Su Yee's first camp.

Overly excited of her first camping opportunity together with her classmates on her school compound during the weekend, you can see her eagerness for the weekend to start. It will be her first time to be away from us for one whole night.

Only senior girls are allowed to camp out.

Her sister Yan Yee, who is 4 years older than her and fresh from completing national service, as usual with her big sister’s “ I know better than you” attitude, childed her that it is not real camping, as it is not done out in the wilderness, sleeping under the stars with wild animals on the prowl.

Girl Guide Troopers and Cadet Corps assembly.

I have to agree that she is right to some extend to put things in the correct perspective. Sleeping in classrooms, attending astronomy talks in the school field during the night and eating Mc Donalds take away, doesn’t really qualify as camping out. And as for the wilderness, the only wild animals she is likely to encounter would be the canteen’s tom cat having a go at the resident sewage rat.

The Family


But as long as she wants to call it camping and are happy about it, we are all for it and is happy for her.

Latest Family Photo

My wife, Yong and daughters Yan Yee (finally back from her national service) and Su Yee.

Making "Roti Canai".

Had a chance to try out preparing roti canai this Chinese New Year at my sister's home, she had a food caterer in this year to actually cook it in house.
It was an interesting experience, the flipping over and over of the dough to make it into a thin layer making it fluffy while being cooked on the hot plate, is not as easy as it seems.
Even with assistance and advise from the chef, I still manage to somehow create holes on the dough while flipping it.
The wife was luckier.
I think I should stick to my day job.

National Service in Kem Etnobotani, Gua Musang.

After 11 years of formal schooling and now waiting for her exam results prior deciding on her next step, my daugther Yan Yee was eagerly waiting to be called up for national service. It did not take long, after about a month after her final exam, her name was found listed and her assigned base camp is at the Etnobotany gardens in Gua Musang, Kelantan.

I am glad she was finally called up, she told me it would have been dissapointing if she was not. Only 80% of the qualified candidates are actually called up this year. The training will last from late December to mid March and it will be her first time to be that far away from home for such a long duration.

As a father, I was worried whether she could survive the tough environment and challenges she is going to encounter soon as all this while, she was leading a sheltered life shielded from the harsh realities of life in society. But at the same time, I know deep down there will come a time in her life where she will need to and must learn, that there is no running back to papa or mummy everytime she come across an obstacle but to face it and cross that bridge by herself, there is no better way I can think of to start being independent than being in a supervised camp performing her national service.

On her 3rd week at Kem Ethnobotani, parents were invited to be there for a formal family day visit. From Taiping we drove 240 km to reach Gua Musang, passing through part of Cameron Highlands via Simpang Pulai. It was quite a scenic drive throughout with a number of bends and corners encountered along the way which make it that little bit more exciting, the journey lasted for about 3 hours.

(National Service Personnels assembled for the commandant's review)

(March Pass)

(Obstacle course demonstration)

(Yan Yee with her friends)

(The Family)
(Private Yan Yee resting her tired legs)

On the drive home, I was rather please she had adapted reasonably well with camp life and I have no doubts what so ever that she will do well and survive it. Our baby girl has grown and became more mature in the last 3 weeks, the time for us to let go gradually and be less protective has begun as she enters her next phase towards adulthood.

My Grandpa

(Grandpa still with his ponytail)

My paternal Grandpa Tung Yoon Choy, came over to Malaya in the early 1900s as a young man from one of the Shuntak province in Dongguan, China. From what I am told and can vaquely remember, he use to have a shoe shop in Taiping.

He eventually gave up his shoe business in the late 1950s and retired.

It must have been hard and lonely for Grandpa during his initial years here. In due time, Grandma No.1 and Grandma No.2 were brought in from China. He had four sons and three daugthers. My father was the eldest son.

( Father is on the far right)