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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.


Wednesday, November 30, 2011

First appreciation of the beauty of Samosir island at Tuk-tuk

On to the 888th article of this blogspot. Continuing from The waterfall of Sipiso Piso.

In the last article I have shown how a high waterfall called Sipiso Piso is connected to the northern part of the vast lake called the Danau Toba. Now let me add, the surface of the lake lies 900 metres above sea level. At dusk we arrived at the shoreline town of Parapat and immediately got a ferry to cross the lake on to a big island called Samosir. Here are pictures taken the following day, Friday 4th November 2011.



Thank God we got a nice and affordable room at a resort in Tuk-tuk, the island's main town. Mind you, Samosir is about the same size as the island of Singapore! From the room we walked about 100 metres to get this view. And what breathtaking view it is... the vast freshwater lake, the mountains in the middle of the island which rose to more than 1,600 metres above sea level...



I've mentioned in the previous article that Danau Toba is formed from a crater created after a big volcano explosion said to have happened 74,000 years ago. The mountains surrounding the lake is the mouth of the crater while those situated on the island is the heap formed after the explosion. Look to the middle right of the picture. Notice the gap? To the right is the southern part of Samosir, to the left is the mountains on the mainland.


Turning back towards the resort it's time for us to explore the island. At first I just wanted to stay one night here. But the beauty of the scenery made me decide to stay one more night. And for the day we rented a motorbike to go around. Watch for the next article... :]



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