Longing for the sun

This is the most anticipated time during the second quarter of the year, when all member of your family is around and make a full house one more time. It is a school holiday and I am almost as excited as the kids.

School holiday could mean many trips up and down, scoring half the peninsular of Malaysia. As I am getting my back into it's my normal posture (not that it was crooked before though) , I can again enjoy driving a long-haul trip without having to worry the strenuous effect on me.

The first trip after such a mundane period of healing was a two and a half hour trip up to Kuala Kangsar to fetch my son from his college. Normally he will just take a bus ride home, but I presume during the last few weeks before the school break was quite a hectic time for him with preparing for a debate competition, exams and daydreaming - he forgot to buy a bus ticket.

But I don't mind having to travel all the way to his place. In fact I quite enjoy the journey as the route along the north bound highway has many interesting lay by and rest areas for me to stop and take a break and cool off myself.

Two most popular rest area where I almost won't miss during those trips are Tapah R&R and Hentian Sg. Perak (both ways). Both places have good facilities, many things to offer - some you can't find it anywhere else, clean and very colorful. There are always some 'jajan' to bring back home from these two stop over.

Tomorrow I am traveling away from those two rest area. I am going back to the east coast for a holiday, to my hometown the Keropoklekor land. Even the rest areas along the new highway are not as good as the one in the other side of the mountain, but I know I will enjoy the good scenery along the scenic coastal area of Kemaman, Dungun and Kuala Terengganu. Even though the collapse of Sultan Mizan new stadium was a bit shameful (and shocking) to most Awang and Mek Ganu, that won't a bit surprised me as I am sure Ganu people will always say "mujo ambe takdok situ dudok cakung dalang stadiung masa atap tu rutoh, kalau tidok mapuh keghah bahang tanoh ah wei"!

It was considerably a busy week for me trying to clear everything off my desk and other people's desk as well, in anticipation of this holiday. It is time for me to switch off my handphone and enjoying my long siesta under the palm tree on a beautiful sandy beach, after having a morning breakfast of nasi dagang.

From Terengganu with love

Terengganu was the only playing ground that I knew for almost 18 years, until my first "hijrah" to Bangi, that was to discover my adulthood (and later my first and only love) in our local alma mater. I love this place so much not because this state has been dubbed as a "Little Kuwait of Malaysia", or her generosity for sharing its oil wealth with the Federal Government, but simply because everything here is simple. or at least it used to be. As much as my native friends will concur with me, this beautiful state with their inhabitants who eats nasi dagang as their breakfast and keropok-lekor as their evening snack has so much adventure and colourful activities to offer for the uniniated and season travellers. Even the local the kampung boy like me will always find something new and interesting thing to do whenever I pay a visit to my hometown.

Among the thing that still bemused me is our native dialect, which sometime will tickle even the hardcore Kuala Berang indigenous. For example one makcik describe a strong monsoon wind that hit her house recently "ambe dengor anging piung..piung..piung atas pale, beghooookkk cabut abis atap rumoh. Debok, mokcik terjun rumoh, mujo dok patoh ghiiok jatuh. kalu tidok mapuh bahang tanoh". (sorry could not find suitable manglish word for the translation, maybe Ganu bloggers like bro madredo1 or skatype can explain the phrase better than me :)

Food is another thing. I love to visit old market place like Kedai Buloh and of course Kedai Payang just to sample some of the traditional delicacies of which only endemic to this part of the world. Last time I went to this place, I introduced "rojok kateh" to my significant half. She loved it very much.

But now, as the state is now has been upgraded one class higher than her neigbours and showered with the status of "bandaraya", I can see the old charm is starting to disappear fast. So much to the modernization, that is the price we have to pay. This has really saddened me. In fact this rapid changes is happening everywhere. It is a matter of time. But we can still preserve the good old charm and nice memory in the form of photographic record and frequent visit to our old and rustic birthplace and walk the memory lane.

The transparent masjid, Masjid Kristal as part and parcel of Taman Tamaddun Islam. The masjid is situated not far from the infamous Losong, of which you can find Keropok Losong. But now I find keropok Losong is a bit on the salty side. Not to my liking at all.

Sandy beaches and its panoramic coastal lines are always my favourite stopover and regular picnic spots whenever I travel back to Terengganu. This one was in Kemasek.

My kids like to collect shell like this one that scattered with abundant along the sandy beaches.

Local fish produce like this "sata" is gastronomically irresistable. This particular one was mixed with crab meat, something out of ordinary. I was told by little sister (Cendawanintim), we can only find this variety only in Ramadhan Bazaar near Panji Alam. Life in Terengganu can be as colorful as this drinks.
Traditional marketplace with varieties of choices.
Masjid Tengku Tengah Zaharah or popularly known as Masjid Terapung situated not very far from my kampung. My favourite keropok 007 can be found nearby.

Like father, like son

These two photos were a good reminiscence of my earlier exposure to this world. I was 7 or 8 months old when the photo was taken then, so was my son. The baldy hairdo was probably a tribute to once a popular TV series, "Kojak". My beloved mother told me, she started to feed me with nasi (nasi penyet dalam tempurung kelapa) as early as 2 days old, which probably explained my addiction to all kind of nasi, especially some gastronomic dishes like nasi dagang and nasi kerabu.

Like father (safely snugged in the comfort of my lovely mother's arm)

Like son (the same spot where 25 years ago the above photo was taken, my eldest son seemingly enjoyed with his grandmother, to be crowned the first grandson of Hj. Razak's clan)