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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.


Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Views on top Alor Setar's telecommunication tower...

Today, I'm going to take you readers on top of Alor Setar's telecommunication tower and savour the view. This trip was made the day after relaxing at Pantai Merdeka as told in the article A look at Pantai Merdeka, Kedah... yesterday. Come! :]

This is the Alor Setar telecommunications tower. At 165 meter or so, it's height is equivalent to a 54 storey building...


Here are some technical specs in Malay...


And the equivalent in English...


Some history on the building...


And time to go up... This is the view from inside the lift...


At the viewing deck which is at the height of 88 metres, equivalent to a 27-storey building is more information on the tower. The chart above list the tower as among the top 20 tallest telecommunications tower in the world, I can't remember as of which year...


This is the first view of the outside as seen immediately after stepping out of the elevator. I have gone around and counted 32 window panes guiding the views. I actually took pictures of all the window panes along with the respective views but for the sake of brevity, I will only feature 8 separated at equal intervals...


Let's start with this pane pointing almost directly to the south-east...


Going anti-clockwise by 45 degrees (360 degrees divided by 8) gives the view pointing east...


The view north-east...


The north...


The north-west...


The west...


The south-west...


And finally the south...


And here are close-up of some selected views... If you look carefully in this picture heading south, you could see Gunung (mount) Jerai, Kedah's highest peak in the background...


This one almost to the north shows the state stadium...


While the one directly to the north shows the limestone hill known as Gunung Keriang (if I remember the name correctly) famous for its natural crystals...


This view to the west shows the river Kedah as it meanders out into the Straits of Melaka in the background. Look closely at the background and you can see a small white building at the centre. That should point to the mouth of the Kedah river and a small town called Kuala (the river mouth of) Kedah where lies the main embarkation point to the resort island of Langkawi...

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This picture towards the south-west shows the river Kedah closer to town or rather inside town just behind the mosque, a royal mosque known as Masjid Zahir. The mosque has rather impressive design and architecture. You can have a closer view here... Masjid (mosque of) Zahir

Oh, I forgot. Alor Setar has been declared as a city for quite some time now, can't remember when. And glad to inform you that this picture happened to be named as SUN131 inside my cheap digital camera which now has a new SD-card bought in Sungai Petani the day before this pictures were taken... Meaning that it is the 131th picture taken using the new memory card!

Why the excitement? Well, the number 131 has a certain meaning for me which points at my desire and dream to have a proper home sweet home (which I'm sad to admit I have not really had, at least that's what I feel my whole life). And I'm more excited as this 131th picture contains a rather beautiful mosque which I believe have a certain tie to the land of my forefathers in Aceh! Perhaps it points a clue to my future home sweet home? I hope so!



And lastly a look down to get some idea how high I was standing... Well, it is not that high as I've seen many views from up mountain tops including from the 4,101 metre (13,455 feet) height or so Gunung (mount) Kinabalu in Sabah. Still, this is the highest you can get in Alor Setar or anywhere within a radius of 100km or so. So just savour the view ya... Cheers!

2 comments:

Harley said...

Beautiful and interesting blog about Malaysia. Really envy and admire that you cover up 99% of west Malaysia. Thank you for sharing out your holiday experience. one questions, apa kereta kamu pakai sampai boleh tahan lasak untuk seluruh m'sia?

Radzi Sapiee said...

Kenari je. Boleh le tahan. Minyak pun jimat...