I had THE BEST WEEKEND, but I am so tired, this post will have to be in photographs, for the moment.
Paddy fields as we are driving past. They stretch in all directions.
This is how durians grow - on a tree. The durian is known as the King of Fruit.
Four durians. You have to wait for them to fall in order to harvest them.
A durian, fresh from the tree. They smell awful, I guess like rotting meat, however they taste delicious. They are a very rich fruit (the Malay people call it a 'hot' fruit), so you can't eat too much.
Rambutans, growing on their tree. So many!
An enormous pile of rambutans and mangosteens (The Queen of Fruit!) for Ainda to take back. I also got a bag to share with everyone here. You just can't get any fresher.
Jackfruit
Ainda's gorgeous youngest daughter Mazuin (Awin) with one of the world's most patient cats.
Ainda's husband Wan grinding fresh coconut to go into our lunch.
The coconut after it has been ground.
Wan's mother Rokiah making coconut milk. Who would have known it doesn't come straight from a tin?
A homemade feast for lunch.
The family, from left, all as related to Wan:
Grandmother, mother, auntie and uncle.
Amazing 360 degree panorama at the Paddy Museum.
Totally handpainted by the Korean workers who established the paddy fields.
A monkey in a park. Those are our stolen goods he is eating. Ainda was literally in the middle of warning me about them - we were so engrossed in our conversation that he ran up and pinched our food!
They do look cute.
Ainda's gorgeous eldest daughter Maisara (Sara)
Wan's sister Irneiza off to work as a policewoman
The bathroom. You use the dipper in this giant pool of water to wet yourself, soap up, and then sluice off the soap. The initial splash is invigorating, but it is so hot that it is appreciated.
One of the rooms in Wan's parent's house.
This is an outdoor shower area, where they will shower on very hot days. They live on a... compound, I guess you could call it. Wan's parent's house is next door to his grandmother's, aunties/uncles.
The water feature that Wan's father built. It was so cool, sitting next to it.
The reason for this short post. These are some hot springs. Imagine your local theme park with a wave pool on a hot day. Now take that number of people, and transport them to 3 o'clock in the morning! Yes, we left at midnight for a 1.5 hour drive to the hot springs. When we arrived, the place was absolutely buzzing. There were cars and people everywhere, shops selling food, people camping in tents! It is too hot during the day to enjoy the benefits of the hot springs, so people come at night, once it has cooled down. There are 4 pools, getting gradually cooler. The hot one is fenced off to stop people jumping in. I tried to put my finger in there, but couldn't leave it in. The final one is the children's pool, just lukewarm. We sat in number 2, and although it was hot, it was OK once you got used to it. I was proud of myself... until I found out it was actually pool 3. Pool number 2 was HOT. I managed to sit there with my feet in for a while, and it does feel fantastic, however any movement makes it almost unbearable.
So much more to say, but I have to go to bed. School tomorrow, with a lesson on teaching the Kookaburra song on recorder.
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