The Wonders of Western Australia

 An Indian Ocean coastal sunset.

The foreshore at Sorrento, one of my favourite parts of Perth WA.

Trail walking rewards you in the Woop Woop.

The shallow waters at Shark Bay give you a fascinating discovery, if you look close up enough.

Noon at Carnarvon, with palm trees along the promenade.

At least I knew definitely where I was, in a land so vast.

Where the marine sports lovers gather - Exmouth Peninsula, north west of WA.

Sand so finely grained, waters so pure.

No, they are not lining up to wee.

Waiting for the dolphins at Monkey Mia.

I was not going to climb that, just looking.

Relaunch of Blog Photos - Look Back at Some Favs

 

THE YEAR THAT DID NOT BREAK MY HEART

Today I dropped by to see a person who always smiled instinctively upon seeing me.  Behind both our facemasks, there is yet no barrier, as our hearts

can willingly read each other’s.   We did not have to see each other often, but when we do, we left each other with an inner glow in each of us.  Behind the easy conversation was an affirmation of the friendship, through times hard, easy and neutral. 

 

You instinctively know when there is an instant connection with some individuals we are fortunate enough to come across, in this journey of life.   This connection cannot be whittled, despite we being significantly barred from travel for no fault of our own. 

 

The year past – 2020 to be precise – had seen our individual and community lives thrown around raggedly at times by external forces, some unwittingly, others manipulative and overall layered with a necessary or unnecessary uncertainty, imbued with their true colours in all hues of impact.

 

There were times of incompetent political leadership, which had innocent people unnecessarily pay with their lives, frustration and disruption experienced. It has opened our eyes to being caught in a system of being dependent on the vagaries of big government in the important aspects of our individual lives.   We have witnessed how the irresponsible behavior of a few can cause pervasive inconvenience to the majority.   We have seen how important issues can be side stepped, biased exemptions given in requirements, lessons not learnt and how mistakes committed are blindsided as if they did not exist.     We have seen how inaction, by our so called democratically elected leaders, to prevent has caused the proverbial horse to already bolt, followed by a desperate circus of rushed reaction in society.

 

The silver lining in all this is that such a situation has truly opened our eyes, our hearts and our determination.   A worldwide crisis has given us this opportunity, not only with national, state and city affairs, but also in our personal interactions with others.

 

I have observed how individuals – including me – cope in different ways.  I have had to whittle expectations taken for granted.  I have had to change my daily regime. I happily reaffirmed how fresh air, exercise outdoors and enjoying what Nature readily gives us.   I realized sufficiently to remove layers of commercialism weaved upon me by the contemporary world before Covid-19 arrived. 

 

Still, I realized how small my village is – and then at the same time, how varied and larger its delightful offerings can be.  With a borrowed feisty and good natured five year old Cavoodle, Tia, my senses were heightened when we went for our walks or runs.   Flora and fauna thrived when the human kingdom was put under all sorts of restrictions.  Most passerby strangers did respond positively when I took the initiative to say Hello first, as before Covid.

 

The flow of fresh air through our bodily functions was felt with gratitude, especially when 2020 came with heavily polluted skies and tragic bushfires in my part of Earth.   I have had to endure four waves of Covid clusters of varying intensity in the past year. Many others had to put up with much more than I did.  I first put on weight – and then got wiser by utilizing food consumption as manna and - and all the previous years of eating out has come in useful to build up my craft in using ingredients, flavours and texture in a more purposeful way. 

 

I learnt the joy of de-cluttering physical possessions I have not used or need.  The absence of physical contact, with people I truly care about, meant using more contactless ways in cyberspace.  Lockdown and mobility restrictions, imposed by the powers that be, were surpassed by so much more freedom connecting through the invisible forces in the air.  I miss air travel, as my country has locked down getting out of national and state borders on a varying basis since late March 2020.  I have had to imagine my flight is in my home lounge, with click on entertainment from streaming, box like meals and having a bit of perceived luxury while being confined to home at various times of the year.

 

On a not so bright side, as life can be, there are individuals, with whom I have built up friendships, drop me like a bomb or do not return my calls when perhaps they find me no longer useful to their selfish world.   This strongly reminded me of a particular group of people I know, who valued their pre-Christmas drinks at some Collegians Club two years ago, more than their friendship with me – which I have learnt from the hard way.  There are bogans in my region who have lashed out verbally at me for no reason in public places – and I have decided not to go to their level.   There is joy when not reacting to people who obviously do not care about me, especially in a Covid year.   More engaging to me are individuals who take time and effort to enjoy mutual relationships when it was a year which has tried to break something in each of us.

 

So in the year that not break my heart, I want to say my appreciation to special individuals, whether they are blood relatives or not, who have given me that special magic, when I did need it, in their own special way.  You know who you are.   I tend to over analyse and chatter, but in this respect, I do bask in your gift to me.

 

The year that is past can at times make us feel we are deserted on a remote island. The spark from true and deserving friendships has subdued what the effects of Covid and poor Covid management in our society have threatened to do.   Thank you to each of you who built my resilience, gave me joy at unexpected moments and made me realise we have our personal integrity and purpose to face whatever Covid can throw at us.

yongkevthoughts

When.....

When one takes too long to complete, people lose interest - Brexit.

When politicians lack leadership, consistently project unreasonable and inconsiderate views and actions, without offering viable solutions, the voters switch off - I am sure one will come easily to your mind.

When something negative, random and unknown arrives too fast, our protective and aggressive instincts are provoked - bushfires.

When trivia is stumped by emerging dangers posed through things we take for granted, like airtravel, hugging and eating out - emotional episodes of celebrities.

When your government asks you to pay for rescuing you - it dilutes loyalty, or we must consider our government has run out of money, or run out of money prioritising funding to others, or pork barelling to their fav constituents in a "democracy."

When you can get charged for such a wide range of prices for basic things, you know you live in a haggler's market that makes no sense of the real value of things - electricity, gas, wi-fi, pharmaceutical and health funds.

When you ask for an anti virus mask and am emphatically given a pollution protection face cup - Dah.

When our private data are being utilised behind our backs and there is no daily market price for such data - Doh.

When we are given peanuts in exchange for our treasures, that is exploitation of the weak by the strong - Meh.

When the fortnightly recycling bin is not fully disposed by the contracted collector - try again, Laddie.

When we get an overload of information - social media.

#yongkevthoughts

Penang Char Koay Teow - Fallacies, Mislabels and Essentials

Sydney can be lovely, but I do miss authentic Penang Char Koay Teow, which I must emphasise is a Hokkien or Fujian or Chiuzhou street food delight and not a Straits Chinese or Nyonya dish.CKT, or literally stir fried rice noodles, has humble origins, prepared only when you are ready to eat and makes use of the experience and skills of the ladle stirrer, cooked on a well fortified metal contraption that has been seasoned and heated through the years.  Ideally, charcoal fire is best to bring out the taste and texture of this dish.Those rice noodles prepared several hours ago and served from a hot plate at food courts or even some so called restaurants, do not qualify to be called Penang CKT.Whether you use more of dark soy sauce, or the lighter version, can be due to personal preference, but for Penangites, we do not serve the CKT looking well dosed with dark soy sauce, like in Singapore and Johor, where they have a dish called Orr Koay Teow.To deserve to be called Penang CKT, the following must be observed.The stir fry narrow rice noodles have a caramelised bite to them.Dark soy sauce does not permeate the dish, but oyster and light soy sauces are used with a finesse.There is an appetising  sensation of wok heat when the dish is served.The strength of chillies or chilli paste used do not over whelm the essential taste of this dish.Even for basic versions found in Penang, there are Chinese chives, small slices of Lap Cheong or Cantonese sausage, several small prawns, bean sprouts, shucked cockles, thin fish cake slices and scrambled eggs.Do not fall however for the hype of fancy seafood like a few scallops or king prawns thrown into the mix.Oh yes, the outcome of eggs well stirred with the rice noodles in a quality Penang CKT is most significant.   Whether the dish served to you makes the grade depends on the mastery of how the chef combines the right texture of scrambled eggs with the optimal bite of the rice noodles.Hen eggs will do and duck eggs can be used for other recipes.There is no need to have flourish by the chef dancing around his or her wok, but another test is the aroma swelling up in your nostrils even before when the dish is ready.   You can literally follow your nose to the right coffee shop with a yummy Penang CKT on the island.The source of the flavour or aroma may not be too encouraging for the fastidiously health conscious.  It is the basic pork lard bits that set the tone for the caramelisation of a yummy Penang CKT dish  -  think of Prosciutto strips used to get the Italian dish going.   Pork is considered non- Kosher or Haram and so you may come across non pork lard versions especially in Muslim majority Malaysia.You can get yummy versions in Penang from an equivalent range of Aud 2 to 4 per serve, cheaper than a cup of barista made coffee.In comfy hotel surroundings with attentive staff, you can have yourPenang Char Koay Teow in Malaysia for an average price of Aud 12 per plate.In Australian capital cities, there can be hype in the pricing and making of street food like Penang CKT.   In Canberra, I have come across a basic version priced at Aud 23, and a joint in Haymarket, Sydney offers the dish for as high as Aud 33 per plate with some King Prawns.Penang CKT is recognised as an iconic dish of the island.It is intertwined with childhood memories, comforting moments and a unique persona.   It can be breakfast, supper or lunch.  It is the little reward after a long day's work, over coming a challenge or just an excuse to gather with family or mates.It is not the vehicle to drive excessive profit margins, even if I appreciate the costs of rental and labour in today's food retail.  Never fall for Penang CKT sellers who charge more for adding in seafood or so called market expensive ingredients.If the plate served to you consists of limp noodles, looks so dark and is obviously not made fresh five minutes ago, reject it immediately, as it is not Penang CKT.