Reminiscence : My Earliest Recollection as a Child

Have you ever wondered how long back you can remember ?

Speaking for myself, my earliest recollection was being carried by my Dad who was standing on a road and seeing ships passing in the horizon. I knew that I used to stay at a single-story house in Choong Lye Hock Road, Penang and some years ago, I actually stopped by at this very house.

Guess what ?  Standing on Hock Hin Terrace, just beside my house, I could see ships passing by in the horizon !

Now, when was that ? Well, I remembered seeing cars plastered with pictures of sailing ships going around. Now what does that mean ? Well, in August 1959, there was a Malayan General Election and the symbol of the Alliance Party was the Sailing ship !  Given that I was born in 1957, my earliest recollection was at 2.25 years old :-)

It may be relevant  to note that the next Malaysian General Election was in 1964 and by then I was already in Standard One and living at Immigration Road in Georgetown.

Durians : What tastes like heaven but smells like hell ? [1996 & Updated 15th Sept 2009]

I love durians !

There's no two ways about it. I will not hesitate to pay for a good durian. My earliest recollections as a kid was that once or twice a year, my maternal uncle, Tan Eng Chuan would drop a basket of assorted durians for us to feast on.

During the early 1980's when I was squatting at the MACPA Student Library whilst studying to be a Certified Public Accountant, myself and a couple of fellow CPA students namely Liew and Marina Tan used to drive to Sungai Pinang to taste durians.

In the last few years, my daughters have grown to love durians after our trip to the Tropical Fruits Garden. Kimberley just loves the cheesy D11.

The durians which I tasted over the years include :

Hor Lor

Check out this video of someone eating a Hor Lor


Ang Hwa 
- not nice

Lit Pan
- Very nice

Durian Ong 
- small but one of the best but unable to find the last few years :-(

Koon Poh 
- overrated

A15 
- fleshy but coarse & no kick , not recommended

Ganja aka Theeng Tangkai
- long stem, a bit on the dry side
 

D11 
- best so far, make sure you try this last

D600 
- good

D604 
- very good

Bak Yu aka Capri

- whitish but very good, not a clone
- best at the durian store near the Chap Kaki Stall

D2 
- an old favourite but very difficult to open

D24 
- a new favourite

Cheh Cheeh
- Don't quite like it

Ang Heh 
-  Over-rated

Ling Fong Chiao 

Updated 26th August 2009

A new favourite (available at Jalan Chain Ferry entrance to Chai Leng Park) is the Sultan, yum yum !

Interesting Durians Links

Penang Durian
The King Reigns at Bao Sheng

An intereresting article on thornless Durians !
Penang Durians
Divine Durain

Smells Like Hell, Taste Like Heaven

Disclaimer

Nb. I do not claim copyright over the various pictures of the Durians as they were extracted from various Durian-related sites (including from the links above) and placed here for the convenience of the reader :-)

Bowling: How to play a perfect game ? [1996]

To be honest , I don't really know the answer to my own question !

I have read about our national bowler, Karen Lian striking it rich after she scored a perfect game in Singapore. I even personally know of a Penang Bowler, Mr. Eddie Lau who won RM 10,000 and a Volvo after a perfect game during one of the International Pesta Bowling Tournament held at Penang Bowl.

As for me, the highest I have ever achieved was a 279. Actually, I did played a perfect game in 1989 and all I got to show for it is RM 50 as it was during a 9-pin Tap tournament !
Anyway, although I am far from being a perfect bowler, I have been bowling (on & off) since 1984. I have read quite a number of bowling books and is quite competent on the technical aspects of the game. So here's some tips to help you bowl better.

How to Strike

If you are a right hander, you have to roll your ball into the 1-3 pocket over your favourite arrow from the right side of the lane. Conversely, if you are a left hander, roll your ball over the said arrow from the left side of the lane to hit the 1-2 pocket.

If your ball is on target over your selcted arrow into the 1-2 or 1-3 pockets and you leave a Pin-5, it simply means that your ball is FLAT ie by the time the ball reaches the pocket, it is sliding and not rolling. The solution is to put more LIFT into your delivery.

Bowling : About Bowling Balls & Grips [1996]

Most bowlers, especially girls, choose a ball

which looks pretty ! Actually, there is a number of factors which you should consider in buying a bowling ball including the weight, surface type, grip etc.

1. Weight
Generally, the ideal weight for a hook bowler is 10 % of your body weight. Spinners prefer light balls in the 10 lb range.

2. Surface Type
Buy a hard ball if your favourite alley has slow lanes ie hooking lanes. Penang Bowl is such an alley.
If the lanes are fast, a soft ball is preferred to counter the oily lanes. Top Bowl generally has oiler (faster) lanes than Penang Bowl.

3. Grips
There are 3 basic types of drilling :
Conventional - straight ball for beginners
Semi-fingertip - Hook Ball
Full Fingertip - Hook ball for advance bowlers

To know more about bowling balls, you may want to click on this link...

Bowling : How to Spare Consistently ? [1996]

By instinct most new bowlers looks at the target pin when attempting a spare. There is a better and more scientific way !

3-6-9 System
This system assumes that once you have found your strike position, remember it . For a right-hander, the strike position simply means the position ( say the centre dot at the approach) which you start with & bowl over the the target arrow (typically the 2nd arrow from the right gutter) to roll your ball into the 1-3 pocket.

The 3-6-9 sparing system assumes that you will fix your target arrow and move your starting position left to spare pins on the right or move right to spare pins on the left

To spare :
Pin 3 & 9 - move 3 boards left of your strike position & bowl over the target arrow
Pin 6 - move 6 boards left of your strike position & bowl over the target arrow
Pin 10 - move 12 boards left of your strike position & bowl over the target arrow+ 5 boards to the left
Pin 2 & 8 - move 3 boards right of your strike position & bowl over the target arrow
Pin 4 - move 6 boards right of your strike position & bowl over the target arrow
Pin 7 - move 9 boards right of your strike position & bowl over the target arrow

2-4-6 System
This system also assumes that once you have found your strike position, remember it . For the right hander, the strike position simply means the position ( say the centre dot at the approach) which you start with & bowl over the the target board (typically the 10th board from the right gutter) to roll your ball into the 1-3 pocket

The 2-4-6 sparing system assumes that you will fix your standing position and shift your target board left to spare pins on the left or shift your tarfet board right to spare pins on the right.

To spare :
Pin 3 & 9 - stand at the strike position & bowl over the target board-2 (i.e 8th board from right gutter)
Pin 6 - stand at the strike position & bowl over the target board-4 (i.e 6th board)
Pin 10 - stand at the strike position & bowl over the target board-6 (i.e 6th board)
Pin 2 & 8 - stand at the strike position & bowl over the target board+2 (i.e 12th board from right gutter)
Pin 6 - stand at the strike position & bowl over the target board+4 (i.e 14th board)
Pin 10 - stand at the strike position & bowl over the target board+6 (i.e 16th board)

Penang : Round Island Trip [1996, Updated 15th September 2009]

Going round Penang Island especially during the Durian season is fun. There's quite a lot of places to stop by :-

1. Start at Esplanade, Georgetown
2. Stop at Gurney Drive
3. Visit the pool at Chin Farm at Batu Ferringhi
4. Spice Garden, on the way to Telok Bahang (Updated 6th Sept 2009)
   
5. Stop at Telok Bahang Beach
6. Visit the Butterfly Farm at Telok Bahang
7. Visit the Rimba Rekreasi also at Telok Bahang
8. Have some delicious durians at one of the durian estate before Titi Krawang
9. Visit Titi Krawang at Sg. Pinang
10. Laksa at Balik Pulau Market
11. Visit Gertak Sanggul
12. Delicious seafood at Batu Maung
13. War Museum at Batu Maung (Updated 6th Sept 2009)
14. Aquarium at Batu Maung (Updated 6th Sept 2009)
15. Visit Snake Temple 
16. Kek Lok Si Temple  (Updated 6th Sept 2009)
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
17. Cable ride to Goddess of Mercy Statue from Kek Lok Si Temple (Updated 6th Sept 2009)
    
18. Heritage enclave at Armenian Street, Inner Georgetown

PFS: There are friends and yet there are friends...

Last week, Ong Kok Wah called me and said that Cheng San, our New Yorker will be going back soon and would I be able to join them at lunch with Tan Theam Hock and Tan Chong Beng at the Maple Restaurant at Penang Road.

Without hesitation, I said yes and actually canceled a business appointment so that I could attend :-)

More to Come...