Return to Sin Poh Farm...

Catching up with an old friend...

I received a call from Ah Pan, an old friend of mine.
He has been living in a farm for the past eight years and its really doing him some good.
Prior to that, he stayed in a shophouse near Taman Dato Harun in Bandar Sunway.
After the motorcycle repair shop he ran and wound up, this guy had moved out to Karak and worked for Farmer Wong, a mutual friend of ours.

Ah Pan and his pooch Bob

 Honoring my word.. 

I gave my buddy a call and set a journey to visit him at Sin Poh farm in Karak, Pahang.
This is one of the few vegetable farms in the country to be awarded the Good Agricultural Practise certification by the Department of Agriculture.
I view this as a huge success for its owner Farmer Wong who worked for three years to achieve his goal.
Now, there aren't many sincere and honest men out there, Wong and Ah Pan are the exception.
And being accepted as their friend was truly an honour.
Back in the real world, I deal with scumbags, ass-kissing corporate people who are 100% fake.
This makes my stomach turn.
Meeting with a bunch of friends who appreciate your company and respects you for what you are, that is truly a feeling money can't buy.
I caught up with Ah Pan over some tea in Karak town
He told me that he is interested in a plot of land near Farmer Wong's place.
And in a world that is uncertain, there is hope for an old-timer like Ah Pan.
I told him that I will help in any way I can to market his Farm stay to the world...

The Fish farmer.. 

Feeding his commodity..

In the past year, Ah Pan has been busy rearing freshwater food fish.
His main commodity are the Tilapia (tilapia mossambica) and the grass carp.
This pellet-fed fishes can fetch as much as RM12 per kg and there has been some interested parties in the harvest.
If he keeps it up, the haul will be ready by the end of this year.
We are looking at some good money for the Farmer to roll.
Living in the farm, Ah Pan had been diligently feeding the fishes and the results can be seen..

Some good old fashioned fishing..

The Climbing Perch

The Sin Poh experience would not be complete without a fishing trip at the pond.
I've done some good fishing here and with Farmer Wong's awesome ponds, choices are aplenty.
They were aiming for Tilapias and the haul would be divided among the farm workers as their meals.
Nothing is wasted here.
While Ah Pan, a fishing guide himself and champion angler - did most of the work, landing a good catch, I struggled a bit.
My tackle was not suitable for the pond. The line was simply too thick. But I persevered and landed a small Tiliapia.
Then, my luck changed.
Slowly, but surely, I began landing some ikan Puyu or the Climbing Perch.
This primitive air-breathing fish is nothing but amazing.
I used to catch them at a decommissioned waste treatment pond near lake Titiwangsa in my late teens.
Now, what's interesting was the fact that I kept on landing this little fellas with fish pellets as bait.
Slowly as time dissolves into the late hours of the evening, I had at least 10 climbing perches.

Our humble haul..

Catch of the day: A snakehead landed with my telescopic rod

A last-minute surprise..

I hooked up a piece of fish pellet on the hook and casted it into the water.
While waiting for a bite, the guys were doing really well, filling up a basket with fish.
Then, I notice my line going out.
"Ah, another puyu!," I thought out loud.
The line became taut and when I set the hook, I felt a heavy tug.
This was not a perch. 
My cheap-assed Shakespeare telescopic rod began to bend as I let the drag on my ultralight reel do the job of keeping the fish on the end of the hook.
Now, this rod and reel combo doesn't seem ideal for such a situation, but it surely held up to the brute force of the fish that was on the other end of the line.
Farmer Wong said it was a snakehead.
Slowly, I let the small Shakespeare Dimension 10-ballbearing reel do its job, and reeled in a table-sized Snakehead. 
I estimate this fine table fish at 1.2kgs and it was my defining moment.
Despite a slow start, I managed to land a predator with my travel rod and reel set.
This inspired me to look at "Cyclofishing" in my future outings.
After packing up the gear, we brought the haul back to the farmhouse where it would be divided among the farm workers.
I parted ways with Farmer Wong and Ah Pan and assured them that I would be back for more visits.
Later, I took the rest of the climbing perch to my in-law's place where they were released into a pond.

Back to basic

Boredom...
My off days are coming to an end.
I spent the first two days doing my chores, cooking and some laundry.
Then, I had this inspiration of giving Ah Pan, my old buddy a call.
Later in the day, he rang me up and ask if I am coming over to Karak, which is about an hour's drive away from Subang Jaya.
I said 'yes' and went looking for my fishing gear.

The old faithful
I found my obsolete Shakespeare travel fishing rod and my Shakespeare Dimension ultralight reel which I had purchased many, many years ago.
Till now, they are in perfect working condition.
I packed these up and loaded it into my car.
"You going fishing?," Michelle asked.
"Yeah...," I responded.
I haven't been fishing for at least two years. 
Been busy with cycling and photography and had forsaken the most basic hobby.


On the road again...
I found myself on the East Coast Highway.
Destination: Bentong, Pahang.
Arrangements were made to meet Ah Pan at Aik Huat coffee shop in Bentong.
Now, this place is a favourite gathering spot for cyclists, and its also our meeting point.
Before I proceed, I had to drop him off at his mechanic's workshop in the outskirts of Bentong.
"Mr Sam! How are you?," asked Ah Hou, the mechanic.
This successful young man who runs a workshop had just invested in a Polygon Helios 900, and is a regular cycling kaki of Farmer Wong and Ah Pan.
I made my way to Farmer Wong's place in mukim Sertik and was surprised to find so much change has taken place.
The government is building a concrete bridge linking his farm to the outside world.
Farmer Wong's wife, Maggie, has moved out and is living in town with her son Wong Fei.
At the farmhouse, I found out that Ah Pan had inherited Farmer Wong's Colnago road bike, which is worth about RM20,000.
His room is full of bicycles now. I guess the cycling craze had gripped Farmer Wong.

Ah Pan and the bikes

Walking the dog and checking out the new fish pond

Plenty of catching up to do
Farmer Wong is a happy man.
His growing plot is the only Good Agricultural Practise (GAP) farm in Pahang.
Now, he is the prime example of hardwork.
I was also glad to see my article on his effort being pinned on his wall.
Wong told me that he had invested in freshwater fish aquaculture.
This is expected to generate about RM100K a year during harvest.
I am glad that things are working out for my friends..


A skill that will never go away.. 
I learned to fish at the age of 9.
And as far as I could remember, my first catch was a Tilapia (Tilapia mossambicus) landed on a handline at an abandoned housing project in Kampung Baru. 
I have fished in streams, lakes and the ocean. 
This outing is no different. 
I call it a refresher course..

My catch: A red Tilapia

The patience game

A decent lunch: Curry wild boar and a fried egg

Fishing is fun!
Ah Pan led me to a pond at the other side of the farm.
It was inhabited by an old farmer, who was paralyzed after a stroke some months back.
Today, he is in a great shape and to my surprise, the old dude speaks fluent English!
We spent a couple of hours fishing there, while the old farmer wanted some manure from Farmer Wong's place.
Ah Pan landed the most Tilapia which was released back to the pond.
I managed to land a few and before we knew it, the weather had ran foul.
We went back to the farm as I made my way back to Bentong to drop off Ah Pan at his mechanic's workshop.
Spent the evening in Bentong exploring some food stalls which I never knew existed and later head back out to the highway home.
To me, it was a weekend well-spent with friends. 
And Sunday, its back to the grind!