The World of Tai Tai

I visited Penang for only one reason, that was to try out as many traditional delicacies as possible. The trip was memorable. I had sampled quite a number of great tasting foods which are a pride to the locals there. Many tourists have come here for the same reason. It was fortunate of me to have made a two-day room reservation in a decent hotel before the trip. Quite a number of ill-planned tourists had to put up in uncomfortable budget and backpacker hotels as the bookings made in all three to five star hotels had reached the saturation point. My lonesomeness saw its end with the company of an ex-colleague(a local himself) who was excited in showing me the famous haunts of gourmets in the sun-kissed, bustling state. He led me through milling crowds along the gastronomic journey and each stop promised a pleasant surprise for my picky taste buds. Though no seats were provided, I found it thrilling to stand while eating in the scorching heat. All the masterly-co...

I first dreamed of the old lady in the picture above at the age of seven. She looked eerie with her unusually long silver hair and wrinkled face. However, my heart was filled with an unfathomable sorrow at the sight of her. She kept appearing in my dream in this manner till I was eight years of age. Come to think of it, my late grandmother and my mum strangely resemble her. Is she related to them or had I ever seen her in my early childhood? My mum kept telling me that she knew no one like that in her family upon my inquiry. Had I been imagining too much as a kid? I had always been in poor health then. However, I recently found out that there was a tragic death in my mum's family many decades ago(during my stay in Brunei last week). A beautiful auntie of my mum was poisoned to death. My mum's family still has no idea who the murderer is(or was). Her death had made her mother(my maternal great-grandmother terribly devastated. Being the youngest in the family and the first ...