Haji Weekend

Sunset and Sepang Gold Coast

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It was decided last minute, and then I was on the road to Malaysia for the Haji weekend. There was the usual holiday road jams at the immigration, so to keep everyone entertained, I did some "character and behaviour" readings based on their dates of birth. They were amazed with the accuracy and details that the readings exposed. Actually, I was equally amazed! My American guests in the car didn't seem to mind though, as they said that in America they can tell you everything about their life, even if you have just known them. (For more, read here and here.)

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It was a welcome change and relief to take a break from urban Singapore once in a while to experience the open space and laid back lifestyle of our neighbour up north with beautiful scenery of the undulating mountain ridges from the road. Given the heavy traffic, it took us a long time to get Sepang Gold Coast, but we managed to make it in time for sunset and dinner by the beach.

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Dinner was splendid! We started off with some delicious satays, prepared by the local Malays at Sepang. My friend told me that it is their plan to integrate the local community with the Gold Coast project by employing them and creating new business opportunities for them. The local staff are such gentle and polite people, characteristic of traditional Malay kampung folks. My friend told me that they did not need to train them to serve well, as they seem to know that naturally.

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The Sea Villas facing the Straits of Malacca

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We spent the evening in the villas in the middle of the sea. These villas are built on stilts and configured to the shape of a palm tree from an aerial view. They are selling well to Europeans wanting a place to escape for winter.

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What is more amazing is that the Sepang Gold Coast Palm Tree project was funded privately by its owner, a Malaysian Chinese businessman. A big financial commitment that is now paying off. At the start there were sceptics who thought that he was taking a big risk, but undeterred he continued. You see, if one has a vision that others cannot see, it would be seen by the others as a risk. Being able to cultivate that vision and stay the course, is the hallmark of a successful entrepreneur.

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In contrast, the Dubai Palm Island project is in a financial mess after the banks pulled the plug on them. Now, construction has halted and they are potentially facing legal injunctions. Perhaps the moral of the story here is not to borrow from the banks if one can afford to do so. Funding through financial instruments and bonds are akin to trading financial risks, which strictly speaking, is forbidden in Islam. Ironically, it is the non-Muslim Chinese towkay (businessman) that has conformed to this prudence and reap the fruits of having done so.

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During the evening, after more 'birth date' readings to amuse ourselves, we read a chapter of Ekhart Tolle's book "Stillness Speaks". In the chapter, it speaks about the illusion of duality and that all we see 'outside' are essentially happening 'inside' us in our consciousness. It is hard to conceive that, as we cannot see our own consciousness and that consciousness itself does not have a locale. Since consciousness has no locale, then perhaps it has to be all ONE, and therefore making the concept of 'self' a mere illusion!

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I draw this to a parallel of opening a Word file in my computer. When I open the Word file, there is an illusion that there is a 'file' (self) appearing, however if we dwell into the computer, the contents of the file (self) is scattered all over the memory (one consciousness).

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Do not despair if you are lost in this consciousness-speak, some of us still are. But what else better can a group of four people do in the middle sea in a tropical evening under the stars? :)

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The Village Pau Shop

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The next morning, we had breakfast in the nearby village. We bought some 'pau' (buns) from the famous local stall. They sell about 5,000 paus per day and you have to order them early, before they sell out!

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The pau was delicious. They have pork, vegetable and soya bean fillings. The buns are different from most others in that their 'skins' are exceptionally 'springy' and will not turn soggy when it turned cold.

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After breakfast, we left for Penang to watch the International Dance Competition at Bayview Hotel, Ferringhi Beach. But of course, stopping on the way for durains and other goodies! :)

A roadside durain stall

A pamelo stall

The competition was already on its way when we reached there. Tension was in the air as the dancers dressed in full costume and heavy make-up, awaited their turn to compete. The costumes, I was told, cost at least a few thousand dollars, with the more expensive ones over ten thousand dollars. Add that to the cost of dance instructors, professional dance partners, flights, accommodation for the instructors...etc, and you get a handsome figure. So I guess one has to be financially well heeled in a hobby like this.

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So much time must have been spent trying to perfect their twirls and turns to the day of the competition. To dance well, the dancer has to get almost all his muscles moving in synch. Quite a feat!

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After the competition ended, I had dinner at about midnight with my friends. If you are mixing around with dancers, be prepared for late nights and suppers. They are a bundle of live wire, never seeming to need much sleep.

We left the next morning for Sepang. We were supposed to pick up 3 other friends in our van, but had not accounted for their sizeable luggages. So we had to book a local taxi to ferry some of the luggages and (ironically) our driver. The driver rode in the taxi so that the rest of us can be in one vehicle, and yours truly ended as the driver of the van.

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The driver must be smiling all the way back to Sepang, as he relaxed in the taxi. But I must say, he was always smiling during the few days I know him. He is ever so gentle, polite and so patient; and certainly happier than some of the super-rich people I have met. This is a wonder, as his income as a driver is minuscule compared to the latter. The moral of the story is that money can't buy us happiness and that happiness must come from within.

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The next morning, we left Sepang. Before that, as we went to collect our pau's, the shop owner asked if we could give his daughter a ride to Singapore. This reminded me of old Singapore, when public transport was scarce and we had to hitch rides from neighbours and friends to get to town much of the time. This is grand nostalgia and small town coziness; it also mean that we have made a friend in the village.

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