or is it with the help of drug called insulin?
She is older than me by two and a half years, yet I can't keep pace with her. It could be because it is in her genes, what with a mother (at 91) who is still going to the factory almost daily, with the help of two maids and a wheelchair. But two tigresses cannot be on one hill and she had to quit so that the old lady can carry on with her delusions of a superwoman, or just someone with a superiority complex and feels everyone else cannot take over from her.
SP's itinerary for our guests from Holland seemed too much even for the young couple. When asked what time shall we come for you, Asel quickly changed the suggested time from 10am to 11am! Yet, starting after 11am, we set off for Thean Hou Temple, off Jalan Syed Putra. It was an auspicious day (1st or 15th day of Lunar calendar) and it was quite crowded with people of all ages, including some foreigners and young newly weds. Most of the Chinese went there to pray with burning joss-sticks and some even stayed to eat vegetarian food.
Anyway, it was past twelve when we decided to go to Genting Highlands, after our guests confirmed they did not feel like having lunch because of the hot weather. So it was for me, another journey into unfamiliar territory, because poor memory meant everything seems blur and efforts needed to look out for signs. Even Karak Highway got me into wondering if the Genting junction was before or after the toll! Again, I would blame it on our signposting which does not reassure motorists that we are on the right road, eg. signs showing Bentong, and other places but not Genting. There were many cars on the road up, simply because it was a long weekend.
At the top of the highlands where the main attractions are (casino, theme park, etc.), we had to go round and round looking for car parking space. Finally, we just parked where there was a yellow line, like everybody else. Food prices are relative. For example, at KLCC where a cup of cappuccino costs Rm13, 4 basic drinks costed almost the same as Genting's Lobby Cafe's 4 teas plus 4 cakes! Dinner at Madam Kwan seems cheap as a comparison! In Genting, I was told there are buffets which offer half price for senior citizens and I actually saw a sign which showed normal at Rm46 and seniors at Rm23. But we had to leave that for dinner later in PJ.
After some sight-seeing, we decided to leave. It was Nico who kept us on the right track to retrace back to where we parked our car! We missed the chance to hop on the road train to save ourselves the trouble of going through the buildings.
On our way downhill, we stopped at Chin Swee Temple. Then I remembered a nephew having an orchid outlet on the way to Genting and called for details. It is within the Genting Strawberry and Mushroom Farm, near Sri Malaysia Hotel, opposite a sports centre. I had to ask several staff members before I could find it. It is the only orchid shop and it is located away from the entrance. The management decided to ensure every visitor has to go past all the shops before exiting! What a way to do business, I thought.
I looked at the time and it was already past 6pm, yet my energetic wife said Putrajaya was on the itinerary. My main problem, besides being tired (went to bed at 3am the night before), was the concern over unfamiliarity with the routes. Knowing that dinner has been fixed at 8pm in PJ added on to my feeling the stress. While driving, the routes I took to Putrajaya was really a round-about way, heading towards KLIA to find the junction to it! By the time we reached there it was almost dusk. After a few trial and error criss-crossing the town, it was dark and we decided to head for PJ. Again we were led astray by the signposting. I bet others would have experienced it too. The expanse of the place does not help efficiency, I thought to myself. It is just like a very big office and an employee has to walk a long distance to get files and see a colleague over something.
Later, while we were having dinner in PJ new town, my son and girl friend came to join us to meet our guests for the first time. He was surprised like me because Asel, a Kyrgystani looked so oriental. But we were told they look very Chinese (it is next to China), just that we got the wrong impression thinking they were formerly Russians! Anyway, my son looked at me and got worried because I looked really tired! He offered to send them back to the hotel, but proud me thought, 'a man got to do what a man got to' and that is, to finish what I had set off to do. My wife actually planned to have them over for coffee, but that was called off... reluctantly. Just imagine, instead of Genting, she actually planned to take them to Camerons! That was already a compromise. Being a former KLite, I am expected to know all the routes correctly, so you can imagine the stress on poor me.
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