Squid Fishing Anyone?

Once upon a time in my life, I went squid fishing.

I don't know the right English words for it. In my country, we call it mencandat sotong. I guess the nearest translation would be squid fishing, no matter how ridiculous it might sound. 'Sotong' means 'squid' while 'candat' would refer to the action of "fishing" the squid as there is a certain technique of doing it, using a certain kind of fishing equipment.

It was all BBCC's [or MM's, by which she would now be known] idea. I wouldn't want to sacrifice my beauty sleep or at least my comfortable bed for a night on a fishing boat. But she insisted, and as usual, I gave in.

 

It was in May, the month when the squids are said to be in abundance. The location was Kuala Terengganu, the capital city of the state of Terengganu, for that's where all the actions were taking place. It so happened that a local newspaper company was organising a festival of squid fishing there. MM was swift in registering both of us as participants, which landed me in a position whereby it was impossible and also a bit too late to say "No".

And so my squid fishing experience began. I was all the time wondering how it would be like. We packed rather meticulously, buying raincoats and even pills to prevent sea-sickness. We arrived one day earlier, checked into a hotel and spent the rest of the day checking out the venue for tomorrow's event, the Shahbandar Square.

The Shahbandar Square, where it all started

The next day, at around 12 pm , we had ourselves registered, after which we collected our goodie bags. We had received a hat and a t-shirt each, bearing the name of the festival, and of course, the fishing equipment or candat.

We were on Boat no 4 at first, then transferred to another boat

MM checked out the size of the squid caught last season

At 2 pm, we were all geared up, in appropriate attire, waiting for the time to go aboard the boats. There was a lot of waiting to be done, since we were registered as individuals and not as groups (as most of the participants were).

First, the wait by the jetty . . .

Next, the wait in the jetty . . .

Finally, all our boat members arrived and our boarding into the boat occurred at approximately 4 pm.

All smiles in the boat

But the wait was not over. This time round, it was for the event to be launched, the flag-off.

Boat around us, waiting to be launched

While waiting, I saw this old man performing Asar prayers

It was around 5pm that we finally began our voyage. Once we moved on the silky waters, my excitement soared. For I love to be free in the open sea, under the blue sky. I couldn't take my eyes off the beautiful view, one which I might see perhaps only once in my lifetime.

Moving towards the sea, the Shahbandar Square on the right

Racing with other boats to the open sea

We sailed until the day turned dusk. And continued sailing in the enveloping darkness. The land was nowhere in sight. Not even the lights of Kuala Terengganu. The moon, the wind, the sounds of the waves crushed by the boat kept us company. About an hour later, we anchored and our squid fishing experience began.

I wouldn't say it was easy. In fact, I found it quite hard. As it was a festival where winners would be selected, we were not allowed to use baits. And that made it much harder to catch the squids.

Squids are attracted to the light and bright colours of the candat. The candat would be tied to a string with  a weight. Using only your arms, the candat had to be moved up and down in the sea water. It is believed that the squids, upon seeing the candat, would mistakenly think that it is food and then would take a bite. And thus the squid is caught.

Theoretically, I feel, it sounds easy. Yet in practical, I failed. I did not catch even a single squid! And my arms were hurting. The boat crew tried to help, and then the string broke and all the fishing equipment fell into the sea. It was just not my night.

The others had better luck. A young women seated behind me in the boat caught 6 squids even though throughout the night she was either falling asleep or was totally in dream land. A male participant who brought his fishing rod even caught some fish. MM also managed to catch a squid, fulfilling her dream of a successful squid fishing trip.

We left the sea at 5 am, and the jetty at 6 am. I left with an aching back, a bruised ego, a dizzy head and a drowsy mood. The boat crew had been kind to give us some of the squids they caught, which we turned into 'Sotong Goreng' (Fried Squids) at a stall later that evening.

I leave all of you with pictures of MM and her caught squid, at least as a consolation for my lack of luck in squid fishing! Better luck next season, perhaps.

She couldn't believe she caught it at first

The smile of a successful squid fisher!

Cari Kayu di Terengganu

Last Deepavali holidays (in October, if you have lost track of time and dates), I made this trip to cari kayu di Terengganu (I like how they rhyme, the words I mean). But it's not a common kind of kayu that I was searching for, actually. I was hunting for a specific kind of kayu - ukiran kayu, to be exact.

You might be wondering, why Terengganu? Especially when I can get many Indonesian work of arts here in the west coast. I guess I was being patriotic, or perhaps sentimental. I read years ago in an inflight magazine that some westerners came all the way to Terengganu to have their boats done by local boat makers. It struck something in me. This is national heritage that remains untapped or perhaps, overlooked by local people. So when I was scouting for some furniture for my house and perabut ukiran kayu came to mind, perabut ukiran kayu Terengganu won over perabut ukiran kayu Jati Indonesia.

And so I went. We (BBCC and I, of course) drove. Prior to that, I did some research on the Net and found two addresses where I might find what I wanted. One in Kuala Terengganu, the other in Besut. We headed to Kuala Terengganu, planning to stop in Besut on our way back, especially if I could not find what I want at the state's capital.

Although initially my search was for only for perabut ukiran kayu Terengganu, what I found was much more than that. While passing through Jerteh, we came across this impressive wooden mosque. I couldn't really sustained my eagerness and forced BBCC to make a U-Turn. I definitely must be there!

The impressive Masjid Kayu in Jerteh

I was totally consumed by the ukiran kayu I saw in this mosque. Every inch of it. Every corner. Had we not been heading for Kuala Terengganu, I would have stayed there for hours.

I managed to take a few snapshots of certain angles of the mosque. I would have taken more, if not for my fear that BBCC might be crossed with me. Well, who would not be, right? We had miles to go and yet I was "fooling around" here with my camera. What's worse, she was the one who was driving!

My first snapshots are the door and the window of the female prayer hall. I wish I could have something like these at home:



The door frame of the female prayer hall.
Don't you just admire the carvings?

A closer view on the carvings above
the door frame

These are the snapshots of the outsides of the mosque. If only I had more time to go around the mosque...



BBCC also couldn't help feeling impressed
that she asked me to snap this photo



As I was about to leave, my eyes caught some other interesting details of an adjacent wooden building and I quickly took these pictures:

All in all, I can only sum up everything in one word - WOW!. Never ever will I underestimate the talents of our local craftsmen (though I never have), and of course, the beauty and richness of our culture and heritage.

You don't too, okay. Take care.

Penang Youth Park & Botanical Garden

Penang Island is one place in the world that I love visiting. I'm actually thankful that the island is easily accessible to me in terms of time and distance, giving me the opportunity to visit it whenever I feel like it.

Among the places that I frequently visit in Penang are the Youth Park and the Botanical Garden. These are the places where I spend my time exercising.  They are the green lungs for me. Whenever life is so suffocating, visiting these places either for exercise or for pleasure often send me home rejuvenated and lively, as if tons and tons of oxygen have been blown into my own lungs.

I love the Youth Park for being the Youth Park. It's green, with lots of trees; and most importantly, it has everything for everyone. There's one big field for any physical activities, like football or just a tug-of-war. Then next to it is the mini auditorium for Family Day gatherings and singing competitions.

Well, if any of these do not appeal to you, go further in where there's a playground especially for children. But adults can be here too, for there're some exercising equipments for your disposal. Further in by the toilet is a field for archery and  a skateboard rink. If you turn left from the toilet, you'll come to the pools. There're about 4 of them, with one big pool for adults.

If water and the greeneries do not attract you as well, head to the jogging tracks or go hiking; the latter is one of my favourite activities.

Here're some visuals of the Youth Park.

 The green trees. My green lungs.

 The spacious field

 Another view of the park



 Playground for children, and adults too!

Well, the park actually have some small gardens. This is one of them.

Botanical Garden lies about 3km north of the Youth Park. This is another green lung for Penang. The attraction here is the plant and tree species, and of course the monkeys! Beware of them , though, for they could attack you especially if you are giving them food. They do really have a big appetite. These monkeys are also known to have accosted female joggers so make sure you are not alone.

Despite that, Botanical Garden is still an attraction to me. I love the vastness of the place, the gurgling sound of water in the creek, and in certain months of the year, the colour of the flowers.

Here's a glimpse of this favourite spot of mine:

 I was trying to capture the sun rays, actually!

 One of my favourite corners

 I like to call this "the green meadows"

Trees, grass and the river (in the background, below the small bridge)

The greeneries - soothing to the eyes



Do these pictures attract you? If they do, come down to Penang!
See you then.