Fire!

This morning we were returning from a leisurely trip to the Saturday market and the shops (and with all our frozen goods and stuff in the boot), we noticed the traffic was very heavy as we approached our street - in fact the police were turning people around and there were big red vehicles and lots of flashing lights ...

... (that's our little grey Proton Saga just past the fire truck - we wanted to go into the driveway where all the people are.)

This is the front of the building - our apartment is around the back, facing the ocean.

It looked a bit smokey up the street that way - we thought maybe the grotty-looking building next door was on fire.

But there it is on the fifth floor of our building, just above the 'belly-band'. At this stage it is just very smoky, but an hour later while the alarm bell still jangled and the crowds had started to wander off, we could see that the window frame was all twisted and glass-less, and the surrounding outside wall of the building blackened.

Time for Teh!

We heard an announcement over a loudspeaker - thought it was the mosque at first but it was less sing-song - the police were telling people to get out of the building as some had started to wander back in (after all, only a very small section was affected, and it was not like the whole thing would explode.)

Seeing others wander off down the street we decided to go and sit in a nearby restaurant. We ordered drinks:

Peter has 'teh tarik' - or pulled tea. That's how they get it all frothy, pouring it from one jug to another over a distance. It's yummy, but very sweet ... So I asked for 'kopi' (coffee) which is really another way of saying 'surprise me'. So this looks like thick, black coffee ... the white bit on the bottom? - "sweetened creamer", or condensed milk! Also very very sweet, so best not to stir it too much!

And of course with that - 'roti canai'. Sort of pancakey things (not sweet) with a curry-ish sauce to dip bits in - quite delish.

After our snack we wandered back out to the street. The alarm bell was still ringing, and people were sitting around in tired-looking groups. We waited near the entrance to our building, and saw some people nipping in and coming out with iPads and other small items. Then we saw some sooty firemen come tramping out. The bell was still ringing but people started driving their cars in, so we did too.

We grabbed our shopping bags and - feeling relieved that we hadn't done a big shop - started tramping up the stairs, being careful not to slip with the water trickling down. We pushed our way past another fireman on his way down.

The building has a slightly funny smell, but back in our apartment we couldn't smell it. And soon after we came back in, the alarm finally stopped ringing.

Talking of restaurants



When we were down at the shops we noticed this little establishment. Hmmm.