Day3 with Machika 12March2011

It was the annual Raptor Watch weekend and the raptors were an awesome sight to behold as they soared in the afternoon sky. These raptors hovered just above my house. We gave the event in Tanjung Tuan a miss and chose to stay home instead.

The first thing Machika asked was "Any shells?" She managed to collect quite a number of sundials, top shells and cowries.
JY and Machika spent the afternoon discovering the beach and building sandcastles.
Machika told us that PD is much better than Hawaii, her family's summer holiday destination. Hawaii, she says, is crowded and the water smells of suntan oil.

Machika's first satay meal.

Machika managed to get JY hooked on Sudoku

We visited the weekly pasar malam and JY introduced peanut pancake (apam balek) to Machika.

Then it was back to the beach to hunt for hermit crabs.

We planned to go to Melaka the next day but Machika and JY decided that they would rather spend another day at the beach instead. So the beach it is. We will keep Melaka for June, when we get to host Machika again before she ends her 1 year as an IYE student.

5 Days in PD ...Merdeka Weekend 2010

We had 5 wonderful , funfilled days in PD. This time around with Mom and Dad as well as Swathy from next door.

We were eager to get there by Friday night to catch the sight of the moon and Mars. The car was filled to the brim with food stuff and beddings and luggage. So JY, Swathy and Mama made the journey by Komuter from Templer Station to Seremban and then by bus to PD bus station. It took them about 6 hours and JY proclaims "Never again will I take public transport!" Read about their adventure on JY's blog

The sky was clear at 10pm and there was a full moon out. We noticed a shiny object next to it, we assumed it to be Mars. The binoculars were brought out and the kids peered through it, unfortunately clouds blew in and obscured our vision of the night sky.

So we went hermit crab hunting instead. I guess I am not into astronomy much and books on constellations have always confounded me.


This tiny snake was nearly trampled on by my troop as we made our way to the beach. Mama got the hibbie-jibbies and anxiously shooed us along. Ean didn't get the chance to observe and kept on asking for the snake later. My mistake for letting this wonderful opportunity for observation get away.

There were lots of hermit crabs that night. I was surprised to see big huge ones as last year we had a hard time looking for a single hermit crab. The boys collected a few in a pail but let them go when they realised that the hermit crabs kept dislodging themselves from their shells.

JY wisely said "They need the sea to survive"

Day 2 Saturday 28 Aug
Major Looi from 2 houses down the road gave us 4 coconuts and reminded us to meet at the Tanjung Tuan reserve at 4pm.

We played P-I-G and Cheat! Two entertaining card games that had us rolling in laughter.

JY with a 'P' in her mouth. Hehehehe :)

A long-legged mosquito(?) that was spotted on the car on as it parked by the beach.

The girls were put in charge of food and they decided to hold the BBQ by the beach and started preparing the fire at 4pm.



Kent doing his water-resistance exercise while having some grandfather-father-sons bonding time.

A sample of their catch...2 stingrays and a couple of crabs. The horseshoe crab was released back into the sea.

I enjoy spotting raptors and unexpectedly 3 buzzards soared just above our heads that afternoon. These magnificent creatures circled above a few times, swooped down to the water twice and then flew off.

Day 3

We had gone up to the Tanjung Tuan lighthouse once when Fai was about 2 years old. This time, after Major Looi's tales of sighting birds, coral reefs and whirpools, we decided to try out one of their trails.

We were informed that there would be a group that hikes up at 8am and 4pm daily. We didn't see anyone, so we decided to explore the place on our own.

The trail that we took was paved and it was an enjoyable stroll with lots of trees and little creatures to observe but we turned back when we came to a steep slope. I didn't fancy a strenous uphill climb so close to dinner time.

The trail, bark of a tembusu tree and the lighthouse.

Back home, JY, Swathy and Fai played "Hello Jack!" Another card game with lots of action and laughter.

The ground cricket filled the night with its loud hum.

Day 4

The catch of the day.

This turtle was trapped in the net. Kent took hold of the fella while Dad retrieved the net, so that it would not get caught again. It was a fiesty one and zoomed off into the sea the moment it was released.



We had dinner at PD restaurant, our favourite Tai Chow in PD. And once again saw the mangy horses.Poor, neglected creatures.

I couldn't resist taking photos of the sunset as we made our way home.

Notice the cloud shaped like an eagle?

PD 12-14 March 2010

Sunday 11am:

There were 3 groups of raptors. One at Tanjung Tuan, another just over my house and the last group was moving inland. Each group of raptors consisted of about 100-200 birds. It was marvellous watching them swoop and soar as they rode the currents.

Golden Showers is Fai's favourite tree. It was in full bloom and the boys managed to get a few seed pods that had dropped onto the pavement in Palm Springs Resort.

Kent happily sweeping his driveway on a Monday morning.

7am

10.30am

Watching the sunrise in PD, breathing in the fresh crisp air and listening to the melodious chirping of the birds was nice. It is a stark contrast to the smog choked air in PJ.

I shall be spending more time here.




This sunbird has chosen the Southwest corner of the house to nest. The nest hangs on a Petra vine and sways gently when the wind blows. It is indeed an engineering feat as it withstood a heavy shower the night before.

Raptors in PD

Kent came back from a day trip to PD and said that he spotted about a hundred buzzards flying behind our house. What a sight that must have been.
I can't wait to get to PD to watch the raptors as they make their annual migration.

Get more info here:
http://www.raptorwatch.org/tt_raptors.htm