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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, November 07, 2013

Hulu Tamu hot spring

Continued from A stop at Chiling waterfall.


The next day, Tuesday, after spending the night at Kuala Kubu I stopped by at the Hulu Tamu hot spring.


Lying some 6 km out of the small town of Batang Kali, it seems natural that I should make a visit as it is not far from my route to return home from Kuala Kubu.




I only realised this place exists quite recently.




I could have came across a signboard showing direction to it, 2-3 months ago, I'm not sure. Anyway I was adamant on making a visit after the place appeared on a Google map search of Kuala Kubu.








A stop at Chiling waterfall



After spending some time at Kuala Kubu I felt restless. I decided to head towards the mountains and stop at a place called Chiling.


I have passed this place many times.


But I can't remember if I have ever took the time to go down its steps.


For down there lies a nice picnic area.


To the right is the Selangor river.


Ahead it goes down a rapid.


To the left one could see another river joining the rapid.


That is the river called Chiling.


There is a waterfall under a bridge. For the record this is the 1,177th article in this blogspot.




From Bukit Beruntung to Rasa



And so the journey continued to Bukit Beruntung.


But the actual destionation of the day is somewhere else.


I wanted to go to Kuala Kubu via Rasa and there's a road to it through Bukit Beruntung.


One has to pass many sections of the residential area that is Bukit Beruntung to get there.


Then it is practically wide open with greens surrounding.


As I far as I could remember this is the first time I took this route.




The small town of Rasa...


Take the underpass which runs under a railway track and you'll meet the old north-south trunk road.


Turn left which is to the north and soon enough you'll find the road to Kuala Kubu.


Cutting to Bukit Beruntung via Garing

OK. This is from 3 days ago.

It has been awhile since I've travelled far on my big bike. When I broke my leg half a year ago I had to be chauffered around. It was only less than a month ago that I have recovered enough to be able to ride the bike. On Monday I decided to travel out far enough from the relative safety around my house. I decided to go to Kuala Kubu Baru, 60 km away and while I'm at it, I wanted to try a shortcut to Bukit Beruntung.


It runs through Garing, and area about 2-3 km from Rawang town.


It passes through a few residential area.


Then comes a rough connecting road.




Part of it runs along the North-South Highway...


The rough road meets a smoother one leading east to a Chinese cemetery.


To the west, the route leads to Bukit Beruntung.


It runs along 2 or 3 lakes which used to be tin mines.





It starts to get rough again at a part close to a construction site.


The it is smooth all the way to the junction to Bukit Beruntung.



Sunday, November 03, 2013

Some favourite places in London

Continued from From UCL to the LSE.


After spending time at LSE we walked north-west towards Trafalgar Square.



This place needs no introduction. It is a major icon of London.


Next is another world-famous icon, the Piccadily Circus.





The flashing billboards across the fountain could be one of the most photographed objects on earth.



From Piccadily Circus we returned to Baker Street and rest. Here I would like to share a few other places which would become our regular haunt over the next few months or so starting with Camden Town.



It has a picturesque canal around.


Then there's its market well-known for variety of wares including antiques...





Back at central London, the charms of Covent Garden often calls.


Street performances are aplenty here.





Then of course there's art in its wares.


The big garden called Hyde Park remains a favourite spot right until my last days in London 4 years later.


Situated west of central London it is I think the city's biggest lung, at least within what is designated as London Zone 1.


Just above a kilometre to the north lies the equally green Regent's Park.


It is in fact situated much closer to Baker Street where I've bunked at for about 3 month I think.


About 3 km to the south of the park and slightly east lies the parliament besides the river Thames.





The iconic giant clock called Big Ben looms large watching over the horizon.


About 3.3 km on a straight line eastwards from Big Ben lies the Tower Bridge. After Baker Street, I've stayed at somewhere in Bermondsey, about 1.7 km from the bridge.