Simon Phun: Family holiday 家庭假期 ( 1 )

When we left for our family holiday, I informed Alwi, my Malay neighbour so that they could keep an eye on my house. On 30th April, the next day after returning from holiday, Alwi's wife, Jalina asked Pauline why so short holiday in the Gold Coast (Australia)? My wife was puzzled... Actually, I told Alwi we were going to East Coast, and Alwi heard wrongly as Gold Coast.......

We went for a family holiday to East Coast and Cameron Highlands from 23rd April to 29th April. Family holiday is very important for strengthening of relationship and bond of members.

We left our house at 6:30 am on Wednesday 23 April. We stopped at Ipoh for Dim Sum breakfast. We exited North-South Highway at Kangsar, the royal town. We took this opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Palace and the Kangsar River.

From Kangsar, we moved further north using federal road to Grik and entered East-West Highway for our destination- Kota Baru.

East-West Highway rest area
东西大道休息处 -->

<-- Kangsar River
江沙河畔

The last time we used East-West Highway was about twenty years ago. It didn't change much. The traffic was light.

We reached Kota Bahru at 4:00 pm. We were eager to try out the local Nasi Dagang and Ayam Percik. Through the recommendation of the hotel staff, we went to a restaurant called Yati Ayam Percik. There we tried out the delicious ayam percik and many other authentic Kelantanese delicacies and dessert. We are not disappointed.

We also visited the Central Market. All the stores were manned by women. This is a unique feature of the Kelatan society. where did the men go .....？ may be went fishing, bird rearing and flying kites !

Another special feature of Kota Baru was the street loud-speakers blaring out religious messages and talks by their leaders throughout the day.

Kangsar old Palace
江沙老皇宫

当我们要去旅行前，我通知隔壁的马来邻居 Alwi ,在我们渡假期间，代为看顾我的屋子。当我们在回来后的隔天（四月三十号），他的太太问起我的太太，为什么这么快就从GoldCoast 回来？我太太听了，有点愕然。原来Alwi听错了，我说的是 East Coast, 他却是听到是在澳洲的 Gold Coast。美丽的误会！

我的家庭在四月二十三号到二十九号，到东海岸及金马伦旅行。虽然是几天的旅行，却是在六个月前就开始准备了。家庭旅行是非常重要的，它可以加强家庭成员的关系和情脉。

我们在四月二十三号的早上六点半出发，然后到怡保享用点心早餐。我们续程到江沙，美丽的皇城。既然到了，就稍微停留观赏了皇宫及江沙河畔的美丽景色。

从江沙，我们继续北上，经过宜力，一个小镇，然后进入了东西大道，朝向我们的目的地，吉兰丹的哥打巴鲁。我是在约二十年前曾经走过这条东西大道。它没有很多的改变，车辆还是稀少。

我们在下午四点抵达了哥打巴鲁。在酒店职员的介绍下，我们迫不及待的前往一家叫Yati Ayam Percik 的餐馆品尝道地出名的烤鸡Ayam Percik. 果然名不虚传，我们大饱朵颐！

我们也参观了哥打巴鲁的中央市场。所有的摊档，都是由女士们看管，这是吉兰丹社会的特色之一。那些男人去了哪里？应该是去了抓鱼，玩鸟及放风筝吧。

哥打巴鲁的另一特色是街道上的扬声器。它全天候播放回教的讯息和教导。