Seksyen 14, PJ House

Put up at the Seksyen 14, PJ house starting from a few days after 1986’s Valentine Day until early April, 1986. The house was rented by a fellow WVU buddy, together with his two other old high school friends. The WVU buddy already got a job as an engineer with Esso (now Exxonmobil), while his two other friends work in construction firm and a bank, respectively.

The house was like a half-way home for friends from their old high school and several from our WVU batch – who converged there while looking for jobs. It was early 1986. Time was tough for job seekers; tougher still for me who “ain’t got nothing”, but I have to survive somehow.

(Cue for 80’s favorites I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor and Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey.)

One WVU friend used to ride his RXS bike from his place in Mentakab to the house, whenever there was a possible job opportunity for him. A Geology graduate, he was making do as a temporary teacher in his hometown. He died young, in a fatal road accident. I got a picture of him with me and another friend, when we were in Morgantown. No wonder our elders strongly forbids taking threesome photos…

On another occasion, another WVU friend and I took the Bas Mini from PJ to Jalan Semarak, to accompany him for something at UTM KL. While he was having “a chat” with one Dr. Ainuddin Wahid, I wandered around the campus and had a chat of my own with a couple of WVU alumni who’re already lecturers there. The friend came out of his meeting with an offer as a Penolong Pensyarah A (PPA). Nothing for me, though. I didn’t have anything that they need. That friend now got a PhD and a double MSc, after several extended years back to the States for further studies. All paid for by UTM. He’s now a full time lecturer at the college.

I had my own trysts at jobs while I was there – eventually taking on my first monthly salaried job as a computer trainer that took me to Kuala Lipis. There were also some significant people/ social relationships and other trials and tribulations before I left the place. Will write-up some of it in this blog, sooner or later.

Status Update

The last post was still about the coming back from WVU with no paper qualification. Will continue to trace back the trails forward since then. Basically, the story continues that after the TTDI, I went to Seksyen 14 PJ. Several things went on over there before I left for Kuala Lipis where I experienced a sort of "coming of age". At 23 - 24 years old, I admit that it a bit too late for that but ... . Then, on to Pekan, Pahang - a more matured outlook when surviving over there.

All in all, it will be a lot of words but - could be - not much substance. Oh well maybe I'm just being humble but, it will only be interesting if it is other people's story.

Can't wait to put on the "selesai" in the plot, so that I can move on with other things in this blogspot. For one thing, I'd like to make this blog as a place for my other passion - writing novels that can reach Book standard.

We'll get there. Soon.

TTDI Film Crew Buddies 2

Mid-February 1986. On the first night of arriving back after leaving Morgantown. Joined the newfound friends - the TTDI film crew gang - for a Ramli Sirap performance at the Hard Rock Café, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI)

One conversation topic in the car, before reaching the Café, was about a friend who’s not with us at that time. He went to the birthday party of Kak Yong’s daughter instead (I’ve met him at the house earlier)

They were talking about how Abang Din was a little bit upset at that moment. His girlfriend was going to be sent overseas by her father, to keep her away from Abang Din. The girl was on the cover of the Remaja magazine that I browsed through at the house earlier. She was a real looker (it was an early 1986 Remaja issue).

It was very hard to imagine, how in heaven did such a hot and glamorous girl could fall for Abang Din; at that time was a gangly dude with a very crew cut hair. I guess my understanding of the opposite sex’s needs and requirements were as shallow as it could get, then.

But that was not all. They said that they wouldn’t worry about it that much if they were Abang Din. Why? Because they said it was an open secret then that Raja Ema and Erma Fatima were clamoring for Abang Din’s affection. Those two glamour ladies, and Abang Din? They gotta be kidding me. Must be some sort of a real big-time lady-killer, that Abang Din.

How was I to know it was not Abang Din that they were talking about; it was Badin that I had misheard.

Lost contact with that TTDI film crew buddies after three months since my arrival back from the States. Several years later, a story about a famous movie cameraman marrying a fellow artist, Erma Fatima, came out in the media. It took me a long while to realize it, but that guy was definitely the Abang Din / Badin that I came to know for a very short period (three days only) previously.

It was the long hair and chubbier profile that derailed my recognition. Badaruddin Azmi was that Abang Din / Badin, the movie cameraman who’s also now a film director / producer.

I did thought about getting back into their circle, a few recent years back. But then, thinking about the years that had caught on to me, and the number of people that had came into contact with them, I felt that it’s not worth it. They would not remember me, let alone recognize me. Just sufficient to know that I used to be tight with some of the guys that had a hand in keeping our entertainment scene as it is today.

Been wondering - had I stayed with them and tried my luck in their line of career, could I be like Aznil or Din Beramboi? Or maybe like, Jalaluddin Hassan?

TTDI Film Crew Buddies Part I

Still on leaving WVU in 1986…

The flight to KL after an overnight transit at Narita Airport, Tokyo, was a MAS flight, so the mood improved somewhat. Gloomy and miserable were replaced by just being uncertain and slightly confused, but more receptive to the surroundings. I guess that was why I got to be buddy-buddy with a bubbly and a highly energetic guy, on that flight home.

The new friend was a movie/film editor. Fendi (his real call name) was returning after the final processing of the then new Malay movie “Kembara… Seniman Jalanan” in a Tokyo film lab. He said the movie was going to be a hit, with some controversial issues and plots. I was actually very skeptical - of who he was, and the movie quality. I guess after spending the whole flight home together, it was (being skeptical) was uncalled for. And from a later perspective, the movie was as he said it would be.

I never really revealed to him that I was not actually one of those Penganggur Kehormat’s (Honorary Jobless, returning graduates still looking for jobs) that he thought I was. I was partially that, in a sense. So, just after reaching Malaysian airspace, I loosely remarked that I wasn’t planning to go home just yet; that I want to stick around in KL for a while to look for job opportunities. As I expected a friend would do, he invited me to lepak (hang around) at his place while I look for jobs and a place of my own. Said that all his buddies are “alright”. I gladly accepted.

His friends picked him up at the Subang Airport, and I tagged along in the car to their place. They all were film crew guys in some capacity or another. They stayed in the top floor of a double-storey terrace house at Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI). The landlady occupied the ground floor main bedroom but they have access to the living room and kitchen.

Along the way from the airport, in the car, they were talking about what to do that night; whether to go to a birthday party of Kak Yong’s daughter, or to the Hard Rock Café for a performance by Ramli Sarip.

We ended up going to the Hard Rock Café for the Ramli Sarip mini concert later that night – my first night back in Malaysia after returning from USA. We rode in two cars, one of which was going to be crashed in a stunt for a film shooting the next day.

I stayed with Fendi and his TTDI film crew buddies for only three days, but felt like I’d gone through a lot with them. Got to know a little bit about the insides of film industries in Malaysia, about the makings of TV and radio commercials, and a wee bit of understanding on the motivations and drives of the film crew buddies.
There was a commercial a few years later, when I saw Fendi and his elder brother pitching the benefits of a certain bank on TV. It was a short-lived commercial, so most people might not remember it. That brother of his was the closest with me during my TTDI stay. Highly likely that several of them had been in other TV commercials or some bit parts in movies, that I failed to recognize.

A former WVU mate came to pick me up from the TTDI film crew house on the third day of my arrival back from USA, to stay with him instead at a place in Section 14, PJ. Met him at Daya Bumi, when making some arrangement with Petronas HR. He said it was just felt wrong for me to be with “strangers”, in my condition then, when there were a lot of old friends around.
The TTDI film crew buddies were new friends, but definitely were not strangers. In fact, they took in a stranger like me into their circle as if they had known me for years.

More Than a Year After...

Hmm, last posting date was March 13th, 2009? That's more than a year ago. Must be after coming back from Petronas' Organizational Behavior seminar at Westin Hotel, KL.
Nobody read my blog, anyway. It's just like a wall to put my private musings. But who knows, years from now somebody could pick this up, and turn into something other than just a private wall. I wouldn't count on it.

Most people are tied up at Facebook anyway. More privacy for me.

Ada Abejoh Lain

Semasa menunggu penerbangan Fireflyz ke Kerteh dari Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah, Subang dua hari lepas, sempat buka laptop kejap ditempat menunggu. Ingat nak ambil peluang buat draf blog berkaitan aktiviti yang baru dilalui di Westin Hotel sehari sebelum itu, tapi dapat pulak wireless connection dari kedai Starbucks berdekatan.

Selepas baca e-mail Yahoo (ada kenkawan minta gambo Alumni Dinner lagi), buka Google pulak untuk search blogspot (kalau kut Yahoo tak jumpa dia, kecuali kalu cari Blogger). Tak sangka pulak, ada lagi orang lain guna nama abejoh sebagai blogspot address dia.

Buka masuk ke blogspot abejohskut. Baru dibina bulan Disember lepas, cikgu kanan dari SK Ulu Tembeling. Kita pernah duduk kat Lepih (Kuala Lipis), jadi agak familiar jugak la dengan area tersebut.

Anyway, Abejohskut ada masukkan gambar-gambar keluarganya dalam posting. Apa yang Abejoh ni musykil ialah, gambo Cikgu Hamzah Ibrahim bersama mek dia tu, kalu dari jauh memang ada meh Pokcik Mejoh ni. Tengok kat sebelah kanan ni, abejohskut tu, bukan abejoh ni.

Kat sebelah kiri ni baru abejoh yang ini, bersama keluarga. Betul, kan? Ada iras-iras sikit lah. Sama bulat, rambut pun sama (tak) banyak.

I cuba masukkan komen kat posting dia, tapi tak berjaya. Nanti nak anto e-mail, boleh ber "network". Tambahan pulak anak sulong dia (form five) belajar kat sekolah lama I (walaupun atas nama sahaja, bukan lokasi sekolah yang sama).

We'll have a lot to talk about.

Note: Penerbangan itu adalah kali pertama menaiki Fireflyz, dan kali pertama dari Subang, dan ke Kerteh Airport, sejak sekian lama. Akan tiada blog posting tentang ini.

High School Alumni Annual Dinner

Attended the annual old high school Alumni Dinner at The Marriot Putrajaya a few weeks back. It was not much for the dinner itself, but more to meet up with old friends and the opportunity for networking. Missed only one reunion gathering in the past six years, when the February date clashed with the workplace critical plant turnaround activities.

The big thing about the reunion was always the bonding sessions among old friends of our SPM batch – before and after the Dinner. Those of us who’re out-of-town would converge at a designated location arranged by our in-town buddies for our High Tea, to recap on old stories, or sharing new ones. A chance to reminisce about old exploits, retrospecting on how it was when we were young boys, checking out on how our other colleagues are doing, etc.

A few would show up only for that but not for the Dinner. After the Dinner, we’d gather again at an agreed upon spot to catch up further on the bonding. Again, a few others from our batch who did not attend the Dinner would show up and share the moment. Most of the time we would continue talking until deep into the morning in one of the hotel rooms that were booked – partly for the out-of-town guys but mostly for the “discussion” purposes. Some business deals were even clinched during those sessions.

For this time around, two Marriot Hotel rooms were booked for the purpose.

Every year, new old buddies that hadn’t been with us previously in any gathering would show up. On the other hand, a few who had been there before, as well as those who were active in pulling our batch together previously, also went missing. This year’s missing list was quite serious, due to various reasons. Hopefully, with new activities being put in place would result in a record turn-out of our batch buddies come next year’s Reunion. Especially since next year will be a significant anniversary since we left our school.
Here’s looking forward to our batch’s gathering / Family Day, being arranged in the East Coast planned for May school holidays.

Leaving the Country Road

So I left Morgantown with no paper qualification in my hand. Not much I can do about it then. I could’ve done better earlier before it gets to that, but no use in crying over spilled milk. Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be. As I had articulated it then, I need to pick myself up, dust myself off, and get on with my life.

Getting on with my life was what I did. Part of that involved making tough decisions that I wouldn’t have made now, from my current perspective. Those were things that I had to do based on the then prevailing need. It got me to where I am now, so most of it must had been the right decisions. Not necessarily correct, but right nonetheless.

I shed a bit of tears on the small plane when it left Morgantown airport for Pittsburgh, on my way back to Malaysia. An elderly lady beside me tried to console me – little did she knew that it was not because of leaving friends behind after so long together. It was more because of 4.5 years earlier I stepped down from (maybe) the same small plane with high hopes – a future of good life for me and my families, a source of pride for my communities, etc. I was with 13 other colleagues at that time, and more than ten senior Malaysian students waited for us at the airport, with several more waiting in an apartment for the reception party.

Only two friends sent me to the airport when I left that day. One was a colleague who later on had to leave home incomplete as well, and another a local close friend, a classmate in I.E studies. And I was by myself on the trip home.

It was one of the loneliest journeys of my life. No, wait – that was the most lonesome walk that I had in my whole life. From Pittsburgh to Los Angeles, then through Seattle and all the way to Tokyo; while being “alone” on the plane I had ample time to recap better on what had transpired. It wasn’t all gloomy – no point in making the situation worse. In fact, I was able to firm up on what I wanted to do next. I made mental notes on the next general course of actions. One of the items was that I would not go back to my hometown(s) until I got something to show for myself.

It wasn’t a very long lonesome journey - only up until reached Tokyo. Made some new friends on the Malaysian Airlines flight back to KL, and one of them was a young movie editor for the film Kembara…Seniman Jalanan. Didn’t tell him everything but informed him that I wasn’t planning to go home just yet. Accepted his invitation to bunk over at his place at TTDI for awhile until after I “got a job” and a place of my own. After three days, a former college mate at WVU came to pick me up and brought me to his place at Section 14, PJ.

I went back to my parent’s village, a Felda settlement in northern Kuala Terengganu two weeks later. Returned to Paka, a place where I grew up, only after two years in 1988. People still asked questions, but it was easier to answer – truthfully or half-truths – when you had your confidence and swagger back.

There are more events to be detailed. My kids still did not know a quarter of it.

Starting Out After One Ending

I left Morgantown, USA in February, 1986. Dionne Warwick & Friends song “That’s What Friend’s Are For” was topping the Billboard charts at the time, while Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie” and “Sara” by Starship was controlling the radio airwaves. Left without meeting the requirement on academic qualifications.

When the scholarship sponsor’s rep asked me what I wanted to do, after it was confirmed that my scholarship was not being extended beyond the normal four years, without big hesitation (well, maybe for a few seconds to gather my courage) I answered that they can send me home.

I had the option of staying put to complete my studies but I had to pay everything on my own. Yeah, right. I already spent the previous semester without scholarship, hoping that the extension would come forth. Friends chipped in for the college tuition fees (soft loans), and I put in some part time jobs for my sustenance. It was not a way to live, I’m telling you. I heard a lot of people did it, but I had my reasons for not being able to.

That work-for-your-studies period was already an extra semester over the four years scholarship period. After rough periods in Chemical Engineering for three years, decided to change to Industrial Engineering studies two semesters earlier. Was doing alright in I.E, even though not much completed technical credit hours were able to be transferred from Ch.E. Extensive summer classes took care of some of that. Just need one more senior semester to complete for graduation.

Most friends advised against me going back with nothing. They were right on all counts but I have to decide for my own good. As much as I can recall, I told them to the effect that, rather than “having to eat sands” in a foreign place (direct translation), I’d as soon scrape the bottom of the barrel in my own backyard (current addition of idiom). Actually, what I said was, (direct translation again) I’ll know how “to scrape in the morning for morning’s meal, and evening scraping for evening’s meal” for my own mouth, in my own familiar areas. Even though failing everybody’s expectations (friends’, relatives’ and communities’) was an ultra-big issue for me then, I had to look at the then immediate future.

I did not think I could survive then, to complete my studies on my own - physically and emotionally - without scholarship money, or other financial assistance. The college friends had done so much for me already, and I didn’t want to impose / burden on them further. I was very sure that I will make it better on my own turf. I’ll know what to do, and I’ll find my back-ups in case things didn’t turn out alright along the way, on my home field; the home sweet home Malaysia. As the famous song of where I was says: “Country road take me home, to the place I belong, West Virginia mountain mama, take me home, country road”. It was cynically cruel that I was already there on the country road home, but was moving on the opposite road to go to my true home; to the place that I truly belong, West Malaysia!

There was no point in staying if the reason for staying was to complete my study, but the conditions – on most fronts - were not conducive for me to achieve that. It was time to move on, and find other paths to go on with my life.

I did not look at it this way then, but now it was like retreating from a battle to fight another day, to win the war.

To cut it straight to the mid-movie chase, I got back to Malaysia ready for more life skirmishes and battles by being just a “rank-and-file” instead of the equivalent of a commissioned officer. And battling it out I did. There were several instances that I had to decide whether to go for the win, or just not to lose the war.

I am definitely not losing it. I might already have won without myself knowing it.

More in next postings.

Vanity, narcissism, or self-derogatory

I woke up one morning sitting on the edge of the bed looking into the cloth cabinet mirror. After a little post-waking up stretching, did some facial exercise while looking at my image. Having done a clean facial shave and just had a close haircut the night before, I thought I resemble a bit like Laurence Fishburne. With a bit more puffed-up face of course. I think it was “in the chin”…
Although I would much prefer to be put alongside the likes of Denzel Washington (since Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt is too far off the mark), Larry’s resemblance is not too bad. Having said that, Morgan Freeman and Samuel L. Jackson also come into the picture.
Of course Big Sam is more similar to Laurence Fishburne but it’s “the snow on the head” that made me relate more to Freeman than Jackson. Well, I guess a little too much incidental spilling of talcum powder onto the head when applying it under the armpit could be one of the causes to that.
I did sometimes put on my dark sunglasses at night. (“I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can so I can” - Corey Hart). Anyway, with the dark sunglasses on, had done a Stevie Wonder on the piano giving a rendition of Superstition song. Most people said that I got it right (minus the dreadlock and the full gleaming teeth) but did get a feedback that it turned out to be more like Ray Charles! Haven’t done it yet but at the next opportunity I should try to do a Ray Charles belting out the Great Balls of Fire.
Actually it was a compliment that I was more of a Ray Charles than Stevie Wonder. More macho, you…
Quite far off the mark for any resemblance (on the stomach, maybe) but tried to do a Ron Jeremy last night. I got off the bed to take a bath feeling like the country’s international soccer player after a losing game against Laos.

Kenyir to Simpang Pulai

Permulaan sebenar laluan Kenyir ke Simpang Pulai ialah dari simpang ke Tasik Kenyir di Kuala Jeneris, Hulu Terengganu. Dari situ hingga ke simpang Jalan Gopeng di Simpang Pulai ialah +- 326 km. Kami ambil selama 5 jam untuk sampai diantara dua tempat tersebut, dengan kelajuan konservatif kami, dan juga R & R. Memang lebih dekat, dan lebih cepat, kalau nak dibandingkan dengan Lebuhraya Timur-Barat melalui Grik, ataupun jalan Kuala Lumpur mahupun Batang Kali.

Papan tanda ke Pengkalan Gawi, Tasik Kenyir, di Kuala Jeneris, dari arah Ladang Sungai Tong / simpang jalan KT - Kota Bharu.

Ada dua jalan untuk sampai ke Kuala Jeneris:
1. Dari bandar Kuala Berang. Belok kekanan di simpang tiga penghujung jalan selepas bandar K.Berang.
2. Simpang ke Kilang Kelapa Sawit Ladang Sungai Tong, belok kekiri dari Jalan KT-K.Bharu. (36 km dari K.Terengganu, selepas Felda Belara).

Jarak dari simpang Kuala Jeneris ke Tasik Kenyir lebih kurang 12 km. Akan jumpa simpang kekiri untuk ke Pengkalan Gawi. Jalan terus, kecuali kalau ingin bersantai di Tasik Kenyir Resorts. Jalan yang dilalui untuk ke Gua Musang adalah dipinggir "jejari" Tasik Kenyir. Jalan baru, masih elok. Merentasi pinggir atau puncak bukit. Pemandangan yang indah, dengan hutan bukit bukau yang masih belum teruk ternoda, dan juga kelibat tepian Tasik Kenyir. Bagi peminat alam semulajadi (macam pakcik), tumbuhan taraf pokok balak berbagai jenis dikiri-kanan jalan memang amat mengujakan.














Jarak dari simpang Kuala Jeneris ke simpang masuk ke jalan ladang kelapa sawit Felda Aring ialah 83 km. Tahap satu jam perjalanan lah, tapi kami buat sejam setengah sebab campur aktiviti sight-seeing dan berposing maut kat tepi jalan. Simpang Felda Aring ini penting sebab perubahan keadaan jalan. Biasalah, jalan ladang; kekadang OK, selalunya kureng sikit. Sebelum sampai ke situ pun, dah ada perubahan, iaitu semasa merentasi sempadan Terengganu-Kelantan. Standard jalan memang turun sikit, dan boleh rasa udah masuk sempadan lain sebab keadaan pemandangan di kiri-kanan jalan. Kalau sebelum ini keadaan hutan bukau amat menggiurkan bagi peminat alam semulajadi , sekarang bukit-bukau penuh dengan tanda-tanda ternoda - aktiviti pembalakan.

Boleh tahan juga jarak perjalanan melalui jalan ladang Felda Aring ni. Untuk sampai ke simpang tiga jalan Gua Musang di gugusan Felda Ciku, sejauh 29 km. Memang setengah jam lah untuk sampai, tak kira kenderaan jenis apa, maupun cara pemanduan.

Lebih kurang 3 km selepas masuk ke simpang Felda Aring

Kami pusing ke kiri untuk ke Gua Musang di simpang Felda Ciku. Berhenti seketika selepas 22 km, di R&R Gua Musang. Kemudahan tahap yang sepatutnya untuk R&R - gerai makan, tandas, surau, stesen minyak dll. Tak berhenti lama di situ; cuma "perbetul urat" sikit-sikit sebelum meneruskan perjalanan. Masih awal untuk makan tengahari - beli nasi ayam "to go" di gerai sebelah stesen minyak Petronas sebelum simpang tiga ke Kuala Betis.

Perjalanan diteruskan dari R&R ke bandar Gua Musang. Di simpang tiga jalan besar bandar Gua musang belok ke kiri ke arah SMK Indra Petra 1, mencari simpang ke Kuala Betis. Di persimpangan lampu isyarat berhampiran balai bomba di sebelah kiri dan Masjid Tengku Faiz Petra (tak sampai 1 km dari simpang tiga tadi), kami belok ke kanan. Dalam 200 meter jumpa lagi satu simpang tiga. Ada stesen minyak Petronas di sebelah kiri sebelum sampai simpang tiga tadi. Ada banyak papantanda di simpang tiga tersebut; belok kekanan untuk ke satu simpang tiga lagi, kali ini belok ke kiri pulak, menghala ke Kuala Betis.


Setelah +- 39 km sejak bertolak dari R&R Gua Musang tadi, kami ambil simpang ke kiri di simpang Kuala Betis. (Kalau terus, sampailah nanti ke pekan Kuala Betis). Perjalanan diteruskan menghala ke Tanah Tinggi Lojing dan ke simpang Cameron Highland. Selepas kira-kira 87 km dan hampir sejam setengah kemudian, kami sampai ke sempadan Kelantan-Perak.


Kami tahu kami telah sampai ke Lojing, apabila di kiri kanan jalan dipenuhi dengan pemandangan penanaman bunga dan sayuran. Memang satu projek yang unik, a very grand scale of activities...


















Yang pastinya, sekarang kita sudah tahu / sampai ke simpang untuk ke Cameron Highland, untuk projek kami yang seterusnya.

Perjalanan diteruskan untuk ke Simpang Pulai. Bahagian laluan ini agak menggerunkan, buat kami. Dengan selekoh yang berputar-putar dan kadang-kala sempit, mengingatkan saya pada laluan lama Bukit Karak. Sekurang-kurangnya di jalan lama Bukit Karak tak pandu kenderaan sendiri!


Mujur tak lama - 45 minit kemudian selepas 47 km dari sempadan, kami pun sampai ke Simpang Pulai. Akhirnya. Di simpang tiga (di depannya kedai kain Jakel), kami belok ke kanan masuk ke Jalan Gopeng untuk ke Ipoh, dan sampai ke destinasi 15 minit kemudian, 1o km dari Simpang Pulai.


Aktiviti kami di Ipoh, lain tahun boleh cerita.

Paka To Ipoh Through Kenyir - Simpang Pulai

Got the chance to use the Kenyir - Simpang Pulai route a couple of months back, when on a business trip to Ipoh. Had intended to write an extensive blog about the trip, but since it's already passe, decided just to write the details of the route that could be useful to others who happen to pass through this site.

The details (distances, checkpoints and other pointers) can be found in the Bahasa version of a different posting.

The business to Ipoh was average, but the trip itself was very happening. Made the decision to use the Kenyir - Simpang Pulai road for the first time, and convinced the family to come along. All seven of us. Could've been eight but the eldest daughter was busy with college exams. Heard about the route from friends and relatives. The advantages were shorter and faster route to Ipoh from Terengganu, but with the disadvantages of uncharted and ungazzetted pathway.

The trip was extensively planned. Apart from the words of mouth from those who had been through it, searched the internet for some needed info. The Wikimapia and Google Earth were very helpful, as did several other blog and forum sites. The most helpful was the Bumi Sepi site, thank you very much.

The route was not really a highway, per se. It's a connection of different types of roads to Gua Musang, Lojing and thru' the Cameron Highland approach road until Simpang Pulai, Perak. Even the intended new stretch to reach Gua Musang was closed due to landslides, so had to pass through the oil palm plantation road of Felda Aring before reaching the proper Gua Musang road at Felda Chiku.

After passing through the Gua Musang town, took the road to Kuala Betis for the connection route to Lojing / Cameron Highland, onwards to Simpang Pulai. It was the first time for the whole family, so the views along the road were very pulsating to us. Bought some flowers and plants from the roadside shops on the way back.

One of the most exciting things that we did on the way back was stopping at the Orang Asli stall to buy a hard to find fruit that my wife and I used to eat. We call it buah "ngeker"; it's smaller than a tennis ball, with a thick outer shell and the inside that looks like buah rambai but less soft.

Most part of the Kenyir - Simpang Pulai route was literally uncharted. Latest maps were not available, and both Wikimapia & Google Earth were not updated on the area. Having benefitted from the blogs and forums of the area/route, felt that it would be very value-added for us to detail our journey, with added info not available from existing sites, that could be helpful to anybody who need it.

Again, the Bahasa details in different posting.

Just Got Back

Again, it's been a while since I posted anything here. Got a bunch of things to say but alas, (tut-tut, cliche warning!), so little uninterrupted time to spare. It's back to post-technology period - mental loggings only.

Several materials relevant to this R I P 'spective blog surfaced in the past three months. Wonder if those are still relevant to blog about. Had intended to write about the trip to Ipoh from Terengganu, using the Kenyir - Simpang Pulai route. Thoughts came up related to the Mamma Mia show. Several 'stuck-in-the-80's' materials too. Also some items on the book series that I intend to complete next year - the Wheel of Time final novel. A lot of things to write.

Oh well, let's re-start blogging...

The pic was taken from the FEI exhibition at Kuala Ibai, Terengganu.