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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.


Friday, August 28, 2020

Pressing on further down the Pahang river mouth

Continuing from  On to the actual estuary that is Kuala Bera.


From Kuala Bera we took a road that practically follows the Pahang river all the way downstream. We wanted to get as close as possible to the Pahang river mouth and arrived at this part around 7.40.


It was already getting dark . We tried to get as much advantage from the little sunlight still available.






This is already a distance further downstream than the closest I've gotten to the Pahang river mouth before. Compare with these old articles :-


From here we could see that there is a still a distance to the actual river mouth.


So we tried to find the road leading further downstream...





As it turned there is a land reclamation project extending the river mouth further into the sea. This is the furthest we could get in the pitch dark...


On to the actual estuary that is Kuala Bera

It has been mentioned in the article  Serting river at Jalan Penarikan that the Serting river flows into the Bera river which in turn flows into the Pahang river. This story follows from that article.



After looking at the Serting river we tried to take the closest roads that follow its course on to the Bera river. Around 5.15 pm we arrived at the end of the road leading to the Bera river estuary.


This is where the Bera river flows into the Pahang river. Thus the area around is called Kuala Bera which means estuary (Kuala) of Bera.


I have arrived here once with the wife and kids more than 2 years ago. Look at the old article Pahang river from Kuala Bera.


However it was almost dusk then. I didn't realise there is path leading much closer to the river...





This time I could see the path clearly and had time to indulge...









The path leads straight to the tip of water where the Bera river meets and flows into the Pahang river.



A look of the Bera river upstream...


Looking anti-clockwise towards downstream...


So this is the actual estuary of the Bera river...


This is the actual Kuala Bera.


Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Serting river at Jalan Penarikan

Peace be upon you all. Just under 2 weeks me and a friend made road trip to check out and ancient route called the Jalan Penarikan. Here is a little something to be shared about it.


Jalan Penarikan was a portage route connecting the Muar river system and the Pahang river system.


This is where the two river systems are the closest via its tributaries - the Jempol river which flows into the Muar river and the Serting river which flows into the Bera river which flows into the Pahang river.


The Jalan Penarikan is situated at a plain where the Jempol and Serting rivers are just about 500 metres apart. This allowed ships to be dragged across the plain allowing connection from the Muar river which flows into the Straits of Melaka on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia to and fro the Pahang river which flows to the South China Sea in the east coast.


Here are pictures of the Serting river. I have shown pictures of the Jempol river at its meeting with the Muar river in the old articles Where Muar river meets Jempol in Negeri Sembilan... and Sungai Pertemuan and Jalan Penarikan revisited.


Nowadays it look small. However in ancient time these parts are believed to be able accommodate fairly large ships of that time.


Monday, August 24, 2020

The beach at Kuala Sungai Baru

 Continuing from The beach at Sungai Tuang.


After proceeding another 7-8 km northwards along the coast we made a stop at this beach.





We decided to have tea at a nearby stall and this gave me time to also explore the beach.






The beach is close to the small town of Kuala Sungai Baru, Melaka...





A view at almost sunset.


The beach at Sungai Tuang

 Continuing from Serendah waterfall after some time....


Two days later, Saturday 22nd August me and some friends went to Melaka for a wedding function. On the way back to the Klang Valley we took the coastal route and made a stop at this beach.


It is located at Sungai Tuang in the Masjid Tanah district.






It is just about 1-2 km north of the better known Pengkalan Balak beach...



Serendah waterfall after some time...

 Just something from last week...


Thursday afternoon 20th August 2020. I had to pick up the wife at a housing estate in Serendah, Selangor due to a certain business.


As the place is just a few kilometres away from the Serendah waterfall, I decided to take the kids along.


So there we were merrily heading for the waterfall.


It has been some time since we went here for picnic and a dip...