The Reader

Istana Kampung Gelam

Last Sunday was the second time I visited this Istana.The first was about 30 years ago.I was so happy and pleased to see that the Istana has been turned into Malay Heritage Centre and here I could 'walk' back to 17th  Century and learn something about Malay diaspora.

I was specially fascinated by the old maps,the beautiful hand written letters in jawi,old photos of Singapura as well as the history of Malay films.

While reading the jawi letters on the wall,it reminds me of Awang Goneng's write up.I was pleasantly suprised that in those days,receiving letter was done in a big ceremony with special adat isti'adat of the royal household.The art is missing in today's letters,especially via email;-)

When was the last time I wrote letter on a writing pad and posted it to someone?If my memory does not cheat on me, it must be in June,1976 when I wrote a hand written letter to my mother from Sheffield,England to inform her that I have passed my exam and will be coming home in July,1976.For the information to younger generation,there was no sms and telephone service in my kampung at that time.The only form of communication is by letter writing.Nowadays,my niece who was studying in India could 'chat' via sms with her mother EVERYDAY.And when my son went overseas,I can chat online with him in real time.

Nice setting for an afternoon tea at Summerset Colonial,Rompin

This is one of the photos I took with my new Lumix TZ2.My younger brother had agreed to be the model;-) Just look at the high ceiling and  also the hanging fan-very colonial in style...

Arab St Revisited

This weekend I was in Johore Bahru for business and took a few hours to visit Singapore.This time, we had dinner of a special murtabak at Singapore Zam Zam restaurant,located at Arab St and near Masjid Sultan.I could not remember when was the last time we were there, but I did remember going there once with my mother in late 70's( when one Singapore dollar is about RM1.20) and another time when my youngest kid was a baby.Now,he is 18 years old.According to my wife's memory(mine has faded away), the last we were there was 14 years ago!

One thing I could not forget is the murtabak!The taste is almost the same as it was decades ago and I love it.Yesterday,I ate it again and it brought back memories...

Below is the map and the photo I took using my Treo680.

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KL-Putrajaya Expressway

My first time using KLP Expressway was by taxi from KL to KLIA on 19th Dec.,2007 and the second time was on 21st Dec.,2007 on my return journey.Today,I decided to try the highway by driving my own car from Kg Pandan Roundabout(Lat 03 08.430',Long 101 43.260') to Putrajaya. (At exit:Lat 02 56.567',Long 101 39.120')

It took me about 18 minutes to travel for a distance of about 25km.With the help of my GPS and my son as a co-pilot,I managed to locate Selera Putra for our lunch.The place was full of foreign tourists.

At the moment, there is no toll collection yet, but the toll gates are ready.It is a matter of time and the amount. The speed limit is  90km/hr and I think it is a good decision considering the road geometry with quite a few of sharp horizontal curves plus some tricky double curvatures(horizontal and vertical curves combined at one place).As a road user,I welcome this highway so that I don't have to endure traffic jam along Jalan Sg Besi.It cuts my travel time to Putrajaya  by about half.

By the way,if I were to use the normal highway from Bulatan Kg Pandan to KLIA,I have to pay toll about RM6.80.With this new expressway,I can save my travel time about 20 minutes and surely there will be some saving on the toll.(for the moment,it is free ride all the way from KL to KLIA).

Looking back to the days when Bulatan Kg Pandan (in 1983 when I moved to KL)was then a really 'bulatan'( circle) with no traffic lights.Now,there is no more 'bulatan' but it is a 4-level interchange-one below the ground(The Smart Tunnel) and two above the ground!Good bye Bulatan Kg Pandan. Now,if I may call it Kg Pandan Interchange!

The journey is the destination..

A few months back,when I went to JB,my friend took me to have dinner at Senibong Seafood Village.Tonight,God willing,it is my turn to take him and his family to have dinner there.You can peek at the location here (from realmalaysia flickr photo).I love the crabs there!The last time I did not bring my camera and I hope to take a few photos.

Going south is not much a problem for me because I am more familiar with the localities than going up north. On the way back to KL the next day,I plan to visit a sick friend in Melaka and possibly to have ikan bakar dinner with my schoolmates there.It must be more than a year since I last have ikan bakar with nasi lemak there.

One of the advantages being a member of boarding school alumni, I have friends all over the country.When we were kids, all of us must live in the hostel.Some of us are like brothers..

One of the lessons that I have learnt over the years from travelling is not to rush to our destinations.We may have travelled along the same roads,but we are more likely to see less things/different things than if we took a bit longer time.According to Harley Davidson's advertisement," The journey is the destination".By the way,I am going by my car and not a motor-cycle.

Below is a copy of my previous visit to JB from my GPS map.

Phew 1013km..

I have never travelled more than 1000km on a road trip at any one time, but in the last two days,I did break my previous record of 973km during my Alumni SDARA Kembara. My Myvi did 1013km from 8.19am 26th Nov and back home again at 8.30pm on 27th Nov,2007. Today is my rest day...and we are going to have a nice nasi belauk  at Restoran Kak Mah-just between the two of us,my wife and me;-)

Being an engineer by training,I can't help noticing that the quality of PLUS highway pavement as we approached Butterworth is below standard. My small car almost jumped into the air due to the uneven surface profile of the road pavement.I also noticed a lot of work being done to upgrade the road pavement.IMHO, this should have been done years ago to avoid inconvenience to the public.I also noted that road work was being done at night and the the two or three lanes being compressed to just one lane.Even with "adequate" road signs, I felt unsafe to travel at night.

When it comes to speeding,almost everyone could not be bothered with the rules-free for all. Two express buses were racing in front of me and overtaken my car which was doing 100km/hr.( still at running in phase).I believe only speed traps and police presence will make Malaysians obey traffic rules.

By the way,I think the last time I was in Kangar must be more than 10 years ago.I am pleasantly suprised by the development and the town looks like to be more interesting with the presence of  a a few colleges and UniMap.My GPS was quite helpful in assisting my fading memory when I stopped by at Alor Setar for two hours to have 'cucuk' and tea with my old friend.However, it also misled me when I was about to go out of Kangar back to KL.At times, road signs are better than GPS and common sense must prevail all the time.

From my limited experience travelling (not regularly) either up north or down south from KL,I wish to single out Tapah is one of the best PLUS R&R! Two things that I wish to make a note is the mee curry at Shalala Coffee and the special design of musalla( place for solat).

I wish to thank all my friends for giving me good tips where to makan and shop for fruits.This trip was 80% business and 20% pleasure,so I don't have much time to indulge myself in my favourite pastimes/hobbies but insyaAllah next time,it shall be the other way round...

Going up north

It must be more than five years ago since I have been to Alor Setar and Kangar.Today, I come, insyaAllah.It reminds me of my two years stint as a district engineer of JKR Kedah Utara in early 80's. I always look forward to go to Tanjung at the end of the month when I was a bit loaded.

By the way, I must confess that I love laksa and seafood at Kuala Kedah , not to mention also about Kuala Perlis.My trip today is for business and visiting old friends. As usual I will try to use my GPS for tracking my route,a camera to take some photos and my moleskine notebook to write some notes.To-night is a dinner with my cousin at Kuala Perlis,insyaAllah.

I will try to update my trip today via my Twitter(on the right of this posting) and upload some photo here.I hope my new 'horse' will give me a good ride.

Mas and Molie

A few days ago my moleskine(molie) got the rare chance to travel on business class.I seldom travel by business class either local or international flight because I can't afford the price.It was the only seat left when I had to rush to my kampung to attend a funeral.
I had to ask around where is the Golden Lounge and to my suprise MAS has renovated the cafeteria very well.It was like a 4-star hotel coffee house but when it comes to service for economy class passengers,I am disappointed with a glass of drink and a packet of nuts.When I was offered a packet nuts,I felt offended.I kept telling myself that I am human and not a ...
Coming back to my molie ,I spent some time writing my feelings and thoughts and really enjoyed doing it at 20,000 ft among the clouds...

Angel of Death

Flight SV 0834 was just like any normal flight. It started with slight delay of 30 minutes for take off from Madinah at 11:15pm on the way to KLIA. However, the tailwind must be giving the blessing by accelerating the plane  to arrive on schedule at 12.45pm the next day.

About one hour before the plane arrived at KLIA, a lady collapsed due to low blood sugar.She has been suffering diabetes for some years. As soon as I heard the news,I went to her place and took a look.She looked tired and I saw her sipping drink through a straw.Then I returned to my seat.I thought she would be okay by the time we arrive at the KLIA.

However, my assumption was totally wrong.The lady passed away just before landing at KLIA. The Angel of Death had done his job  even on the plane without any delay to the stipulated time.

May Allah receive her as a solehah as she has just performed her umrah in Makkah.

I don't know when/where/how the Angel of Death had boarded the plane ,but I was very sure he was there.One lesson that I learnt is that death can come to us any time and any where-even on one's flight home from the Holy Lands.

Pointed Towers

  Pointed Towers 
  Originally uploaded by Adibi.

Looking at this photo,I would say that it must be taken some where in Europe. But it is located about one hour drive from KL. I was there in the last three days- assisting my partner in conducting a PMP preparation course for a group of government officers. From my short experience there, this hill resort with a French flair is quite conducive for meeting,family get together and seminar.

For me, it was business -day and night. I will go next time for leisure and fun with my friends and family.

Note on photo: It was taken from the staircase leading to the small lake under the bridge -the main entrance to the resort.