BERPETUALANG KE ACEH: Two hours plus in Southern Thailand

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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, July 22, 2015

Two hours plus in Southern Thailand

Continuing from The temporary public jetty at Tasik Banding...

After checking in at a hotel outside the town of Jeli and having a bit of rest we went to the town of Rantau Panjang situated near the border to Southern Thailand.

We were scheduled to meet a contact person from Southern Thailand in Rantau Panjang. As it turned out he missed the last border pass to enter Malaysia for the day and so we have to enter Thailand. to see him.

Luckily we were prepared to do that and brought our passports along.

Passing the town of Golok we then followed the contact towards a smaller town.

After getting out of Golok we noticed there were plenty of road blocks. We were told Thailand is currently under martial law. And Southern Thailand is well-known for sporadic acts of terror due to the ongoing fight between the local separatist movement and the central government.

Soon we arrived at our destination, the town of Waeng.

At a house within the vicinity seen, we spent time discussing details of a shooting trip covering a number of provinces in Southern Thailand. Oh, by shooting, I mean camera shoot ya, not violence.

Our contact asked us to spent the night at his place. But we have to turn it down because we already took rooms in the hotel near Jeli. Most of our stuffs were left there.

Besides, we were scheduled to return to the Klang Valley the following day, after 4 days having been on the road on long hauls. We surely don't want to prolong the trip as the festive Muslim celebration of Eid Mubarak was only a week away.

From Waeng it is better to return back to Jeli via the border check at Buketa. It's just this check is opened up till 6 pm Thailand time (an hour behind Malaysian time).