Senior Perks!!

I’d like to share some of the perks that seniors enjoy. Seniors refer to those who have reached the milestone of 60 years and are heading towards the seventies.


1. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac. Why?
All those aches and pains are for real. The posture has also changed, the back is more stooped or rounded! You may even have shrunk a bit!!

2. There is nothing left to learn the hard way. Really???
Some people say there’s no fool like an old fool!! Do you agree?

3. Things you buy now won’t wear out.
That’s provided you still buy things to wear! Do you notice that most of the stuff in shops now cater to the young and skinny? It’s almost impossible to find a nice dress. T-shirts of course will fit anyone, no matter how much you’ve expanded!

4. You can live without sex but not your glasses.
Hmmmph…. Not sure if everyone will agree on this.
Who says seniors don’t get the hots every now and then?
Glasses definitely are needed or you can’t see what’s on the papers!

5. Your eyes won’t get much worse.
True…. Depending on how good or bad your eyes are.
With new technology, you can get rid of the cataract and have lens implant that will let you see clearly. One lens to let you see long distance and the other to allow you to read.

6. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
Ah, the wisdom of having take out insurance! You need it to pay for medication for all the ills that come with age, and the resulting surgery if you happen to fall! Spare parts don’t come cheap.


7. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather bureau.
You know what I’m talking about. You can feel the rain even before it comes.

8. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can’t remember them either.

Yep! The memory is getting more rusty each day. I tend to forget which day of the week it is, sometimes.

Enjoy your perks and to all seniors….. enjoy the hours of the day and let’s hope there will be plenty more to come

Random Acts of Kindness - a Beautiful Rainbow

Help extended by strangers and the kindness along with it, is never forgotten, especially when you least expect it.

Although this happened more than half a lifetime ago when we were in our teens, it remains imprinted in my mind, indelible and spurs me to help others.

It was summer and my friend and I had returned to London after a holiday in Europe. We were teacher-trainees from Brinsford Lodge, a Malayan Teachers' College located in Wolverhampton. It was too late to hitch-hike back to college
and being short of funds, we had banked on another friend for a night's lodging. We went to her apartment only to find that she wasn't in. Unfazed, we sat outside her door and waited. The hours passed and it was close to 11 p.m. but there was still no sign of her.

Then a bobby (an English policeman) passed by.
He told us we could not wait there and asked us to follow him to the police station. We sat there and waited. Calls to my friend's apartment were not answered. The police officer said that we could not stay at the police station. He said that he would take us to a place where we could help.

Guess where he took us?

To a Chinese restaurant!! There he had a word with the proprietor, Mr Wong and then he left. The first thing Mr Wong asked us was whether we had eaten. When we replied in the negative, he had his kitchen rustle up dinner for us.

Then only he asked us what happened. We explained our predicament with the waiters hovering by. Then Mr Wong assured us that we would be his house guests that night.
When the restaurant closed a short while later, one of the waiters came up and gave us their day's tips.

We felt most embarrassed and reluctant to accept but Mr Wong said that we should as it was their wish to help us. His waiters didn't like the idea of two young ladies hitch-hiking back to their college and wanted us to take the train instead.

We were very touched by their kindness and rather ashamed that we had landed ourselves in a situation which, if not for these kind strangers, could have put us at unknown risks.

Mr Wong took us to this home where we spent a comfortable night. The next morning after a good breakfast, he drove us to the railway station, purchased the train tickets himself and saw us to the train. Perhaps he wanted to make doubly sure that we would not hitch-hike back!


Brushing aside our thanks, he told us to take good care and not to hitch-hike anymore as it wasn't safe.

Mr Wong and his waiters, complete strangers, yet were compassionate and generous. They didn't think twice about helping us, two young ladies brought in by a policeman.


This was one of the lovely rainbows in our student lives in a foreign country.

Super Ginger

Isn’t it marvelous that a rhizome like ginger is so beneficial for our health? It is easy to grow too. Just put a piece of the ginger into the ground and it will grow if you nurture it well.


It is a powerful tonic that relieves nausea, flatulence, diarrhea and heartburn. It is a wonderful bath tonic too as it will drive the wind from your body.


We boiled ginger and lemon grass for our daughter to bathe in after she delivered her baby. It was autumn in Wales and we had brought over a lot of ginger and the lemon grass which we grew in our garden. The lovely aroma wafted through her house and it made a very refreshing bath for her. The Chinese believe that when a woman gives birth, there is a lot of wind in her body. So the ginger will drive out the wind. Her diligent dad boiled the ginger and lemon grass for her every morning. This was to ensure she will not have any aches and pains in her old age.

Other uses of the ginger include relieving menstrual cramps, migraine headaches and arthritis.

It also helps to reduce cholesterol levels, lowers blood pressure and prevents blood clots that can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

It is very helpful especially when you find yourself coming down with a cold or flu. Just add some ginger into your tea and drink it while it is warm. Teh halia (ginger tea) is very popular among Malaysians. It is also good for colic and relieves indigestion.

However one word of caution. Ginger can be very heaty. You could get a sore throat if you take too much.

It also gives a lovely flavor to your food. Women in confinement after childbirth take a lot of ginger to warm up their bodies. Chinese cooks use ginger slices when stir-frying their vegetables and in their soups as well. I usually use it in my cooking, especially when steaming fish, cooking soya sauce chicken and chicken in specially brewed rice wine where you need quite a lot of old ginger.

Ginger candy is also available. Some ginger is colored red and these are sweetened or otherwise thus retaining their “hotness”. Either one tastes good.

Ginger is a very useful ingredient to have in your kitchen. Young ginger can be pickled and you can eat it with century old eggs ( pei tan ) or on its own as an appetizer. There is also ginger wine which you can buy off the shelf. You can also squeeze out the ginger juice from the root. Ginger powder is also available these days and ginger tea as well. However nothing beats having fresh ginger to work with.

Glimpses of Hong Kong

Stanley Bay was not on our to-do list but the ferry to Lamma Island was not until 11:30. I didn’t want to hang around waiting for it so we opted to catch the bus to Stanley Market.

There were a number of changes since our last visit a few years ago. More restaurants and apartment buildings had sprung up. There was also a row of small single storey houses made to look old, I suspect, for the tourists’ palate.


However the bay was still scenic.



The stalls selling clothing and souvenirs did not change much. You can still get good bargains here compared to the high street boutiques.

Ani recommended a tiny cramped stall for its fish ball noodles. Indeed the noodles were very smooth but I found the fish balls average. Frankly speaking, the fish balls in Kota Kinabalu taste better.

Having seen Stanley Market we made our way back to Central to catch the Rickshaw Bus. I had been looking forward to sitting on the open air top deck with little Ishan and Ani and my sister Ellie. However, the rain put paid to that. It would not be the same sitting downstairs as it would be just like any ordinary bus ride. So that was that!

Ani then took us to a well-known restaurant for the famous roast goose but to our disappointment, they had run out of it. Sigh…… that little treat was also gone! It didn’t look like a good afternoon at all. We had to settle for fried squid stuffed with fish meat and a vegetable dish, kalian with mushrooms.
The mushrooms tasted good and the vegetable was crispy but the squid was tough!! It was like chewing rubber!
The price of that lunch was exorbitant considering that it was only two dishes and two bowls of rice.

Anyway, little Ishan’s batteries were running low so we decided to call it a day. He fell asleep even before we had our lunch.

After a short rest in the hotel, we made our way through the wet market that was close by. The fish was really fresh, with a few still jumping.
Fruits were aplenty too.

As it got darker, more and more people spilled out into the streets. Times Square was packed. The crowds just pushed you along!! I had to hold tight to my spouse’s jacket sleeve or be lost in the throng of people.

Beneath the Canal Road Flyover near the Times Square bus station was an old lady seated on a low stool and she was hitting a piece of paper continuously with a slipper while mumbling something. According to Ani, it was the “Beating the Devil” ritual.
Read more about what Ani has to say on it here.

We saw a “tai pai tong” or open air eating stall in a side lane. We opted to have our dinner there. We ordered steamed crabs.
They were very small but had plenty of roe which is what I love. The “lala” or clams were cooked in black bean sauce and were a bit too salty. It was reasonable fare and comparatively cheap. Somehow there is a quaint charm of eating out in the open at night, surrounded by many other diners and the waiters moving swiftly about serving dishes hot from the “wok” ( frying pan ).

Apparently there are not many of these stalls left as the current licences will no longer be renewed and will expire when the licencee dies. It cannot be passed on to his kin as the government is concerned about issues of health and other things related to this kind of business. Hence this kind of eating out will die its natural death.

There is reclamation work going on in the Central area. The authorities are reclaiming the sea and there is a lot of construction going on too.

The skyline will change again, I’m sure, when we next visit. There are still many places to go to and it’s better to take in small doses.

On to Macao!

We caught the 08:15 ferry from the Macao ferry terminal the next day. Another 5 capsules of the super nutrient and my knee was much better. I could walk better without any strain.

It took us about an hour to reach Macao and we followed Ani’s ( my niece) instructions to take a cab to Largo Senado ( Portuguese Square ). We were not able to tell the taxi driver the Cantonese equivalent and he got very cross with us. He finally dropped us off at St Paul’s ruins, the iconic symbol of Macao.


There were many tourists there posing for photographs. We walked downhill along the cobbled streets stopping to ask a policeman where Largo Senado was. His partner was able to figure out where we wanted to go and following his directions, we finally made it to Largo Senado.

It is a square with shops, a fountain, and of course people. There was a McDonald’s too!



We then hopped into another taxi which took us to Macao Tower. We purchased a package which allowed us to go up to the 61st floor where the observation deck is and to enjoy a buffet lunch at the revolving restaurant called 360 on the 58th floor.


We hit the observation deck first and the views of Macao were terrific. All the walls were of glass so you can see clearly. There were people bungy-jumping from the floor above.




They were mostly young people, more girls than boys. They had to wear a special suit and harness before they could jump off. Can you imagine yourself leaping off the 61st floor into empty air???? That takes nerves of steel and courage.


I couldn't get a clear shot of the girl who was ready to jump as there were obstacles in the way.

We had to descend from the observation deck and then proceed to another lift which would take us to the revolving restaurant 360 for our buffet lunch.

Our table had been reserved for us. The amazing spread of food was so tempting that I gave in and selected what I wanted to eat. Eat today and diet tomorrow. That’s what I believe in when traveling! However the amount of walking that we were doing would certainly burn off a lot of calories, so without feeling the least bit guilty, I tucked in happily, going for seconds as well.



There was Indian and Japanese cuisine, Asian and Western too. The desserts were scrumptious and the salads were so many that it was hard to decide which to go for. Ther were only two types of soup, one clear and one creamy. I skipped both.


After leaving the Tower, we took another taxi to the Venetian, a much-touted casino. We had to cross a landmark bridge to go to the casino.

There is still a lot of development going on in Macao. The Venetian is an imposing building with a moat. Guess it’s living up to Venice, city of canals.


The lobby is very grand and there were loads of tourists making a beeline for the casino. No photography was allowed in the casino



We wandered in and looked at the tables where different games were being played. None of them made any sense to me as I’m not into card games. I gave the slot machines a shot but came out poorer!!

Then we went to another part of the Venetian where the walkways resembled those in Venice. There was a canal with a gondola. One can actually purchase a ticket for the gondola ride and be serenaded as well.


There is also a replica of St Mark’s Square.




Then there is the food court where you can buy your lunch or dinner or snacks.

There was also a kiosk selling the famous Macao biscuits and cookies. Most of the shops in the Venetian are designer labels which are beyond the means of those who are on a shoe-string budget. The window dressing is very attractive.


The sky is an artificial one but it looks very real, with the darkening of the sky as it gets later in the evening.




It was a good day, visiting all these places in Macao. There is more to see but a day trip has its limitations. Maybe the next time……