The futsal match that wasn't

What an activity-filled sunday it had been.First up was the praying session at my grandfather's grave.I had to wake up at 8am.It's blasphemous to wake up at such an early hour on a lazy sunday morning.I wish i could slumber a few hours more.As i'm working for my family right now,sunday is the only day other than public holidays that i can wake up late.But when i realised i'm doing this for my late grandfather(more on him on my future posting),it's all worth it.

Heck,i will even wake up at 4am for him!According to the chinese calendar,yesterday was the third anniversary of my granpa's death.Most of my family members were present.Everything was done according to the chinese tradition.From the burning of incense to the praying of my late grandpa with his favourite food and drink.After the praying session ended,everyone went back to have a rest while preparing for the next destination.

Other than my parents,all of us were heading to kamunting.It's my grandmother's hometown.Kamunting is a tranquil and peaceful small town.Bout one and a half hours ride from ipoh.My grandma has expressed her wish on visiting her siblings who live there.This particular trip has been long-time coming.I had memorable moments there when i was small.One of them was quite sombre in mood.I attended the funeral of my great-grandmother.

The funniest one was when i had a brush with a rather nightmarish experience.It happened when i was around 5-6 years old.I drank something along the way.The drink must be contaminated or something as i ended throwing up like nobody's business when i arrived.The visit couldn't get any worse than this.To rub salt to the wound,my grandma scolded me for carelessly buying a drink from the roadside stall.

Back to the jaunt,we went sight-seeing at taiping zoo next.It was raining most of the time.My uncle suggested seeking shelter at the snake gallery as it was the nearest.Not that i'm afraid,but i didn't like the feeling of being surrounded by snakes.Anyway,it did not materialise as we managed to find a proper alternative.We pretty much spent the rest of the time in the zoo,under the rain.I also had a rare opportunity to see a female chimpanzee on heat.Judging from her chilli red ass,i guess the mating season has begun.

With all those walking and travelling,all of us were tired and hungry.So we went searching for good food at larut matang.A town famous for its eclectic mix of seafood.Some of the delicious ones that deserved mentioning were crab porridge,sweet and sour prawns and spicy squids.All washed down with a refreshing coconut drink.

It's a great experience visiting all these small towns.They have so much to offer in terms of sights and food.The chance to see some of the poor rural folks living in shabby wooden houses and with zero entertainment was an invaluable experience.It reminds me of how some of us often take the little luxury in life for granted.

However,all of these were in expense of the futsal match with my friends.It was to kick-off at 7pm.I couldn't make it back on time though.Previously,i had a clean track record of being present in every futsal match organised.It was supposed to be a match of my friends and i against jian hua's brother and his team mates.To add insult to injury,jian hua was raving how he had single-handedly trashed his bro's team by netting 6-7 goals.I knew it was gonna be a great match but i missed it.What a wasted opportunity.Bummer!



The house where my grandma grew up.


The compound outside.


The sundry shop next to the house.This is where my grandma's siblings make a living.