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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.


Monday, January 14, 2008

And now, a quaint look at Johor Bahru!

Yep! As the title says, after doing the last posting called A quaint look at the town of Pontian , let's see the bustling city of Johor Bahru from the slightly uncommon eye and perspective, perhaps with a tinge of art and nostalgia... Perhaps...
Good lord... Having had a quick look at the previous article, now only do I realise that I started this article with almost the same wordings... Unintentionally though... I just followed what came out from my thoughts, spontanously that is...


OK... To be frank, you could say I'm writing this article just for the heck of it. There's no serious reflection involved or is it? Don't let those simple facade and way of story-telling fool you...

On thing's for sure... I feel the need to let go of the story of my recent Johor travel covering the state's main 8 districts of Muar, Batu Pahat, Pontian, Johor Bahru, Kota Tinggi, Mersing, Kluang and Segamat... And Tangkak @ Ledang if you count it as a separate individual district... I still consider it as part of Muar but people say, it has now been officially announced as a separate district although I have yet to see it pointed that way in the maps currently available...

Anyway, after pitching some stories in my blogspots (remember, I have three including this one), it is now the turn of Johor Bahru to feature in the spotlights. So I've decided to split a set of pictures, one for the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU and another for this.

But I've decided to write this article first... So to stick with the title, a quaint look at Johor Bahru, let's have a look at the above picture. Bear in the mind, it is taken right in the middle of the city next to the bustling Jalan Wong Ah Fook... Hmm... If I could describe the place in my own words, I'd say it is in JB's very own little India.

While walking around, I saw this old red building and plenty of pigeons... Somehow it touched an artistic string in me...


On the opposite side, lies this walk, across Jalan Wong Ah Fook that is... I think it's called Persiaran Meldrum or the Meldrum Walk...


Actually I was walking around looking for a cheap hotel to lodge at. While walking along Meldrum Walk, I saw a certain hotel by the name (if memory serves me right) Hong Kong Hotel! And somehow, my heart says just check in there...

It is not as cheap as I thought it would be. I had to pay RM38 for a small room with only a window overlooking the inside making me felt rather cooped in. The only consolation is the toilet is inside... I mean some hotels offer cheap rooms but you have to share the toilet outside. That should accomodate my stomach which has a habit of wanting to pass down some 'goods' quite often...

Earlier, I did approach another hotel which looks much smaller, one made from pre-war building which is my favourite type. Too bad it was fully booked. Otherwise I could have gotten a room for about RM20 plus a day.

Anyway, I can't expect to get cheap rooms easy in Johor Bahru or JB as it is fondly known. After all, it is a bustling city very close to Singapore where people come in with currency more than twice the value of the Malaysian Ringgit.

For Singaporeans, it is very cheap to shop in Malaysia particularly JB. For the people here, that made the prices of goods and services go up and thus some say the cost of living in JB is much more than that of the bigger and more metropolitan Kuala Lumpur (although JB folks like to think otherwise, that is their city is bigger and more metropolitan...)....

Oh... I was too engrossed in letting out my thoughts... Forgot to tell, the picture above was taken from the area behind my hotel room looking down at the street walk....


And this is the view from inside a Mamak (Northern Indian) restaurant just outside and across my hotel. After I'm done settling down at the room, it's time to fill the empty stomach...


Then it's time to explore more of mid JB...


Here's a look at the city's tallest buildings... Should be around 40 floors or so...


I stopped by at a small street foodstall... There's something endearing about this old man slicing bananas to be fried to make Pisang Goreng (friend bananas)... The view was made more quaint when contrasted against the background, that is the big blue billboard behind...


I shifted focus on the board. At the same time, another elderly man was walking around, a frail old man who looks like he is dragging himself to get across...

Contrast that against the words on the billboard.... "Dengan Celcom anda berkuasa", literally translated as "with Celcom you have power"... Really? Would the frail old man be able to walk faster and stronger if he subscribes to Celcom? Hmm...


And finally an angle looking down the bustling street of Jalan Wong Ah Fook... In the horizon are the flats in the state of Singapore just across the Straits of Johor. Quite a contrast isn't it to the pictures shown before? That's all ya... :]

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