The hill I saw in a recent dream?

Hah... Perhaps the title is perplexing. Bear with me for a while and all would be explained. That is while I still feel like writing. Besides, the set of pictures used for this story practically continues from where I left off in Kota Buruk (the ruined fort) in Muar... . Be patient and God will grant you wisdom, haha! :]

About 2 weeks ago, I had a weird dream where I entered an alternate universe via a door on top of a certain hill, one that as far as I remember I've never stepped foot on. And I've stepped foot on many summits... There's just one clue given... The hill lies near Tanjung Olak...

Now, I've never been to Tanjung Olak but I know there's such a place by that name in Muar. Suffice to say, it gave me the strong impetus to return to Muar for the Islamic Aidil Adha celebration. Otherwise I could have celebrated it elsewhere as there's part of me that wanted to head for Kelantan or Terengganu to start a new session of adventure.

To cut a long story short, after visiting Kota Buruk, me and my brother immediately head for Tanjung Olak about 10km away, on the small road which leads to a dead end. The problem is I don't see any hill there, so how?

After loitering for a while I decided to head back towards Jorak. From there I plan to go to Pagoh to visit another place. Just a kilometre or so after heading back from the said Tanjung Olak, I saw a hill that looks exactly like that in my dream! Except it is located quite a distance away, at least that's what it looks like from there...

Luckily I stopped at a stall in Jorak to have brunch and met a rather knowledgeable elder person. Somehow we hit on and I told him about the dream...

Then he told me the Tanjung Olak I went just now, the Tanjung Olak that appears in current maps was not the original Tanjung Olak. In fact the real (or old) Tanjung Olak lies near a hill just like the one I saw in my dream! And according to him there are some mystical legends associated to that place...

The problem is how to get there... Apparently there's some inland routes through some rural villages and plantations but the roads might not be good enough to give way for my brother's car and its low floor. Besides there's just too much junctions and we could get lost. So he told me to get to the main road from Bukit Pasir to Pagoh and look for the junction to a quarry. That's how I get to the hill shown in the picture above...

Now, I'm positive I've seen this hill in another dream. It's just I'm not sure is it the same hill as the one in the dream which gives the name Tanjung Olak because the one in the recent dream looks like it had a slightly sharper summit. Then again perhaps that is the view from another angle?

So I decided to make a quick climb. If there is another hill it should not be so far off... It should be visible from up this hill I reasoned...

I went on leaving my brother waiting in the car down below. I went on until the foliage got so thick and blocked the path up... A path which I could have gone through but had to endure some mess to my clothings...

Then again I've been gone for a while and my poor brother down there, sitting in the car with the hot sun shining might not be so happy. So I decided to climb down...

Do I get the right hill? I hope so... At least I've tried...

Now, there could just be another hill around but I surely can't see through the plants and foliages... The only way to make sure is to climb all the way up where it is clearer but the hill is quite high and the path blocked while I sure can't expect my brother to continue waiting. So I left the place hoping that those who matters know I've tried... Don't ask who those people are OK...

Next, we went to Kampung Raja, Pagoh more than 10km further and visited the tomb of Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah of Melaka (ruled in the 1480s AD or so), the only surviving tomb of a Melaka Sultan... The last time I was here was perhaps half a year ago...

This time I decided to bring my Selempang Merah (literally translated as red sash) along... Again don't ask me what is this thing. Those who know should know what it signifies...

This time I felt like wrapping the red sash in a position known as the lam jalallah (like a variation of the Arabic letter lam) at the head gravestone of the Sultan... I don't know why, I just did...

After doing my obligatory prayers at the mosque besides the tomb, we left and head back for my parents' place in Kampung Temiang...

On the way, we passed through Bukit Pasir and saw this huge Chinese cemetery area covering the hill at the small town... Ah... There is enough high clearing here for me to clarify whether I made up the hill at Tanjung Olak (the old Tanjung Olak that is) or not...

From on top that hill, one could get a good view of the legendary Gunung Ledang or Mount Ophir some 30km away heading north-east...

A look towards the east shows these hills... Then I realised the one in the middle was the one I climbed up where else there's another hill albeit a much smaller one just a bit up to the north.

Now I remember... The sign-board on the main road leading to the hills said the quarry is a 4.5km inland where else we went in for only about 1-2km or so... I mean we could have gone further inside but the road, frequented by many heavy vehicles were such in a bad shape that I could see my brother's face squint whenever he had to negotiate a hole... And there's many of them.. That's why I decided not to get any further and thus just went up the hill as seen in the first picture.

So did I went up the right hill I saw in the recent dream, the one with the name Tanjung Olak attached to it? Looks like I missed that one... But I know for sure, the one I climbed up was shown in another dream, a much earlier one and that is it itself revealing. And I've tried what I could within the limited time and resources available then...

Perhaps, I will make another visit and climb the right hill. Perhaps... Meanwhile I hope God is pleased that I've continued doing my little bit to understand the things that I should given the certain type and lineage of blood that flow through my veins. Given this posting which is a way for me to let go of what happened, hopefully more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that is my purpose in life will be made apparent soon enough. That's it! ... :]

The legendary Kota Buruk (ruined fort) of Muar...

Greeting dear readers. I'm currently in Mersing following a spontaneous round trip around the state of Johor after celebrating the Islamic festive day of Aidil Adha at my parents' place in Muar. Suffice to say, after that I spent a night in Batu Pahat, then Pontian, Johor Bahru, Kota Tinggi and last night here. Afterwards, I'm slated to go somewhere else, that is God willing...

OK... After more than a week not making any postings here, let's get down straight to business ya. Here is something really worth telling... A piece of old history in Muar using pictures taken last week...

Just a few kilometres away from my parents' place in Kampung Temiang (5km away from main town Muar), on the way to Pagoh one can see the signboard above... Actually the signboard was only recently erected, perhaps at most two months ago. So many might not know about...

I remember going pass this road many times whenever on holiday in Muar... After all, it lies on the shortcut route from Kampung Temiang to Bakri Batu 6 where lies the grave of my dearly departed brother who passed away in a road accident 5 years ago. But I first noticed this signboard just about a month ago. And that's when I promised myself to go and see what it's all about...

Now, I've never been to this part of Muar my whole life. Thank God one of my brothers was around, so I had the benefit of his car... After all, I have none and have been practically travelling on public transport for the last 5 years, that is after my trusty big bike broke down and I haven't got the money to repair it... Until now that is. Still the bike wasn't repaired and that is another story.

Suffice to say, we had to enter a plantation and made a few wrong turns before finally getting it right... Thank God... Otherwise I don't want to burden my brother too much especially since his car got such a low floor that many times it grazed the stones and dirts on the rather difficult plantation roads...

So here I am, finally at the site of Kota Buruk which could be literally translated as the ruined fort...

So what is this all about? Is it worth all the trouble? Well I can assure you that if you like old Malay history than this place is worth all the effort.

Now, I'm just too lazy to explain everything here... So I took this picture of the information available where you can have a look at it yourself. What you can do is right-click at the picture and save it inside your computer. Then you can open it and blow the size or make any adjustment necessary to make the text clear enough for reading.

OK... Perhaps I should give my 2 cents worth of explanation alongside. Remember the Malay Sultanate of Melaka said to have been opened by a certain royalty known by Western historians as Parameswara some 600 years ago? Well, before he opened up Melaka, he tried to open a new state in Muar, in a place which later became known as Biawak Busuk (literally translated as rotten monitor lizards). This is because the place was infested with many such creatures which had to be killed but more came along, and on and on... The piles of dead carcasses made it unbearable to stay on and thus Parameswara had to find another place to start a new state.

Oh... Let me be frank. I never really like the term Parameswara. Let's call him by his proper Malay name and honorific ya... Let's call him Sultan or King Iskandar.

After leaving Biawak Busuk, he went a bit upriver and built a new fort to start another state and community centre. The legends goes that all is fine until the next morning. Apparently for no known reason, the fort became ruined... Thus the name name Kota Buruk... Kota (fort) Buruk (ruined) and here is the site of the fort...

Now some believed the fort got ruined because of termite attack. Nevertheless, it is possible that if there was no such problem and Sultan Iskandar stayed one, the state of Melaka could have been started here and the whole Melaka empire story could have taken a different turn!

Next to it lies some foliage and a clearing...

As it is, the site is located next to the rather mighty and full of history Muar river...

Among the foliage lies a rather gargantuan tree...

The way the branches spreads out and its sheer size reminds me of a similar singular tree at Pulau Besar, Melaka... On the way up on top it's highest peak which leads to the legendary and mystical (and myhtical too) Batu Belah... Do have a look at Batu Belah (split stone) of Pulau Besar, Melaka

Near the clearing lies another curious object...

It is the tomb of someone of stature as denoted by the gravestone known as Batu Aceh or Aceh gravestone, normally used for someone of very high status... The yellow clothes and colour abound signify royalty... Too bad there's no notice saying who it belongs to...

Next to the grave lies this small tree with bits of yellow clothes and some pots and things normally used for worshipping... That is, the kind of worshipping condemned in Islam but practiced by people who believe in magical powers and getting favours from the unseen, even unholy creatures!

And not far away is another grave, also with gravestones covered in yellow clothing signifying royalty... Perhaps of lesser status. That's all ya. Cheers! :]

On top of Ampang!

OK... While I'm still on the Net and have streak in me to continue posting, let me just pick up from where we left off at Fooling around the Semenyih Dam... .

And so after leaving the lake and taking the road straight to Ulu Langat, we then took the road which connects that small town straight to Ampang. Underwise one would have to get to Cheras first before taking the Middle Ring Road pass Pandan Indah to Ampang.

Apparently, the friend and his wife who were travelling with me on this particular trip (oh, we went up the Gabai waterfalls before going to the Semenyih Dam) don't even know that the road connecting Ulu Langat to Ampang exist. Actually it have existed for years and since 'discovering' it about 10 years ago, I would make a trip every now and then through the road.

For one, it is a shortcut to get to the Ulu Langat area from mid Kuala Lumpur... If memory serves me right, Ulu Langat is only 5 to 7km from Ampang through this route... Otherwise (through Cheras that is) it would take up to (or more than) 20km! But the best thing is, it is very scenic. Wait until you see the view of the Klang Valley available from the route!

Anyway, the road from Ulu Langat to Ampang (and vice versa) have to pass a range of hills which forms part of the Peninsular's main range of mountains, better known as the Banjaran Titiwangsa. At the highest part of the route, on top of a hill, lies a rest place developed by the state authorities...

As my friend and his wife have never been here, we might as well stop. Besides, the last time I went here myself was probably over a year ago. But first order of things, we were pretty famished. It's time to head for the restaurant...

The restaurant itself offers a nice view of things. But my cheap digital camera couldn't catch it properly due to the contrasting lights...

So I had to go the edge of the verandah and snap this picture. There! Magnificent view of Kuala Lumpur isn't it? There's not much place around where you can get this sort of view!

After lunch, we went up the stairs seen in the first picture. Decided to snap the rooftop of the restaurant and the adjacent buildings... Seen in the background is the 5,000 feet-high or so Gunung (mount) Nuang, the highest peak in the state of Selangor...

At the highest part of the hill lies a viewing tower open to all and sundry...

At its foot there's a few seats apparently very popular for couples trying to 'discover' each other, hehe! :]

As always, a trip like this is not complete without going up the tower. Not that you have to pay anything...

Ah... Now, a much better view of KL...

And this is how the restaurant and the buildings beside look from the tower... The design of the rooftop gives the view a certain flair...

The view available from the highest level of the tower. Enough ya! Cheers...

Fooling around the Semenyih Dam...

Last time someone pointed out that I haven't updated this blogspot for some time... Well, here's a new update. Although frankly I don't feel well enough to weave a good story (for reasons I'm not sure of, my whole body hurts like hell the last few days!), let me just tell a tale my usual way ya... By uploading some pictures of any of my past travel and try to describe it, thus letting whatever comes out becomes the order of the day. Here, shoot...

OK. I just happen to have some pictures of a trip made around the Semenyih area of Selangor almost a month ago inside my new 2GB pen-drive... I recently lost my old 256MB drive which have served me for more than 2 years. In this particular posting, let me talk about the Semenyih Dam ya...

The Semenyih Dam is one of the main water reservoir for the Klang Valley... Situated about 20km (or is it 30km? Never mind... It is not so far...) from the city centre centre, it is located within one of the most scenic area accesible to city folks within an half-hour drive.

I remember when my trusty 535cc big bike was still operating well. I would make a point at least once a month to take a ride towards Ulu Langat and pass the quaint villages alongside with its beautiful streams waiting for me to take a dip. Then it's time to stop by at the Semenyih Dam and enjoy the view of its expansive waters. I'd swear that's when my mind starts to get into some sort of poetic mystical mood...

For many city-folks and those nearby, the lake (or rather the reservoir created by the dam) is heaven to those who enjoy fishing...

As for me, I never really care about fishing. I just like to sit beside the lake and stare out into the open...

I remember once going down a certain nice spot with some friends last year. Too bad in this latest trip I can't find the exact spot. Then, it was the Muslim fasting of Ramadhan. After converging in Ampang for late supper, me and the friends decided to take a trip up the winding road of Kuala Klawang in the state of Negeri Sembilan which is past the road to Ulu Langat and enjoy the fresh mountain air of the jungle in the wee hours.

Still, that is another story. Before returning to Kuala Lumpur, we stopped at the Semenyih Dam. Oh... One thing I like to do at the dam is shout my heart out and wait for the echo... Try it... It is much fun and very therapautic. Suffice to say, that's what we did for sometime early that morning before we started to bet, who could throw the farthest stone across the waters.

We then drove to another part of the lake and found a nice spot where some people were fishing. That spot even have a nice strecth of sand! And so there were we racing down the hill to enjoy the water when we saw a staggered drain on the hillside which looks like a very welcoming waterfall.

Now, none of us brought any extra clothings for swimming or dipping. Thus most were content to just wade through the waters. Me on the other hand just couldn't resist the call of the rushing waters up the staggered drain. I went up for a climb and found myself a nice spot when the friends down there said "Don't mind us...". I guess they already knew me too well...

So without much further ado, I stripped off my clothes bare! Suffice to say I enjoy a very nice skinny dipping session indeed!

Whatever, that was for last year's trip... In the latest one made almost a month ago with some other friends (actually a fan of my "Berpetualang ke Aceh" book series and his wife), we decided to return to Kuala Lumpur via the road which cuts straight to the town of Ulu Langat. That's when I decided to stop and take this picture... Notice the Petronas Twin Towers?

Muar river cruise part III

Continuing from Muar river cruise part II...

The Muar bridge is just right in front. Built sometime in the early 1970s (before that, people have to take ferries to get across), its monolithic components never fail to astound the nostalgic child in me!

Hah... A better view of what's underneath... There's a part of me that felt like jumping off-board the boat to lodge at one of the foundations...

Then the sky got clearer again with some fishing boats mooring at the southern river side right of the boat... We are clear pass the bridge...

And in tandem with that, a good view of the supermarket on the northern side...

Further up right is the Muar wet market building which houses its own urban legend...

I turned my head to snap a picture of the Muar bridge which we have left behind...

A closer view of the wet market... Looks like a giant barge or some sort of floating building isn't it? A few years back, just under 5 years or so ago, someone (or was it a few persons) claimed to have seen a giant snake with head as big as a Kancil car staring from the waters underneath the market! The story says that the snake is a kind of abomination which have lived under the market for ages feeding from the left-over carcass of animals slaughtered at the market!

The story goes further that the snake was hiding there because it was afraid of the legendary white crocodile of the Muar river. Hmm... This is beginning to sound like and episode from Ultraman! Nevertheless, many believed it and swallowed the stories hook, line and sinker. So much so that another story spreaded around saying a few bomohs (magic and mystics practioner) were being engaged to call the giant snake out in front of everyone!

The story got a substantial number of Malaysians excited. It made the pages of a few magazines as the tale spreads out prompting tens of thousands from as far up north as Perlis to converge in Muar and witness the breathtaking spectacle expected ahead!

As it turns out, the creature never showed its face. Now I remember... They said it didn't show its face because it was afraid of the great white giant Muar river crocodile. Can you believe that?

Nevertheless, many Muar traders made a hefty sum that day including those who sells food and souvenirs. Perhaps they were the ones who 'saw' the creature in the first place?

Oh... Next to the wet market is the Bentayan food hawkers complex. Notice the space underneath the middle of the building? Believe it or not, that is the mouth of the river Bentayan... Now, that is one historical piece of a place...

Official history recorded that here lies the last stand of the Melaka Malays against the invading Portuguese army right after the fall of the city of Melaka in 1511. Perhaps the giant snake is a remnant of that era? Who knows...

A little further up and we approached the first bend (or curve?) of the Muar river... Now, my cheap camera might not be able to catch the sight as it is but this should be enough to tell you that right in the middle of the picture, some 2 kilometres away lies the second Muar bridge completed about three years ago to divert the growing traffic out of main town.

Too bad we didn't cruise further upriver. As the boat weaves to make a turn, part of me was complaining inside... Is this trip really worth the RM10 I paid? I thought they said the cruise would last 40 minutes but I think I have counted to only slightly over 20 minutes or so...

As the boat completed turning, I was resigned to the thought that this is what you get for RM10. Then the boat went on passing the jetty where we embarked from and headed for open sea. That's when I thought the RM10 fare was really worth it. Too bad, my camera was out of battery and I can't catch more pictures...

Still luckily, after switching off the camera for a few times and turning it back on, I managed to get enough power to make this last shot... The view of the town Muar from the further end of the Muar estuary. That's all ya. Take care! :]

Muar river cruise part II...

OK... Continuing straight from Muar river cruise part 1...

I looked the opposite direction towards the Muar river mouth. Then I realised the actual breadth and immensity of this quite mighty river...

I looked again towards the front then to the right... The Sultan Abu Bakar building which is one of the iconic landmark of Muar appeared full view...

And this of course is another iconic Muar building... The Umno Pagoh 12-storey building (that's what they officially say. But when I count I think it's more like 14 or 15 floors) which was the tallest building in Muar for more than 20 years! And the only building more than 5-storeys tall around for almost as long...

Further in front, the famous Muar bridge beckons. I still remember the local urban legend... They said, due to the ghostly nature of the Muar river (there's plenty of legends abound including those regarding the existence of a giant white crocodile lurking in the waters!), sacrifies had to be made to erect the bridge. And so among the components making up the structure were severed heads of children... Seriously, that's how the legend goes!

That was quite scary... It managed to keep some of us kids rather home-bound at times, too scared to even cross the street for fear that the "Keling penyabit" (Indians with scythe) would come and take our heads! And these "Keling penyabit" (plural ya... There's many of them) actually exist cycling their tricycles (or whatever they call those boxes with wheels attached to bicycles) with a bunches of freshly-cut grass inside and a scythe or two on top. People say they hide the heads under the grass... Oh no!!!

This is the new Muar bus-stand complex, built over the demolished old one and completed just a few months back...

Further ahead is the customs and marine complex (or something like that)... After all Muar is one of the main embarkation points for visitors from abroad Indonesian island of Sumatera...

Hmm... I can't actually point out this section of buildings except for one with the blue minaret on top... That used to be the Muar railway station, before the railings were disassembled, that was years before I was born in 1970...

As the Muar bridge looms nearer, one could see the rather spanking new supermarket across which is now one of the pride of Muarians... Previously, the town of Muar is considered to lie only on the south side of the river which is to the right of this picture. At the north lies only a few settlements and no commerce except for the few shops that lined up the old road to Melaka.

Then things began to change in the late 80s with the opening of factories on that part of the Muar river bank... Still it was not considered part of town until the recent year or two... When new commerce buildings such as the supermarket in the picture rose up to extend the township borders to cover both sides of the rather mighty Muar river!

Seen here is the Mara building which houses some foodstalls and small businesses belonging to Malay traders. Completed some 5 years ago, it is one of the newer components of modern Muar...

Slightly further is this part of town which lies at the southern end of the Muar bridge...

Ah... The bridge itself. Having spent half of my life admiring this particular landmark of Muar, just the thought of cruising under it makes the heart beats much faster. Next...