Bandar Tasik Puteri from on top a hill

From Batu Arang we move to the place I live at, the residential area called Bandar Tasik Puteri in Rawang, Selangor.

I have lived here for almost 2 years now but yesterday, for the first time ever I noticed this summit of a hill.

From on top I could get a vantage view of things. A look towards the west. My house should be somewhere on the background to the right.



A look towards the south. You can go down the summit from here...


A look towards the east. Some of the houses in Bandar Tasik Puteri.

A 45 degree turn anti-clockwise...




Another 45 degree turn anti-clockwise and you see the part where I climbed the hillside up to the summit. You see it was while going around the Bazar Ramadhan yesterday, the afternoon food fair specially erected for the Muslim holy fasting month that I noticed this summit.

And finally a look towards the north-west where you can see the mosque. For all you dear readers I wish happy Aidil Fitri or Eid celebration. :]

The lakes at Batu Arang

Just an excursion from the Aceh and Muar stories. Then again there's no more Aceh and Muar stories to tell, at least at this juncture...

One fine day I took the wife and baby out on a drive at Batu Arang, Selangor and took a new route (new for us at least) and saw these lakes.

We were very suprised not to have seen this area earlier is it is just 3-4 km or so from our home.



That's the wife and baby posing near the lakes.

We also discovered how the routes to the lakes are connected to the chimney which is a major landmark for Batu Arang. For the record Batu Arang means "coal stone" and this chimney was part of a complex to process coal which used to be mined here.



In front of the chimney lies this curious looking building, perhaps part of the complex too...

Here's the roundabout lying just a short distance from the chimney. It is also a landmark which defines the small town of Batu Arang. Note that this is the 565th article in this blogspot, made on the night of 27 Ramadhan, my 41st birthday according to the Islamic Hijriah calendar. Good night! :]

Monkeying around in Muar

Continued from Climbing Bukit Treh with the wife and baby.

Next we went to a place close to the Muar river mouth.

This place is famous for its many monkeys living in a mangrove swamp.



I have also visited this place many times but this is the first made during high tide.

Here's a couple who feed the monkeys so often they become buddies...

It is also in this visit that I realised how many monkeys they have...

Normally I'd just watched the monkeys coming down from trees to get their share of feed close to the roadside but this time I actually concentrated on the ones on trees.

Climbing Bukit Treh with the wife and baby

OK. Time to churn out more supporting articles for the stories on Muar also running in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU.

Sunday morning 15th August 2010. I brought the wife and baby to climb a small hill called Bukit Treh not far from my mum's house in Muar.

For the record, I have climbed this hill many times. But it is the first time for wife and baby...



As it turned out the path was blocked by a falling tree.

We had to find alternative by climbing down a slope...

Then climbing back again from further ahead.

Look at the tree which blocked our way. Oh, if you can't see baby, it is because he was strapped on my side...

Soon we could see some steps albeit covered by grass.

This is a view down from the steps... you could see part of a water treatmen plant complex.

The climb continued...

This gate indicates we were already close to the top.

There's an abandoned water storage facility from the British colonial days.

At last my wife and baby could say they have arrived... :]

A strange 'emu farm'...

Continued from The journey down Takengon......

Halfway or so down we stopped at a stall for refreshments...

Interesting are the huts built between pine trees...

More interesting are these lot...

I can't help but thinking this must be something from a rural African village, something like a gathering of ostriches... or to be more accurate that of emus, those funny-looking grinning big birds from Down Under...

The journey down Takengon...

Continued from Morning views of Takengon and Danau Laut Tawar.

Soon we were on our way out of Takengon.

Compared to the journey up the previous day, I paid more attention to the scene around...

I realised there's coffee plants most of the way up (or down at this point)...

This gate marks that we are entering a different district... different but still considered within the highlands of the native Gayo people...

There were parts were the road is very bad...

Looking at the coffee plants offer respite when the winding road became too weary.

Plateus such as this made us forget we were still 3,000 feet or so above sea level.

Then there's people on bikes making us feel as if we were on low ground...

Of course there's still the bad parts to put things in perspective...

All in all, the highland does offer interesting vistas...

Morning views of Takengon and Danau Laut Tawar

Back to the Aceh support stories. Continued from Enter Takengon and the highland fresh water lake Danau Laut Tawar.

Saturday morning 30th January 2010, after a nice sleep I went to have a look at the city of Takengon.

The hotel I slept at...

Actually I wanted to have a look at the large freshwater lake called Danau Laut Tawar. But it seems I have to walk quite a distance from the hotel.



As it turned out I could have better views from the hotel's top floor...










There... can you see the lake behind the buildings?

Ah. A nice view of the city with a range of mountains in the background.