Chaah, Malaysia, a Home Visit

This trip was decided in the spurt of the moment, when I gave a comment on how I wanted to go home with a special friend. Permissions were then granted from both sides quickly and off I go! Special thanks to her and her family for making this entire trip possible, and helping with the extra housework when I was there. It was indeed a memorable trip. A heartwarming trip full of strong feelings and emotions. Memories were shared and shall be kept with us forever.

26 June 2016, Sunny, Singapore > Chaah

Spent the morning at home listening to my brother and parents helping me decide how to go over to Malaysia. After packing my bag, I embarked on the long journey towards her home. I listened to my brother's advise and took the train over the causeway, then followed her instructions to find the bus that will take me to Larkin Bus Terminal. Special thanks to her detailed instructions and her attentiveness on the phone that allowed me to find the correct way to Larkin, then to Chaah. At Larkin, I had to wait for an hour before the earliest bus leaves for Segamat (passing Chaah), so I went into MacDonald's and bought an interesting flavour of sundae. It didn't fail to impress. Larkin bus terminal was a messy and noisy place, but my adventurous spirit was active and I enjoyed the trip to and away from there. Finally, I got up the correct Malaysia coach. One look inside the coach and was reminded how the coaches here are always super comfortable and spacious. It was exactly like how it always was in the past when me and my family sat in one to go to Genting. After a 2 hour ride (was too excited to fall asleep), I finally reached Chaah. Chaah is a small town of Malaysia in Johor. It is not very well developed, the population is quite low and it is smaller than Pasir Ris. It however has a very quaint and peaceful feeling to it. She drove out with a manual car to fetch me. It was a happy moment when I saw her. When we reached her house, I met her parents for the very first time. It was a bit awkward as I was quite shy, but slowly, I began to have a normal chat with her mother. My friend showed me around the house and I slowly began to feel at home. I was allowed to sleep on the second floor, something like an attic. In the evening, her father drove the entire family to the only hawker centre in Chaah for a nice complete dinner of pig stomach, vegetables and fish, all for a very economical price. We then drove around town a bit so that I could know the town a little better, before returning to her home. Before I slept, she came up to the attic, which caught me a little by surprise. We had our very first pillow talk, and I enjoyed every second of it.

27 June 2016, Sunny, Chaah

Today was a day of cooking. After eating breakfast brought back by her father, I began first to make cheese baked rice for lunch. Together with my wonderful assistant (who to my delight, was a super great help), I made the fried rice and the two different coloured sauces with much less difficulty than when I did it alone in Australia. The bechamel sauce failed once, but the second time was the charm. It was a semi-success. I was really rusty with my cooking skills, but thanks to my assistant, we managed to make pretty good dishes of baked rice, which I think the pictures impressed her sisters. After lunch and a short nap, I began to put my family's secret recipe on the line, because I was going to make our chicken rice! I let my assistant sleep a while more and I began on the chicken rice. Using pandan from the backyard and ingredients her mother bought yesterday, we started on the chicken rice. After spending the entire afternoon in the kitchen, we successfully cooked everything, the chicken soup, the black sauce, the chilli and of course, the rice. To me, it was a major success because I replicated the taste of the chilli and the black sauce exactly like how my aunt made it. The only drawback was that there was not enough pandan flavour, but that is totally fine. Her youngest sister returned with two of her friends for dinner with the family. Combined with her mother's vegetables and pig stomach soup, we had a super awesome (and very full) dinner!

We then watched the last episode of the drama that she have been watching the past few weeks. I watched while having the baby by my side. Her father went out and bought satay for all of us, an action full of fatherly love. At night before I slept, she came up to the attic again and we had a really really long pillow talk, until we forgot the time.

28 June 2016, Sunny, Chaah > Bekok > Chaah

It was only until about 1:30 AM in the night before we realized we need to sleep. Due to the fatigue, I slept in until 9 plus. When I went down, her family and friends were already busy preparing LeiCha. Breakfast was buns bought by her father. It was just a lazy morning spent doing almost nothing. I learnt how to bathe the baby from her. Don't know why, but I still cannot forget her two word instruction when I was sitting in front of the baby while I stared at her. I got the fortune to try her mother's famous LeiCha. It tasted very different from how I expected it to taste, but it was really yummy and healthy. It is a hakka dish consists of many different vegetables chopped into small pieces, and topped with the special LeiCha sauce. It does not taste like tea, but I cannot really describe the taste either. I just like it a lot. In the afternoon, we drove around a bit for graduation pictures for her. Places we visited include her childhood village clinic, a small town called Bekok, and the waterfall. Her youngest sister drove us around. The name of the waterfall place is Hutan Lipur Sungai Bantang Bekok.

Okay, it isn't exactly a waterfall, but more like small rapids, where people can listen to the peaceful sounds of water flowing over rocks and falling slightly, and play inside the water. We took an extremely dangerous graduation picture where she was standing on a large rock surrounded by fast flowing water! However, that few pictures didn't turn out that well. After the pictures, we then threw off our slippers, and went into the water! Being super cheeky, I distracted the sisters with a comment about the surroundings, then took the chance to splash them first when they were not looking at me. Mischievous me hahaha. Then the water barrage came. I lost because it was two against one and I had no extra protection (I lost my glasses after ReLeX Smile!). The water greeted out skin very well. We had a super extremely soothing and relaxing time soaking ourselves in the mountain water. We moved around the place, trying to find a comfortable spot. I just love nature. Even her sister, who was a little more reluctant, began to enjoy the mountain water. I was also extremely happy to see how playful she is, and how much she loves nature. When we had enough, we just changed clothes and went back home to bathe. At night, I helped to bathe the baby. I tried my best to be as gentle, but yet firm and protective as I could. We rode a motorcycle out to buy ice cream before I began to make caramel. She was so impressed with the caramel (and I have got my past to thank for this). At night, we did our pillow talk as usual, and I fell asleep immediately after that, due to the combined fatigue of travelling and playing.

29 June 2016, Sunny, Chaah

We basically did nothing today, but also did so many things today. A simple text message sent in the wee hours of 00:53 changed everything. I only read it in the morning, and I knew she saw that I saw it. Shortly after, she brought the little baby up to the attic. We just lied there, and admittedly, I have no idea what to do. Many things were going right through my mind although the attic was quiet. I just played with the baby a little, who was in between us. After a while, she brought the baby down. Looking at her go down, I realized something. It could be a combination of everything, I am not sure, but at that moment, I made up my decision. A life decision.

I went down the attic. Entering the kitchen, I helped to make Yong Tau Foo pieces. With guidance, I made pumpkin sago dessert. The atmosphere was a little tense between me and her. No matter how I try to tell myself it is going to be alright, it won't. With my own empathy, I can tell that she is troubled, and the longer I drag, the more horrible she will feel...

While we were seated on the sofa while I attempted to take a nap (of course I can't), she sat beside me. She asked me if I saw the message. Gathering all my courage, I confessed my feelings. She immediately smiled. It was then, I know my decision is not wrong.The awkwardness went away quickly. Shortly after, we went out for a second round of graduation picture taking, this time just nearby her house within Chaah. We went to the swing, and her secondary school. I told her to do jump shots and pictures of her throwing her square hat. Shortly after, we returned home and went for a ride on the motorcycle to drive around the village. She was my pillion on the bike. Although the bike was old and could only go till about 30 km/h, we enjoyed it a lot. We rode to a small playground to play the swing. She must have a lot of childhood memories here. There, I held her hand for the very first time. I could feel my heart race as I grabbed her hand. It was a moment that I will never ever forget.

We then rode back, this time with her hugging me from the back (I told her to). It was sweet how she can just speak normally and I can hear her giving me instructions where to turn to go back. At night, we had our usual pillow talk again. We just lied on the bed and kept looking at each other. While gazing into her eyes, I saw there was a lot of things going through her mind, but I don't know how to reassure her that everything will be alright. The occassional smile did not hide the troubles that is bugging her. After she left the room, I know that she is still extremely troubled. Later, I found her still reading a book in the living room, and consulting her mother. I really want to help to reassure her, but I just didn't know how.

30 July 2016, Chaah > Yong Peng > Johor Bahru > Singapore

Today was actually a leave that was extended. I was fortunate and thankful to be able to extend the leave while applying while overseas. I woke up early to wait for her so that we can start making breakfast, which is dumplings and siew mai. We took quite a while, and it did not turn out like how I wanted it to... but her family ate them anyway. I helped to clean up the place a bit. We set off out at about 2 PM. One thing I noticed was the large amount of baby items on board. Moving around with a baby sure isn't easy, but she fell asleep so easily while inside the car (Science: A lower oxygen concentration induces drowsiness). A short drive by her sister brought us to Yong Peng. There, we ate a famous fishball noodle and bought some local snacks for my mother before continuing the trip down to Johor Bahru to find her other sisters who are living at her aunt's place. At her aunt's place, all four of them sisters were reunited. It was a very family scene. All the sisters were very close with each other and they do not hide their personalities at all. We just rested for a while and had some fruit. After the short break, we decided to go to EcoSpring, a condominium project that aims to create a high standard living community in Johor Bahru. We were after pictures for her graduation. We drove there, but to our disappointment, the guard did not allow us in because the weather is bad and they are closing. What luck, what pity. We then drove back a little to find Palladium Cafe. The surroundings of this place is simply a charm.

We then decided to have Japanese food for dinner. The sisters then brought us to Warakuya Japanese Restaurant. The food here was super awesome. I tried the salmon don, and the salmon was super good! After the meal, it was time to go home. I was glad that she chose to go back to Singapore. This allowed me to do many things. Her sisters are really kind to send us back to the customs. Before we crossed it however, we went into City Square mall so that I can buy something for her. We then crossed the border together and I insisted on sending back to her home in Bishan. There was a lot of awkward tension on the way home as I tried to find a topic to chat with her. She says she is troubled, which made me nervous and question myself. Finally, at the bus stop near the void deck of her Singapore house, I took out my gift for her, showed it to her, and asked her. I was filled with strong emotions as I asked, and I actually teared a little. She did not give me the answer straight, but requested for more time to consider. I granted her that because I am willing to wait. She offered to wait for the bus with me, so I held her hand and crossed the overhead bridge. In the middle of the overhead bridge in the white box, I hugged her, really really tightly. For me, it was a magical moment. Feeling her in my arms, all my instincts tell me that she is the one, and I need to protect her. The bus finally came (which I half hoped it didn't come). I waved goodbye in the bus, and the bus took me home.