We paid another visit to Chicken River. It was low tide and for the next few days or so, Ah Poh would not be going out to sea. He had pulled in his 18 shrimp and fish nets for drying and mending. A fish net is about 150 feet long while the shrimp net is half that size. It is no mean feat to pull in these nets. We spent the afternoon chatting with him. He recounted that two days ago, an Indonesian boat carrying thousands of fresh coconuts sank. The villagers made several boat trips collecting the nuts which were sold to vendors. He made RM 600 that day from the coconuts.
Repairing the nets is a tedious job and he was grateful for some company. That afternoon his wife fried some shrimp and anchovy in batter as well as fried kway teow with 'kerang' a kind of shell fish for us. It was a sleepy afternoon as we had eaten too much of prawn and anchovy batter and fried kway teow and mee. In the evening, the kids had more of the same.
Repairing the nets is a tedious job and he was grateful for some company. That afternoon his wife fried some shrimp and anchovy in batter as well as fried kway teow with 'kerang' a kind of shell fish for us. It was a sleepy afternoon as we had eaten too much of prawn and anchovy batter and fried kway teow and mee. In the evening, the kids had more of the same.
Drying the nets
Ah Poh repairing the nets
Oni's and Ah Ik's wife shelling the kerang
A close-up of kerang
Fried shrimp and anchovy in batter
A feast of kway teow and mee
Kids enjoying their fried kway teow and mee dinner
Ah Poh's wife scraping meat from fish to make fish paste for us to take home. The best fish is 'ikan parang', in Malay, meaning literally 'sword fish'
Ah Poh tying up the boat for the night. Boat stealing has happened before and he is not going to risk losing his only means of livelihood
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