A country(side) for old men

One of the pools at the fish farm,
this one for tilapia

Before our two-day trek to Penang, we took a daytrip to Jelebu. Well, more precisely Pertang, which is on the outskirts of the main city of Jelebu.  And when I mean outskirts, I mean out in the middle-of-the-goddamn-rainforest outskirts. My father-in-law is originally from Pertang and his siblings operate various businesses there, including fish farms. The large ponds (see the picture on the left) where the fish are kept were hand-dug by his grandmother when she came to Malaysia from China. Talk about hardcore.

One of the fish farms we visited had coconut trees, mango trees, durian trees, and other exotic fruits like rambutan and mangosteen. Had it been the right season, I could literally walk up (or climb up) and pluck whatever I wanted from the tree. (I did, however, enjoy young coconut water, right from a scalped coconut.)

Chin Ching Ching restaurant, where
old men come to mingle.

The business district area where we went for lunch reminded me of the small town I was at in 2003 in southern China, near the village my family (on my dad's side) was originally from. The restaurant was grimy on the inside, and grimy on the outside, but the food was delicious. But no matter how different various places might be from what we are familiar with, one thing remains the same: Old retired guys will always hang out at the same joints, not eating a thing but eager to drink strong tea or sweetened coffee, swapping stories. No different at Chin Ching Ching.

Not much to pontificate on, just that the area is beautiful and idyllic, and is as far removed from the hustle and bustle of the large cities as you can get. Serenity now. Enjoy the pics below.