Thursday, April 19, 2018

Revisiting Awi's Yellow House

Awi's Yellow House is located on the Trengganu River at Pulau Duyung in Kuala Terengganu; it is a group of chalets built practically by the owner himself from bottoms up. Awi's yellow House is most frequented by matured travellers most of whom are regulars staying for long periods of time. They come  from all over the world east and west and they each has his or her own tale share. If Hemingway  were alive or Huxley, this would be one of their pit stops, Gauguin would have fit right at home here or it used to be at one time not so long ago.

Married to a French lady, my friend Awi or as we call him 'Aboh', meaning Dad! or Pops! as the Duyung kids calls him, they feared him, if not steer clear of him out of respect. That was the Awi that I once knew , the Awi today, oh well, as the saying goes, every dog has his day, with no disrespect to my friend. Last we saw each other was quite awhile now, I heard he has become Malaysian' s Ambassador to France, or so I heard, according to his brother Hashim he is looking to become a Dato'! (They don't see eye to eye)
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Awi was never a boat builder he wheels and deals in buying and selling boats, he is good at what he does; The whole beauty of the Yellow House is the fact that it was the creation of one man, with a little help now and then when he could not do it alone. It is a whole piece of an Environmental Art that turns a mangrove grove into a "falling star", lodging. And they have been comiming ever , since, like the movie, Field of Dreams, well not that famous yet, but it will one day, when my main s being appointed the Malaysian Ambassador to France.Perhaps make a movie of his life call it, The Yellow House Rock! or something like that, at least while he is still around. Well anyone brave enough to do it at least might take up the challenge.

Behind every great men is an iron lady and Puan Rohani reminds me very much of a Margret Mead kind of character. They were meant for each other an awesome complement of Yin and Yang forces, the French Lady and the Malay lanun (or pirate.) The Madame is a storehouse of knowledge encompassing the Arts and Culture of the Terengganu Malays, but also the very lifestyle and religious practice of people, a cultural anthropologist, one might call her. She also is a very highly skilled  botanist and has done many research on herbology through a French Institute funding. She lived her married life on Pulau Duyong raising kids and 
 grandkids and I think, great grand kids too. What a life for this 'odd' couple.



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