Just a short warning. The photos below aren’t exactly anything you would enjoy seeing. There’s nothing scenic or attractive but rather feature my ancestors’ graves and a bunch of tired sweaty family members 
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Having said that, it’s that time of the year again when my family (dad’s side) will get together to clean the graves and pay respects to our ancestors. For those who don’t know, Qing Ming is also known as ‘Tomb Sweeping Day’ in English.
Traveled by bus back to KL, took a short nap, woke up at 5am and then drove to my dad’s hometown at Air Jernih, Terengganu. A tiring long 9 hours on the road for me within the span of a day. Met up with my uncles and aunts at my grandparent’s old house for breakfast (gosh I really miss this place) before heading to the site nearby.
A literal family reunion of both the present and the past..
My grandma and super cheeky and naughty cousin who just kept disturbing me during the entire trip!
It was a pretty standard routine.. We’ll clean the graves (uproot weeds, sweep and wipe), make food, tea and wine offerings, burn joss sticks, pray, launch fireworks plus scatter and burn hell-notes. It’s an age old tradition that hasn’t changed in years, and is our way of honoring the memory of our ancestors.
My brothers Ching & Ziet doing their part for our great grandparents.
Burning our offerings..
My recently deceased grandpa. We miss you.
I know I can be pretty cynical at times when it comes to superstition and issues of faith, but I guess I’ve matured enough to understand that these rites are important, and have a very rich history. For instance, my family went back to Hainan in China last year, and they actually managed to locate my great-great-great-grandparent’s grave to pay their respects (if only I could have went too!). I will do everything in my power to ensure that these traditions will not end with my generation.
If anything, it’s a great reason for the whole extended family to come together 
. Plans were made for all of us to spend the night at a 3 room apartment at Awana Kijal, Kemasik.
Here I was expecting a relaxing evening by the beach in a comfortable villa. Imagine my disappointment when the apartment turned out to be really tiny (it could barely fit ALL 15 of us!).Plus we couldn’t go swimming at the pool cause our apartment wasn’t under Awana’s management 
. Oh well, it was still kinda nice cramming onto 2 mattresses with my brothers, mom and dad, just like the good ole CNY days again 
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Like a bunch of tired sardines in a can, we decide on how to best utilize the available space..
Had a large 2 table family dinner at a restaurant nearby and drove my family up to check our Kerteh’s night view. Slept as much as I could before driving back to KL the next day. We stopped at Genting Sempah’s McDonalds for dinner, did some last minute grocery shopping at the spanking new Tropicana City Carrefour and then I hopped on the midnight bus back to Singapore. What a weekend.
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