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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.


Sunday, September 23, 2007

From Kedah to Perak... The show must go on!

Greeting dear readers. Tonight, the 11th night of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan I feel like continuing the story on my last long travel made over 2 months ago covering the states of Pahang, Kelantan, Kedah, Perak and Selangor.
In my last posting here on the subject (titled A typical day in Alor Setar? ) I talked about having a quite day at the Kedah capital. The story-telling was continued with Jalan-jalan (walkabout in) Sungai Petani... in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) before ending the session in Malay with a piece called Kuala Ketil, Mastura dan Char Koew Teow... in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU . So let us continue from where we left off... In the town of Kulim, Kedah.

After spending the night in Kulim, it's time to move on. Earlier, I've spent 4 nights in Pahang and 5 nights in Kelantan. It's only in Sungai Petani the previous night that I noticed the number of nights spent at the respective states.... When circumstances like missing the last bus for the day (plus the fact that I was so damn tired) forced me to stay a night there after spending 2 in Alor Setar and a night each in Sikh and Baling. Otherwise I couldn't care less as I wasn't counting time. I was just travelling and stopping wherever and whenever I felt like it, that's all.

Now, having noticed the numbers, I felt obliged to follow a certain order. After all, I do have a fetish for numbers. So naturally, to follow the progression I should spend 6 nights in Kedah and the night in Kulim was the 6th. So it's time to head for the next state Perak.

Above is a picture taken the previous day at the bus station in Kulim. The friend who hosted me for the night sent me there the following morning. I intend to take the bus to Parit Buntar, the closest town in Perak but there's few direct service to the town from Kulim... Instead I took a bus which ends at another place... A bus which arrived earlier than the one to Parit Buntar.


So there I was at the small town of Serdang which lies on an alternative route to Parit Buntar. On the way I passed through the district of Selama and learned you can go to Lenggong, Perak from there. All this while I only knew the Kuala Kangsar route to Lenggong which lies on the way from Perak to Kelantan.
Here in Serdang I missed the bus to Parit Buntar twice, once because I was in the toilet, the second time because I decided to have lunch at a foodstall nearby. Luckily there's regular service heading to the Perak town every half an hour. So on to the next picture...

At last I arrived in Parit Buntar. And at last I am in Perak, the state where my father was born in.


There, a look at the bus I was on. That's when I realised why circumstances made me took the route through Serdang... It was the first time ever I moved from Kedah to Perak or vice versa without going through Seberang Perai which is a district in the state of Pulau Pinang. Otherwise I might have to burst the bubble on my plan to follow a progression of nights spent at each succesive states.... Having spent 4 nights in Pahang, 5 in Kelantan and 6 in Kedah, I must spend 7 nights in the next state and it's just too much time to be spent on such a small state like Pulau Pinang... No offence to the locals ya...

Besides, if I do spend 7 nights there, then I must spend 8 nights in Perak, that is if I were to stick to the progression of numbers. As it is, my girlfriends in Kuala Lumpur where already complaining that I spent too much time on travel when they needed me to be around. And before embarking on this session of travelling, I told them I was planning to be on the road for just only a week...


Now, I intend to head for the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. Naturally, for someone who refuses to use express buses (at least for certain trips and sessions of travelling) the next step is to take the bus to Taiping first... And there's a destination in between which I felt obliged to visit.


There... The destination I must stop at between Taiping and Parit Buntar. The name is Gunung Semanggol and it carries certain reverberations and significance for those who know why...

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