10 Om Mani Padme Hum

A rhythmic chant that places my being into a state of calm - Om Mani Padme Hum.

I had first heard it playing over the radio in a souvenir store at Penang's famed Kek Lok Si temple many years ago. By the time I walked out of the shop, I was feeling a peace I hadn't known was missing.

And because I didn't manage to catch the exact words, I found myself chanting "Om mali beh teh soh" in my mind all over town. Beh teh soh  - a biscuit I love with such fervour that it's unwise to leave packets of it around the home lest I eat it all. Although I am not a religious person, I was already asking for forgiveness for singing the 'song' the way I did, even if it was only in my thoughts.

So, as soon as I got back to KL I tasked myself with finding this chant. An hour of googling ensued, and then another hour flew by. Finally, I gave up. It was impossible to search out without knowing the lyrics. I thought I found it and then it seemed I didn't. I left it at that, satisfied with just humming the tune for the past few years.

Until today. Thanks to my dad who is always forwarding me stuff via whatsapp. Countless fake news, miracle cures, politics and once in awhile a gem such as this. Lol. I was ecstatic to receive the video of a young woman saying this chant fast-paced. From there, it was easy finding the version I liked on youtube and now I am sharing it with you.

........Have you fallen asleep? *wink*

Covid-19 | Day 8 of staying indoors for this Malaysian. It was announced earlier that the Movement Control Order would be extended until 14th April, an additional two weeks. I pray that the situation improves soon. How exhausted our medical team must be by now.

8 Saloma Link

The pedestrian bridge itself is 69 metres long, named after our First National Songbird.

Saloma Link

It was an impromptu thing. Jen and I finally met up to pass on Christmas and Birthday presents to each other. Her special day is in July but we're two people who aren't particular about celebrating on exact dates and we're ok with just about any day in the year. Less headache, kan?

Anyway, it was a case of 'where shall we go, ah?' one Saturday morning. We were in Midvalley for breakfast before we decided to check out the very lifeless KL Eco City. From there, we took the LRT to Kampung Baru after finally deciding  on a bit of local touristing. Saloma Link came to mind. It was a short walking distance away from this LRT stop.

"There!" I shouted to Jen, excited to see it.

Saloma Link - View from Kg Baru

A security guard ushered us into the lift. The place was pretty quiet and for obvious reasons. The beautiful light display is only turned on at night and two, it was really humid in afternoons! My hair started getting frizzy and we felt like we were in an open-air sauna.

Saloma Link

However, that didn't stop us from oohing and aahing over the pedestrian walkway. The architecture is stunning, the design inspired by the betel nut leaf arrangement (Sirih Junjung) that is an important part of Malay wedding ceremonies.

When we reached the end of the bridge, we were surprised to see a cemetery. Why of all places, we wondered. Some would say it is bad feng shui.  I later found out that this was the place where Saloma was buried. The location was well thought out after all. I was impressed.

My pictures don't do justice to this beautiful bridge but trust me, it is worth a visit if you're in the area in the evening.

On another note, it's Day 3 of staying home for Malaysians under the Movement Control Order due to rising cases of Covid-19. To pass time, I decided to look through my phone for old photos that I can blog about. This is one of it, taken last month when we had heard of no new cases in the two weeks before. It seemed we were in the clear but aah, the joy was short-lived.

Stay safe, everyone and be good to each other ❤

10 Eats : Nasi Ahmad, It's All About The Gravy

Wednesday, 11th March. Hubs and I had just left Big Bad Wolf Books HQ in Shah Alam, after a tour of the place and to collect one of the best things in life, something that I'd been waiting for since my Birthday in Jan. Aah, but let's not stray. This is supposed to be about my fantastic lunch!

It cost us RM33 or was it RM38, a portion that is meant for four, for two greedy people who overate. We were, however, wise enough to ask for half the portion of rice. That night, we stuck to eating a pitiful small sandwich for dinner.

Nasi Ahmad sells nasi kandar, Kedah style. Fluffy yellow rice topped with splashes of gravy from various pots of curry.  A choice of meat, seafood and vegetables. Normal people pick one meat and one vegetable - hubs and I had two squids, a huge piece of mutton, a thick omelette, chicken drumstick, lots of okra, brinjal and bitter gourd. All I can say is - Hey, it's hard to choose when everything made our mouth water. Standing in line and thinking too long about it wasn't a polite option so we went with 'ok-this-this-this-this-THIS'.

Nasi Ahmad, Nasi Kandar Kedah Style

I was impressed. This was definitely something we would look back upon and laugh about how crazy it was that we wiped the plates clean. It was the most satisfying meal. A very delicious spread. The gravy was really good, nothing that screamed over the top flavourwise. I have only a feeling of I-need-to-come-here-again.  And I will ;)

Nasi Ahmad, The Core Kota Damansara
Rice topped with Gravy, Meat and Vegetables

Nasi Ahmad (The Core)
39, Jalan Teknologi 3/6B
47810 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
9am - 11pm (Friday closed)

Touristing tip : The chocolate museum is nearby.

14 It's A Long Story

It's a long story ..or not. I can write about my adventures in several posts to show you why I  had disappeared from blogosphere for more than a year, but the short of it is simply that I have been occupied with life offline and didn't feel a need to hurry back.

There were a few months spent on home renovation. I had Airbnb-ed in 7 or 8 different apartments during that time. It was a year without a pc with an internet connection and the this and that.

A simple reach out by an old blogger friend, however, made me realise how much I miss my online journal. To read back on my adventures, to reconnect with old blog friends ..oh, the many interesting stories of theirs I have missed!

After Renovation

I have to find my password, I told Cindyrina as much. She had contacted me out of the blue and was the one who got me excited to revive my blog again (Thank you!). Not in these words at all but to make it interesting,

"Eh, you want to try something new or not?"
"Wantttt .. but my blog is deadleh. So shylah"

It seemed I didn't really need the blog but tadaaa, here we are! I decided that it was a good excuse to get going again.

Before Renovation