Gone Too Soon – Beloved Helen Ong

Helen Ong, my JiKor (1940 – 2021)

Jikor, I have a loss for words. You left us too soon. I've still got so many things to talk to you about, laugh about and get silly. I didn't even manage to say ‘Hi’ to you after your surgery, and you said you wanted to visit Dubai again when COVID gets better. We've even found a KTV here that we could go to, in this Arab place, believe it or not?

Thank you Jikor for being that kind and happening aunt we can always go to. Thank you for housing us all in your little KL apartment, my brother, sister, cousins, I, whoever. You’re like a second mother to us, always welcoming, always treated us like we’re your own, even when we were wild and in our crazy phase. No one's matched your hospitality when it comes to being at your home.

There’re just too many memories of you. You were my go-to aunt whenever I’m in KL. You’ve brought up so many little kids in your life. You were my little sis Kim’s nanny when she was born. I still remember the Loo-Loo-Loo tune you hummed to make her sleep. You were here to help us when Anu gave birth to our first-born, Justin. We picked the Chinese word that you like for his Chinese name. You’ve been Anu’s inspiration since she got to know you, she said all ladies should be like Jikor, always looking nice, despite age or lack of money, always creating a happy mood, always having family and friends… Thank you for enriching our lives and the lives of so many others.

You’ve left us for a better place now. I hope all your wishes come true. And I hope you have as much fun in heaven as how you’ve filled us with fun and excitement here on earth. Goodbye and sleep soundly now in peace, Jikor. God bless you.

I know you love photos. I don’t know whether you’ve seen these. I bet you can see any photo you like now… Love you, miss you forevermore.


Meeting us in Kuala Lumpur when we arrived, 2016






You are Anu’s fun-loving aunt and inspiration


Looking pretty with Aunty Choo, Butterworth, 2016


Christmas with Tuapek at your home, 2017


Didn’t know you’d join your brother in heaven so soon. Rest in Peace Jikor. Rest in Peace Jipek


Our last meeting, 2019 Ipoh – You came all the way from KL back to Ipoh just to spend time with us. We love you

RIP Jipek

One Chee Chai, beloved uncle, 1938 - 2021. Rest In Peace

Goodbye Jipek. You left us so suddenly, peacefully left to be with the Lord. It was a privilege to have had you in my life. You and granny had always been my guardians when my parents were at work. My childhood memories are filled with those times in Lorong Jaycee. It’s hard to imagine you not being in this world anymore.

Life hasn’t been very kind to you, crippling you when you were at your prime, taking away the hopes of you having a family of your own, giving you a lifetime of disabilities. You took all that in stride. Always kind, always good natured, never blamed your circumstances or anyone. Thank you for showing me how to live simply and how to live happily. You are now free of all that has constrained you. You’ve earned your place in heaven. Be at peace now, Jipek. Love you. Goodbye.


Our last meeting in 2019 - A nice sibling reunion (but missing the eldest and the youngest). Glad to have made it a point to see you then. God bless your soul Jipek

High Up in the Caucasus

Tusheti National Park, Georgia – View from the Keselo Fortress in Upper Omalo

Would you believe it? I’m still busy! Despite being booted out of the ITS Projects. (We’ve received the official taking over certificates for the 2 ITS2020 Projects where I was the Project Manager. That’s the reason why I’m not needed anymore, sob).

Anyway, life goes on. A school mid-term break for the kids is coming up next week… (Didn’t school just start like last month?!??) Dubai’s EXPO 2020 has opened and we’ve visited and taken some photos (which will stay in the phone for another year, or 2 before seeing the light of day. The light of this blog I mean. You’ll catch ‘em faster by checking Anu’s facebook). At home in Malaysia, some bad news has come up. Our dear ol’ aunt Helen, the happening aunt, has had a major surgery to remove her colon due to a growth of some kind that has blocked it. We hope it’s not cancerous, praying every day. Hope she’ll recover quickly.

And, it’s nearly half a month since I last posted. So, I’m gonna squeeze in another express photo post. On the same Tusheti National Park of Georgia (yeah, why not? The photos are all there, ready to post, sitting in drive, hehe). Here goes.


I love to go a wandering, along the mountain track… (What’s a mountain trip without a little bit of trekking? Come on boys, mommy’s far ahead. Mommy’s the fit one in our family, ahem)


Along a mountain track connecting Lower Omalo to Upper Omalo, Tusheti, Georgia


Mommy on a lookout – There ahead, the fortress!


Zemo (Upper) Omalo with the Keselo Fortress overlooking the village


Mommy on sacred ground – Yeah, it really is marked ‘Sacred Place’ on a signboard – no camping, or driving onto the grounds allowed. And no skimpy dresses (if I understand the sign correctly). The Tushetians have their own taboos and culture. One prominent one is that Pork (which is consumed all over Georgia) is taboo in Tusheti despite the Tushetians being Christians!


Let’s make our way to the fortress! The views are breath-taking…


Hey, careful! It’s a long way down!




Keselo Fortress from the back… Tusheti, Georgia




The kids made a friend. She’s a Swiss girl, about 7 years old, I think the name’s Rachel. We saw her all alone in the fortress. We thought she was local. Her parents were far below (see first picture above, resting below the tower). That’s the Swiss way of bringing up children I suppose, letting the kids roam around the mountains as they like (as Switzerland is full of mountains). We would’ve never let the kids out of our sight, especially at this place, with steep cliffs dropping into ravines full of God knows what… We only learnt later that she’s Swiss when we met her parents. They had driven all the way from Switzerland to Georgia, through Eastern Europe and Turkey. They’d driven as far as Kazakhstan on other trips (how I wish I had the means and time to do that…). This time they parked their car somewhere, travelled to Khevsureti (another remote hill community in Georgia), hired some horses with horsemen in Khevsureti, and travelled through the forests on horseback for a few days to reach Tusheti! That’s what I call an ADVENTURE!


Horses in Omalo, after a brief downpour. That was a nice day trip. OK, time to get back to our hotel!


After a night at the hotel, it’s time to get back down to civilization, bye-bye Omalo, bye Tusheti!


5 hours of mountain road, here we come! Baa baa white sheep, get out of the way! (On this particular day, fog shrouded most of the mountain road, south of the Abano Pass, much to the relief of Anu – she’s afraid of heights).

From here, we headed back to Telavi to collect our rented car and say hi and bye to our friends in the Telavi guesthouse. That’s my last post of our 2018 Caucasus trip! Bye Georgia, hope to meet you again soon! From Georgia, we would head to Baku, Azerbaijan to complete our trip of the Caucasus.

And before I go… HAPPY DURGA PUJA! HAPPY DUSSEHRA! This weekend will be a busy weekend!