Holiday Highlights (1) Batu Buruk Beach

Revisiting favorite events during the holiday...

Beautiful Batu Buruk Beach





Pulau (Ilse) Batu Buruk, where the beach got its name...

Merdeka Day 49th Edition

Being in the US, I did not celebrate Merdeka. No flag waving for me, for I don't believe in it. And I was wondering if Malaysia has changed. Ten years ago, people would drape everything they could with the JG. Now, I think Malaysian have matured. It's not the number of flags you have. But still, there were some diehards, as you can see..









Don't get me wrong. I love flags. But I'll do them my way.

Aug 30 KIds First Day of School

Woke up earlier than the kids. Wasil needed his ride, and I was supposed to go to CCAC today, so I got ready by seven. After dropping off Wasil, I was with the younger ones. Except Muhsin. Muhsin's not up yet, since he was in afternoon Kindergarten.


The NEW bus came in on time.
Excited little people going onto the bus. Good for them! Hope they have a nice year.


Muhsin's next. He was the most excited of them all.
At 12:30, he was waiting with Pah for the bus.
I hope his first day wouldn't be like mine. I cried my eyes out after school until my bus driver came for me. That was insecurity to the max!

Amin and Aishah leaving for SC in the afternoon.
They have a new apt to clean and get into.

I was still jet lagged. Sleepy the whole day. There was no way I could drive to PIT and be safe. Thursday, then, to CCAC. Safer.

Aug 29th Groggy Jet Lagging Me..

But I took the pictures I wanted to. Scenes and people I missed. Glad to be back.



Home Sweet Home!

Aug 28th KUL ARN EWR Indiana 29th

One word sums it all up: 100%. As in search, security, check, any and every body coming from Malaysia. The worst flying experience I have ever seen, and been through. All in the name of the homland. Other destinations didn't have this elevated level of security, which really tells me something. Who's the really free citizen?
Even then, I met Azly's two eldest; Epit and Anib. I'd warned Amin that we'd be with them on the flight.

Stopped by Stockholm for that transit, and more checks. What we didn't lose in KL, we lost here. Sad day for freedom. Can't blame the Swedes for taking things the way they did. It's that, or no transit at all. After 18 hrs, Newark beckons. The last three hours had tp be the longest. Touchdown at 6:30 pm, same date. The Immigration stamp was a breeze for me and Amin. A bit slower for Aishah due to her F-1. The luggage next -- all four by 8:15. And through the Customs -- a minor mistake in the Declaration form almost stopped us, but the officer saw it and waved us on. Glad to be out, finally, we just left through the first open sliding glass door and stopped at the nearest cabby. A call to Mutiara told us that they had both left for the airport -- ah well, get your own cab, Amin..sez I.

$150.00 and two cabs, twenty minutes later, and we were in Teaneck. Paid the cabbies, and then we found out that Azly had gone to the airport with two vehicles -- Sheldon's camry and the Venture, Ah well, again. Azly and Mutiara were very thoughtful...

WE were all together by nine. Talked to Azly a bit at the dinner table, had dinner and then my shower. Moved on at 11:00 pm, on I-80. Amin drove, until Columbia RR, the first stop after the NJ-PA border. I took over, sleepy as usual, but got home at 4:30 am. It was a welcoming sight. I was happy I could be in my own bed, after 34 days of absence...



Home Sweet Home.

Concorde to KLIA before Sunup

Yeah, I woke up at 5:15 am. The wake up service was at 5:35 am. The bell boy came at 5:45 am. And I was checking out at 5:50 am. I got back Rm50.00; the difference betwen the room cost and my deposit. Bell boy got a ringgit -- my second last ONE ringgit bill.

At 6:01 am, the bus rolled out from the Hotel's facade. ten minutes later, we were getting our bags out of the bus's rear compartment. Bus driver got rm1.00; my last dollar. The next minute, we were rolling out our two baggageful trolleys into the elevator to the fifth floor. We paused to pray our last malaysian subuh at the surau beside KFC. Next, we checked in, surprisingly, with no hassle! So different from the Newark experience..

At 6:45 am, we were happily waiting for Aishah's family. Finding them, we spent the next half hour together, giving out last minute reminders and future plans, and by 7:15 am, knew that the three of us -- Aishah, Amin and me -- had to leave. BTW, no pix were taken the past 12 hours. I was not going to get too emotional to keep those last bits of memories...

Bye bye Malaysia. And thanks, everyone. Till we meet again... it had been a wonderful, wonderful time!

Nite at Concorde's

The Zak family decided to dip in the Hotel's pool. Amin arrived later from Pan Pacific, and joined them. Me? I just wanted to rest and think nice thoughts. I'll remember the many things everyone had done for Amin and me. Zak and Idah, and their kids were wonderful. They helped to no end, asking nothing back. Makes me want to return..

Amin came back much later than expected, with less chicken than expected. I had wanted a bucket, but got a 5-piece. Ah, well.. those chicken pcs were meant for aaa's kids...

Aaa and his family came in at about 9:30 pm. We really didn't talk about much else except on petty things like how to resell jewelry and their work. Their kids were pretty much left out :( -- I had enjoyed riddling with them. But at 11:00, Kak Wan wanted to move, but not before Aaa and I had another exchange on my lost account. Whatever. He fianlly said he'd help out... Now that's my bro!

Briyani Gam (again), and Concorde Inn

After the Mines, everybody was tired and hungry. Zak drove to BBBangi and stpped at the Briyani Gam place, where every BG was only RM5:00. I asked Zak why the name. He said it had something to do with sealing the lid of the rice-cooker shut with paste, or gum, during the cooking process.

Nice. I had sirap bandung with my BG. There was space for the six of us, even though there were many customers.
I had my VIP bags with me so the large crowd made me very cautious.
After the delicious meal, we stopped for solat at the Pertonas station nearby. I did not, banking on my musafir status.
We then proceeded to Concorde Inn, where I checked in as a guest of Zak the JKR officer, and that saved me, on paper, RM40.00. But I still had to deposit rm200.00 as security, which pissed me off! Zak handed me that fifty I didn't and so, finally, we were at 1127 with my luggage. Tipped the bellboy rm3. He shouldv't gotten more, but I was on a budget..

Aug 27th at the Mines

Packing done, I placed the bags into the back of the APV. A tight fit, but the lid closed! Last nasi lemak in banana leaves for me, and off we went to the last shopping spree.
So, we were going to the MInes, where tired shoppers could look at the carp and catfish wallowing in the green water canal...

The MInes looked, from outside, like any monster mall, but parking was only two RM. And there were really not many spaces left, even at 11:00 am...

Zak and family like the place...

Me? I was wondering why..

And finally, the infamous waterway...

Aug 27th Boxing Day

I wasn't thinking about going anywhere on my last full day on Malaysian soil. My thoughts were of Indiana, the family there and Fall semester at CCAC. But at 8:15, as I was coming down the stairs, Zak said he and Idah were taking me out, for breakfast, last minute groceries, and perhaps a stroll into the Mines: a Mall with a man-made canal in between the rows of shops. Pah had been there before; they said I should, too.

So yes, we hunted for the rare spices at hideouts only Kajang locals would know about and found them.

And I had my last teh tarik and nasi dagang.


On the way back to Zak's house, we also looked for boxes. One place we went to was that fast-change tire shop that had that Pomelo tree.

At mid-morning, Jaa called to postpone his 2:00 pm rendezvous to 8 - 9 pm, so that meant that I then had the afternoon freed up. The MInes was beaconing me...
But we really had to repackm and weigh, the bags first!

It took us about half an hour to complete the job. Roughly speaking, I had a 29, 21 and 20 kilo set of baggage, and a hand luggage of 14 kilo.

Not bad.. I could actually shop another 20 kilos worth of goodies.. haha...