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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.


Thursday, August 27, 2009

From Pidie on to Bireuen

Continued from From Pekan Saree down to Sumatra's east coast...


From the mosque at Beuracan, Pidie we continued the journey south-east...







I really don't know how to explain the journey. So forgive me if I show the pictures without explanation ya. At least it is arranged in order of the time and journey as we head south-eastwards out of Pidie towards the district of Bireuen. That should give some idea how the story or rather, the journey goes.















This gate means we are entering the district of Bireuen...


But we must go on another 60 km or so to the city of Bireuen...




On the way, we stopped at a certain historical place which has a lot of meaning for the Aceh people. Here I'm obliged to continue the story at my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU ...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

From Pekan Saree down to Sumatra's east coast...

This should be the 363 rd article in this blogspot. Continued from The journey to Pekan Saree, a hillside small town of Aceh...


After coffee, it's time to leave Pekan Saree...


The winding journey eastwards took us down the slopes of Mount Seulewah Agam...

I can't remember what the gates stand for. After all I'm writing here directly using whatever little memory I could still retain and retrieve on the spot from a journey made more than 2 months ago. Anyway, I do believe we are entering another district of Aceh.


Soon we could see the lands down the slopes...



This means we are getting nearer the flatlands of the east coast, the east coast of the island of Sumatra that is.




Journey can be slow at times with obstacles such as this...



And this is 'compounded' by little stops made such as at this place to buy bananas and other fruits.




Anyway we are soon out of the slopes...


From here, the land is rather flat for miles on...



OK. I really can't remember the name of the places we went through neither could I find the words to describe every picture. After all, if I count right, I have allocated 30 pictures for this article. So let the pictures tell it's own story ya. After all they said a picture paints a thousand words or so. I'll only fill in when I feel like it ya...






Entering the town of Sigli if I'm not mistaken...




Hmm... a mosque using original Malay architecture with three-tiered roof...



This should speak for itself...




Oh. I remember this. We stopped on the roadside because Kak Ann wanted some sirih or betel leaves. Apparently she likes to chew...




The journey continues...








OK. At this juncture we are facing a range of mountains which have something very interesting near the top. I'm told that behind the summits seen in the horizon lies the vast freshwater lake known as Danau Laut Tawar along with a city called Takengon, its surface at more than 4,000 feet above sea level. Do have a look at the aerial pictures shown in the article The flight to Aceh...






The flat parts consist mainly of padi or rice fields...




Here, we are leaving the district of Pidie and entering another called Pidie Jaya. Actually it used to be one district before broken into two...




The town called Meureudu. Or is it considered a city albeit a small one?





Here we are going along the outer parts of the main range...






Soon we are approaching the sea, or rather the straits of Melaka... meaning we have arrived at the coastal part, the east coast of Sumatra.










Hmm. If I remember correctly, this place is in PadangTiji...




Then I saw this interesting mosque. I just have to ask the convoy to stop so I could take some pictures. I will put it in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART)...

The journey to Pekan Saree, a hillside small town of Aceh...

Greetings all. I guess I have been procrastinating long enough regarding the Aceh stories. So here we are, continuing from the last Aceh story, Catching the sunset over the Indian Ocean at Lampuuk... made almost two weeks ago!

This one starts on my third day in Aceh, Wednesday 17th June 2009. The destination in mind is the tomb of the ancient ruler, Sultan Malikus Salih in Geudong, some 300 km or so south-east of Banda Aceh. After sometime waiting at the hotel for our host Kak Ann to start making the move, we left sometime after 3 pm. Above is the main stadium of Banda Aceh as we head out of the city.


This is the main range of Bukit Barisan which could be seen from the city. The road we used at this point is the same main road we used to get to Indrapuri and then Tanoh Abee. Look at the articles Aceh rural views around Indrapuri and On to Tanoh Abee... so what exists over there?


Oh. This time me and wife went in the same car as Kak Ann, a bulky Landcruiser...


There, a nice view of the mountain Seulewah. Don't be fooled by the small size seen from this point. The mountain is about 5,500 feet tall...





Miles later, a better view of Seulawah...




We soon started taking some uphill bends...





While we are already more than 40 km away from Banda Aceh, the mountain Seulawah still looms far away...






On this side of the horizon lies the further parts of the mountain range Bukit Barisan...







We zoomed pass some villages...






Soon, we began to climb towards the slopes of Seulawah. Some parts of roads are rough. So we stopped for a minute to adjust the Landcruiser's suspension system. Pretty nifty this car as the body practically rises a few inches higher off the wheels to better take more shock while maintaining smooth driving... good for my then 6-months pregnant wife.






We went higher uphill passing corner after corner...





At this point, I believe we should already be more than 1,000 feet above sea level.




I can't remember where this is at. It looks like some sort of nature park...






Meanwhile, another car in our little convoy follows behind, the Toyota Innova which has been used to ferry me and wife across Banda Aceh and around for the previous 2 days...





This part looks cooler with plenty of pine trees.








Ah. After an hour of driving or so, I believe we are entering the hillside town of Pekan Saree..






From this angle it might look like a dead cowboy town...




But from other angles, this little town situated some 1,500 feet or more above sea level at the slopes of Seulawah does have the flavour of a mountain resort town.





Anyway, we stopped here for a brief rest and a good cup of coffee. To be continued...