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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, July 27, 2018

Remembering the Europe solo hitchiking trip of 1995 again

Peace be upon you this beautiful Friday. It's been a month and a half since this blogspot was updated. Let's have something nostalgic...



Two days ago I felt like looking for the notes made during my solo hitchiking trip in Europe 1995. After quite a hefty search of my stuffs and files of written materials from seminars and such thank God I found it inside an old file. It contained momentos from the trip and from my days studying in London 1991-1995. For the record I have shared some stories on the European trip in this blogspot. Look at the old articles listed below :-



2. Trouble in Amsterdam...

3. East-West contrast in Germany

4. The ugly side of Prague...

5. Playing the fool in Bratislava...

6. Getting classical (and Merdeka too) in Austria!

7. Alpine frolicking in Switzerland

8. Gangsters of Genoa...

9. Locked-up in Lyon!

10. Walking 50km in Paris before closing the trip in Brussels...




]
Along with the momentos were printouts of longer stories I've made after becoming a journalist at the Malaysian English daily, The New Straits Times in 1996. Using an old intra-office system I wrote with the intention of getting it published as a book with a connected outfit called Berita Publishing.


However, after having wrote what seemed like enough stories to make a book something happened to the system.


All files on the 1995 Europen trip were lost. Having tried to recover it but failed, I take it as a sign to abandon my intention to get the stories published as a book.


Thank God, I found these printouts in my old European travel file. While it covered only 10 per cent or less of the stories (I can't remember what happened to the rest of the printouts) it should give some idea of what I was working on then. 


What is certain, these are more detailed than the stories I've presented as articles listed at the start of this post. This is because the articles were for newspaper print. It had to be limited and brief as I was forced to limit 31 days of travelling stories into10 episodes, each limited to no more than 1,000 words or so... 


The printouts on the other hand were for a book. So it was not bound by such limit. For better read you can open it in new windows. Do enjoy these writings made some 12 years ago...



Monday, June 11, 2018

Lubuk Manggis recreational area



Further downriver lies the Lubuk Manggis recreational area.





It should be the same river or at least connected to the one at Pangsun.





Whatever, at this juncture I could say this is the Langat river which extends about 100 km westwards to the Straits of Melaka...





Pangsun recreational area Hulu Langat

Peace be upon you all. Something from a few days ago.


Last Thursday and Friday I was at a rural part of Hulu Langat and made stops and a number of interesting place. One of it is the Pansoon or Pangsun recreational area.


There is a nice stream to take a dip at.





It's just I'm not sure is this the Pangsun river or is it the better known Langat river...





Thursday, June 07, 2018

Kerling hot water spring

Last Monday I made a short trip to Tanjung Malim to spend the night at the main mosque there. Along the way I made stops. One of it is situated in a place called Kerling, somewhere between Tanjung Malim and Kuala Kubu Baru.


I have been to Kerling many times but it was only this time that I knew there is a hot spring there.


From the main road I saw a signboard pointing to a place called Kampung Air Panas. This could be literarily translated as village of the hot spring.


 
So I decided to follow the signboard before coming across those that clearly say there is a hot spring ahead. After  4-5 km veering from the main road I came across the designated place.


What is interesting is there is a clear wide enough stream running through the place...


The hot spring lies across the river.


As far as I could remember this is the first hot spring in Malaysia I saw so near to swimmable river...





You can enjoy the hot spring and then take a cool dip in the river or vice versa...



Monday, June 04, 2018

Sampling the merriness of IFTAR KL 2018

Peace be upon you all. Something from last weekend after more than a month's silence in this blogspot...


Saturday afternoon 2nd June 2018. Me and the wife went to Kuala Lumpur city centre for a function.



After parking at a certain spot we walked southwards alongside the small streets adjacent to Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.


The city was rife with activity as people, mostly Malays and Muslims shop in preparation for the festive celebration of Aidil Fitri just about 2 weeks away...





We went on southwards to Dataran Merdeka...











Here is conducted the breaking fast function called IFTAR KL 2018.








 It is held twice weekly (Saturday and Sunday) over the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan...








Non-Muslims, tourists and such can also partake of the free food as we waited for dusk whence come the time of Maghrib to break fast...





Monday, April 16, 2018

Trying out the Ladang Bikam route to Teluk Intan

Peace be upon you all. Something from the recent weekend...


 
Friday afternoon 13th April 2018. Me and family left home to get to Yan, Kedah over 400 km away for a function. As we wanted to make a stop at Teluk Intan, Perak we took this route. It is a road from Sungkai on to a place called Ladang Bikam.





I don't know when this route was opened. It has to be quite recent as as far as I could remember it never showed on Google Map in my previous visits to Teluk Intan.





Previously one has to go a few kilometres northwards heading for Bidor before cutting into a road which then meets the Bidor-Teluk Intan trunk road.






Before that one has to go all the way to Bidor before heading to Teluk Intan. The route mentioned cuts the journey by 8 km.





This new route which meets the Bidor-Teluk Intan route at Ladang Bikam cuts the journey by another 8 km...






Actually I have contempleted using this route many many years ago. But it was then still largely a red earth and gravel route connecting places pass old tin mines...