Fishing at Fish Valley, Semenyih

At long last, I decided to go on a real proper fishing trip with Derrick and Joey.  Preparation took a while last night when Derrick made ready the bait (corn meal mix called hong) and the gear.  We had 5 rods ready to roll.

We left for Semenyih at 6.45 am, had breakfast before going in to the ponds.  We took the catch and release pond and were ready to fish at 8 am.  Unfortunately the first 2 hours were getting into rhythm with baiting and placement, with a drizzle of rain.  Finally at 10 am, we "hoi thong" or opened shop with a tilapia.  Then it was a lampan (sizable one), another big tilapia, a small lampan, a baung (catfish), yet another tilapia and finally a grass carp (a really fat one).  The grass carp came at 1.45 pm.

Oh yes, at 12.30, in the flurry of getting 2 rods ready with Joey, my rod got pulled into the pond.  Derrick was so upset as the reel was a Shimano.  He tried to catch the rod with another rod for a while.  Finally one of the pond owners managed to retrieve the rod.  Phew, Derrick was so relieved.  Well, that is just another of my episodes of losing a rod.  Did the same thing at Bob's Homestay in Teluk Sengat, Johor.  The only thing at Teluk Sengat, I had to go into the muddy river at low tide to retrieve the rod.

We did not have lunch but snacked through the day.  It was uneventful from 2 pm to 4 pm.  Then we had some bites but all of the fish managed to get away.

We intend to go back tomorrow to catch the famous Thai plabuk.  Hehe...

Satay at Peel Road, Cheras after Horse Dung and Worms

We decided to eat out after a long while - satay and pau at Queen's Restaurant, Peel Road.  The restaurant was crowded, smokey and noisy.  A perfect combination for good, cheap food.

I had just spent most of the morning working on the horse dung collected from Kiara Equestrian Club yesterday.  We had 2 bags and managed to get quite a fair bit of horse dung among the wood chaff.  The horse dung had to be separated from the chaff and smashed down.  The wood chaff were put all around the garden for moisture retention.

I got the worms from the old worm farm as the soil is now truly organic soil.  I must have picked some 200 worms.  They were mostly thin as there was hardly any food for him.  Checking on the other 2 containers, the worms looked fat and nice.  They will be moved later as there is still food in that batch.

Christmas Morning

The air is cool, the atmosphere quiet.  In a distance, birds chirp, not in a chorus but one at a time.  The sky is a little grey, there is stillness in the air.  What is Christmas morning?  Feels like just another day.  Christmas is in memory of Jesus Christ born some 2000 years ago.  It is not about Christmas trees and decorations, presents, carols.  It is about remembering the day Christ was born.

Down Old Johor Back to Home

After the 2nd night at Bob's homestay, we decided to head to the beach and north to Mersing.  We had a good lunch somewhere along the way, Johorean food like keli and ray fish cooked assam pedas style.  Even the boys loved it spicy.  Then we hit the road again.  We saw signages for cendol and stopped to get some.  Hmm.. it was yummy.

We got to a small town called Teluk Balau which looked very nice with a jetty overlooking the rough South China Seas.  With the stormy waves and strong winds, the coast looked really nice.  It was nature at its best.  We decided to drive a bit more to look at Desaru and then drove back to Teluk Balau to check into Balau Nelayan Resort at RM110 per night per chalet.  Our small chalet No 15 was small but had the best view overlooking a cove of light mangrove trees which looked like the trees out of Lord of the Rings.  The sight and sound of the frothing waves and the strong wind were perfect from the room verandah.

In the evening, Derrick, Joey and I went to do some pond fishing nearby.  Although we managed to catch only a few small fish, it was nice with the strong wind.  Shortly it became too cold to fish.  We went back to the chalet with Jordan and Johan still at the laptop as we left them.  We then had a simple dinner at Beach Cafe - fried rice and sirup bandong.  Then it got noisy as the place got a karaoke set up.  All of us showered and after watching Singapore's Channel 5, Joey fell asleep on the makeshift bed on the floor between Derrick and me.  Of course, the bigger boys had the queen bed.

Out in Remote Places in Johor

We have been away for a driving holiday to the state of Johor since Monday and I have not had the chance to get into the net. We spent 2 nights at Tanjung Sutera Resort in Sedili. Accommodation was a Balinese style water chalet overlooking a fishing pond. The resort does not have a sandy beach but an old rocky one. The black rocks juts out to the sea in a jaggered way. On parts of the beach, there is a mixture of rough sand and pebbles. Interesting.

We then headed south towards Kota Tinggi and then to Teluk Sengat where we are now for the 2nd night at Bob's Homestay, situated by a river. For this trip, we have done quite a bit of fishing. Today, we caught some flower crabs, catfishes and puffer fish. Only Joey stayed by Derrick and me fishing. Jordan and Johan spent most of their time on the laptop playing pokemon game. Tomorrow we head to Mersing before going home.

Time Spent with Family

Today we had breakfast at Ikea Restaurant.  It was pleasant as there were not many people there.  We then walked to Ikano and The Curve to look at the Christmas decorations put up for the season.  I must say that it looked very festive.  The Malaysian Retailers Association should organise a display competition for Best Themed Decoration of the Season and Best Themed Decoration of the Year.

We ended at Tesco to do our grocery shopping.  Jordan and Johan got their new school shoes.  As a treat, I got them a tub of Durian ice cream.  Jordan also got the latest KZone magazine.  After shopping, we hurried home.

While the bigger boys stayed home, Joey followed us to the post office for me to renew our road tax.  It was a pleasant surprise to get our petrol rebate which amounted to RM625 for the year vs RM279 for the road tax.  As I was dropping off a cheque to be banked in for our insurance, the rain suddenly came.  It poured dogs and cats.

Coming home, I took a nap while Derrick prepared dinner.

A WALK IN THE PARK

I was feeling rather down today so I went to Kiara Park alone today after breakfast.  I walked around the fish pond and stopped at a seat to read Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth.  The grasscutters were cutting the grass and the machines made quite a bit of noise.  There was a gentle breeze.  I decided to take a walk around the park, looking at the trees and ground cover.

What is it with me?

What is it with me?  Why do I lose myself every so often?  I keep falling into the same trap, the same story.  They say it is the mirror effect.  What happens around me is a mirror of myself.  There is so much conflict around me because there is internal conflict.  What is the inner conflict?  Do I not accept what is totally?

Dizziness and Nausea after Fishing Trip

I have been feeling dizzy the last couple of days after fishing 3 days in a row in Muar on a boat.  Not sure if the dizziness is from the bobbing of the boat or is it something else.  With the dizziness there is nausea and bloated feeling of the stomach.  I wanted to see a doctor but Derrick told me that it is due to the seasickness.  Hope that is the case.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

Be still and know that I am God.  That's from the Bible.  Father Philip shared this with us at Maranatha when I attended a workshop.

We forget that we are made in God's name, with His Light.  So we are love and light.  All the great masters of the world know this and teach this.

Be still and know that I am God.  Jesus Christ told us that we too can be like him.  Which is why we can heal ourselves.