IT'S RAINING ANGKLUNG IN SCHOOL

We had a few teachers who were kind enough to donate their angklung sets to school. For the next session, the Angklung Group members will be busy testing the sounds of the instruments. We really hope that these bamboo shakers could be used to complemet our present old and worn out ones.

Thanks a lot to Puan Noraliza Mazni, Miss Jenne Lee and Puan Jainah for the contribution and support.

SPOT THE ERROR - KRABI 3

Why consistency is important?

THE FIRST PERFORMANCE FOR ANGKLUNG GROUP OUTSIDE SCHOOL THIS YEAR

19TH APRIL 2014 ~ The school Angklung Group was invited to perform during the closing ceremony of "Chinese Language Festival of Johor Bahru Secondary Schools". The event was held at SMK Taman Selesa Jaya 2. We performed 4 songs: "Sway", "Besame Mucho, "Dayung Sampan" (the original song is a Chinese song entitled "Tian Mi Mi") and "Shanghai Grand". Based  on the thunderous applause, I guess the audience loved the last two Chinese songs. All our hard work was finally paid off.  

Puan Fabilah's family who came to support

Congratulations to the angklung players for a job well done. And thank you to Puan Aishah Lee Abdullah, the Chinese language teacher and the head of the panitia of SMKTUN, who had suggested our group to perform today.

The videos of the Angklung Group in action will be uploaded on youtube real soon. It will take ages to upload via my streamyx line at home, so please be patient.

ROAMING THE STREETS OF KRABI

27th MARCH 2014 ~ On the last day, as I had the time to kill, I decided to go to Krabi town which is 30-minute away from Ao Nang by "tuk tuk". I chartered a "tuk tuk" and the driver, by the name of Abdullah, also acted as my tourist guide. I paid 800 baht for the Ao Nang-Krabi trip, to and fro. The good news was that selfie was not necessary anymore.

The first spot that I was taken to was this place where there were metal sculptures of crabs which told the history of the town. But I wonder whether the name "Krabi" derived from the English word "crab" or does "crab" also has similar pronunciation in Thai language?

The sculptures were very significant that every tourist wanted his/her photo to be taken at this very spot.

my chartered "tuk tuk"

the cheaper version of "tuk tuk"

The tourist guide expected me to do some shopping here but there was not much to shop anyway. It was just a small town but I did not have enough time to explore more. Nevertheless, Abdullah managed to get me on a boat for a river cruise that morning. But that was another story.  

[MY KRABI TRIP MAIN PAGE]

THE BOYS' OUTING TRIP CUM FAREWELL GATHERING

Wednesday, 16th April 2014 ~ The male staff of the school, both academic and non-academic, had a gathering late in the evening at "Meletop Steamboat & Grill" located at Taman Sri Pulai Perdana. We were there to bid farewell to Mr. Syazarul Shahrir Zainal Abidin who will be leaving for the UK at the end of this month. [The afternoon session teachers had our own potluck for him. Click HERE to read.]

I arrived at the restaurant at about 10:30 p.m. and only left the place by 11:30 p.m. Actually to be able to make more than 20 people sit together after school hour was an achievement. I guess that was the last farewell gathering for Mr. Syazarul Shahrir and we hope he will come back to SMKTUN in about four more years.

SPOT THE ERROR - KRABI 2

Besides encouraging you to spot the error, I am actually helping to promote.

MY GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE IN KRABI

With Muslims making up the 60% population of Krabi, HALAL food was in abundance. I got a bit adventurous this time, trying to hunt for local delicacies. I didn't, however, ate in any proper restaurants but went on foot to see what the street hawkers had in store for me. 

The major attraction that was sold by many hawkers would be the banana pancake. It was not a pancake actually, more like our local "roti canai" (or "paratha") with slices of banana. Most of the time I had condensed milk poured on mine and once I had nutella on it. The price: 30 Baht = RM3.00, without extra topping. You should also try the fruits shake but there was no milk at all in the shake. It was ice and fresh fruit blended together but it was good. My pick: watermelon shake.

I had the opportunity to savour the noodles for dinner sold at the stalls in the evening: the fried and soupy ones. The verdict: quite spicy but very yummy. I had to pay 40 Baht for each dish.

One morning, I just walked and found my first breakfast bought from a makeshift stall by the seaside. I chose to try fried rice, which was also very spicy, with chicken and garnished with cucumber and Thai sauce. For my sweet tooth, I had sticky rice with grated coconut mixed with brown coconut sugar. 

On the last night there, I walked further to this Muslim settlement (there was a big mosque under construction) in search for this one dish: sticky rice with mango and coconut milk. And to my delight, there was so much more to eat and to see.

I found this one stall selling local "kuih" - sweet cakes/desserts and I bought the the pumpkin pie which looked really tempting.

Other than permanent and modern restaurants, there were also a lot of stalls selling halal food for you to choose. I wished I had tried the authentic Siamese "tomyam" but I shall go back for it later.  

grilled chicken and catfish

To conclude my gastronomic adventure in Krabi, I went to see the ladies selling breakfast by the seaside on the last day to try other food. My breakfast was more like lunch early in the morning as I had rice, shredded chicken meat and mixed vegetables. Nothing could beat the experience eating a heavy breakfast on a bench while observing the sea. 

With halal food available round the clock, you could simply go to Ao Nang, Krabi without any worries. I think I could easily organize a group trip there by now. :) 

[MY KRABI TRIP MAIN PAGE]