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This blogspot is a medium to share my thoughts and adventures apart from promoting my books. Below are the books which have been written or authored and published by myself.


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti".

ISBN 983-42031-0-1, Jun 2006


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Membela Syiar yang Asal"

ISBN 983-42031-1-x, May 2007


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?"

ISBN 978-983-42031-2-2, November 2007


It is interesting to note that while these books were written in Malay it has gained enough attention to merit being part of the collections of the American Library of Congress and National Library of Australia. Look here and here.


While the first three books were published by my own company, the fourth titled "Rumah Azan" was published in April 2009 by a company called Karnadya with the help of the Malaysian national literary body Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. It features beautiful pictures along with stories behind selected mosques which could be related to the history of Islam and the Malays alongside the formation of the Malaysian nation. Look at the article A collaboration of old collegemates - the book "Rumah Azan".


My fifth book "Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and Malay Sultanates", an English translation and adaptation of the Malay book "Ahlul Bait (Keluarga) Rasulullah SAW dan Kesultanan Melayu" authored by Hj Muzaffar Mohamad and Tun Suzana Othman was published early 2010. Look here... My 5th book is out! Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and the Malay Sultanates... . For more information check out my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU.



Like my fourth book "Rumah Azan", the sixth book "Kereta Api Menuju Destinasi" is also a coffee-table book which is published by the company Karnadya with the cooperation of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the main Malay literary body in Malaysia). Coming out January 2011 it features pictures and stories on the adventure travelling by train to all of Peninsular Malaysia along with the interesting places which could be reached this way.


My seventh book "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" in turn is a coffee-table book which is written, editted, designed and has pictures taken by me. Coming out of the factory October 2011, this book which combines family history with history of places such as Singapura, Johor, Batu Pahat, Muar and in fact the history of the island of Java and England has been reviewed with me interviewed live in the program Selamat Pagi Malaysia at RTM1. Look at the article Siaran langsung ulasan buku "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" dan temu ramah di Selamat Pagi Malaysia. Some selected contents have been featured in Sneak peek "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah".


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The "Berpetualang ke Aceh" series of novels could be obtained in e-book form. Enter http://www.e-sentral.com/, click general novel and go to page 4. You can also type the word "Aceh" at the search box. Or click straight Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3.


Saturday, March 15, 2008

Walking in Teluk Intan...

Gosh, it seems I must also let these pictures off me system. Here goes!


From the parts of Perak river featured just now in Confluence of 3 rivers in Teluk Intan... , I headed back to town...


Along the way, I saw this building reminding me of the name Pangkor island...


I walked straight pass some schools...


The town of Teluk Intan with its famous leaning tower in sight...


Saw this Indian temple and found it interesting...


Especially this two elephants being caged, hehe! :]


And these 3 ladies...


A closer view of the leaning tower of Teluk Intan.


Another building I found interesting for reasons I myself am not clear of...


Then I walked northwards. Saw this Malay religious school sandwiched by Chinese-owned establishments...


The walk continues until I found an Internet Cafe. That's all... Cheers! :]

Confluence of 3 rivers in Teluk Intan...

God lord... I feel so tired but I just got to let this go off my system. Here goes...


After Lumut, I went to the place where my father was born at which is in Teluk Intan 60km south-east. Among the places visited there is part of the Perak river besides Kampung Terengganu east of town. In the picture is the Bidor river flanking the kampung (village)...


The Bidor river runs from as far as the town of Bidor over 40km away south-east of Teluk Intan...


Its waters merged into the mighty Perak river at this point... The Perak river on the middle of this picture, part of the Bidor river estuary to the right...


Part of Kampung Terengganu west to where I was standing at...


Look to the east slightly to the north and you can see the mouth of the much smaller river Tungku while the Bidor river on the right runs into the Perak river. So you could say here is the confluence of 3 rivers...


And finally a look at the bend of Perak river going inland northwards to Kampung Gajah some 20km away. Both the Tungku and Bidor rivers are on the right outside this picture. Ends! :]

And now a look around Lumut...

Yes... Continuing from the posting Views from the ferry crossing Sungai (river of) Dinding... , now we have a look around Lumut...

The town has changed much over the years. Now there's plenty of new buildings and monuments to reflect its image as a modern resort town, at least as the main embarkation point to Pangkor island...


Just look at this pedestrian roof across the town centre's main road...


Contrast that the older parts of town including this one... Not that old thought... This particular part is perhaps only 10 years-old or so but you could say it is still of old-school design...

Never mind all that, the main thing is Lumut still retains its charm as a small town situated besides the rather wide Dinding river...


For it is this wide expanse of water which actually gave charater to Lumut... A view towards the estuary with the northern end of Pangkor island in sight.


I mean yes, new buildings like this newly made esplanade does add to the allure but the main thing about Lumut which gave it its unique feel and atmosphere is the wide Dinding river. Thus the new buildings and monuments are just built to reflect this feel... Sea-side or rather wide river-side living... That's all...


See this monument of a boat... Know what I'm talking about... Its all about water and what goes around it.

And thus the Lumut jetty is town's main feature...


Water, jetty and boats... That is the concept... That's where these riverside roof fits, designed to look like sails...


The jetty's main building looks almost like an airport tower though... Or is it the like the viewing tower available on aircraft carriers?


Whatever, Lumut is about water. And the jetty is its main reflection...


This water concept which makes the fibre of Lumut is further reflected by the fact that the area also houses the peninsular's main naval base as could be seen in the background of this picture next to the river estuary.


A view of the wavy pedestrian roof with the hills of Engku Busu behind. Ends! :]

Views from the ferry crossing Sungai (river of) Dinding...

Greetings dear readers. Last night I have shown you a certain patch of beach-side forest reserve (in the article A walk around Pasir Panjang... ), I have also shown how does the rather monstrous-looking Beruas tree looks like (in The origin of the name Beruas. ) and then I showed some rather graceful turtles in sight (in Ah... Meet the Ninja Turtles in Perak! )... Now let's a have a look at the views from a ferry crossing the Dinding river in Perak... Come...


First we board the ferry, actually a fishing boat converted for ferrying people across the river Dinding...


Soon enough it moves... A look at the Damar Laut jetty situated just across the town of Lumut...


The town of Lumut still at least a kilometer away... Or is it 3km? The river Dinding is rather wide around here...


A look at the mouth of the river and you can see Pangkor island, a popular tourists destination in the background.


The Damar Laut jetty as the boat approaches the middle of the river...


In sight is a medium-sized ship anchored in the middle of the river...


While most passengers sit tight inside, I prefer to sit outside to better savour the view.


The ferry as it approaches the ship... Apparently one of the passengers or a shipmate wanted to board this ferry to get to Lumut...


A view of the river estuary from the middle of the river... Behind the small hill on the right is the Damai Laut Swiss Resort.



Hmm... We already left the ship but yet the town of Lumut looks like it is still a kilometre away. So the river must be at least 2km wide...


The Lumut jetty getting closer...


Part of Lumut's riverside park...


At last, the ferry is about to engage the jetty...


And time to get off. That's all! :]


Friday, March 14, 2008

Ah... Meet the Ninja Turtles in Perak!

Well, not exactly the pizza-chomping katana wielding turtles with a rat as the grandmaster in question here... But still enough to incite similar excitement, enough to turn 38-year-old dear me back into a grinning 5-year-old for at least an hour or so....
If the posting The origin of the name Beruas. is rather serious and gloomy, now let us cheer up a bit... Still in Pasir Panjang, Perak, here is a place I've seen before from the outside but only this time I managed to have a look at what's available inside and the glee it stores...


Welcome to the sea turtle hatchery and management centre in Pasir Panjang... If I'm not mistaken it's the only such place in the northern parts of the peninsular West Coast...


I came in not expecting much except the place was there... So let's just check it out...


My early impression was, this is just another government building... After all the centre falls under the ambit of the fisheries department or so and government equals boring... That's what I thought...


Seeing this pool for the first time managed to provide the initial spark of glee. But who would have thought what's actually in store...


You see, I can't remember when was the last time I saw sea turtles anywhere. Perhaps I've seen it somewhere in one of the zoos I've visited, perhaps but I sure can't remember...

What I do remember though is this... Upon seeing these turtles live swimming about, my mind was totally blown out... I mean wow!!! Just look at them... I never thought I would get so excited and savour such a sight, in a government building some more!


Just look at this little fella... If only you could see the way it glide...


Mind you, these fellas are pretty big and they are supposed to be the kids! I'm sure their shells are about 2 feet wide and more than 3 feet long...


Looking at turtles, tortoises and their sorts have always got me in awe since I was a little kid. Now, at 38-year-old, I'm being turned into a gawking kid grinning wide with happy blissful twinkles in my eyes!



If only you could be here too... If only you could see for yourself how the turtles would take breaths of fresh air every now and then...


I could have sworn, they sound just like humans gasping for air... I mean, really, they do make a sound like that of a human gasping for air... Its funny, eerie and uncanny at the same time! That's how I would describe it...


Also you should have seen the way some of this turtles lie down when not moving around... The way they fold their front flippers inside is almost human... Just like a boy would fold his arms with elbows on the table or on the ground and hands supporting the chin...


And just look at the way they glide along or against each other... Perhaps this is too much of a cliche but it certainly is poetry in motion...


To sum it up, watching the turtles live swimming around is an opportunity one should take at least once in a life time... What more, this place is open to visitors for free...


And that's just at the smaller pool... Wait till you see what's at the bigger pool!


But before that, let's have a quick look at the smallest pool... For the record there's three main pools in this area...


For here lies the terrapin, astounding creatures in their own right...


It's just that they were too inactive... Once one have seen the turtles in action, the terrapins seem very pale in comparison...


And so without much further ado, we go to the bigger pool which is also the biggest pool.... The size I believe is at least 70 feet long and 20 feet wide, sort of like the size of a luxurios swimming pool in a private home.



And the turtles are much bigger, adults they are... At least twice the size of the "kids" at the smaller pool!

What is more astounding is the power they displayed when any one of them got restless and practically "shoots" through the water! Powerful swimmers they are. I saw one restless Ninja turtle that power-swim its way from one end of the pool to the other in about 2 seconds or less! I thought it would have gone straight and crash into the wall or perhaps shoot out of the water and flew off the pool!


In between, the whole lot, I think about 12 to 15 of them would just relax and glide around... Again, poetry in motion...


I really enjoy watching the turtles that as you can see for yourself here, I've put a total of 23 pictures just for this posting!


Whatever, it's time to go as I still have to attend to my other blogspots. For the record, this would be my 3rd posting tonight for this blogspot and it should be enough for now... I hope you dear readers enjoy this piece. And perhaps the newly-formed Perak government would find it useful in promoting the place. Take care! Nite-nite! :]