressure.

Regardless, durian must be consumed with moderation as it is also high in calories and carbohydrates.

(D168 or IOI, delicious and sweet...)

Harvest from my kebun...

"You aren't wealthy until you have something money can't buy..."

(Rambutan and dokong from our dusun)

This year the harvest from our fruit orchard is bountiful...

During the month of Ramadhan we have been collecting basketfull of durians from our kebun and have been distributing them to family and friends. The season for durian is coming to its end but we have the dokong and rambutan fruits starting to ripe on the trees.

After the busy Raya festivities, we will need to start harvesting the dokong and rambutan fruits. If not, the squirrels will have a great time feasting...

Durian home deliveries...

"You can't fall if you don't climb, but there's no joy in living your whole life on the ground..."

(Durian fruit from our kebun)

I offered my friends some durian fruits from my kebun.

Last two days the harvest was plentiful and we brought back a full-load of durian fruits in our pick-up. The same night we did home deliveries to Damansara Height and Kampung Tunku. The next day, we made  delivery to Klang, Shah Alam, Kota Warisan and Kajang and clear all of our harvest.

Our dokong and rambutan fruits are ripening fast too. Hopefully the harvest will be as bountiful as the durians.

(A delivery in Shah Alam)

(Nasidah's beautiful garden)

(Next delivery to Sariah's house in Kota Warisan)

Where Little Fairies Play...

"You know you're on the right track when you become uninterested in looking back..."

(For our teh tarik session with the bikers gang)

So many years have passed...

It has been nearly more than 4 years since I take care of my ailing emak and abah, three days a week. All three of our kebun in Sungai Rambai, Sungai Baru and Pedas have been totally neglected. Last year, after much discussions and contemplation, hubby and I had decided to sell off our kebun in Sungai Baru and donated the proceeds to a Madrasah Tahfiz. It was a good bargain when the buyer was willing to pay double the original price and learning that we are donating the proceeds, he added another RM20k to the selling price as part of his sedekah!

The buyer was also willing to lease our kebun Sungai Rambai and will convert the 3.5 acres of land into a small-scale Oil Palm plantation. We had drawn up an agreement for the lease of 15 years and whatever proceeds from the produce will be divided equally.

While the land is on lease, our tukang kebun will take care of whatever fruit trees left in the kebun. We will still continue to enjoy the durian and dokong fruits from our orchards during fruiting seasons. 

(Leaving some for the squirrels)

(Our chalet in the kebun, a resting place)

So many years have passed me by

I miss the morning dew on the grass

or the chirping of the birds on the tree

and the scampering of little squirrels, so free 

So many years have passed me by

I left my childhood in a place so far
where happy memories stay
In the garden where little fairies play...

Kerengga Challenge...

“If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich...” - Lao Tzu

(Once bitten, twice shy...)

For a few consecutive weeks we have been busy harvesting rambutan and dokong and have been bringing full basket loads to the office and some we sedekah to the Masjid. Most of the rambutan has been harvested. Except for some higher up which we didn’t manage to pluck, we’ll leave them to the resident bats and the visiting squirrels to feast on.

'

(The dokong is ripening fast)

We have not been to the kebun for almost 2 weeks as we were busy with the happenings in KL. And last weekend, when we went to inspect the dokong trees there were a lot more to be harvested. While hubby was busy bush-cutting around the chalet, the harvesting was left to me to manage.

(Baskets of sweet dokong)

Unlike rambutan, harvesting dokong is quite a challenge for I have to climb the trees (with the help of a ladder, of course) and to carefully pluck the fruits to avoid them falling to the ground and scattered all over the place.
'
Further more I have to bear with the painful bites of the kerengga to get to the fruits…. Arghhh…

Besar kepala monyet...

“You will lose what you value most, so treasure it while you can.” - Richelle Mead

(Buah durian besar kepala monyet)

Last Friday we went back to our kebun and spent the long weekend in our chalet to have a good rest of body and mind. The weather was unbearably hot during the day but there was heavy rainstorm all night long.

(Buah yang kecik ni boleh bertahan ke?)

The next morning we went to inspect our fruit orchards and saw many pre-mature durian fruits littered the ground around the trees and felt so disappointed. My abah used to tell me not to worry about this. He said that when the durian fruit is as big as the monkey’s head, it will be strong and will not drop easily. And will stay on the tree until it ripens.

(Tupai belum dapat bau lagi ni... Need to clear the creepers...)

InsyaAllah kalau menjadi buah2 tahun ni, boleh jamu satu kampung.. he he...

Earth Hour...

“Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you…” - Terry Pratchett

'
We were in the kebun that night.

Earlier we reminded each other about the Earth Hour and in what way we can contribute. I have voted to switch off the lights for an hour but we don’t even have electricity in our chalet, so how to switch off the light switch?

Instead, we switched off the generator and sat at the verandah in the dark, watched beautiful fireflies among the durian trees, and listened to the silent of the night…

I wish hubby had switched off his cigarette but the mosquitoes were also celebrating and feasting too. Sigh…

The fruit trees are flowering...

“Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be…”- Elizabeth Gilbert

(My uniform in the kebun)

That day after a hard-day’s work cutting and getting rid of creepers and wild vines that have pulled down some parts of the fence around the kebun, we rested under our favorite durian tree and noticed small buds coming out of the branches. A few weeks later, we saw flowers blooming from the branches of the other durian trees. The rambutan and dokong trees are flowering too.

(Durian)

(Rambutan)

(Dokong)

My heart jumped with joy!

I am looking forward to harvesting those sweet durians, juicy rambutans and tasty dokong. Yeah!

Cerita biawak

"The bad days make the good days better..."

(As big as a small crocodile)

We visited our kebun Sg. Rambai only on weekends. So most of the time the chalet is left empty. Very often when we go back to our kebun, we’ll find other creatures making comfortable homes in our chalet. I don’t know what attracted them but we have bird nests on the roof and bee hives in the bathroom. We also find rats making their nests under the sink. We even have a couple of resident bats, looking after our chalet. We cleared nests and hives and they’ll be gone for a while, but a few days later, they’ll come again to take shelter and stay. After we spread sulphur and spray insecticide around the chalets, they stopped coming back.

But until recently…

We were rudely awakened by the noises in the attic. At first, we thought it must be some rats making their nests up there but when we went up to investigate, we found a pair of biawak (monitor lizards). No, not the big ugly ones like the komodo lizards but smaller. The easiest way to get rid of them is to kill them with something sharp but cold blooded murderers we are not! And on seeing us they fled speedily away.

We bought some eggs, made tiny holes and inserted some poison and left the eggs in the attic. Last weekend, we found one dead decomposing biawak. Another one to go… That evening we heard the other biawak searching the attic looking for his partner. When hubby went up to investigate, he shouted from the attic:

‘yang ini pun dah nak mati. Tak gerak2 pun. Nanti later I remove bila dia dah mati betul2…’

The rest of the day we did other chores and when it was nearing dark, hubby when up the attic to remove the dead biawak. To his surprise the biawak was no more there…

Before and after

“Sometimes love means letting go when you want to hold on tighter...”- Melissa Marr

Our back-breaking painting project is almost completed. The chalet will need another coat of paint later but for now, we'll leave it as is for our backs need a good rest...

(Before)

(After)

Major repairs...

“Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone…”- Dorothy Parker

(View from the back of the chalet)

On the way back to our kebun Sg. Rambai, we stopped at Excel Training Centre at Broga to check on the team-building program attended by half of my staff. By the look of things, they were having so much fun. We didn’t stay too long and later took the Seremban-Melaka old road, stopped to eat the famous cendol Leman Dawi and reached our kebun late afternoon.

The whole afternoon, we tried our skills in carpentering and managed to assemble a few planks into make-shift steps for the chalet. The original steps had rotted and fallen apart long time ago. Next day, he bush-cut around the chalet. I excused myself from doing heavy work because of my back-ache and managed to clear some dried leaves. The chalet needs a new paint and some repairs. We'll think about all this after we return from our 4x4 trip to Phuket and Songkhla this coming CNY holiday....

A few pics taken around the chalet.

'

(View from the side window)

(The water tank)

(A wishing well?)

Back pain...

"Things will happen in your life that you can't stop. But that's not reason to shut out the world..."

After the 3-hour meeting on that Friday, I was complaining of lower back pain.

Despite that, the week-end was spent in the kebun and clearing bee-hives in the chalet bathroom. Last week when we noticed a lot of bees hanging around the kitchen we thought that they were only taking shelter after a heavy rain but then when we saw the hives, then we know that they were serious to stay. Getting rid of the bees and cleaning the hives was a tough job. We managed to chase the bees away by burning coconut husks and hosing them down with insecticides. Once or twice we were chased by the swarm but we managed to lock ourselves in the car until they were tired of waiting and dispersed..

(Hubby clearing bushes behind the chalet...)

My lower back pain didn’t go away. After that sudden onset, the pain radiated to the left leg. Sometimes there will be a dull ache but most of the time there will be a sharp pain especially after sitting down for long.

I visited my physician and complained and was given muscle relaxant and pain killer which after consuming the load for a week still didn’t seems to keep the pain to a manageable level.
'
I need to treat my condition, if not I will be limping throughout my trip to India this coming Christmas!

Blissful moments...

"Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss..."

Over the years, we became busy with work and other things, the kids went to boarding schools, universities and later work and got married. Kebun Sungai Rambai has been somewhat neglected. Even though there was an effort to pay some one to look after this kebun and 2 more kebun that we have acquired after that, but what a waste of money.

(Resting after a hard day"s work...)

Almost every weekend now, we go back to kebun Sungai Rambai and clear bushes and lalang. The back-breaking process is made easy with bush-cutters and machineries. But still, it is tiring after a day’s hard work. But it is also a form of exercise as we sweat buckets and sleep like a log at night. And we enjoy the fresh air, the serenity of the surroundings, and the chirping sounds of birds and insects during sunrise and sunset.
'
The old cempedak trees have rotted and died. Some durian and dokong trees that remain have been pruned back to provide space and light, some will eventually be removed and replaced with new fruit trees. Some fruit trees do remain as testament to those blissful moments when the kids were still young and used to play around the chalet and in the attic.

Kampung Retreat...

"Maybe we never really know how good we have it, until it's gone..."

(Save the best for last...)

(Harvest for the day...)

More than 10 years ago, when we bought the kebun Sungai Rambai, it was a jungle, literally. The previous owner who was a retired teacher sold off this property at a relatively cheap price as the family was not keen of staying far from civilization. The nearest house is a few miles away and the nearest town is the scarcely populated pekan Sungai Rambai. The kebun is isolated and mostly surrounded by fruit orchards and small-scale palm oil plantation. The kebun itself is a 3.5 acres durian orchard with some dokong, rambutan and cempedak planted here and there. When the kids were still schooling we built a small chalet, the design idea came from one of the chalet we saw along the beach of Trengganu.

'

We use to spend weekends and holidays in the kebun, especially during the fruiting seasons.

Fruits from our orchard...

“Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day..."

(Sweet pulasan)

We picked up the laundry and had breakfast nasi lemak at Tanglin before the two of us drove to Melaka. The last time we went back to visit Abah and Mak was three months ago. On the way there we stopped at Nilai 3 and have a look around the shops. The textile sales are really cheap. The weather was hot and there were a lot of people from all over to shop.

We reached Melaka late afternoon and stopped for lunch at a warong somewhere near the Mahkota Parade. Abah and Mak were happy to see us and we were feasted with fruits from our kebun. Mak packed some rambutans, pulasan and dokong for us to bring home. We didn’t get to taste our durian today as they were all hi-jacked by others siblings who balik kampung earlier than us.

We headed back to KL and reached KL early. Tonight we rested well and slept soundly.

Our Fruits orchard...

“I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.” - Mae West

(My Mak's sambal tumis is still the best)

Today we decided to go back to Melaka to visit Mak and Abah. We started from home at 10 a.m. and had breakfast of Nasi Lemak bungkus at Sungai Buluh R&R. The Air Keroh area was jammed with traffic because of the ‘Sure Heboh Concert’. Mak and Abah were already waiting for us to have lunch together. The sambal tumis udang and ikan goreng makes the meal so very delicious.

After lunch we went to Sungai Rambai with Abah and Mak to have a look at our kebun. The kebun was unkempt and the chalet looked uninviting. We couldn't even get inside, as the lock was rusty. Need to ask Zul to clean up the place. The bright side was we could see some flowering durian and rambutan trees. Can’t wait to have another durian party soon.

We had tea before we headed back to KL, stopped at Mega Mall and bought me 2 pairs of boots.