Yes, all ye Arachnophobiacs. That is indeed a spider on its web.
Wait, don't run! Look at it… ain't it such a pretty little thing…?
The House
My parents were right. The house is indeed big. It not only house the 18 of us, there's also the host with their 6 kids and some of their other relatives + family who stayed over, as they always did on the last weekend of the month, when there's a family gathering.
The verandah where we had our meals
Kids cycling on the gravel driveway
With a name like 'rambutan', you can just imagine how the fruit looks like…
Rambutan & chiku tree (background)
Up close
Chiku is also known as 'sapota' to some. It looks a lot like kiwi fruit from the outside, except that it isn't hairy. Something like a potato, actually.
Rambutan tree next door
We were enthralled by the sight of this tree, located to one side of the grounds. There were so much fruit that they appeared like flowers, from far! My dad later told me that the tree actually belong to their neighbour.
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Anyway, to get the story started...
My parents got to stay at this house when they attended a wedding in Puchong last year. They love it so much and kept on raving about it to everyone.
My cousins and I, we kept in contact with our Malaysian relatives through, well, what else? Facebook, of course. And were informed of the fruit-bearing season at this relative's fruit grove.
Anyway, Kundang, Rawang is located in Selangor, Malaysia. This is very near to the popular Tasik Biru (Blue Lake). I was disappointed to see that the water in the lake wasn't blue at all. Then again, the lake used to be a quarry. I guess, after it was abandoned, the water eventually collected to form a lake. And quarry lakes tend to be bluish/greenish at first, due to the excess mineral deposit from the quarry. I guess that's how it got its name.
My parents got delirious and was adamant on going. They casually put word to my dad's siblings and what do we know…? ALL of them wanted to go!
So there were a grand total of 18 of us, planning to travel during the long X-mas weekend on such short notice. We scrambled around to get coach tickets. And my relative over there scrambled to get us coach/train tickets - whichever was available.
We ended up travelling on a luxurious double-decker coach and made our return on the KTM night train. We had to settle for the cattle class.
They were the only seats available. Even then, I had to take a day's leave because the train arrive on the next working day... :P
The House
My parents were right. The house is indeed big. It not only house the 18 of us, there's also the host with their 6 kids and some of their other relatives + family who stayed over, as they always did on the last weekend of the month, when there's a family gathering.
To maximise our 'kampung' (village) experience, we chose to be as close as we can to the outdoors, that's why the verandah became our favourite spot to hang out.
That's how desperate, us city-folks were.
The fruit trees right behind
There were fruits trees flanking 3 sides of the house.
The rear
The lawn
There's even a well-manicured carpet-grass lawn, which was a hit with the kids. My kiddo enjoyed the chance to run freely around, as he kick ball with his cousins.
There's also a metal swing, which met a sad end when 4-6 grown fully-grown adults fit themselves on it. It was funny to hear them scream as one side of the swing dropped down and all of them scrambled away.
What's even funnier was the sight of my son running gleefully towards it and sat down, feeling glad to (finally) have the swing to himself.
Little did he know…
The driveway was huge, mainly because all their relative drive their own car and when all of them gather, the driveway becomes a huge parking lot.
Swings
A hit with my cousins' girls. They sat on these rugged, homemade swings every chance they get. And no, they aren't for adults. Tried & tested… Really!
The Fruit Grove
Fruit picking 1
Fruit picking 2
All of us trooping into the fruit grove
Jackfruit tree
A variation of the jackfruit, which the Malays call, 'Cempedak'. Another variation will be the, 'Nangka'.
As you can see, the fruits on this tree are still small. Still a few months away from ripening.
Giant jackfruit
Rambutan tree
In Malay, the word, 'rambut' means, 'hair.
The Fruit Grove
A variation of the jackfruit, which the Malays call, 'Cempedak'. Another variation will be the, 'Nangka'.
As you can see, the fruits on this tree are still small. Still a few months away from ripening.
That's my dad and a huge jackfruit. Huge- because most ripe jackfruit comes to about only 3/4 of this size. And guess what…?
That beast is not even ripe yet! I can imagine it getting even bigger as it ripens!
With a name like 'rambutan', you can just imagine how the fruit looks like…
Can you see how 'hairy' the fruit appears to be?
Chiku tree, up close
Chiku is also known as 'sapota' to some. It looks a lot like kiwi fruit from the outside, except that it isn't hairy. Something like a potato, actually.
We were enthralled by the sight of this tree, located to one side of the grounds. There were so much fruit that they appeared like flowers, from far! My dad later told me that the tree actually belong to their neighbour.
Upon closer inspection, well, true enough. The trunk was actually across the fence yet almost 1/2 the tree is spread into the neighbour's land!
Close up
I asked why no one bothered to pluck that fruit? Their neighbour had in fact, allowed them access to the fruits that hovered above their land but they're still apprehensive.
And that neighbour of theirs must have been totally jaded with all these fruits. While we were trying to clean out the fruits down here!
My relative told us that not many fancy those rambutans. The taste was not comparable to the ones we got. Well… lucky us, then!
Small guava
This guava appears to be more on the smallish side. Apparently, it's already ripe. My uncle actually picked it up from the ground (only ripe fruits will drop off).
Pink guava - inside.
My next entry will be on… the FOOD, of course! How can I miss that?!
This guava appears to be more on the smallish side. Apparently, it's already ripe. My uncle actually picked it up from the ground (only ripe fruits will drop off).
As soon as my aunties saw it, they were like, "Apek atau nyonya..?!"
Us younger folks were dumbfounded and gave them the quizzical look. "Huh?"
They went on to explain that there are 2 types of guavas. One with white flesh and one that's pink inside. They use the term, 'Apek' (Chinese uncle) for the white one and 'Nyonya' (Chinese Auntie) for the pink.
If they use gender to associate the 2 colours, why do they chose the term, 'Apek & Nyonya' instead of 'Pakcik & Makcik' (Malay Uncle & Auntie)…? Beats me.
Well, as you can see… the one that we bite into, was a 'Nyonya'. That got us pretty ecstatic because most of us younger folks, have never in our whole life, eaten a real pink guava! We've only drank the flavoured cordial/syrup instead.
A couple of geese
... Or you can also call them 'geese couple'.
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So there, my entry of the house and the fruit grove.
... Or you can also call them 'geese couple'.
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So there, my entry of the house and the fruit grove.
My next entry will be on… the FOOD, of course! How can I miss that?!
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