Batu Belah (split stone) of Pulau Besar, Melaka

Dear readers... Today, 13th November 2007 or 13/11, it feels like an auspicious day to make my latest posting which will be the 131th here in this blogspot. So without much further ado, let me present... Something still on Pulau Besar in Melaka...

Right on top the highest peak in Pulau Besar, lies a certain mysterious place... A place highly-revered by those who believe in unseen forces and magical powers especially those who hails from the Silat, Malay martial arts fraternity...

One have to trek a bit into the jungle and up the hill for this... Believe me, it's worth the sweat... Definitely worth the trouble for those who believe in the supernatural. Even if you don't dig such things, consider the wonder that comes ahead as worth an adventure or two...

For there up on top of the hill lies a huge stone split into two! That itself is worth some time to look at. Wait until you know the story behind it...

Now, I might have gained a few pounds over the last few months but thank God, I could still fit into the split. Phew!

For adventurous souls like me, it is not enough to just see the split and fit into it. The huge boulder itself is awesome enough to invite one to climb and have a look from on top...

There...

I must say the split looks very funny from this angle... Looks like something you'd rather keep in your trousers.

Ooppss... Sorry...

Now, that's a much better (and sane) look down the split. One could even see the box put in front down there for well-wishers to contribute money. For what? Well, it's about the same reasoning as why people drop coins inside wells and then wish for something.

I did say I will tell the story behind the split isn't it? OK... Just a brief one ya...

In ancient times, this top of the hill at Pulau Besar is said to be THE place for warriors of old to practice their craft and martial arts. As it is, the island is known for supernatural beings and occurences for ages. Then, the warriors were said to be so powerful that they not only break woods and stones... They could break whole giant boulders just by a stroke of the hand!

The story goes that a certain warrior known as Panglima Lidah Hitam (The warrior with the black tounge) showed his prowess by upping the score. He split the stone seen here just using his tounge! Believe it or not, that's how the story goes!

So there, the 131th posting of this blogspot, a number that has a certain meaning to me... Cheers!

Liliputian midget in Pulau Besar, Melaka!

Look closely at the above picture... Very very closely. See anything funny?

Now, this picture was taken a week ago at Pulau Besar (literally translated as the big island) in Melaka... To be exact on November 4th 2007 at around 10am morning or so. The island is known for its so-called mystical attractions, mainly the tombs of saintly figures, ancient warriors and religious men (even women) believed to be well-endowned in magical powers. It is also believed to house many types of fairy-like creatures.

Me and a friend went circumventing around the island and snapped some pictures along the way for the sake of posturity. One can take a leisurely walk and went around the island in 2 hours time as it is quite compact despite it's name which could be translated as the big island... After all the term big does not always mean big in size but also big in stature and repute.

I took the above picture to signify that we have passed certain points while circumventing the island. We were then passing through some mangrove swamp facing the coast of mainland Melaka. Little did we realise what was in store when we return.

Look closely again... Can you see what we found when looking at the picture back in Kuala Lumpur. Still can't see it?

Let me help. See the figure within the circle marked in the picture above. Look closely and study...

Ta da!!! There... I blew the picture up. What does it look like to you?


And here is a much closer view. As close as we could get before it turns to a total blur...
Unfortunately, the picture taken using a cheap digital camera can't be blown up further without sacrifising its quality... Note how it looks like?
We were totally dumbfounded when we noticed this. Is this really a picture of a man walking? It does look like a typical Malay man wearing a green-coloured shirt with a piece of white clothes or the Malay kain samping (or kain pelikat?) worn across the shoulder and a skull-cap on top the head... Perhaps with a sword dangling out at his side too, at least that's what it looks like!
But if this is truly a man, that how could it be possible? This figure is only the size of an average leaf or so, perhaps slightly more than 6-inches tall.
Is this perhaps one of the creatures hinted in the famous English tale Gulliver's Travel? That of midget citizens from a land called Lilliput? Then again, the Malays do have legends about such midget-sized people... And Pulau Besar in Melaka being a much-touted mystical place could house some...
Skeptics could argue it's just a light-play on some leaves or such natural everyday object. Is it?

Now... This is the best I can do to make the picture any more visible using the programme Photoshop... I don't touch or doctor the picture in anyway. All I did was play with the lighting and contrast to make the figure stands out more against the background...

So you judge. Is this a genuine midget in Pulau Besar, Melaka or is it some sort of illusion cooked up by nature? Go figure...

A visit to my old haunt at The New Straits Times

Last week, I went to The New Straits Times group building in Bangsar to hand a copy of my latest book "Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?" ("The trip to Aceh: The prodigal son returns?" or so) or BKA III to the Berita Harian literary section for review. It was a short stop as I had much to do that day. Only the next day did I went there again, this time spending a whole day to get a friend to help me with the graphics of a bunting I'm designing to promote the whole "Berpetualang ke Aceh" book series.

I took the opportunity to visit almost every section of the dailies The New Straits Times, Malay Mail, Berita Harian and Metro where many people still knew me from the old days. One of them suggested I visit my old haunt... The sixth floor of the building where, believe it or not, I used to spend almost 3 years bunking and sleeping on the floor while working as journalist! Hence the pictures here....

Now, much have changed since I left the company at the end of 2001... For one, the control over the company have changed hands a number of times but the essence is still the same... Those who work for the powers-that-be of the day control the place... It doesn't matter much who is or are actually at the helm... What matters are, do they work in the tandem with those who control the present national policy.

I don't care anymore who rules the company literally or not. Once, I was banished from the place... In fact I was banned from stepping foot within the confines of the office building by a former cabinet minister of yore who then become the most powerful editorial personality in Malaysia. Then again he was sacked a few years later when the country changed reins again...

What do concern me is the change of atmosphere at the work-place... Somehow much have changed... Perhaps the whole personality of the company!

For one, the floors have shifted. When I was still around, the 4th floor used to house the main editorial components of The New Straits Times paper and Berita Harian. It also houses the Malay Mail while Metro is at third.

Now, NST is in 2nd, Berita Harian 4th... Hmm... Funny, I've forgotten the exact location of the editorial floors of the two other dailies under the NST group.

Still, that's besides the matter. What troubles me is the interior decor which looks much sleeker than before... Sure, aesthetically, you could say it is much pleasing but somehow to me (and some of the guys still serving there too), it is just too plastic...

Instead of looking like a place for people of the press to juggle the importance out of the day's events for public consumption, it felt more like an advertising place... It doesn't feel like a place where people returned to and sort things out after finding news... It looks like a factory to manufacture news!

The full brunt of the change only occur to me when I went up the old haunt, the 6th floor where I have spent many nights within a period of 3 years snuggled inside a sleeping bag alone... Sure, the place, an open-air car-park looked much more developed with a Futsal court on it but the many slogans dished out on the walls say it all.... H.G. Wells (or was it Orson something)'s big brother have arrived full-time in Malaysia to keep an eye and determine what's news, what's not...

The testimony to that is the conspicuous absence of many senior journalists from the mainstream papers... Once upon a time, they can boldly argue with the upper editorial figures as to what makes the pages. Now, it's more like hear ye, hear ye... Follow the line or take the walk to oblivion like I did six years ago.

It didn't take a genius to figure out, this place is now under strict control... Of much bigger proportion than it ever was including during my days. Enough said....

Text for Views from on top a telecommunication tower in Muar...

OK... Two weeks ago I did say I will be telling the story for the posting titled Views from on top a telecommunication tower in Muar... . I'm sorry that it took longer than I thought before I could even say a few words on the matter... I was stuck with so much work regarding the release of my third book "Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?" ("The trip to Aceh: The prodigal son returns?" or so) or BKA III. And whatever time I had in-between was either spent sleeping to get rid of the tiredness or travelling here and there to get the juices flowing... So let me just get this over with ya...

When I first posted the pictures, I was thinking of dissecting it into groups which explained what happened then... How I climbed from stage to stage of a certain telecommunication tour near my village in Muar and enjoyed a very refreshing perspective of the local geography especially that which concerns the winding Muar river...

What happened was the day before I took the pictures, I decided to take a long walk, about 5km or so around Bukit Treh and at the end of the walk then I saw this telecommunication tower which felt like it was calling out to me to take a climb and look around. It's just the time then was almost 7pm and I might not get a good view. So I decided to wait until the following day, a Friday... The day I decided to return to Kuala Lumpur after spending a week in Muar at my parents' place for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration and holidays.

As it turn out, it rained quite long that Friday morning. The moment it stopped, I went on to start the climb only to find the ladder quite slippery while there was no safety column to save me should I slip and fall.

My God! I nearly quit after arriving at the first stage almost 30 feet above ground. You see, two days before I had quite a nasty fall at Tanjung Emas where I was teasing some monkeys... I jumped and immediately climbed a tree at point some 10 feet high before it snapped while my whole body was already up! So there I was falling straight to the grown on my back (ouch!) while the 8-inch thick and12 foot long section which broke fell down and hit my breast.

Honestly, I felt like I almost fainted. In fact I'm sure my heart stopped a beat or two and so was my breath. Strangely, my auto-pilot reaction was to throw aside the section that broke and immediately jumped backed up straight, the pain throbbing in my chest notwithstanding.

Back to the climb up the telecommunication tower. The memory of what happened in Tanjung Emas almost made me quit. By right, one should wear a safety harness to climb up the tower but I don't have one meaning I would fall straight down should I lose grip.

So there I was contemplating the next step action... Then I made the decision... If I quit, it's going to bug me the rest of my life or until I make a succesful climb at some other tower if not this one... So I decided to continue with a lot of caution and prayers...

The result is the pictures in Views from on top a telecommunication tower in Muar... . I believe from here on, the pictures taken from several angles should be able to explain itself. Enough ya!

Views from on top a telecommunication tower in Muar...

Note: Dear readers, I don't have much time... Here are some pictures I took while on my Hari Raya holiday in my mother's kampung in Muar... I will tell the story in a few days time ya. Cheers!

Janda Baik revisited again...

Now that the stories on my last long travel has been wrapped up, I feel like sharing these pictures taken in the last 2 days in Janda Baik, Pahang...

Here is the pix of Gunung Nuang, the tallest mountain in Selangor taken from the Pulau Santap area in Janda Baik which is in the district of Bentong, Pahang.

This is part of Janda Baik in front of the only regular school within a 15km radius or so...

The main mosque of Janda Baik...

Another view of Gunung Nuang, a kilometre of so closer...

And this is a pix of a small waterfall which is actually outside of Janda Baik, perhaps 20km from that area on the old Bentong to Kuala Lumpur road... By the way, this pix was taken about 4 hours ago...

I climbed a bit to reach this part and took a dip in the nude... Later I arrived in Kuala Lumpur and made several postings in my blogspots including this one. That's all ya! Enjoy the weekend and to Muslim all over the world., Eid Mubarak or Selamat Hari Raya!!! :]

Finally, back to Kuala Lumpur!

And as the title suggest, time to wrap up the stories made based on my last long travel covering Pahang, Kelantan, Kedah, Perak and Selangor...

From Kuala Kubu Baru, a friend came to bring me back to Kuala Lumpur... We decided to use the Batang Kali route and stopped at this nice little vacation area...

If I'm not mistaken, the river is called Sungai Tua, a nice river for taking a few dips...

Now I could just end this story by going straight to Kuala Lumpur or just ignore my little incursion to this place but my strange instinct told me just write these parts even if it look irrelevent, at least for closure...

We stopped by at one side of the place to watch people playing motor-cross . Then it's time to go...

Actually I didn't go straight to KL. Another friend called to meet me up to Rawang. So I went there. Only later at night did I return by Komuter train and then the LRT...

This picture is taken the next day in KL, Monday 30th July after a nice sleep at an auntie's place in Ampang where I'm currently staying at... Put up the "Berpetualang ke Aceh" promotional poster as a sign the tour ends.

Now that this is done, do try to follow the stories again from the start. God willing, you'll find some messages useful to you. Cheers! :]

A day at Kuala Kubu Baru

OK. In my last posting here From Perak to Selangor... Time to start settling down , I mentioned that the day was ended with me taking a bus to Kuala Kubu Baru. So I arrived at the rather cute Selangor town at around a 9pm or so and found a cheap hotel...

The next day, I decided to snap some pictures of the town...

This is a food-stall where I often stopped at when visiting Kuala Kubu Baru...

The day was a weekend, Sunday, 29th July... So the streets were practically deserted accept for this part where some people were selling fruits picked direct from nearby orchards.

I did have a closer look but forgot to snap pictures of the fruits available, mainly rambutans and mangosteens...

Whatever, Kuala Kubu Baru never fails to impress me in a strange calming way... Maybe because of the many pre-war shoplots in a quite atmosphere, maybe because it is situated near the main range of mountains of Banjaran Titiwangsa?

I took the opportunity to hang the "Berpetualang ke Aceh" promotional poster at what I consider a strategic spot. Next! :]