UNCLE CHONG'S ANGPOW OF BUNNIES

KLANG VALLEY 13 FEB 2011: During Chinese New Year, it is a goodwill tradition for the elderly to dish out angpows to the younger generation; so it is a befitting gesture for Uncle Chong (one of the veteran hunters around) to perform likewise this year.

‘As usual’, his red packet had ‘an unusual’ content, as those regular hunters who had celebrated the past New Year with him, had come to expect. Instead of getting packets of paper money, the recipients were presented with hunt papers, packed with ‘bunnies’!

One inevitably tends to associate this Year of Rabbit with gentleness, calmness and mercy; the traits commonly epitomized by this cute animal. However any innocent hunters who unwittingly presumed that such correlation may be extrapolated to the Uncle Chong's Rabbit Run - CNY Hunt on 13^th Feb 2011, would either be as mad as a March hare, or have no inkling of the formidable reputation of Uncle Chong.

Seniority was certainly no impediment to his undying passion for the hunt. While the regularity of his question setting may be sapped by his advancing years, his fearsome ability to set mind-boggling questions remained unscathed by the passage of time. Though his energy level no longer matched an Energizer Bunny, his enthusiasm remained an edge.

After all, he was the very man at the helm of the thematic Kiwanis Hunt for umpteen years; masterfully delighting others with the likes of A Musical Journey, Chill Out, It’s A Mad Mad World and Thriller (just to name a few).

But back to Rabbit Run Hunt and Chinese New Year, for these are the stories here.

There was a constancy of style to Uncle Chong’s cryptic clue-setting; and Rabbit Run Hunt was no exception. He tweaked and he tinkered; he refined and he re-modified. The inevitable end result was a plethora of thought-provoking Chinese and bunny posers that were unleashed on the unsuspecting crowd!

Questions of leporine nature such as Q27 It enters temple to get a home for an animal (Ans:. UR) and Q31 A transplant for its heart and not much more for an animal (Ans: RHB Bank) really struck a chord with the appreciative hunters. They were also made jumpy with tough treasure question such as The origins of a kind of process that is placed inside a form of transport (Ans: Carrot).

The first few questions were surprisingly as kind-hearted as Peter Rabbit; which served to hoodwink the gullible participants to a false sense of hope. In fact, these were merely a sweetened prelude before the main course; the lull before the tsunami! When the tidal waves finally hit, a sense of déjà vu dawned on the participants - this event came across as a sequel to his menacing 2010 ‘Belated Tiger Show’.

By the time the ‘surviving’ hunters checked in at midpoint, any naïve thought of gentle, calm and merciful hunt would have been long thrown out of the car window. As the hunt agonizingly progressed, it was increasingly not a question of if, but when and how many killer rabbits will jump out of Uncle Chong’s hat by the end of the day!

Don’t get me wrong; this was by no means an impossible hunt; rather it required a delicate balance in juggling acts; the skill to decipher his questions, coupled with the ability to execute that within the allotted time.

It has been a challenging hunt, with the sole blight being a spelling blooper.

Red usually signifies an auspicious occasion; on the contrary, our COC was slightly red-faced during his answering presentation. Uncle Chong was typically meticulous in conjuring up his cryptic posers; which made it all the more surprising when the self-assured COC ruefully confessed to a categorical mea culpa with Q23A. [America and the answer have endless fun working the identity of the sage whose teachings influenced Chinese culture (Ans: Nico Home Design)]

 “You confuse us with Confucius!” a cheeky bawl rang out from the back, much to the guffaw of the crowd. Nevertheless the well-composed sexagenarian was rather philosophical about his rare faux pas; dismissing it as a tinker too many.

Another New Year, another zodiac animal, another CNY hunt!

Just like angpow, fire-cracker and lion dance, Uncle Chong’s February ritual now seems to be a regular feature during Chinese New Year, with mixed responses!

Much feared by the beginners, much welcomed by the masters, yet much anticipated by all!

Kong Hey Fatt Choy, Uncle Chong!!

We definitely look forward to your ‘fiery’ angpow in 2012 The Year of The Dragon!!!