Another Family Wedding

Over the weekend was the wedding of my cousin Niza. While going the normal motion of a wedding it was not the wedding that got me into thinking mood but the whole clan of my aki Mohamad Nasib and moyang Abdul Jabbar. The strong realization was during the grand reception at the Felda Perdana Hall yesterday. The trigger was during my uncle’s thank you speech and something he said brought down a hard reality unto me. Fact one is that my uncle is the only surviving man in the family and fact two is that after him would be my generation to keep the flag flying for the family and we are in need of a leader to keep going. Symptoms of strain family relations and culturally not suitable behaviour are the order of the day. When I looked around me in the hall I realized if I do not do something the family chain will be broken for good. Whether I like it or not, whether I am ready or not or whether I am the best person to do it or not I have to do it.

Wedding, Paddy Fields, Seafood, Firefly, De Palma and Leaning Tower of TI, Bidor, Dec. 8-9, 2007

I just felt I need to get out of town very badly. However before I could do that I had a family wedding to go to at Bukit Jalil’s Fire and Rescue quarters. It was a wedding that I could not and would not miss for family sake. At the back of my mind since I woke up was dominated but the thought of going to K Selangor. Why K Selangor? Couple of reasons actually, we have not been there for quite sometimes now and my recent Treasure Hunt took me through there and the urge to come back built up inside. Furthermore I was, once and for all would like come clean with my earlier promised to go and watch the fireflies of K Selangor.

We have, or rather I have, not done this for awhile now. But I announced to everyone at home to pack their bags for a night over as I may be going somewhere after the wedding. I did not say where we were heading but all except Kak Cik heard me.

The Wedding

The Bukit Jalil’s Fire and Rescue staff quarter was not difficult to locate as it was built on the slope next to the main road. We arrived at the same time as the Pengantin Lelaki. The way the place was architected as we entered the gate was already the fire and rescue station. The quarters however were further down the slope. We did not wait for the Pengantin Lelaki and walked down straight away. The kenduri was already in full swing and after customary welcome from my wife’s cousin, the mother of the bride, we became the statistics under the beautiful canopy eating. For a long time now that I do not have high regards for wedding food. Generally they are all of the same types and taste, not like when I grew up in my kampong. The food could be very simple but since it was cooked by almost everyone in the village and through natural way they tasted heavenly. Due to that I tend to treat wedding as another invitation that I just need to attend without much feeling. In fact I was busy more as photographer, I can’t go to places like this without my Nikon, than anything else.

Kuala Selangor, Tg Karang, Sg Burung, Sekinchan and Hj Dorani’s

Ngah and family were there and since An’s place was not far away they have decided to go there after the wedding. I announced I am not going there and would be heading east towards Klang. Only when pressed I said Kuala Selangor. I decided to take the new Shah Alam- Rawang highway before I turned into the old Kuala Selangor trunk road. Since we have not said our prayers yet we stopped at the Almina R&R.

Since I wanted this trip to be an educational one for Mar, the rest as well, I took the Batang Berjuntai’s route to show her the small town and the Kg Kuantan’s firefly area. Also, to give my family a sense of place, Ijok a place made famous recently because of the by-election. If you still missed it now Batang Berjuntai is officially renamed as Bestari Jaya. Bestari Jaya or not to me it is still Batang Berjuntai the home of some of my closes friends. The bonus of taking this route was that my dear wife got the sense of where UNISEL is. However, when we were at the one street Batang Berjuntai town everyone’s brains started to recall the place that they had been before. Of course they had as I had taken them through there at least twice.

Watching A Small Fish


A Kilo Of 'Ikan Bilis', Please!

Around 1203 we were at Kuala Selangor and I turned into the old town to drive around. Nothing has changed so I continued driving and turned to the Penampang where the wet market and seafood restaurant area were. I did not stop at the wet market as I did not see it to be interesting. I eventually stopped in between two seafood restaurants purely because I wanted to take a shot of Kg Selangor muara of the Bukit Melawati from that side. There were two anglers there that made my wife. Mar, Baqir and Kak Cik alighted from the Ranger to join me. Nothing much to see really and by the looked of the place I would not want to stop at either Seafood restaurants. I decided against stopping at the wet market as well but my wife bought a couple grams of ikan bilis at the nearby sundry shop.

My plan was to try the Hj Dorani’s seafood but I was not sure where the place was. During the last treasure hunt I saw the place along the route and my guess was somewhere around Tg Karang so I drove on. As we approached Tg Karang we saw a Ford dealership on our right and everyone agreed that we should stop to have a look. Since we were making good time I stopped and we eye-balled the new Ranger and Everest. At the same time making a nuisance for the salesman there. Had they known that we were from Bangi they would have not bothered with us. In the end everyone agreed the new Ranger was more enticing compared to the Everest.

We pressed on and passed Tg Karang, Sekinchan, Sg Besar and when we were
Passing Sg Burong I saw the ‘padi’ field on my right and got excited to explore it a bit more for;

1. My family to witness another life that they were not used to, and
2. Nice photography

I swung the Ranger around, stopped at one of the fruit roadside stall to buy mangoes and steam corn, and turned inward towards the ‘padi’ field. I drove in far enough for all of us to enjoy the area and for me to take some photos. I purposely stopped at a junction of four big field separated by an irrigation canal on one side as I saw several kids were playing there. My intention was to take their photograph as well. They were enjoying it and came to me to ask questions like where did I buy my camera and how much. When I told them the price they exclaimed as though they know the standard price for DSLR. I just smiled to them and I told them if they wanted their photos they had to give me their emails. None of them had one :). Actually the reason I asked that question was to gauge the level of their access to such facilities as well as the level of IT awareness of the kampong. It is a pity to me for such a beautiful place their world could be more opened with the access to the whole world available to them.

Yellow Golden Field


Even Better Scene


A House in the Field

I took some more pictures to satisfy my artistic needs while none of my family members interested to come out of the truck to explore a bit more. They were just contented enjoying the environment from inside the truck. Well, at least Baqir was very busy eating the corns.

Before We Eat Them

The Kids


The Road Out

I drove out of the field to the main road and turned right north towards our original destination. By thentit was almost 1800 already. We eventually got to the Hj Dorani’s D Muara Marine Park around 1830 and indeed the place was brand new and beautifully done. The tourist park was not really a park but the place consisted of what I would term as poor men’s yatch club mariner, one storey family apartments, several water chalets and seafood restaurant all built at a cove surrounded by small wetland. It was so obvious the place was actually part of a watergate that used to be where all the small fishing boat ported. The whole place is owned or at least operated by Dorani Bayu Resort and Services. I enquired whether they had rooms for the night and was told the place was fully booked by the Kementerian Kesihatan people from Wilayah Persekutuan. Although I was expecting it I was still disappointed with the answer. We decided to enjoy the place and try the seafood there. We ordered what we normally ordered when we were at such places and was hoping to be served the best. While waiting for the food to be cooked and delivered I decided to explore around and take some photographs. This time Mar was my model and we walked towards the chalet and the management office. My assessment was if you do not have anything else to do there one night stay would be enough for you to experience the place.

D'Marine Resorts


Poor Man's Marina




When I came back to our table the food were already on the table but I noticed my family was not eating like they normally did. I thought they must have been still not hungry or the food was bad, really bad. I thought they were pulling my leg when they said the later but when I tasted everyone of them they were really awful. I just could not believe it with all the hypes they could at least be on par with what we get in BSP but it was really pathetic. Honestly, anyone of us could cook better that that. The tom yam, sweet sour and vege were tasteless. I was robbed, really was robbed by them. But being my nature not wanting to waste I slowly and bravely consumed most of them.

With the day getting dark we decided to say our maghrib there and quickly left the place. I hit the gas hard towards Kuala Selangor and still would want to take Mar to see the firefly. It was make or break for us at that time as I saw dark clouds were forming. The wind was also blowing hard at certain places and I drove on with my head thinking hard on our options that night. I saw the Bukit Belimbing Firefly Park sign on the right on the way up to Hj Dorani that evening. So when I saw the sign again when we were approaching Kuala Selangor town I turned the Ranger to the left. Bukit Belimbing was about 7 – 10 kilometers away connected by a district road. The road was a bit dark due to the unpredictable weather. We were really trying our luck then as I knew the sky could open up any minutes and we had to turn back for sure. I pressed on and got to the place eventually. When I saw two tour buses and at the parking lot almost at capacity my spirit was up a bit. I parked the Ranger and told the rest that I’ll go and check-out the place first. It was all good news for us and I duly asked the rest to come down and we proceeded to the ticket counter and eventually to the river to board the small boat to be taken along the river to watch the firefly.

After Watching the Firefly

Except for the young couple sitting at the back the boat was ours. It was around 2035 when we were in the boat. Mar and Baqir were eager, Kakak and Kak Cik a bit worried, Nurul did not effect any feeling but Ibu was shaking inside. Lucky for us the boat did not shake :). The boatman was a friendly local and we chatted as he slowly maneuvered the boat slowly towards the river bank on the other side. At first it was not that obvious to us and then as our eyesight adjusted to the blackness we could see a beautiful constellation of tiny flickering dots all over a silhouette of trees. The sky was a bit dark indicating the potential rain coming down. But we were lucky. According to the boatman it was torrential the night before and he had actually the unluckiest tourist all the way from Japan. He took us upstream first and then slowly turned the boat to let it drift down river inching closer to the edge so that we could touch the firefly. Despite the dark sky it was a very still night. During one stretch everybody was so quite I did not know what to think of what the others think. But I was thinking of how nice it was if we were to be camping somewhere. We could really enjoy the night away with the nature. I tried my earnest to get a shot of the beautiful gift from Allah but I knew I was working against all the elements of good photography without my proper gear. It was futile effort that I just decided to enjoy it. After one pass I thought the boatman would take us back to the jetty instead he remarked since it was a slow night he would take us back upstream for a little while. It was a good 45 minutes firefly viewing for us when we were taken back to the jetty. Everyone was happy and we drove out towards Kuala Selangor town.

As I was driving I knew I wanted to stay the night in Kuala Selangor and our only logical option was De Palma Hotel. I was ready for the unfavourable answer when I approached the counter but I was greeted by a nice surprise. A group canceled at the last minute and presented us with another gift for the night. I guess after the setback at Hj Dorani D’ Marine Park we were compensated. I took up two joining rooms, make sure we had ESPN on (Baqir didn’t get to see MU play though) and settled for the night. Before I entered De Palma I was expecting the old De Palma but I had a nice surprise and credit to the management. Not only they are building a new wings all the room were refurbished and renovated. They were excellent and value for money. Unfortunately we had to leave early the next day.

Tg Karang, Sabak Bernam, Teluk Intan, Bidor – Dec 9, 2007

The initial plan was to check out very early, visit the wet market of Kuala Selangor, Sunday market in Tg Karang and maybe proceed to Sg Besar and go home. I woke up early as usual but in the end we did not check out early as the others were still sleeping. The four of us, Baqir and Mar were awake already, went for breakfast at the hotel café. Being a three star resort hotel we did not expect that much for breakfast and we made do. Mar had been pestering to go for a swim at the pool so after breakfast Sam took her there while I took a nap. When Mar’s back from her swim we got ready and check-out. It was around 1130 when we drove out of De Palma and it was already late to stop at the wet market. However, I still wanted to go to Tg Karang and see what’s available there. In 15 minutes we were in Tg Karang already and there wasn’t any Pasar Minggu or whatever. But there were a row of warongs that looked enticing and we stopped at one of them to eat. If not anything else we would be able to sample their kind of food like laksa, satay, mee sop and soto. Of course there was one came with less ingredient but full of kuah :). Since our plan had gone haywired we took our time eating. After eating we decided to check-out the row of shops in front of the warong. It always an exciting event going into one of such shops in any small town because we would not know what to expect. I love that kind of surprises. We wondered into bigger ones and Mar and Kak Cik’s got their underpants and jeans from one of them.

We decided, actually I decided; to continue north and my intention was Sg Besar to see if there were any interesting places that we had missed. When we got there I found out nothing of interest and since we were already there I thought we might as well continue to Sabak Bernam. We arrived at the junction to Sabak Bernam town around 1303 and since we had never really visited the town I turned left and headed for the town. As expected it was a small town but I did not expect it to be next to the river. I went one round the town and parked the Ranger at what it seems as the main tourist attraction the waterfront pavilion. It was nothing and since it was low tide the riverbank really looked messy. I took two shots of the place and moved on.

As I got to the main road I realized that Teluk Intan was actually not far and as we always say ‘sekali henjut dah sampai’. We continued our journey there and since we were going there I already knew where we were going next. It was raining when we were in Teluk Intan. Somehow Teluk Intan is a town like Melaka to us. Not much to see or explore anymore but we just love to stop there and our favourite place was Fajar but now taken over by The Store. First I drove around the leaning tower of Teluk Intan to take some pictures. As it was raining we did not get down to climb the tower. We went straight to The Store and spent about an hour window shopping there. It was almost 1530 when we were out and the next agenda was to find a good place to have a late lunch. The restaurant across the road that we wanted to go was already closed for business. The food must be good for them to close that early and we had no other choice there. We drove around and in the end ended at Pizza Hut. Probably Pizza Hut would be the last on my list during any travel but in this case nothing much I could do as it was raining and there seemed to be no decent place to eat that came across.

We came out of the Pizza Hut at 1622 and drove straight to Bidor and we reached there with enough daylights and after Maghrib we took the highway home.

So out of nothing we ended up in two States that weekend. Despite these places not new to us we have learned new things

Not On The Train But in PD Witnessing (or should I say photographing) a Wedding, Aug 18, 2007

The morning was early for me and as soon as I walked out my room I saw bodies laying in the living room like refugee camp. I peeped carefully trying to identify Mar and there she was curled in the middle of the pack. The newly wed was on the floor sleeping soundly.

I went out with my dear wife to explore what we should get for breakfast. It was drizzling cold morning and I did not think I would be driving far for breakfast. We ended up at the usual place just after the Dataran where we used to buy breakfast before. It was convenience as we can get most of the things there. A nice surprise though I stumbled upon Anis who was buying breakfast there as well. Anis did her practical at our place few months back and now working for the PD Poly.

We came back to the apartment with 10 packets of nasi lemak, 8 pieces of roti canai and a lot of karipap and other kueh. I thought that was overdoing it but in the end it was just nice to feed my platoon. After a long hibernation they sure were hungry. Since it was still early I decided to take a nap and the children jump into the pool.

Let me just breakdown the kenduri into the followings;

1. Berarak and bersanding
2. Speedboat ride
3. Cake cutting, and
4. Continuous eating

Of course I was involved through out as the photographer. The most exciting was actually the boat ride and the three photographers had to follow in another boat. I just wish then I had a longer lens.

The day ended with everyone so tired and we went back to our apartment to rest. The rest went home.

I decided to try the new Tom Yam restaurant next to the Petronas at Batu 4 before walking through the pasar malam (since it was Saturday night). I asked at the entrance what their specialties are and I was told confidently everything. When we finished eating all of us were disappointed and agreed that would be the last time we would be there. You can get testier ones from the roadside stalls. When we ordered we specifically said we could not eat certain seafood and why I was not surprise when the food came they still included those things. I sent them back of course.

Conclusions:
1. The wedding was an experience
2. There should be more family outing just to be together
3. PD is becoming monotonous to all of us and there is nothing more interesting to see or experience. I also doubt whether it is a good place to relax anymore.

Not On The Train But in PD Witnessing (or should I say photographing) a Wedding, Aug 17, 2007

We checked in into Laguna Condo Resort just before 1400 as I promised the girl when I called the day before. As we walked towards our unit on the 4th floor of block A I could not but felt that the place was neglected and obviously not popular among tourists. However for the price I was paying, considering the beginning of the school break and I am being I am always making my reservation late that was the best for us. The building was pathetic with lift not working on certain floors, pools that were murky and walls that need paint job very badly. Our spirit was lifted a bit once we were inside our unit. Since we had had our lunch all decided to try for forty winks. Not wanting to disappoint the groom I set the alarm at 1530.

Everyone was already at the entrance to the colony when we arrived and as soon as we were alighted we walked to the bride’s house for the akad nikah. The Khadi and his two witnesses were already inside waiting. Without missing a beat the Khadi started the ceremony by welcoming us, little information to explain to An on how it was going to go down and started on the khutbah nikah. At this point I already passed the camera to Baqir as I anticipated I was going to be the witness as well. Apparently I did not have to and I let Baqir continued to be the photographer with me giving constant instruction. I do not wish to make fun of the groom but before the akad he fumbled on few easy questions. Nervous? Or too eager to get married and forgot everything that he memorized while driving there J))). Whatever it was clues and hints coming from me from behind didn’t register on him either. In the end the Khadi helped out. To his credit though he nailed the akad nikah in one go. Looking at his bride seating not far away I could see relieve on her face. My theory is that the Khadi must have another wedding to do that was why An had it easy J)). I am very sure best practices would not do it here as the situation could be very complex. You may think you nailed the procedure after witnessing several weddings and attending courses but the reality was totally unexpected. For one the ceremony that was supposed to be conducted in the mosque was moved to their resident that adds additional anxiety to the groom. Secondly, expecting the Khadi going to be tough he delivered you a curve ball by being nonchalant in his way. Thirdly, you were caught of guard by the speed of the events. Thus, you forgot what you supposed to answer. Well, the small number of people in the house worked in An’s favour. Ensuing photography session took place in the bride’s holding bedroom and I decided on the normal shots and avoiding the cliché. I just love to shoot as things are happening not really waiting for my subject to get ready to pose. Posing for the camera for me is just for classroom or football team shots.

In any case congratulation to both of you, An and Gie, and remember marriage is something you work at, about compromises and understanding of each other. Accept each other shortcomings and; husband and wife spat. Do not put materials first or in between both of you as those things would not last but your love to each other will. The most important thing of all jangan tinggal sembahyang. That is how your Ucu and I survive all these years.

The rest went home but three cars turned left towards our apartment for a night stay in PD. Even though the water was murky we decided to do the pool before Maghrib where I managed a few laps.

We do not have any specific plan for the night but one thing for sure all of us do not wish to stay in our rooms. So after Maghrib we drove out towards PD town and ended up having our meals at our usual hawker place in town. It was not so much of the meal but sitting together talking among families that made being there a worthwhile thing. Family relationship, trust and the moment, if not environment, enable us to share each other stories and perspectives. In my younger days it would mean during a kenduri kahwin with the main house lighted just by gasoline lamps we sad among the older village folks to hear their tales. In fact we ordered whatever we fancied and stayed talking until quite late even for Mar and Qhila. We tried to find something interesting to do on the way back to the apartment but we can’t find any.

Once in our apartment everyone started to find their own space for the night. Just like chicken going into their coop and knew exactly where their place was and we settled for the night. At least one of us was asleep contented and anxious waiting for tomorrow and the reality on just had been a husband to somebody. Me? ……..

Norita's Wedding and a journey of nostalgic fool

Nov. 29, 2003 Our plan was to pack everything for home and travel to Temerloh for Norita's wedding before backtracking to KL. The weather was gloomy as usual but I woke up early nonetheless. As soon as daylight broke in I resurrected my old Komander Muda kawat diRaja voices and yelled everyone up. Of course, there were few ears that were immune to this that required personal yelling sessions. After breakfast, everyone went around doing their own things – packing and collecting flowers, fruits, vegetables and such to take home to decorate, or at least trying to, our new home. It so happened that my sister, her family and my mum were also going to Temerloh to a different wedding that morning, so everyone was busy. Around 11 am we left Kg Gali Tengah, Raub after saying goodbye to everyone. I took the Mempaga route and came out at Lanchang. On nearing Mentakab due to the continuous rain I made a pit stop at one Petronas Gas Station. As I made the turn into Temerloh - Jerantut Highway, I can call it a highway now as the road is excellently new, I was amazed by the changes. The other main reason why I persisted in going to the wedding was to take my family along this route. I could still remember vividly in 1975 or 1976 when my brother and I passed along this route to Jerantut from Kuantan. Way back then if you were going back to Raub from Kuantan you only had two options. Either you take a taxi to Temerloh and continue with the journey 'naik bas loncat- loncat' to Bentong and subsequently to Raub. The other option, which was our most frequent – the reason because my father got his travelling warrant just for this route, was to take the so-called Kuantan – Jerantut `Express' through Maran, and all the Jengka precincts complete with all the winding and river crossings all that you want. There was indeed one portion of the journey that we had to cross Pahang river on a pulled ferry. It was scary the first time but we got to enjoy it after a few times. This whole journey took us almost three quarters of the day and it could make the toughest weak when you get to Jerantut, especially if you were the type that has this travelling sickness, which was common back then due to poor transportation and road condition. I mean when you alighted at Jerantut your knees started to shake, sometimes violently, that you need support just to stand upright. As for us, we got immuned to all of these and at the age of 9, I am already a veteran of such journey. The main consolation of travelling by buses back then was the journey really presented you with the best opportunity to look at different, sometimes remote, places. The best time was when you were travelling during fruits seasons around July – August. You could see all colours throughout the journey as well as locals selling their produce along the road. I miss all that now. That particular journey with my brother was the first trip home on our own. The reason our parents allowed us to do that because a different bus company had just started a real express route from Kuantan to Jerantut via Termerloh along the just completed Temerloh – Jerantut trunk road passing Kerdau, Kuala Krau and all. It is still fresh in my mind when we left Kuantan in the early morning and got to Temerloh – Jerantut stretch by midmorning with the glorious sunshine glimmering within the new Express Bus. I set in front of the entrance and had a full view of the road ahead. Another advantage of sitting there was you got to see all the beautiful country girls on the road and when they got down. Really, the best part was the view of the country that I am not able to see anymore. Now, as we moved along I can only describe the scenery to my children. I have been for a long time meant to take my family along this route and Norita's wedding invitation presented me with the opportunity, albeit until Kuala Krau. Nonetheless, it was a discovery for all of us. Around 1 pm we reached Kuala Krau town and I missed the railway station and overshot the town. I turned back and found out that the railway station just snuck nicely on the side. A nondescript location but no doubt the centre of activities during old days as for the place like this was used to evolve around the train schedule. Also, this is another perspective of life from the other side of the train. For so many years during my younger days, Kuala Krau was just another station during my twice a year trip home. Again, looking up from the railway station is another life that you had not expected at all. As expected finding Norita's house was quite easy-going into a turn I asked somebody in front of the mosque and soon I was parking my truck beside the gate of Sek Men Ugama Darun Naim. There were already crowd going in and out of the premise and we walked navigated by our instinct. Our instinct was right only that we had entered from the back instead of the front. Nevertheless, we were there and it reminded me of a friend's house in Butterworth that had and address, Rumah Tepi Klinik Bidan, by no means I am commenting the state of Norita's resident but more of and association on my part. A home is still a home to someone, alien to others but the best place on earth for the resident and it is true of Norita's house. Since I could not locate any familiar faces we started to eat. While eating I observed the surrounding and sense that there was something going on and from my observation, I correctly identified Norita's father, mother and brother. I continued eating and the food was something you could not get in KL. After eating we waited for a few minutes, as I knew the pengantin was on his way and about half an hour later he still didn't show up. That was when I made a decision to leave, sorry Norita I can't wait as I was to drive back to KL immediately to beat the traffic, I met Norita's father, bersalaman, bertanya khabar dan meninggalkan pesan, sekiranya ayahanda Norita teringat. I was informed that the pangantin was stuck due to a minor accident on the road. True enough as we drove out we saw the small accident and the pengantin was standing under a yellow umbrella. Norita, once again we are sorry for not able to wait a little bit longer as we would like to beat the heavy traffic, as well as my baby, has already gone restless in turn making everyone restless as well. Nevertheless, Selamat Pengantin Baru semoga berkekalan sehingga keanak cucu dan Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir Bathin. Please send us the photos.

Zaza's Wedding, June 7, 2003

It was another wedding weekend for us and I bet for so many Malaysians as well. The only ‘nuisance’ they were all not my wedding…LOL. My wife will clobber me with this statement but then again she may just let me sleep outside. That is even worse…LOL.

Anyway, I love to go to a wedding for reasons that I want to share with you all. If you backtrack for a few years and observe how a wedding was organized in the old days you’ll know what I mean. It is a time when the whole kampong will get together and collaboratively make a wedding the most memorable for the ‘pengantin’. It is a time for the family to get together, from afar they will come to stay for a week to help up and catch-up on each other, cousins (like I used to) will discuss how ones have grown and do new things in life and also matchmaking on the part of aunties and grandmas for their sons and daughters. This normally would result in another wedding do the following year. Of course not to mention some of our own endeavors to become Romeo as we discovered (our hormone as well) some of our cousins and long relatives turn up to be a princess. A lot of your female cousins will be eyeing you as well, albeit behind curtains and while you were helping out with manly things like chopping woods and getting the tent ready. Some times it became so obvious to our uncles and aunties that everyone laughed at our antics. So rajin one buat kerja, kalau angkat kayu pun yang paling besar, kalau panjat pokok yang paling tinggi and all trying to prove that we are MAN. Especially kalau our female relatives pass by…LOL

At night soon you’ll discover which of your female cousins that really can cook and do some of the creative works preparing the pelamin and other decorative things. Childish it may seem but you can see male cousins tripping at one another to win certain hearts. The best of all, for me at least, a wedding is also the time when most ‘kampung’ beauties came out. Not once or twice I wondered where they have been hiding all the while. When I was 15 – 20 years old wedding in my kampong is something that I really looked forward too. Two reasons – Babe and Gulai Umbut Kelapa …LOL

A wedding also brings together long lost friends and the sight they were crying at seeing one another was great. Great for humanity and great to laugh at, I mean to laugh in a good way….laa! Nowadays, a wedding could be a business to certain people or business-like, especially weddings in the city, with not much feeling and emotion to go around. Also, weddings, no matter how far it is now, are accessible to most Malaysians. I mean I have been to weddings in KK, Melaka, Pahang and Ipoh in a single journey without breaking a sweat. In the old days when travelling from KL to Klang took one full day you have to really plan your wedding travels. On the part of those planning for weddings they really have to choose the right time, normally the long school holiday at the end of the year, and you can never have two weddings in a week. If not we have to go to tribal council to sort this out. If the bride or bridegroom happens to be from another state, well simply, you’ll have a preparation like the whole clan is going to Mekah. No kidding!!!! Well at least from where I came from anyway.

I have three invitations last weekend; two, Seremban and Melaka, on Saturday and one, Bangi, on Sunday. The one in Seremban came late and I said would try to attend provided I could do it on the way to Melaka. So, that Saturday morning we woke up early and departed from the house at 8 am. As usual, we stopped for breakfast first and proceeded to the Plus Highway. When we got to the highway the traffic was already quite heavy but I didn’t suspect anything worse and we drove down south. I zigzagged the truck down south and made a turn when we reached the Seri Putera/Bukit Mahkota interchange as we have planned to stop at our new house to check on the repairs that the developer was doing. The house was 70% repaired but there still works to be done before we could move in. The contractor promised me a week. At 11 am we reentered the highway and the traffic was getting worse, still I could zigzag through. However, we were confronted with our biggest fear when we got to Nilai. The three-lane highway was a crawl and my guess was until Seremban. I was right of course and we only managed to pass Senawang at 1 pm and it was too late to stop at Senawang for our first invitation. I floored the accelerator and sped our way towards Melaka.

After so many trips to Melaka, I was quite familiar with the direction to Zaza’s place and headed towards Umbai as soon as we passed ‘ Samy Velu’s’ Collection Center at Air Keroh (It was RM11.70 from Seri Putera). I tried to speed through the traffic full of holidaymakers packing the Air Keroh resorts, entertainment and visitation area. I did this not trying to be another Schumacher but because of the heat that proved to be a little bit too hot for my little Mardhiyah. We reached Zaza’s Kampong in no time and in fact, my son and daughter commented that they saw a wedding indicator that said Zarina’s wedding. I said let us pass on a bit further up to make sure. As indicated in Zaza’s plan we came to Kg Pulai’s masjid and right in between the masjid and the pusat kesihatan was a wedding celebration going on full steam. For some reasons, I could not remember Zaza’s full name and I said to my children Zaza’s name was Zainab Abd Rahman and it could not be the house at it says Zarina Abd Rahman. Of course, for once I was wrong so much so my children and my wife made a celebration out of it…LOL. Anyway, once I parked our truck in front of the masjid Nazri came to say salam. He and Huda, in fact, had just arrived themselves and stationed themselves in the masjid waiting for someone that supposes to be there earlier. (I tak nak sebut nama nanti dia marah I). Since Zaza’s place is crowded with people due to the just arrived pengantin lelaki we decided to join Nazri and Huda in the masjid to cool off. We only walked to the house after about 15 minutes of waiting. Nazri and Huda, being a true friend, decided to wait for ‘the friend’ before walking over. Zaza and her new hubby were at the main table eating, not really, more like smiling and with ‘am I suppose to do this or look like this’ look on their faces. Actually, my wife was the first to acknowledge the location of the newlywed and when I looked up to look; Zaza was smiling and waving at me. Not wanting to disturb Zaza we sat down at a table to be served. While waiting for the food Zaza further acknowledged my presence by sending a ‘messenger’ over to present me with special ‘momento’. She, the messenger, actually asked me first whether I was Zaza’s lecturer and I said I was. Frankly speaking, the greatest recognition that anybody could give me is when they called me ‘lecturer’ or ‘teacher’. I felt honoured with that recognition. Even though I spent only about three months with you guys sharing what I know you still call me that and I am touched. I hope back then I could spend more time with all of you and I did get to share even more with those that have taken KM in their Master's programme. When we finished eating we walked into the house to meet the pengantin to say goodbye and both of them were busy sitting on the pelamin taking photographs with other guests. There they were smiling looking so grand in their light blue attire ‘mengerlip-ngerlip, nasib baik tak light and easy, at the pelamin. Our turn finally came and we placed our selves and our best smiles to be captured as Zaza’ wedding photos collection. We wished them all the best and walked out of the house towards the masjid to Jama’ our prayers. Kesian kat Nazri and Huda, they were still there waiting and in fact were still waiting when we left the masjid for home. BTW, I met Maz and her ‘tunang’ at the masjid and she gave me her premature wedding invitation which would be at the end of the year in Butterworth. InshaAllah!

I knew I was a bit tired even before we drove down to Melaka and the situation was made worse by traffic jam waiting for us on the main road. As we suspected it was due to an overturned lorry just before Pernu’s Ikan Bakar’s junction. We saw the carnage when we drove through to Zaza’s place. We were a bit lucky we were on the other side of the road as there was a longer queue for traffic coming from Melaka. My first remark was ‘kesian Nazri and Huda kena tunggu lama lagi la’ as I was very sure the friend that they were waiting for must be stuck in that queue. As for us, I made a detour at Sg Duyong for my children to visit Perigi Hang Tuah and for me to sleep…LOL.

We finally arrived home at 11 pm, 11pm! You may ask. Well, if you know me, while I am travelling I like to take full advantage of it and detour here and it is quite common. However, I am afraid they would be too boring to share with you all here

Linda's Wedding

We started our journey at 12.15pm with an objective of reaching Linda’s place at 2 pm. I sped down the highway and almost overtook a petrol car along the way..LOL. We reached Simpang Empat Tol at 1 pm and I was confident to be on time. I found out that ‘they’ are still messing around with the old road. The intention is right and noble in trying to widen it but they could not work fast enough. This is really a Malaysian problem where we promise on something but do not know how to deliver. Nevertheless, the situation actually hampered our journey; instead of being able to cruise down to Klebang smoothly, we had to be contented with stoppages and slow drivers. This is my other observation of Malaysian drivers – no I am not saying that all of us should break the speed limit but you can't drive too slow either, especially on the highway. On the highway, you cannot drive slower than 70 km/hr as it is dangerous to others. If you drive this way on any highway in the west you will be fined. Anyway, we moved slowly down to Klebang. Once on the trunk road, one thing that all of us clearly noticed was ‘ ramainya orang kahwin dekat Melaka hari ni!!!’ I mean if for whatever reason we couldn’t make it to Linda’s wedding we can always stop at any one of these ….LOL. Really, if I am not mistaken not less than 10 weddings we saw along the way. Jawabnya tahun depan makain ramai la rakyat Melaka. Cuma ada satu baby tu nanti kacukan Klebang and Kuala Kangsar.

I meant to take the Pulau Gadong road but instead took the earlier one via Bkt Rambai as I knew it would take me to jalan pantai at Klebang. Clever me, I made a mistake of turning right at the junction and went cruising towards Sg Udang. I knew then I made a mistake as I thought the ‘empangan’ was after Riveria Resorts. I finally made a u turn in front of the Petronas refinery and proceeded toward Melaka town. When we reached Klebang Besar I told my daughter to be on a lookout for bunga manggar sign on our left that has Linda and … printed. I knew the map was a bit off, sorry Linda jangan mare, but I was sure Linda’s house would be just after the ‘Empangan’ and we got there my daughter saw the Jalan Melaka Tengah and it was actually next to the river bank. Had I driven from Melaka town I would definitely have missed it. The most important thing we arrived safely and when we were about near the house I saw Linda’s future husband under the hot sun waiting with the pengapit, just the two of them. The pengantin holding on his right hand the tanjak and pointing at somebody with his left looking a bit worried. Takut tak dapat kahwin kut…LOL. I remarked to my family, ‘Laa sapa plak tinggalkan pengantin tengah panas ni’. At least we knew we were not late. We passed the pengantin lelaki and made a turn to park. Before that just to be sure I asked a group of budak-budak whether that was Linda’s wedding or not. Just to be sure as it happened to my friends before. Syok confident je makan sampai nak balik baru realized wrong wedding..LOL. So, after we had parked our truck we walked to the compound. As I am not expecting anybody to menyamput us we walked straight to where the food was..LOL. I overheard somebody calling Bang Kassim to a gentleman and I look at the man and assumed that was Linda’s father and I was right. We started to eat and enjoy ourselves. While eating I look around a habit of mine actually, trying to understand how some people live in their environment. Although I am at a wedding I just could imagine the folks going through their routine each day within that area. As we were about to finish our food we saw the pengantin slowly approaching accompanied by the kompang group. It was a bit like they were doing a slow march under the hot sun. I pity the Pengantin but then that what you have to go through to get married here…LOL. Sure enough a very beautiful pengantin perempuan came out of the house and waited for the groom to arrive. The bride was smiling and looking ahead anxiously..mengelabah kut… We continued to eat. Linda eventually walked out to join her husband and together they march towards the house. Cameras were clicking and viewing away frantically – my Nikon is a bit off on holiday and I restrained myself from being a photographer. Sorry, Linda, not that you guys were not beautiful but when I looked at the photographers that you have I think you have more than enough. So I look from afar especially at the entrance when the groom was teased and taxed. Not many do this anymore at weddings but it was enjoyable to watch. The groom was finally given a passport to enter the house. We waited for a few more minutes for everyone to settle in before we moved to the serambi to look at the bersanding. I sneaked in immediately to take one short at the pengantin and went outside to wait. When I was there, Haida who was there on a mission herself greeted me. You know what I even got another wedding invitation while attending this wedding.While I was waiting, Haida approached me with an invitation of her own. I opened the card and look at the date. At first, I saw the address in Kuantan and I said to myself, `Great we are going to Kuantan again!'. But I was corrected by Haida that her kenduri would be in Melaka. I looked at the date again and was amazed to notice that beginning with Linda's wedding I will be going to Melaka almost every week for weddings. The only exception would be the fourth week of June that I would be outstation. Haida actually introduced her sweet mother to us. Now I know where Haida got her sweetness. After Haida left us we stayed a while, as I wanted to say hello to Linda before we leave. I saw Wan walking out and he saw me and straight away came over to say hello. Apparently, while waiting, somebody, probably Haida, actually mentioned to Linda's father that I was her lecturer. Linda's father greeted me with, ` Assalamualaikum Tuan, Tuan sudah makan?' and I was a bit awkward to be called Tuan. I politely replied, `Ni bapa Linda ke? Ye, kami dah makan.' Then Linda's father actually went inside to the pengantin yang tengah sebuk senyum atas pelamin and made an announcement that there is one more important person would do the menepung tawar and that `important person' was me. I was stunned for a while and complied not wanting to disappoint Linda's father. All my life I have been trying to avoid doing that. Not because of anything else it just that I do not think I am important enough to grace the occasion. I even turned down an offer to merenjis my niece. I could not taichi this one as Linda's father was so persistent and again I did not wish to disappoint him. So, Linda girl, you are one lucky lady, could be unlucky as well …LOL, to have me doing that to you. My first time ever and my wife actually laughed at me. Really I did not know how to do it, I thought of taburkan beras kuning atas kepala Linda je tapi I made do with putting the stuff into their palm. Renjis air mawar pun dah tak keluar dah..dah habis kut…LOL. I thought that was it and I can go home then. While getting ready to leave my wife, a former PNM librarian, met up with her old colleagues and started to chat a bit. I made a decision to take a few more shots of the pengantin. When I was done and about to leave with my family a nice lady came to approach me to ask, ` En ni pensyarah Linda ke?' and I said yes politely. The lady then insisted for me to wait for a while, as she will pack for me something to take home. I said no need as we had more than enough but she insisted. So we waited a bit longer and I continued to be a photographer until the lady approached us with another sweet lady with the goodies. Only then the lady introduced herself as Linda's sister and the other lady Linda's mum. We were really touched by their gesture and hospitability. When we arrived we honestly would just be a normal guest coming to eat, greet the bride and bridegroom, take a few photos and leave. Instead, we were accorded with all the hospitability that, come to think of it, I did not deserve. As I only was your lecturer for two months and of course I am more a friend or a brother to all of your than a lecturer. In fact, that's how I see myself with all of you. I talked about it with my wife when we drove home. I said I may have done something right during those two months for most of you to take me as your friend. Really, apart from Yazid and Huda, who took my KM class, all of you only with me for those two months? I really thank you all for accepting me to be part of your life. To whatever invitations I received from you all I'll try my best to come only if I have a prior engagement or I am not in Malaysia. My wife actually remarked,' lecturer lain tak ada pun.' Well, they could probably leave already.

Thank you Linda
Thank you Linda's husband
Thank you Linda's Dad
Thank you Linda's Mum
Thank you Linda's sister and
Thanks you to all of you

We were safely home at 10pm … Ronda-ronda kat Melaka town dulu. This weekend I'll be in Melaka again for my friend's daughter's wedding.

Ikin's Wedding, June 1, 2003

I am not sure how many actually turned up that day and it always a wonderful feeling to meet old friends that you have not met for quite sometimes. Shida, to me, has not changed that much but you, Sue, as Shida said makin cerah…LOL and a bit skinny..LOL. Ikin plak nampak macam dah …….. sikit. For what it worth it is not the size that matters but how ones feel inside. If you are happy being what you are, albeit in a good health, be it. Yes, Sue I know I am a bit kurus and so many people commented the same to me. My condition is due to trying to stay healthy based on the advice of my doctor. Nothing major is wrong with me but due to my family history with heart problem and hypertension, I was advised to take good care of my health and reduce my weight. So my weight reduction has been due to constant exercises, that I am beginning to enjoy, and proper diet. I have still 5 kilos to reduce, so the next time I meet you I could be even more kurus. Sue, my wife tu memang ada Chinese blood from his father’s side. To be exact Chinese+Pakistani+Minang+Melayu sebab tu anak I macam-macam variations sebab tambah lagi Rawa blood from me..LOL.

Sue and Shida, we are a very close family, out of office hours where ever I go I will take my family along. If there is something good to be learned here my advice to you all is give more time for your family. I do not see any reason or logic to those people who say that he is so busy for his/her family. Family time is family time do not get your works to mix up with it. I see enough examples out there where family huru hara just because the parent put more emphasis on memancing, golf and other things. Well, nothing wrong with all those but you have to know your priority. Your foremost and greatest responsibility in this world is towards, besides Allah, is your family. To me, one's children are the greatest assets and if you screw up with your greatest assets you are not fit to be called the best manager, coach, players, man of the year, best economist or whatever. So, parents please do not neglect your children. Do not trust helpers, Indons or whatever, tutors, or motivators with their upbringing. You have to take an active part.

For other's information yesterday I decided to drive up to KK instead of staying overnight in Ipoh or KK. We left in our truck early in the morning and arrived in KK at about 11 am. As I knew there will be Pasar Minggu in town we parked somewhere and took a stroll enjoying the environment. My wife managed to buy a few items like belacan, ikan masin and ikan bilis. We could not find her favorite jering cambah though…LOL. Kalau tak bebau la bilik air rumah I hari ni..LOL. Of course, we had cendol and the inevitable KK laksa. When we left Kajang I forgot to buy a wedding card for Ikin so I drove around town to search for one and I was lucky to find one and unlucky for Ikin, whether you like it or not, that was the only one in KK. I sincerely hope you like it. We finally headed for the direction of Ikin’s house at half-past twelve and when we got to the ‘Jerat Chino’ (Kubor China) I discovered we were a bit too early and I continued to drive on towards Manong. We only stopped and made a turn at one Masjid which I could not remember the name. Anyway, Ikin, FYI we wrote the wishes in the card there for you. We arrived at Ikin’s place at approx. 1.10 pm and headed straight to her house. Not many people yet when we arrived and I asked one woman about the Tuan Rumah and the woman pointed towards a man in baju melayu. I gave my salam and introduced myself and my family to Ikin’s father. I asked about the pengantin and was mentioned that the bride was inside if I wanted to meet her. Since the pengantin lelaki was not ‘punctual’ we decided to eat first.

While I was eating I turned to my left and saw Shida and Sue, a bit cerah but I still know it’s her, walking up towards the tent and I waited if they would look up towards me so that I could wave at them. But they were too engrossed and expressive with their talking to notice me. Not until I had finished my food that I turned and saw them seated diagonally to my left. I waved at them when they were looking at me and they walked over soon enough to greet me. We talked, asked about ourselves, introduced my family and kissed ..opps silap tak ada kiss-kiss..LOL. Not a long chat but it was meaningful. I guess Shida had to leave early and saw she left, I didn’t remember whether we said goodbye or wave goodbye at one another.

At first, I thought of staying for the bersanding but since it would be late and tiring for everyone we decided to leave but of course not before we met the bride. I got help from Sue to escort us in and met with the lovely and ever-smiling bride of the day. We wished her all the best, took few photos and left her house after saying goodbye to Ikin’s father.

By the way, Shida and I didn’t get a chance to spoil everyone’s appetite with our singing….LOL.

Unlike Sue, we did not have any more weddings to go and we drove towards home via route 1 (old main trunk road). My plan was to stop at any interesting places along the way, especially where there is water to berendam. In the end, we did not find any place good to stop accept one town that I had meant to go for quite sometimes.

People tend to associate Tg Rambutan with the not so nice notion that it is a ‘crazy’ town or a town for mentally unstable people. To me, Tg Rambutan is the first place where I go to school. Seriously, Sek Kebangsaan Tg Rambutan (then) was my first school and I went there for only satu penggal, the first time I mentioned this to my children my sons laughed at me and said ‘Abah pergi sekolah orang gila padan la Abah kadang-kadang gila’, until Ulu Kinta Field Force Camp has its own primary school. I still have fond memory of my first school and the thing I remember most was the train that passed by beside our school. The school was beside Tg Rambutan railway station and just like Lat depicted in his drawing every time the train passed by all heads turned to watch so much so the teachers got immune to it. So, imagine my surprise when I got there I found out that the signboard at the gate now reads Sek Kebangsaan Tamil Tg Rambutan. My sons could not stop laughing at me and I just stared at the school and still could not believe my eyes. I am very sure I was standing in front of the right school as the environment and memory straight away connected with me. I do not know how to explain this but that was the way I felt. I was standing there but my mind has gone down to 1967 and I saw my friends running in the field playing, the school canteen which was a standard colonial wooden house and I saw myself pushing and shoving trying to buy kacang goreng for my sister at home. I spent an hour or so reminiscing and taking photographs there and my family, as usual, knows me so well and gave some space for me to be on my own. We eventually drove towards Ipoh where we stopped for a few hours to cool off at Kinta City.

I am sorry that this piece has got the better of me and too long for all of you. For what it worth we arrived home safely at 11.15 pm. Next weekend another three weddings to go and one of them, I hope, is Zaza’s big day. We might meet some of you there and we might not whatever it is Ikin once again our heartiest congratulation to you and Ridzuan and May Allah Bless Both of you always. To all of you as well.