A Dead Friend Friend coming back!!!!

 About 13 years ago I met an Australian yachtsman just outside my shop in Chukai. I asked him if he were the owner of the boat anchored in front of my shop. His reply was "Are you the harbour master?" as I was dressed in y white and blue flying uniform. I said YES. PAY YOUR DUES NOW !

 We had a good chat and by coincidence I had planned to sail to Tenggol Island on my Maxi 77 CAKRAMADA the next day. Well he was also going to Tenggol and we met up in Tenggol again. He became a good friend of mine as we used to swap war stories (He was an officer from the Australian Artillery)

This guys knows quite a bit on cruising and sailing and I enjoyed picking his brain on the subject. On the picture above I took him sailing on  my boat and he taught me the fastest way to stop a boat if there was a man overboard. He method beats all those lengthy explanations on sailing books. After his sailing trip here he went back to Australia and drove round Australia TWICE in a motorhome. I dont know if he missed me or the cheap and casual living in Malaysia but he came back to Malaysia about 6 years ago to have a better life and food with his Australian pension. On one of his trips back to Australia he was diagnosed with the big C in the prostrate. By then he was in his early seventies. Being a resourceful guy, he seeked treatment in Ho Chi Min city and stayed in Thailand with a Thai girl friend. After some time all my communication with him was lost as it was quite difficult for him to get Internet services in rural Thailand. I assumed that he must have died for I sent several emails over a period of a few months and there was never any reply.

Suddenly about 2 weeks ago I got an email with his name. I did not open the mail because I thought it was from some conman. Then another email came and this time I opened and seeing all the spelling mistakes that he makes when he writes the Queen's English I had reason to cbelieve that he is indeed Trevor Hinwood. I got him to authenticate some of our stories and yes it is TREVOR still alive and kicking!!!!. He can even do a selfie!! This guy is great . he is now in Zuhai, China!

This is his latest boat which he also lost quite a fair bit of money and he is now staying away from boats! However, the last email I got from him a few minutes ago is not too healthy. He was talking about his poor health and how he might not want to suffer if it goes worse!!!! Hope he does not does stupid things.

KC Foong's visit

 I came to know KC Foong through the MBS Loop a couple of years back. He is about 10 years my senior and we were from the same scout troop...10th KL (Air Scouts). He stays in Auckland and earns his living by ticking the volcanoes( geothermal engineering). Over the weekend on his way back from Redang Island he poped in to pay me a visit. Knowing his love for the great outdoors I had planned some activities for him. First I took him out to the river.

 

Well I am impressed. He can handle my single seater kayak like a pro! Too bad it started to rain after a while.

 We took shelter in a fish farm and from here I bought a 1 kilo Sea Bass (Siakap) to be steamed for dinner.

 Next day I took him to the Cemerong Waterfalls and we hiked up the 350 m waterfall.

 KC is no tenderfoot at hiking for I know he does quite a bit of hiking back in NZ

 This is the claimed highest waterfall in the country (maybe not true..I had seen bigger ones in Sarawak)

 Lord Baden Powell would be proud to have KC as his follower. I could see that he lives by the scout laws and is still very much a scout at heart.

How to be a Good Guest...........

I have been very fortunate that I had always been very well treated by my friends wherever I go throughout the world. Some of the people who welcome me to their home are people whom I have never met before in my life . They have always made my life interesting and when I am in some faraway land I always feel blessed to have such good people. If you have been following my blog you would remember some of the people who has taken good care of me.

Whenever I am at home I would not hesitate to take in some guest to my house. These people have also enriched my life in one way or another. Sometimes I have bad experience with lousy and selfish guest and I had to sleep in the dog house to escape from my wife's nagging!




From my experience, the Golden Rules when invited to stay with a family are:




1. Be considerate to your kind host. Do not expect the world from them. Most of the host has taken time off to be with you.


2. Do not mess up the house. In another words, clean your own shit!. Leaving coffee cups all over the place and leaving your fruit skins all over will annoy the host!


3. Pay for some of the meals when your host take you out for dinner at restaurants. Do not just sit there like a dumb fool. It is most annoying even your host can afford it.


4. I always try and fill up the host's refrigerator whenever possible. After all food and drinks in supermarkets are cheap when compared to eating out. These items always leaves a good impression of me to my host and they keep welcoming me to their homes.


5. If I buy any fruit or fruit for myself because of any special diet requirements I will make sure that I get some for my host's family. Just buying sufficient for myself is a big NO No!


6. If you have a sick or handicapped family member it is best not to bring the burden to your faraway host. It creates a lot of burden to them.


7. Try to google the local culture of the family that you are going to visit.For example it is taboo to leave your shoes on a table Or to wear your shoes inside any Asian house.


8. When you leave make sure you leave the room clean. Do not leave all your rubbish in the room and expect your host to clear it. Make sure the sheets are sent to the laundry to be clean. At least load all the dirty linen in the washing machine.


9. I have a habit of bringing a small present for my host esp to their wife or children. It works wonders. My Hash House Harrier T shirts are worn by my friends all over and they enjoy the dirty write ups on the shirt. Often on a visit a few years later I still see them wearing it. By not bringing any small gift it shows that you are unconcerned.


10. In area where I cannot bring the family out for a good meal before I depart, I will always buy some food and use their kitchen to cook some good Asian Cuisine(as my French Friends say) for us to eat. Of course I can bullshit my way through and I tend to behave like a celebrity chef as seen on TV .....very often teaching my host on my cooking!


11. After meals clear up your own mess. Leaving the plates around is bad. I would often help to clear up any mess that was made in cooking the food.


12. If the family that I visit loves pets esp dogs I will make sure that I respect their pets too. I had one guest who behind my back used a chair to hit my lovely poodle . Really "sakit hati"


13. Do not hoard the family TV with your favourite program . If this happens my wife will be very angry as she has her favourite serial soap operas that she does not want to miss.


14. Try to organise activities for yourself or ask the host for some recommended activities. By doing so you are giving the host a chance to relax .


15. Be prepared to spend some money because it is your holiday .



If you follow these golden rules I can assure you that your host would love you and you will get a second or third invitation to their homes. Flouting these Golden Rules means it will be difficult to get a second invitation!

My Friend Trevor, the Traveller

Trevor Hinwood hails from Tin Can Bay, Queensland, Australia. One fine day in June 2000 I met him at the waterfront in front of my shop. From his looks I knew he was a yachtie so I went up to him and asked if he was from the sailboat anchored in front. I was still in my white shirt and blue pants and looked very "official". Trevor looked up and enquired if I was the local harbour master coming after him for anchoring fees! Well he looked friendly enough and I invited him to a coffee shop for some toast and coffee. I told him I am a sailor as well and that I will be sailing to Pulau Tenggol over the weekend. Well, he was going to Tenggol too but will be a day ahead of me.When I reached Pulau Tenggol he was already there with his boat " Blueswift". About an hour before my arrival I radioed him on VHF and he prepared a lovely breakfast for me and my crew. I did not even anchor on that trip but just rafted next to his boat.We went shore Pulau Tenggol with his dinghy and had a good time at Tenggol. I remembered paying for lunch at the resort (cost me a bomb!)I sailed back to Chukai in the evening and Trevor continued his journey up North until Koh Samui.

Somewhere around end October he returned to Chukai and decided to stay until the monsoon is over. His 35 ft Blue Swift aqlmost looked like a town feature, being anchored in front of my shop for the next 3 months. At the end of the 3 months he decided to engage Bruce the Goose to sail his boat back to Australia.During his stay in Chukai I invited to my house and we became family friends. I was forever digging his brains as he has a wealth of experience on boats. He came sailing with me and taught me the best Man Over Board drill. So much more practical and easier to the textbook drills.At that time I was still the owner of a Maxi 77 named Cakra Mada. After Trevor returned back to Australia we kept in contact and he went round Australia two time by campervan (an old Toyota Coaster bus conversion). Towards the end he felt he needs the good Asian food and decided to come over to Malaysia to stay on a tourist permit. So in 2009 he came over to Cherating to stay at Kampong Inn. From here he wanders around the country by bus and train. One fine day he met a Thai lady and he decided to go and stay with her. So after that it was the Thai adventure. I believe Trevor is a SIGNtist as the Thai lady does not speak English and Trevor does not speak Thail...so it has to be international Sign language!

While he was with me managed to create a blog for him but unfortunately he did not master the skills required to maintain a blog so there were only limited entries. Visit http://trevortravel.blogspot.com/

He was my support driver when I did a solo cycling trip fron Sg Gawi round Kenyir lake to Gua Musang

Trevor is now in Vietnam with his Thai lady friend underrgoing some prostate treatment. Till today he blames meeting up with me as the downfall of his life!

First Customer for my Caravan Park

Ok , first of all I do not own a caravan park(yet!) but I have a big garden that can accommodate one or two caravans. So if friends who have caravans/motor homes who happen to pass by they are welcome to use the facilities. free water and electricity is provided and they have maximum security with my two German shepherds guarding the area. One of my sailing friends, Cheong had just purchased a VW Royale and he decided to drop in for the night. This is his pride and joy.

However in the Malaysian environment it is too hot to stay inside his motor home without an air conditioner. This is the first time Cheong is using his motor home so I prepared for him a camp bed and mosquito net PLUS I had the adjourning guest room opened just in case he needed the room.

It turned out he had a pretty good night's rest in the camp bed and later moved in to his motor home in the early hours of the morning. He was still able to work with the free wi fi that I had provided. He is a stock broker so all he needs is his hand phone and internet connection.

I am quite impressed with the VW royale but I think it was designed with the cold weather in mind so I would rather build one that is more "tropicanised". maybe a teardrop trailer camper will be ideal here. Got to stop dreaming or I will never be able to finish my building my catamaran!

A Long Lost Friend in Singapore

I had a half a day to spare while transiting through Singapore. I suddenly remembered that I had a classmate who is residing in Singapore now..someone whom I had not met the last thirty five years. He is Goh Wai Lim. We were together from the express class days in Primary School and was together in scouting in 1972, 73 and 74. After that we parted , each going our way to make our fortunes...he taking up finance and banking while I joined the RMAF to fly. In this photo, I am on the extreme left while Wai Lim is 4th from the right. This was taken in 1973 when we were Rover scouts in Form 5.

Another picture taken around that period. On the right is another of our long lost friend, Chan Kin Yan. I still don't know his where abouts.

Of course we had camps together. He must be enjoying the mess tin of food !

Another photo taken in Fraser's Hill, 1974
That was us together again after a lapse of 35 years.And along with his wife and another friend we had a good dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Orchard Road. Arigato, Wai Lim for the dinner. The next round is Wantan Mee and it will be on me. We had a wonderful time recollecting the mischievous things that we did together in our formative years. I am glad we had managed to meet up.

My French Connection

About 5 years ago when my company decided to replace the ageing S61N fleet with the modern Super Puma L2 helicopters I had to do a simulator training on the SuperPuma L2 at Helisim in Marseille. France. Helisim is equiped with the state of art simulators and during my training I met a very interesting French gentleman by the name of Michel Zing. He was ex French military and had flown for Bristow Helicopters. We found that we had many common interest ..from sailing, farming, dogs and not afraid of getting our hands dirty to get a job done. I got to know him much better on my second trip two years later. We had been in contact all the while through emails and I had been brain digging him on a lot of flying matters. He had unselfishly been sharing his knowledge with me. I was invited to have dinner and to stay in his house which is in Rognac. Rognac is quite remote..just like our kampong and yes he is staying in a farm surrounded with olive trees and fruit trees and is quite self sufficient with vegetables too.His girl friend Anne Marie cooked us a delicious French dinner..complete with cheese and ice cream at the end of the meal. Now I know why the French people are so healthy. It is the low carbohydrate food and the daily dosage of wine which they consume.
This is the farm house which they are staying..just like in the story books. Most of the things are very well preserved in the house.

There is plenty to do staying there. The heater for winter utilises log and fallen timber from the property. A tractor is always handy.
So last week when I went to France, I was invited to stay in his little guest house. next to his house. I had planned to arrive his place well before I start "work" on the simulators.This time I brought along another of my friend Capt Eric Ng. We were catching up until well into the night. Capt Eric with Michel and Anne Marie
Fruits just outside the little guest house. We helped ourselves to a few fruits each. This time of the year is cold ...about 12 C day time so the fruits are like just out of the fridge. And they are yummy too...

I suggested that the next night we will cook a Malaysian Dinner and have it in his house. We had brought along some special ingredients for this occasion. I will cook the famous pork rib soup..BAK KUT TEH while Eric prepares curry chicken. At the same time we were trying to explain to Anne Marie about our cooking..see it is quite easily done! Unfortunately we were so busy eating and talking that we did not take any photos during our dinner. I think they must have enjoyed the meal because the left over curry was kept for the next day!
I had brought along my Dahon bike and had a lovely ride round the Rognac neighbourhood. The mistral wind (up to 110 km/hr) wind died off in the morning otherwise I will be blown backwards!

These olives are about ready to be harvested in 10 days time. How I wish I could stay back and help. It should be fun.So hope to see Michel and Anne Marie again soon. Next time I will cook satay and maybe some Tim Sum.! Thank you for the hospitality and the good time we have had had. You have been the "perfect host"!