CNY: Chap Goh Meh #3 - Chap Goh Meh In Tanjung Harapan.

When we reached Tanjung Harapan, we were caught in very bad jam. We moved forward inch by inch and for a long period of time were at a complete standstill. The place was very crowded. How different it was from South Port where we came from.

Kurau was rightly worried about finding a parking space. I was not at all worried except getting to the center of the activities where the esplanade opened out to an observation deck and where a replica of a sailing ship was placed. Opposite this was the entrance to the Port Klang Golf Resort. Kurau’s jaw dropped when I drove straight in, the surprise in his face was priceless and almost worth the yearly subscription I paid but did not make use of.

This was the riotous condition there. Cars double and triple parked. Hawkers were doing roaring business. And the huge crowd milled around, looking at people launching Kong Ming lanterns and each other. There was hardly any space to move. If this is the first place in Malaysia a foreigner was to land, he will think that the population is 99% Chinese and the average age to below 20.

The first thing that hit us as we came out from the club was the sound war blasting on from about a dozen cars with specially soup up audio system. They were turned up at full blast and the deafening sounds were coming from all sides. The sound was so loud that they literally vibrate you. BOOM!!

Though the entrance to this replica ship is closed at night, it did not stop the crowd from finding a way up.

Some more mischievous chaps behaved dangerously trying to impress the girls with their antics.

But the majority of the crowd were well behaved and were justenjoying themselves. Many of those who came in group will buy one of the lanterns and wrote their wishes down. Then, they launched it with much laughter. It was a pleasure even for those who watched.

There were many such groups celebrating the last day of Chinese New Year to end it with a great flourish.

Groups after groups, almost non-stop sending off their lanterns.

The Kong Ming lanterns were a relatively recent introduction, maybe 5 years but not more than 10. Before that, no one in Malaysia and Singapore launches sky lanterns. I guess they were first introduced here by religious (Buddhist) orders. It was a good means of raising funds whereby donor buy the lanterns in the name of charity. They were originally all white in color. These days, it has become very commercialized and the favored color as least during the Chinese New Year period is red.

But where there any one throwing oranges? There were but not as many as expected which was a let-down given that this was the tradition on which the Chap Goh Meh was founded. Here is a girl writing down her wishes (telephone number?) on her orange before throwing it into the sea. There was also one new negative element which I dislike. There were people who went into the water to pick the oranges. Maybe they were curious and wanted to look at the messages which were an invasion of privacy. Surely, they did not want to eat them. There was even one guy with a fishing net. Sigh…

But even among joy, sadness and disappointment were never far away. This group of young boys and girls had set up their lanterns after happily written down their heartfelt wishes. They got together and prayed before letting go of their lantern.

The minute they released it, off it went. With plenty of cheering and clapping and excited laughter. Their pleasures were contagious and their happiness rubbed on to the others watching. They cheered as it took off with vigor. Their wishes were bound to be fulfilled.


As it drifted off to sea, it drifted too close to the stone pillar. There were shouts of concern and frantic appeals. It brushed against the pillar, struggled and then lifted free off it. There were tremendous cheering and everyone were happy. But it was not to be a happy ending. When the paper lantern compressed against the pillar, the side caught fire. Even as it floated up, the sides burned. There were cries of dismay as the lantern burned and lost altitude. Then it lost height and dropped into the sea not far from the shore and sank.

The look on the youngsters' face told it all. There were great disappointments. And among the superstitious, they will wonder if this portend a bad year ahead. I shared in their disappointment but they were not the only lanterns that failed that night.

This was a shot I took from above the ship.

From there, I observed this family got together to launch their lantern. It was nice to see a family together in action.

They released it and off it sailed taking their wishes with them. Of all the launches I saw that night, this was my favorite.

CNY: Chap Goh Meh #2 - Kong Ming Deng/Sky Lantern.

The most spectacular event in Tanjung Harapan is the almost continuous launching of sky lanterns called “Kong Ming Deng” or “Kong Ming Lantern”. Kong Ming is more popularly known as Zhuge Liang, the famous strategist of the “Period of the Three Kingdoms” (184AD – 280AD). It is said he used these sky lanterns to send signals to his troop. Whatever the truth, it is a fact that these lanterns came to be named after him. The original shape of the lantern is said to resemble the hat that he wore.

I saw three types of lanterns being sold on in Tanjung Harapan, two rounder versions and a taller style. The taller version costs RM30.00 which is a lot to be paid for something that can be constructed so cheaply. However, as no one fly a sky lantern alone, the cost per person is quite reasonable. The smaller and probably cheaper lanterns looked suspiciously liked they are made from plastic. If it is, then I think that is very bad as it only contribute to polluting the environment as these lanterns will eventually comes down. On hind sight, I should have checked but I was too busy taking photos to think about it. The correct materials should just be fire-proof paper, thin bamboo strips and a heating source.

All who bought the lantern would scribbled down names and wishes on the lanterns before lighting it and sent it up to the sky praying their wishes will come true. Though almost all the lanterns took off successfully, there were a few failed ones that crash landed not far from the shore bringing cries of dismays. The tall lanterns took off the fastest while the rounded floated up more gently. The esplanade of Tanjung Harapan is ideal for launching the lanterns as a seaward bound breeze took these lanterns safely out to sea.

The following sequence will explain how the lanterns are launched –

To be continued...

CNY: Chap Goh Meh #1 - In Pulau Ketam Jetty.

Chap Goh Meh or the Hokkien dialect for the 15th and last day of the Chinese New Year has been synonymous with a time honored tradition – the throwing of oranges into the sea. On this night, young, unmarried men and ladies will throng to the sea to throw fruits and made their wishes for a good mate. It was also an excuse for them to meet without the supervision of their parents for in the old old days, intermingling between the unmarried sexes were forbidden or at least frowned upon. Thus, the opportunities for to meet, ‘see’ prospective mates were limited. On that night, any young people who can get away will be there – and in the case of Port Klang, the old Pulau Ketam jetty in South Port which had been burned down (please refer in earlier articles ).


The reason orange is thrown is because it rhyme in Hokkien "Tim Kam Chua Ho Ang" (throw orange, get a good husband). For the males it is "Tim Peng Kor Chua Ho Bor" (throw apple, get a good wife). Later other nonsensical rhymes were also included such as "Tim Joi Tau Gei Ang Mor Lau" (throw stone, get a bungalow).


Both Kurau and me were old enough to remember the bustling activities in the jetty and had a somewhat naïve romantic memories of yesteryears. We had not been back there for a long time as much water had passed under the jetty since we both married. So it was there instead of West Port we went that night to document the event. We saw the jetty as -

lonely as this boat on still water. Our heart sank faster than the Titanic.

It is hard to describe the feelings we had. I will try to do it with pictures instead. It was like this man looking out to sea, waiting and waiting... under an orange spotlight that did nothing to illuminate except emphasized the darkness of the night.

It was as empty as this pathway that led to an emptier sea.

Like the reflections of these beautiful lights that shone for no one to see.

When we reached here, a full moon shone the way. Now dark clouds hid its view. Our feelings were similar to the cloud suffocated moon. Our hearts dropped like pins in a cavernous hall and I was sure I heard its echo. We lived through those times when this spot was the focal point of the town on this night. Now, it is was as empty as the hollow in our heart. We forced ourselves to take some photos and these are what you saw.




The only people who were there for the same reason was this young family but they only exacerbate our depressing state. We wanted to explain to them that it was not like this in the good old days. But we knew no matter how we explained, they will never see the scenes that we saw. And we were in no mood to explain anything.



And as I concentrated on taking some night shots, I did not realize that I was shot until much later in the forum. I always find it interesting to shoot other photographers when they are doing their things so I guess I cannot complain when this time round, I was the 'victim'. This is the only photograph of myself in my blogs for my writings are about the events and stories but not about myself directly and I meant to keep it that way. It was a very well taken photo which is why I included it here for it showed how forlorn the whole place was that night.

We looked at each other and knew that there is nothing more we can do here and decided to head to Tanjung Harapan though we knew that place will be jam packed. If I was alone, I may have lingered on a little while longer to commute with the ghosts of my past.


Next: Chap Goh Meh in Tanjung Harapan (Cape Hope).

To be continued...