National conference of clinical research

As a committee member of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, I volunteered some time to man the booth at this year's 15th National Conference of Clinical Research (NCCR) in Penang as I had some time to spare on the 18th of October which was today. 

The NCCR had brought together some 200 to 300 people from around the country to listen to medical specialists talk about their line of work. I sat in for the plenary sessions before the official opening and quite enjoyed the first and third speakers. 

But my actual duty, as I said earlier, was to man the Society's rather modest booth. Two banners explained what we were all about. It was quite an experience and it was a pity that I could not spare more time for the second and third days of the conference tomorrow and the day after. 

It was so satisfying to meet with doctors and clinical researchers from all parts of the country. Some had heard of Wu Lien-Teh but many had not. But once I mentioned face mask to them, they readily recognised the contribution of one of Malaysia's greatest unsung heroes. 

Myself with the hard-working Secretary of the Wu Lien-Teh Society, Dr Hor Chee Peng, who was doubling up as a Master of Ceremony at this NCCR

History of Penang, part two

From the Straits Echo of 18 August 1903, I shall continue with the second instalment of the newspaper's History of Penang. Click here for Part One of this story.

HISTORY OF PENANG.
(Specially written for the Straits Echo.)

CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAYS ISSUE. (Note: This referred to the Straits Echo of 17 August 1903)

On May 2nd 1786 Capt. Light received his letter of instructions for establishing a Settlement of Penang and immediately set sail for Malayan waters. The following information is gathered from Capt. Light's own diary.—

On June 29th 1786, Capt. Light anchored in the Quedah Roads near Alor Star, and landed the following morning under a salute from the fort and three volleys from the marines. He was received by the Rajah's “merchant,” (Financial Minister), an official who managed his commercial affairs. Information was sent to the Rajah of the Captain’s arrival with letters and presents from the Governor-General in Council. Light found that war was raging between Siam and Burma, that Quedah was threatened and that the Rajah had sent for marines to his residence to intimidate the Siamese. Capt. Light landed formally on the 1st July, with the letter and presents, amidst a salute from the ships, forts and marines. He was received by a guard of honor composed of Malays with colours (banners) and trumpets and conducted to the Laxamana's (admiral's,) house where the Rajah's representative, a Said, received the letter and presents, when apologies were made for the absence of the great men, who were at the seat of war. The Rajah's “merchant” considered the present too small and the Captain added 100 muskets which, in their present, situation, was of more consequence than the rest. On the 3rd July agreeably with a message from the Rajah, Capt. Light, with a sergeant of Artillery, a dozen marines, drum and fife, went up stream and arrived next morning. He was received, without any state, by the Rajah, who was much troubled at a passage in the Governor-General's letter, which he did not understand, for it seemed to threaten him with pains and penalties if he did not comply with the Governor-General’s request. Light pointed out that there must be some mistake in the translation of the document and the Rajah then appeared satisfied with regard to the difficult passage, and after reading the translation again to his visitor he obliged him to sign it. The treaty of cession was then only signed subject to the approval of the Board of Directors in Loudon. On the 10th of July Captain Light took leave of the Rajah of Quedah with the duly signed treaty and reached the Quala in the morning and spent the next three days embarking the people and provisions. On the 14th at 5p.m. the[y] sailed on the Eliza in company with the Prince Henry and Speedwell, and anchored off Pulo Tikus (an island) on the 15th, and with a flood tide and light breeze the little fleet ran into Penang harbour and anchored in 13 fathoms of water within nmusket shot of shore.

On July 17th Lieutenant Gray of the Speedwell landed with marines on Point Penaggar, a low sandy point which is stated to lie where the Esplanade now is: but con­sidering that up to a few years ago this was is under water after heavy rain, it is more probable the land near the Fort Point, between the end of Light St., and the iron wharf, opposite the Government buildings, was the landing place. The Europeans landed next day when the Marines and Lascars were employed in clearing the woods and pitching tents. From the 20th July till the beginning of August the island Settlement presented a busy aspect -- attap houses, with ataps from Quedah, were erected and wells were dug. The water in the wells was of a reddish hue owing to the Penaggar roots. The emigrants from Kedah were allowed to erect a small Bazaar near the Cantonment, and Nakodah Katchi, with a guard of marines, was put in charge to prevent impositions on either side. The artillery and stores were landed on August 11th, when the site of the new town was laid out, The spot occupied by the pioneers was about 200 yards broad and bounded on the N.E. and S.E. by the open sea. A good stretch of fine sand ran along the beach to Bagan Jermal, where a stream of excellent water ran into the sea. To the South of the clearing ran another fine beach as far as about Bukit Dunbar, and was interrupted by numerous creeks. That portion of the town which is bounded by Light, Pitt and  Market Streets was now laid out, and what was then the beach is now known as Beach Street. Different parts of the town were assigned to the various nationalities, and the Chulias, natives of India, still occupy the same locality as they did in the good old days.

THE HOISTING OF THE COLOURS.

On the 12th August H.M.S. Valentine arrived in the harbour and Capt. Light con­sidered it a good opportunity for taking formal possession of the Island. At noon Capt. Light, with several captains of His Majesty’s ships in the harbour, and gentlemen passengers of the ships with 100 newly-raised Marines—who knew nothing about their duties—15 Artillery men and 30 Lascars assembled under the Flag Staff. The act of possession having been read in presence of the assembled gentlemen, Marines, the Military and people, Capt. Light and the officers of His Majesty's ships hoisted the Union Jack, the artillery and ships firing a royal salute and the Marines three volleys. The new acquisition was named “Prince of Wales Island" in honour of the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV), as it was formally occupied on the eve of his birthday, while the little township was called “George Town” after his father, George III. After the ceremony the company assembled adjourned to celebrate the great event. Penang was long thought to lie uninhabited, but when Capt. Light landed he found 58 men, women and children near the foot of the hills at Datu Kramat, and on the founding of the Settlement (George Town) they asked permission, which was granted, to come in and build houses in the little township. A French padre came over from Quedah bringing his flock and settled along the coast at Pulo Tikus, as they do to this day. The tide of emigration now flowed freely from Quedah to Penang and soon after the settlement was founded we find the “Chu­lias," natives of India, and British subjects  and long resident under the Rajah of Quedah, leaving that place and settling in Pinang. The word “Chulia” is now obsolete and has given place to the more modern “Kling.” Malays and their prows came in great numbers, the majority for trade, but not a few came on mischief and plunder bent. By October of the year of founding, we find that there was a’ stock of cattle and poultry on the Island, all imported from Quedah, which thrived exceedingly well and as time went on multiplied and increased, proving sufficient for the needs of the settlers. The ships in harbour, at the time, found their wants fully supplied by provisions imported from Quedah. The inhabitants increased very fast and were it not for the Dutch at Malacca, who kept a strict watch over and checked the Chinese emigrating to Prince of Wales’ Island, more would have left that place, but nevertheless they came in considerable numbers. A fort of nibongs was erected near the point for the defence of the Island during the absence of the warships. In spite of the contempt and derision with which the Dutch treated the new settlement it continued to increase to the great joy of Capt. Light.

For some reason, which is not known, interested parties in Bengal did their utmost to injure the new settlement, but little harm was done: for in 1788, two years after the acquisition of the Island, we find that 400 acres were put under cultivation, while the next year the population of the settlement figured at 10,000, all self-supporting. Trade increased so much that the total exports were valued at 600,000 Sp. dollars, while the value of imports was about the same. The following year (1790) Che Kay, a Chinaman, introduced the pepper vine in the island from Acheen under the patronage of the Superintendent, who advanced him money for that purpose. 

Capt. Light in the same year pointed out that his duties as Superintendent and his position as merchant were opposed to each other, while a salary of Rupees 1,000 was too small an income to admit of his giving up his partnership with his friend James Scott, a merchant. [The firm of Light and Scott, afterwards Brown & Co., was established in 1795 and came to grief about 100 years later.] His position as Superintendent and principal merchant gave him ample opportunity of enriching himself, but such was the character of the man that he did not attempt to do so. 

Prince of Wales’ Island increased in prosperity at such a rate that what Capt. Light dreaded most came to pass. The Rajah of Quedah became extremely jealous of its prosperity, and on the plea that tin revenues were considerably diminished, demanded an addition of $4000 to his annual stipend to compensate him for the loss. Capt. Light had no power to grant it and therefore refused: so the Rajah made preparations for seizing the Island for which purpose he assembled a large force, of about 10,000 men, and a fleet of 20 war prows manned by “lanoons" (pirates) at Prye, where a stockade was erected. Everything was ready for an attack on the island and the Malay Prince was waiting for a certain propitious day for the attack, when Capt. Light, with four hundred well-armed men, captured the fort at Prye (on the 12th April) and completely routed the fleet of pirate prows. A few days later (April 16th), the Rajah sued for peace and a new treaty, afterwards confirmed by the Supreme Government, was concluded. The new treaty provided for the exclusion of all other Europeans not trading or settling in Quedah, the mutual exchange of slaves, debtors and murderers, and the importation of foodstuffs and last, but not least, an annual grant of $10,000 to the Rajah.

(To be continued).

Continuation + change

In today's print copy of The Edge, a story about their former Managing Director's foray into abstract art, reviving his interest from the 1970s. Although Lim Siang Jin and I had collaborated on many projects in the past, this here, obviously a labour of love, is entirely his own. My congratulations to him on his very first solo art exhibition, Restart 2020: Continuation + Change, which starts next Friday in Kuala Lumpur on the 21st of October! Visit his own website here and be enthralled by his works! (If the text on this image is too small to read, the article is reproduced in full here.) (PS. It's a small world but I must add here that the writer, Tan Gim Ean, was my ex-colleague from our days at the National Echo in Penang.)

BY TAN GIM EAN

Art, an underlying passion for Lim Siang Jin, inspired two spontaneous spurts between the mid-1970s and late 80s, resulting in more than 100 paintings. But he felt they were insufficient for a solo and “not good enough to show because there was not enough cohesion to my style”.

A career in publishing, communications, branding and marketing, and family commitments — he is a father of two — also restrained him from dedicating more time to art. “You either do it seriously or you don’t,” he believes. So, he put it aside for 30 years.

Disoriented when Covid-19 struck, Siang Jin, as he is better known, decided to collate and disseminate information on what was happening then, and also repack and catalogue some of his more meaningful belongings, among which was art scattered all over the house. Trial Painting Twelve (1981) an uncompleted work in a sketchbook, caught his eye and he wondered if he could develop it with fresh ideas.

Restarting from where he left off decades ago was on top of his mind. He did 12 mini postcards based on that work in May 2020 and was happy with the results. His enthusiasm in art reignited, he went on to do 10 bigger pieces using acrylic and drawing ink on paper.

These “restart” paintings represent his attempt to bring some continuity to what he did in the 1980s as well as change, the self-taught artist says. In the last two years, they have snowballed into nine genres of work that make up Restart 2020: Continuation & Change, his debut solo exhibition that opens on Oct 21 at A Place Where by APW, in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

The biographical expressions fall under various “themes”: Restart 2020: Continuation & Change (from which the show title is derived); Excerpts from a Doodle; Fear & Hope in Covid Times; Adventures with Acrylic; Exaggerated Stills: Expanding Mental Horizons in the World of the Mundane; Schticks: Revisiting 1989; Unconnected? (With Pot-Bellied Man); and Evocative Durian, Mystifying Durian.

Adventures with Acrylic marks the first change in his approach: he gave in to a touch of frivolity and not take art too seriously. “I tried to be whimsical and have fun with the forms — little things added together to form a picture. I was drawing in part for children so they could enjoy the pieces.”

Many of the pieces were instinctive, drawn fresh or from excerpts of earlier images, such as a doodle he did on tracing paper in 1988. Fear & Hope in Covid Times, also unplanned, developed in mid-June 2021 from an earlier painting and captures the contradictory emotions he felt throughout the pandemic.

Returning to art relieved Siang Jin of the boredom of lockdowns but not dark thoughts spawned by the Covid-19 variants. To stop himself going down the slope of what scared him, he did some black “doodles” and turned canvases sketched-but-not-executed into Back to Black 2021.

Schticks was born from sketches done between 1989 and 1991, when he was head of publications at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Isis) Malaysia. There is some gimmickry about the heads, torsos and limbs, and revisiting them early in the pandemic brought some closure to the project.

In Unconnected? (With Pot-Bellied Man), Siang Jin assembles seemingly unconnected but related shapes in two or three visual perspectives, using neutral colours, animal shapes woven into the picture and people in various actions. This series shows his keenness to experiment and move from one style to another.

Evocative Durian, Mystifying Durian, the main piece of his show, marries analogue and digitally manipulated images that are then shot through glass, which distorts and adds another dimension to the big picture. The idea is to create works reflecting the evocative feelings associated with the king of fruits.

Siang Jin is also very proud of his acrylic series and exaggerated stills as “the essence of modern art is to create an interesting form that stands by itself, but exaggerated aesthetically”. A curtain, lotus seed, battery, table, pill box, bracelet, toy, an iron or washing machine can be exaggerated, aesthetically, to fit a rectangle. It’s the same principle as cubism, he reckons.

Restart 2020 comes after many failed attempts to return to art in the last three decades. “There was no momentum. Mindset is very important too — you must be able to see some direction, the possibility of movement. It’s a combination of confidence, vision and the ability to commit time, effort and money.”

The relief of being able to paint again heightens the joy of creativity. With art being an integral part of his life now, he hopes to tap into his 40-year production experience and work with others to do new things.

He also wants to make art accessible to everyone, especially to those who say they do not get abstract pieces and does that on limsiangjin.art. “I want to explain the motives because it’s not that difficult to understand.”

If Siang Jin, 69, seems like an artist in a hurry, it is because Covid has amplified his sense of mortality. A friend told him, coming to the end of your shelf life, just go ahead if you feel like doing something. “That’s what I’m doing now," he quips.

Restart 2020: Continuation & Change runs from Oct 21 to 30 at A Place Where by APW, 29 Jalan Riong, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Viewing from 10am to 6pm daily. For details, visit apw.my or call (03) 2282 3233

 

Emptiness...cold, dark, black emptiness

William Shatner, now 91 years old, who played Captain James T Kirk in the original Star Trek television series in the 1960s, had the opportunity to travel beyond Earth's atmosphere in a space tourism flight last year, has released his autobiography which included a description of his feelings while up there. According to a CNN story, it wasn't a feeling of exhilaration.

“All I saw was death,” he wrote in his book called Boldly Go, “I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. It was deep, enveloping, all-encompassing. I turned back toward the light of home. I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her. Everything I had thought was wrong; everything I had expected to see was wrong.”

While he had expected to be awed at the vision of the cosmos, seen without the filter of the Earth’s atmosphere, he instead became overwhelmed by the idea that humans are slowly destroying our home planet. It was one of the strongest feelings of grief he had ever encountered. 

And in a CNN interview later, he elaborated, “When I got up to space, I wanted to get to the window to see what it was that was out there. I looked at the blackness of space. There were no dazzling lights. It was just palpable blackness. I believed I saw death. And then I looked back at the Earth. Given my background and having read a lot of things about the evolution of Earth over 5 billion years and how all the beauty of nature has evolved, I thought about how we’re killing everything. I felt this overwhelming sadness for the Earth. I didn’t realize it until I got down. When I stepped out of the spacecraft, I started crying. I didn’t know why. It took me hours to understand why I was weeping. I realized I was in grief for the Earth. I don’t want to ever forget, nor have I forgotten, the momentousness of that occasion.”

Read the CNN story here.

The Hutchings commemoration services

With only days left before Penang Free School celebrates its 206th anniversary, I've been scouring through my computer for pictures of the Hutchings commemoration services at his grave in the Protestant cemetery at Northam Road. There aren't many. 

In fact, prior to me getting interested in this service in 2012, the only two pictures I could find had appeared in the 1949 and 1967 issues of the school magazine. That was only because the 1949 magazine had chosen to record the very first service at Hutchings' grave which was initiated by the Headmaster of the day, JE Tod. And as for the 1967 magazine, it recorded the visit to Hutchings' grave as part of the Sesquicenternary celebrations the year earlier. 

But in 2012, right after the kick-off dinner for the Free School's Bicentenary celebrations, I began wondering whether this tradition was still being observed by the Prefects Board. So when I was told yes, I decided to go and see it for myself. Ever since then, I've been going to Hutchings' grave annually on the 21st of October and I'm glad that more Old Frees, notably from The Old Frees' Association, have now made it a point to keep this tradition alive too. Here is a collection of pictures and images through the years.

(Note: The only year that I had missed this tradition was in 2018 when I was in Kuala Lumpur. I was supposed to attend the Convocation ceremony of one of my nephews but I ended up attending the pre-wake of Tan Chin Nam instead.)

1948

1966

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

History of Penang, part one

My thanks to my fellow facebooker, Jeffery Seow, for highlighting this story which had appeared initially in the Straits Echo in 1903. It was about the early history of Penang, something that many of us today are not aware of as these were events that had happened more than two centuries ago. Just as the story then was serialised over several weeks, I too shall reproduce them here over several posts. Here is the first one which appeared on 17 August 1903.

HISTORY OF PENANG.
(Specially written for the Straits Echo.)

The first mention of Penang in the history of Malaya is in the year of grace 1592. We find after searching the records at the India Office that Captain Lancaster, afterwards Sir James Lancaster, was one of the first English voyagers in these waters, in his ship, the Edward Bonaventure, having come for purposes of trade. But to Francis Drake belonged the honour of living the first Englishman to bring his ship to the East Indies, for he made his memorable trip round the world twelve years previously. 

The Edward Bonaventure was one of three ships sent out from England in 1591 to the East to trade with the natives for pepper and other spices, in which Malaya abounded. The expedition reached Zanzibar at the close of 1591, and leaving it in February of the following year did not cast anchor again till June, when the commander found a harbour off Pulau Rimau to the south  of the Island of Penang, or Pulau Pinang. Scurvy seems to have been raging on board the ships at the time, as Capt. Lancaster remained at his anchorage till the end of August, losing no less than 26 of the crew from the ravages of scurvy. It is a singular fact that the very first English trader of Malaya should have found his way direct to this little out-of-the-way and then uninhabited island, which  destiny has shown was to become such a famous and prosperous port of call in our time. Capt. Lancaster loaded his ships chiefly with pepper taken from Portuguese and Peguan vessels which he plundered off Perak, where three of them are said to have "laden a cargo of pepper.” His own ship and its two companions were, however, lost. The notes of Lancaster's voyage, and still more the instructive and interesting accounts of the profits to be made, first convinced Englishmen of the great advantages that were to be derived from Malayan trade. Eight years after Lancaster's voyage to Malaya, the famous East India Company was formed with a charter for fifteen years (afterwards extended) chiefly with the object of trading with Malaya: and this Company sent out in 1601 the same captain (afterwards Sir James) Lancaster as "admiral of four vessels,” with the celebrated Davis as Pilot. Lancaster first made for the Nicobars and afterwards, when loaded with pepper, sent home two of his ships from Achin (1602), where he was well received. 

In a little country place in Suffolk there was born in the year 1740 a little boy who was to play a most important part in his after life. That boy's name was Francis Light and he received his name at his baptism on December 15th 1740. Nothing is known of young Light's parents. They probably died when he was quite young, as he was adopted and educated by a certain William Negus, a relative of Milton, and son of Colonel Francis Negus, who held a high position at the Court of George I and who acquired the large estates of Dallingho, (Light's birthplace) and Milton by his  marriage with Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of William Churchill Esq., M.P. of Woodbridge, Patent Printer to the King. Young Light, after his adoption, was sent, like other sons of Suffolk squires, to the Woodbridge Grammar School, but he left early in life, joining the Navy as a midshipman of H.M.S. Arrogant in 1761. He left the Navy four years after, and we then find him a passenger on board the East Indiaman Clive bound for the East,  where he seems to have been before. He arrived at Calcutta in 1765 and was immediately given the command of an East Indiaman, the Country Ship, trading between  India, Lower Siam and Malaya. That Capt Light was a linguist of no mean order is evidenced by the fact that shortly after his arrival in the East he became conversant with the Siamese and Malay languages, on account of which he was held in high esteem by the Siamese and Malay chiefs with whom  he traded, the former conferring on him the rank and title of nobility. Capt. Light traded chiefly with Junk Ceylon, or Salang, a large island occupying a conspicuous position in 8°N. lat: at the north-west elbow of the Peninsula which he eventually made his headquarters till 1785, living mainly among the Malays and adapting himself to their ways and customs. In 1772, at Junk Ceylon, he married Martina Rozells, a lady whose parentage has been the Subject of much controversy, but owing to her Portuguese name she is generally considered to have been a Eurasian of Siam, a Portuguese, or Malay of Portuguese descent. There were Portuguese missionaries in these parts at that time and it may be that she was not Portuguese at all, but simply a Siamese or Malay who was baptized with a Portuguese name much in the  same way as is done to this day by English missionaries and others in Africa and elsewhere.

It was in 1771 that Captain Light, having as his headquarters Salang, saw the necessity of establishing an emporium for the English in these parts, a need which had not escaped the notice of Warren Hastings, Governor-General of India. Other European nations had established factories and Settlements in Malaya, the Dutch in particular maintaining an ascendancy on Sumatra and other parts of the Archipelago. Light made a suggestion to the Governor-General of India for securing Penang as “a convenient magazine for eastern trade.” but it appears not, to have met with approval at the time. But Light continued to press the matter as may be seen from his correspondence.

In 1780 he went to Bengal to see Warren Hastings and this time proposed the alternative of an English Settlement on Junk Ceylon as it was a flourishing trading emporium of some 50,000 people. In this he was supported by James Scott who modestly describes himself as “struggling to pay off some incumbrances incurred in the war, and formerly a trading master but otherwise little known." Light was well received by the Governor-General, but arrangements were interrupted by the French and Dutch wars, when a joint settlement would have come to pass had not the widow, sons and nephews of Phya Simons, Governor of Salang, refused to assume the Government, and died just at that time -- 1785.

Numerous expeditions came out to Malaya and trade generally increased until the time came when the East India Company found that with the opposition with the Dutch and Portuguese who had settlements on the Peninsula, and Sumatra a trading centre was necessary for the company to maintain its position in Malaya. In 1784 Mr. Kinloch was sent by the Bengal Government to found a Settlement in Acheen, but owing to the hostility of the natives he had to return without effecting his mission. Captain Light, who was in Calcutta on the return of the Kinloch mission, immediately, in a letter dated 15th February 1786, pointed out the aggression and encroachment of the Dutch, which now extended from Point Romania to the Krian River, and that they had settlements and factories on the Sumatra side of the Straits and so there was no place left to choose from but Junk Ceylon. Acheen and Quedah (Kedah). Mr. Light, in his letter, goes on to point out that before he could form a Settlement in Acheen it would be necessary to subdue all  the Chiefs. Junk Ceylon, which belonged to Siam, was, he added, a place which would take some six or seven years before it would be sufficiently cleared and cultivated to supply a fleet with provisions, but it was, in his opinion, rich in tin ore and easily fortified. As the East India Company had already been successful in its application to the Rajah of Quedah for a cession of Penang he made use of his influence and was now able to report that the Rajah was prepared to cede the Island of Penang for 6,000 Spanish dollars per annum. On the 23rd February 1786 the Governor-General in Council approved of the settlement of Penang and a correspondence ensued between the Indian Government and the Rajah of Quedah as to the terms  of the treaty. It was finally arranged, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors in London, that Penang should be ceded for $6.000 per annum to the East India Company, who agreed to station an armed vessel in the Straits to guard Penang Island and the Quedah coasts. Free trade was to be allowed, and anyone would be at liberty to trade on the Kedah Coast without any restrictions from the company. 

The Dutch and Portuguese only allowed trading to be done at their own settlements and nowhere else.

(To be continued).

Khlong Tong Nuea

On our family road trip back from Hatyai, we stopped by one of the many temples along the way. This one was called the Klongtong Nuea Buddhist Monastery, located about 20km from the Thai city. Getting there was quite a detour from the main highway linking Hatyai to Saddao but the place was easily accessible through a long straight road. Shady trees lined both sides of the road and provided a most picturesque scene. 

Most of the structures in this Buddhist monastery were built during the 28-year tenure from 1982 till 2010 of a Thai Buddhist monk named JaRun Boon Yo.  At the side of the monastery complex was a statue on a tiger, which no doubt was dedicated to him. Apart from this brief information, there was nothing more I could obtain from anyone, not even the local Thai tour guide who accompanied us. 

We didn't manage to get into the main worship hall as the grounds were deserted in the afternoon - anyone could move in and out freely but not into the locked buildings - but anyhow, there were enough attractions on the outside to interest me. Apart from the huge seated Buddha that took central pride of place in this monastery, several other smaller statues of the Buddha in various meditative poses adorned the grounds. But what intrigued me most were the statues of the Laughing Buddha and Lord Ganesha.

Closest opposition

Where possible, I like to take pictures of the objects in the night sky. Unfortunately, I do not own a telescope and I am limited by the basic equipment I own, which is an Olympus E-PL7 camera and a standard 40-150mm zoom kit lens. The moon is one of my favourite subjects but once in a while, I get lucky with photographing Jupiter. The past few nights had been bad for photography because of the rainy weather or thick cloud cover. But last night was clear enough. As I stepped out of the house to throw away some rubbish, I glanced upwards hoping to see the planet which I knew, at 591 million kilometres away, would be at its closest to earth in 70 years. And I did see the planet. It wasn't as bright as I thought, but it was bright enough for the camera. For the record, Jupiter at opposition occurred at midnight on 26 September 2022, Malaysia time. Thus, when I took this picture on the 27th of September at 11.23pm, it was already almost 24 hours later. Only three of the four Galilean moons could be observed. From the top down, they were Callisto, Ganymede and Europa. Io couldn't be viewed because it was transiting across Jupiter's surface last night.

EarthSky.org described Jupiter as "more like a failed star, not massive enough or hot enough inside to spark thermonuclear fusion reactions, but some 2½ times more massive than all the other planets in our solar system combined. So for Jupiter to shine as stars do, you’d need some 80 Jupiter’s – rolled into a ball – to be hot enough inside to spark thermonuclear reactions." All I can say is thank goodness for that. If Jupiter had been big and hot enough for its own thermonuclear reactions, our solar system could have had two hot stars in rotation around one another and life on Earth might not have been possible at all. And hence, no blog by SS Quah to read. 😁

Eating through Hatyai

During our two-days, one-night sojourn in Hatyai, my extended family literally ate our way through the short holiday. Except for our dinner on the first day, I can term the food as generally good and rather memorable at times. About our dinner though, it was so ordinary that I can't quite remember where we went. Thus, no short review about what we ate. But, these places I mention below were where we really enjoyed ourselves.....eating!

Nanyuan noodle restaurant, Tanrattanakorn Road, Hatyai

This place should be a very good introduction to food when one arrives in Hatyai. They have roast duck as their signature choice as well as shrimp wanthan, sway kow (water dog?), char siew (BBQed pork) and crispy roast pork. To me, the restaurant had set a benchmark for the rest of our time here. How to resist the food here? Will definitely return if I'm in this city again.

Nora Plaza, Thumnoonvithi Road, Hatyai

We didn't come here to shop but to enjoy a bowl of thick and gorgeous bird's nest soup. The average cost was 300 baht per bowl, which included a variety of topping such as gingko nuts, strips of coconut or dried lychee. After that, one can pop into the adjacent department store for some local Thai products. We did look around, but my wife and I weren't that keen to pick up anything from here.

Lee Garden Plaza Hotel

This popular hotel, car bombed by separatists in 2012 but the situation is back to normal now, is the main focal point for tourists in Hatyai. We walked there after our rather forgettable dinner at a local restaurant somewhere else. Lots of street food vendors there but we were only attracted to the stalls selling these small sweet pineapple and a bowl of coconut ice cream. I remember partaking these small pineapple in Vietnam but they are widely available here too.

Che Seng Tuehuan Kiamchai, Tambon, Hatyai

We had our breakfast (or was it brunch?) here, all 12 of us crammed inside one toot-toot taxi. Imagine taking a heavy meal consisting of rice, roast pork, braised pork knuckle, sour vegetable soup with pork entrails and braised tau pok at nine o'clock in the morning (Malaysian time). What's unique about this place was the way they presented their roast pork. Other than that, I think the food was quite ordinary too. The Covid-19 global lockdowns must have had badly affected the tourism business in Hatyai like everywhere else because the toot-toot driver insisted on waiting for us while we finished breakfast.

McDonald's, Central Hatyai, Kanjanavanich Road, Hatyai

Anyone going to Thailand should make it a point to visit any one of the McDonald's outlets for their pork burger since this is not available in Malaysia. We thought this would be a good place for lunch before leaving for home. All of us had a burger each; although the choices were very similar to what could be ordered from a McD in Malaysia, the exceptional exception was that one could substitute the beef patty with pork. And that was what we all did. For me, I ordered a double cheese burger with pork patties. And you know what? For a group of 12 persons like us, the total damage came up to 1440 Baht. Converted to Ringgit, it was RM173. It's impossible to pay this amount back home in Malaysia for 12 persons! And these were set meals to boot!

After You, Central Hatyai, Kanjanavanich Road, Hatyai

This dessert café serves an astonishing array of snow ice cream. Located on the first floor of the shopping centre, it was known to attract long queues of people who wait patiently for hours before a table became available. Luckily for us, visiting Hatyai on a weekday rather than a weekend, there was space for 12 people. No, wait....I meant 10 of us. My nephew and his girlfriend went missing. All I can say is that they missed out on the fun.

Ped Restaurant, Samnak Kham, Dannok

We had our dinner here in Dannok before crossing the border back into Bukit Kayu Hitam. In my opinion, the tomyam here was much better than the one we had in Hatyai and it was an opinion shared by the rest of us in the group. A short observation about Immigration and Customs control. On the Malaysian side, everyone was required to scan their luggage both ways and we could be checked by the Customs personnel if necessary. Not so on the other side. The Thais seemed so relaxed over people taking things across the border. I can't quite remember our luggage being checked at all.