BERPETUALANG KE ACEH

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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, December 02, 2014

A quick look at the old parts of Batu Pahat town

Continued from Chased by the rain on the Batu Pahat bridge.

After a hearty meal of Nasi Beriyani I crossed the bridge by car and entered the town of Batu Pahat.

The town has grown to be quite big. Here I am entering the old parts.

The bus terminal. I remembered taking buses from here during my secondary school days 30 years ago.

Still these parts are relatively new.

For like towns which sprang up during the same era, Batu Pahat also has pre-World War II buildings, those from the 1920s and such...

Chased by the rain on the Batu Pahat bridge

Continued from Batu Pahat river from the old northern ferry jetty.

About 3.15 pm I arrived at the Batu Pahat bridge.

I thought of having lunch first at a stall besides but noticing that it was about to rain I decided to went up the bridge.

As usual when taking pictures from a bridge I had to go up to the middle...

Taking a picture upriver I heard something almost roaring. Ah. The rain had fallen heavily on that side and was heading towards the bridge!

Still my work is not complete if I did not take at least a picture of the other side.

There. By the time I took this picture of the Batu Pahat river downriver I was almost soaking wet. For the record this is the 1,319th article in this blogspot.

Batu Pahat river from the old northern ferry jetty

Going into the district of Batu Pahat. Continued from The hot spring of Sungai Grisek.

The first thing I did upon entering this district is to look for the old ferry jetty at the northern part of the Batu Pahat river.

Once upon a time people used to go to and fro the town of Batu Pahat from here.

But the ferry service has been abandoned since the Batu Pahat bridge was opened just over 30 years ago or so.

Going for a closer look by stepping on a boat...

A look downriver.

A look across.

A look upriver.The bridge is about 1-2 km in this direction.

Monday, December 01, 2014

The hot spring of Sungai Grisek

Continued from Detour to Tanjung Tohor.

Closer to Batu Pahat I saw another signboard that merits another detour.

Welcome to the hot spring of Sungai Grisek.

This place is about 3 km off the main road...

But I actually overshot it for about 4-5 km as I missed what should be its obvious gates besides the small road leading here.

Detour to Tanjung Tohor

Continued from The waters off my childhood Tanjung....

Soon it's time to continue the main purpose of going out that day. To get to the district of Batu Pahat and take pictures of the Batu Pahat river from a number of places. But as usual I can't stop myself from making stops along the way. Then there's this detour I took from the main road...

I saw a signboard pointing to a place called Tanjung Tohor and became curious. After 4 km or so of tarred road I reached a rough part.

These parts lasted for about 2 km before I have to made a turn...

Then it's another 200-300 metres before you can see the open waters of the Straits of Melaka.

So which part is Tanjung Tohor? A local told me the actual spot is a cape not easily accessible as one have to wade through a mangrove swamp. Still the whole length of the waterline is known as Tanjung Tohor. One could get to a part with decent views by heading westwards or so. So I took this direction.

It is another 1-2 km or so before I reached a closed gate.

There was also a curious family who came here at about the same time as me. I thought that is enough, I won't go further than this.

Time to turn back and continue the journey to Batu Pahat...

The waters off my childhood Tanjung...

Continued from Views from Tanjung Emas jetty.

From Tanjung Emas one could walk to another recreational area just outside the estuary.

A look back after reaching the other recreational area.

Zooming in. The estuary is the part in the middle.

Here is where the waters of the Muar river mix with that of the Straits of Melaka.

This part is also fondly known as Tanjung which means cape. Like Tanjung Emas which simply means the cape of Emas it also has a name. But I forgot what it is. Let's just call it my chidlhood Tanjung...