Percy Jackson Series ... by Rick Riordan

I did 4 books in 3 days. Picked up the book cos my girl had been asking me when I was going to read them. Ancient Greek mythology given a modern twist. Enters Percy Jacksom, I supposed in the 21st century. Olympus has now moved to New York. The Greek go where the western world goes. Greek gods are western.... ang mohs. Lol!

Percy has his sidekicks too, of course. Stories with heroes will never be complete without their sidekicks. They change a little with every book but the main ones remain Annabeth and Glover. They travel in style too, with the help of magic... the three sisters with one eye.

I refreshed a lot of my rusty knowledgw about the ancient Greek Gods. Am reminded of words like Titan, Kronos... a nudge that etymology of words can actually be very fun. The Big Three... Zeus, Poseidon and Hades versus Kronos, the Titan.

And so as the wars are waged between the supposedly good and evil, I was transported into a fantasy world where Percy Jackson, a half-blood inherits his father's power in the water. No story is complete without greed for power, treachery and a little love. A story which reflects life .... well, I guess that will always be the selling point.

I read in between weeding. I read while waiting for people. I read before I went to sleep..... when I woke up. I read during toilet breaks, and while waiting at the supermarket.... The smartphone made it very easy to start, continue and resume. It's with me most of the time....

At the end of every book, Percy emerges triumphant. However, triumph was never total... can't win all. Life doesn't work that way in real life too. I did not finish books 5 and 6 yet. Might or might not complete them... Will see.

It was fun reading the books. A little magic always makes reading fun. We are all in a quest for that little magic in our lives too. If one wants to learn about the Greek gods, this series is a sure winner. It's fun. It's gripping....

Ah... I did read some books after all, this year. 8)

 

Sabai Dee Cafe

Sabai Dee Cafe... Of late there have been a mushrooming of eating places. This is one of the newer places and it is hidden from plain sight. It is located along one of the bund roads in the middle of the party fields in Jitra. Easiest way to get there... Get off the North-South Expressway at Darulaman Exit. Turn right and go a short distance. Make sure to watch out for a small road on your right, soon after you drive down the flyover. Turn into that road and the cafe is around a kilometre down the narrow dirt road. Bear in mind that the road leading to the cafe is a very tight squeeze for two cars.

We were not sure of going as it had been raining. However the sky cleared up somewhat and we decided to give it a go. It was a 2 kids and 3 adults affair. However, the sky darkened soon after we arrived and it started pouring.

This was just before the 'cats and dog's decided to make their entrance! Ambience is nice...setting is idyllic. It's a quaint little place! After the waiter took our orders we had a little time to snap these...

All around, little pockets of dining places were created for diners. They're quiet and peaceful. But I'm quite sure the mozzies will be hovering around, little vampires waiting to fill up. I like the plants though. They really make the place very beautiful.

We had no chance to sit outside as the evening was totally washed out by the torrential rain which came. The cafe operators had put up bamboo blinds for an eventuality like this but we still had to bear with rain splattering into the dining area. And that sort of tropical rain made many tables unusable....

We didn't order any of the traditional spicy Thai food because of the kids. So, no tomyam for us. Instead we had the waiter's recommendations. They were okay. Portions were generous enough.

We left by 7.30 pm but the sky was quite dark by then. It was still raining when we left. And oh yes... The narrow road was rather dark. I guess it is okay to say that an occasional worry about the canal running beside the road did cross our minds too as we made our way out.

Overall, I think this is a nice place to have dinner... For the food, ambience and experience.