Exterminating mosquitoes in Kuantan

There have been two very recent cases of dengue fever in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan. This results from bites of infected mosquitoes. They like to breed in stagnant water, which is unfortunately quite common in blocked drains by the sides of the roads here. On occasion, people from Health and Safety have been to our home to check for any stagnant water on our balcony, in buckets in the bathroom, even in our toothbrush cup.

I can't over-emphasize the importance of eliminating all stagnant water in our homes and surroundings. At worst, dengue fever is a killer. In hospitals in Malaysia it is usually treated with a drip and believe it or not, by asking the infected person to drink plenty of 100plus, an isotonic drink!

This evening the health officers came with their mosquito exterminating guns and gas masks to fill the entire area with clouds of repellent. We all ran outside to watch and, in my case, take plenty of photos!

This is the best image I snapped, which I think best illustrates the issues of stagnant water, lack of proper rubbish disposal, and the scourge of dengue fever:

A health officer equipped with exterminator gun and gas mask sprays clouds of repellent around our apartment block in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan in response to two recent cases of dengue fever here.

Our home in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan

Here are a few pictures of our home in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan. We have been living in this apartment block for over 5 years now. We have experienced a few water and power cuts, a blocked water pipe, a minor flood in our house, locked ourselves out, and a robbery. But, we are very settled now, those problems are in the past, they don't occur too frequently any more (we've never been robbed or had blocked water pipes or flooding again, and we haven't locked ourselves out!). There is the occasional water cut or 'black-out' but that's about it.

We have some good neighbours around us, we live in a relatively quiet place (as opposed to the bustling Kuala Lumpur where everything is busy, and Singapore where staying with my friend we could hear the MRT trains passing by every 6 minutes or so up until midnight and at the crack of dawn in the morning!).

Bukit Sekilau is a beautiful little area of Kuantan with its vast array of delights, as I've previously discussed. Here are a few views of our apartment block and surrounding area.

The view from my bedroom window

View of the apartments opposite, from our balcony

Looking to the right, from our balcony

The sun rises each morning over the hill in the background, as seen from my tuition room window

Sunlight bounces off the parked cars as sunset nears over the hills to the left

The setting sun leaves light and shadows across the apartment block

A bunga kertas tree decorates the area

A grass weed sways in the breeze

Fallen leaves lay strewn on the badminton courts opposite my apartment block

Sunrises and Sunsets of Kuantan Photographic Exhibition

Two words I love, just for the way they fall off the tongue:

"scrotum" - the pouch of skin that encloses the testicles in most male mammals.

"soliloquy" - the act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when alone or regardless of hearers, especially by a character in a play.





Now, onto the stunning post for today...


Sunrises and Sunsets


All of these glorious pictures of the sun in action were taken in Kuantan, the vast majority of them from my balcony, back window or downstairs. I'm fortunate enough to have a great view of both the sunrise and the sunset. These are a compilation of my favourite images I've collected down the years.

Sunrises

1. Taken a minutes' walk from my apartment

2. This image was taken from just up the hill five minutes walk away

3. I snapped this lovely sunrise picture from the 9th floor of the Zenith Hotel

4. Again, from the 9th floor of the Zenith Hotel

5. A glowing orange sunrise outside my apartment

6. Taken just yards away on a different day. Love the shaft of light bursting through the clouds.

7. From the top of the hill - same position as the 2nd picture

Sunsets

8. We start the sunsets exhibition with a beautiful pink/purple sky, taken from my balcony

9. From my balcony, the apartment block appears to have caught fire on this particular evening

10. From the 3rd floor car park of East Coast Mall, a 5-minute walk away

11. Burning oranges and pinks combine just outside my apartment

12. A bronze/copper sky looms over my balcony

13. Taken on the grass fronting my apartment. I love the trees in silhouette.

14. Grey clouds attempt to block the sunset in Bukit Sekilau

15. Taken from a vantage point a couple of minutes from my apartment. I love the solitary dark cloud behind the palm trees.

16. Another pretty view from my balcony

17. Golden sunset as observed outside my apartment

18. A blanket of pink, orange and yellow cloud covers the sky, as seen from my back window.

19. The sunset-infected cloud invades the blue evening sky, as witnessed from my bedroom window.

20. This was an evening like no other in Kuantan...

21. ...the sky became dramatically filled with this warm, fiery light, and a deep, golden glow filled the streets. This is the only time such a sunset has happened during my 5 years living in Kuantan!

22. Stripy clouds lead toward the setting sun. Taken from my balcony.

23. The ball of fire makes its way towards the darkening horizon as I snapped it from my balcony.

Which are your favourite pictures?

Our Apartment Block, Kuantan

I recently took a few pictures of our apartment block on a stunningly hot day here in Kuantan. We have been living here in this unnamed apartment block for the last four and a half years. It may not be beautiful on the eye or impressive in style and structure, but it is located in the most convenient place in Kuantan, nearby every needful thing, food, shops, hospital, malls, hotels, bus terminal, stadium, pharmacy, clinic, hairdressers, all within a 10-minute walk. 

Here is the place we call home:

Spot the lizard!

One of two laundry shops on the same row

Joss sticks hang in a pot outside the hairdressers

The block is guarded by palm trees

The end of the block

View from the east

and from the west

Flowers grow around our apartment block in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan

The owner of this lot is taking security seriously!

Ugly water pipes like this are found in strange places in Kuantan

This is the small court where we play badminton