Kelly's Castle in Ipoh

Fancy visiting a castle in Ipoh,  Malaysia. Its not well known and seldom talked about. But Kelly's Castle was build by William Kelly a British Plantation owner in Malaya in the late 1800s for his wife. Legend has it that he started building it in 1906, but never got the chance to stay in the castle, as he died from Malaria before it was completed. William Kelly was a commoner who became a millionaire through sheer hard work & perserverence. Its a unique story of a 100 year old castle, filled with mystery and contravesy.

Las Vegas Summit & Tour 22 Sep - 4 Oct 2011

First time ever 59 members from Indonesia & Singapore attended the International Summit held at Vegas. Everyone paid their own fare and had a wonderful time touring Vegas, Moab, Page, Flagstaff, Glen & Grand Canyon, Lake Havasu & finally having a whale of a time at the famed Universal Studios at LA. We'll definately be back for more next year. Watch out world, we aim to do great things in 2012.      

WF, Hwang & Hardjanto, the 3 members of the newly formed Presidental Club showing off their Presidential rings. Its was a really neat gift from the company.   

Cruise to Phuket

After 8 long years I met my brother John Coupland again. What better way to get together than on a cruise up the Malacca Straits to Langkawi & Phuket. Here's John with his glass of Singapore Sling. The Photo in the middle are of the family, Jack, Stephanie, Kimberly, John & Angel.     

Tg Pinang Charter Fishing Trip 7-9 July 2011

Red Mangrove Jack

Red Snapper / AngKueh

One of 5 large Sting Rays

Table-size Grouper

All caught onboard a 55 Foot Traditional Wooden Fishing Trawler

Tioman Revisited 1-3 July 2011

The Boat I took to Tioman. SOA: 27kts, 3 crew onboard

Cheap & Good Roti Canai breakfast at kampung Tekek. 

The Team all aboard Sol Mate, a Grady 330

Heading for Chebeh to dive & snokel. 

                                            Sol Mate, Philip Seow's Gardy 330

6th Batch Boys Gathering

Once again after some years, we met each other again. This time the chose venue was at Tg Berlayer. It was here that we took the ferry each morning to Brani Naval Base. How its changed over the years. The civilians have taken over the place and turned it into a dining & pub venue. Till the next gathering.... 

Sea Bass Galore off St John's

On 12 May, a happy incident happened off St John's Island. A thousand Sea Bass escaped from the AVA fish farm there. The first lucky angler went home with 50 mature Sea Bass weighing from 1.5-5kilos. Word spread like wild fire and soon even those without boats made their way to the Island to claim their share of these trophy fish.    

Philip Seow, my fishing buddy & I caught 7 fish the first day and some more the following. They were delicious. Best rig proofed to be live prawn on Hong Kong hook.
I'm off there again tomorrow to fill the home freezer.

Dinner with Navy Batch Mates

Why is it that Navy batch mates get along so easily long after the members have ROD. It amazes me that we're always happy when we meet. There's something to be said about having gone through tough military training together. The bond lasts forever and the friendship is pure & transparent. I guess because we saw each other grow up from boys to men. Most of us are now 51 years of age. I'm looking forward to our main gathering again on the 24th June. Till then, best wishes to every member of the 6th Batch of Midshipmen.      

Boat Asia 2011

It seems the best time to catch up with old sea friends is during the Boat show in Singapore. They always show up. Although most are not looking for another boat, the atmosphere is delightful. I wonder if the pleasure boating market in Singapore will ever be as intense as in Australia & New Zealand. We certainly have kinder weather conditions & reasonable crusing grounds when you add in West Malaysia & Riau. I am of the opinion that a passage maker with a 2,000nm range is the idea boat for this region. Otherwise stay with the smaller more economical weekend boats and you should not have too much trouble having fun on the water. In Singapore, even a sea kayak can prove to be lots of fun & adventure, given the right attitude.     

Mapur Fishing 6 April 2011

The sea is usually dead calm in April, marking the end of the NE Monsoon, when the winds turn Easterly before settling South Easterly from May to Sep. Not so this year, it was still blowing from NE. So much for the much anticipated over booked charters in April. Fishing is rough seas ain't very much fun. Balancing on a 50 foot wet & windy charter boat takes a bit of energy and concentration just to keep upright. Fortunately we got lucky on the second night when we hit a school of 5kg Cobias. And what a fight these fish put up. Very soon we forgot about the heavy seas as the relative quiet turned into heighted excitement. It was a combination of the spot, timing and sliced fresh squid bait that got us going. Thta same night, we were also spooled by 2 monster fish that we hooked up. The crew were pretty sure it was a showel-nose ray and a 100kg sting ray. Although we never got to see the fish, we were glad for the thrill they put up for over 20 mins each. Well one thing's for sure, the website windguru.com was definately spot on with their weather forcast. Looks like the weather will calm down soon after 16th April. Till then.......         

Chester's 22nd Birthday

Its 14th March again. Chester turned 22 yrs today. As usual all his brothers stayed home to celebrate his birthday and as usual they'll have their photos taken in their usual garb; shorts with bare body. They were never one to put on a short unless they were going out. Well, that saves a lot of washing. Happy birthday Chester. 

6kg Barramundi

After 4 hours of waiting for the big one to strike, my brother-in-law Ah Boon finally landed a healthy 6kg Barramundi at Pasir Ris Fishing Pond on Sat 12 Mar. It was the biggest catch of the day. Everyone was also began catching these fish after 12 noon. There was however 2 veterans on the near side of the pond next to the car park, who were landing fish after fish every 15 mins. They casted their lines at the same spot continually, just under the main net. Using freshly sliced kembong as bait, they landed about 20 fish each. Acording to other frequent patrons of the pond, those two fellows were regular pros. Well, they must have gone thru quite a bit to reach that  high standard.

Melody, the Movie

This was my all time favorite movie whilst growing up in the seventies. I had forgotten all about it, till I met up with my old buddy Dong again after many years. We've kept in touch the past 5 years ever since. I must say, movies made more sense to me then and they do now. I remember watching the show with members of the "Animal farm" and our most charming female class-mates in RI.

Cyrus Sweet Sixteen

Finally my youngest son Cyrus turned sixteen. Chester is 22 and Crispin 21 yrs. How time flies. Good thing we did spend a lot of time with the children. We made it a point & we're glad we did.

Boot Camp in Tomohon - March 2011

Indonesia is such an amazing country. Just an hour away from the heat & smog of Manado, is the cool, fresh retreat up in the mountains named Tomohon. In the day, its a cool 22 deg, and at night, temperatures can fall to below 18 degs. I was there to help conduct a boot camp for the growing team in Manado. Pastor Viki's team was the majority there.

Bush Walking off New Zealand, Nov 2010

Boy, do I love bush walking, especially in new Zealand in 15 Deg C.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken deams, it is still a beautiful world.

I am a Rock

I just love this song. It reminds me of my early days.

A Grouper for Phyllis

It was a bright & sunny day. The conditions for fishing could not have been more perfect.

Within minutes the lines screamed and we landed this 3kg beauty off the rocks near St John's Island. Strange how everyone seems to agree that the local groupers seem to taste far superior to even the freshly caught fish in the wet market.