Kuching Revisited

We are now in Kuching. We have been staying at the Hilton over the weekend together with Shaffik and his family. We took Air Asia from Bintulu on Friday and will be flying out back to Bintulu this evening.

I am writing this blog at the study table in my hotel room, which faces the famous river that cuts the city into the northern and the southern halves. There is a huge, multi-pillared, circular building, with umbrella-like roof in final stages of construction coming up across the river from the Hilton. It has now blocked a major view of the distant horizon. I was told that this will be the new court house. It stands next to the old Fort which has now been dwarfed and look quite insignificant, as though it has seen its glorious days as a historical landmark of sorts. Little boats ferrying pedestrians across the river still ply from various points along the esplanade and the residential areas across. Other large buildings in Kuching North (the hotel stands in Kuching South) mostly government administrative buildings can still be seen. Most significant of them are the dome and main pillar of a mosque standing magnificently amongst the other buildings and the luscious greens surrounding them. A beautiful view indeed if not for this humongous court house! There is another mosque in the south standing by the river. This was the original town mosque which was a landmark for the old Kuching city.

It is still Shawal and we made several Hari Raya visits to relatives and friends in Kuching. We visited Ram's niece and family and also Mini's cousin and family. Ram's niece and husband have retired and their children have all grown up and are on their own. Mini's cousin are still bringing up young children. It had been quite a while since we last met them and it was pleasant to have met them again.

One friend we visited was a former colleague of mine during my working days in Bintulu. He has since risen up the corporate ladder to be the Chairman of the states economic development corporation, while at the same time being an elected representative to the state legislative council. I took a chance and sent him a sms message on his handphone that I was in Kuching with the family. He immediately called me and asked how long I would be in Kuching and then allocated time for me to visit him in his house. It was a very pleasant meeting for us indeed. He has not changed much even though it had been more than twenty years since we were together, still lively and sprightly and full of jokes as before. He lives in a big house, gated and with security personnel guarding it. He came out to the gate to receive us when we arrived and appeared excited to see both of us (in all the excitement I noticed that he was barefooted!). He remembered Shaffik too. We talked about old times, about how others amongst us then are getting on now and of course interspersed with current local political and world economic scenarios. He, being in the government sector and privy to some of the latest info gave us some insights into the current scenarios, some of which were quite surprising and eyebrow raising to me, a laymen and without access to the real information. It was a short visit as it was slotted in between his tight schedule but we promised to get together again in the near future and I hope it will be in my house in PJ then.

Kuching city used to be limited to the water front and near the river with the commercial centre on the south side and the residential areas on the north side. Now it has two mayors, one for the north and one for the south. Shopping activities used to be centred along the water front but now, as one drives out of the city centre one should be able to see tall buildings coming up, large shopping complexes, commercial buildings, office buildings, apartment and condominiums sprouting up everywhere. We visited one of the shopping complexes yesterday. It was large, much like the ones one see in big cities and the day being a Sunday just as crowded with people.

The weather now looks good, and from the window the esplanade at the water front beckons to me for a walk. So, I shall walk the pavement for a while, to as far as my leg can withstand it supported by my walking stick of course. I shall write again, by the grace of the Almighty.....

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Kuching, sarawak

Oh oh .... It has been 3 weeks?

It has been 3 weeks since my last posting. Alot have happened in the three weeks with the significant ones being the family gathering on the third Shawal, and the passing of son Shaffik's father-in-law, who succumbed to the big 'C'. He had a mild stroke and was taken to hospital. Once one is in hospital all kinds of tests will be conducted and one of the tests done on him indicated that he had the big C of his lungs. It was very fast indeed. Only 10 days and he succumbed. It was mentioned that he went peacefully though and not before he had moved his bowels and emptied his bladder, had a light meal, a few spoonful, and then all realised that he had 'gone'. So, he had cleansed himself before answering 'the call to return' they said.

I was in the East Coast, in Kuala Terengganu, attending to my commitments at my former place of work when I received the sad news from son Shaffik. Ram and I managed to get a flight out to Bintulu but could not be in time for the funeral. Anyway, our presence are usually required for the family that's left behind since the one that is gone is gone. So it was never too late then.

Our presence in Bintulu was, I think, most looked forward to by our three grand children, especially the little one, the 3 year old Haadieya who was most excited of all when we arrived. From then on it had been Tok Bah this and Tok Bah that and Tok Mi this and Tok Mi that.... demanding our attention always. She is especially fascinated by my mustache and beard, playing with them while seated on my lap!! We will be over each other, all four of us, i.e 3 genuine kids and one much overgrown and overaged kid in bed when waking up in the mornings, throwing the bed and beddings a mess, all to the annoyance of Tok Mi ha ha, but leaving me without a care in the world for that precious, cherishable moments.

Babang or Hifzhan, the eldest, is always serious and disciplined but would lighten up in my presence. Dedek or Haziq on the other hand is ever the playful one and come up with surprising statements and comments now and then. The little one of course is the attention grabber. One day we were in the car and Dedek was playing with the car air-cond rear blower fan control switch, turning it up and down successively:

Tok Bah: Dedek what are you doing?
Dedek: I am testing the aircond?
Tok bah: No no no, you will only spoil the blower playing with the switch that way
dedek: But babang asked me to do it
Babang: Noooooo
Tok bah: So dedek, if babang ask you to jump out of the car will you jump out?
Dedek: No! But when I ask Babang to pee in his pants he did!!
Babang: Dedekkkkk (on top of his voice) and they were on each other with Dedek giggling away.....

Another occassion we were on the road again and the three kids were in the car. We played the spelling game, and naturally the two boys tried to outdo each other. But the little girl, not being able to spell, wanted to get into the act as well. So Dedek gave the little sister words to spell:

Dedek: OK Haadieya, spell hand
Haadieya: C T U.....
Babang: Wrongggggg
Haadieya: Yes C T M.... hand
Dedek: Correct Haadieya. See babang, Haadieya has not gone to school yet and she already can spell.....

See, you will not have a dull moment with the kids around. I forget everything else in this world with them around....

The family gathering on the third day of Shawal saw a whole day event that catered for all ages in the family. Details and pictures can be found at the following site www.warisantcc.blogspot.com. You are welcomed to visit.... Happy reading...

MKI ramblings unlimited
Petaling jaya

Tomorrow is the day we bid goodbye to Ramadhan and come dusk welcome Syawal. To some it is a sad farewell and to others a happy ending. Sad if all that one desired was not fulfilled and happy if otherwise. Ramadhan is the month one seeks His bounty which can be more than one can imagine if only one care to seek. Therefore woe be it when one slackens in total supplications to Him in Ramadhan. One may not get a chance to meet the next Ramadhan.....

The times we spent in the east Coast of the Peninsula was a bit too much for the both of us. Since coming back we have been a little under the weather, and with the loads of things we had to do in and out of the house, which was in a real mess not having been attended to for a long while, health started taking its toll on us. Despite the health setback, we had to attend to the chores, poor health notwithstanding, lest the mess continues into the festive period! So it was, head heavy and body aching, both of us continued to do what was necessary to spruce up the house. We were thankful though that son Shaffik and family came back on Sunday and hence we had additional help to do the necessary, and with the grandchildren around, full of their pranks and antics, all the aches and pains in our bodies melted away somehow...

We had planned to cook our usual sweetmeat for the festive day and we had purchased 2 kilos of good meat for it. I spent the afternoon today preparing the meat, pounding to soften it and cooking it. I think staying infront of the fire and stirring the big pot for a good two hours did some good for my throbbing head and aches in the body although standing for two hours was not any good for my knees. The throbbing in the head disappeared but the pain in the knees took over. Huh! one setback to another, ha ha. Age do play games with you. Anyway, a good rest afterwards was all I needed to recover from the knee aches.

It was announced that Syawal will start on Wednesday, hence we have another day of Ramadhan. I hope we can make full use of this last day to catch up before Ramadhan leaves us. I submit to the Almighty and I seek his guidance always....

MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling jaya

Nights Full of Blessings

It is now the last segment of Ramadhan and it was said that the last ten days and nights are full of Almighty's blessings which are bestowed in multiple bounty if only we care to seek. One night of the last ten nights, especially, holds something special for the ummah. No one knows which night of the ten but there has been many speculations, postulations, deductions and guesswork even, on which night it falls. To me it is only ten nights and one should not fret over which night it is but concentrate all efforts to submit to Him in all of the ten nights. If one can, one should submit wholly and sincerely to Him all of the Ramadhan nights. What are we if not for His blessings.

Ram and I have spent the last three weeks away from home. We have been staying in a hotel in the middle of Kuala Terengganu town and located very close to the town mosque, which conveniently served our purpose. This particular hotel was my 'second' home of sorts even at the time I was still in service and working in Kuala Terengganu some ten years ago. So, to return and stay in the hotel after all these years was like homecoming for Ram and me.

The mosque holds the regular and the additional Ramadhan prayer sessions, just like any other mosques in the country. For these last ten nights they hold prayer sessions starting at 3.30am. Meals for the breaking of fast and for the beginning of fast are also served to the congregation. So what more can one ask for. Some people practically spends their nights in the mosque. I guess they go home at sunrise to catch up on sleep!

Ram and I try to join in all the prayer sessions as much as we can and also joined the congregation for the breaking of fast twice. A third time we did was when the Prime Minister visited the mosque to break fast with the people. Of course, he made a political speech before the breaking of fast but I noticed that people who attended were not concentrating on his speech but were more interested in arranging the food on the table for the breaking of fast. Other days we break fast on our own either in the hotel restaurants or in our rooms as appropriate. Because of my work commitment I sometime return late to the hotel with little time to prepare for the mosque but but we try to make sure that we join the congregation for all the prayer sessions. Better miss out on the food than miss out on the congregational prayers.

We will be returning home tomorrow and need not return to Terengganu for a while yet. Hence we will be spending the final segment of Ramadhan at home and at our local mosque. I expect the house to be a mess and will need some sprucing up. So there will be alot of work to do when we return home. I only hope I can find time to catch up and update my postings here. I seek His guidance always.....

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Kuala Terengganu

See The Bigger Family

For all those who have been following my blog and followed stories I posted on my bigger family, of how we get together and formed a movement to further the dreams of my late father and my mum, here is an opportunity to get a closer look at this bigger family http://www.warisantcc.blogspot.com. or go to the link Warisan TCC here. It is in Malay though but there are pictures of members of the family there. Thanks to brother Joe who, I am sure, spends alot of time moderating the blog, the family worldwide can get in touch in a single blog platform. So, happy viewing.

I am still commuting weekly to the East Coast of the peninsular and addressing the higher demands on my time leaving me little time to do anything else, and less so to post my thoughts in this blog. And this month being Ramadhan, the need to spend time more advantageously is even greater and I seek guidance from the Almighty to enable me to apportion the time available appropriately. Apologies if the postings here gets too infrequent. I will make efforts to do more, with His blessings.....

MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya

Long Overdue

It has been more than two months since my last posting. Much have happened since. Ram and I have been spending time away from home more than being at home and mostly in the east coast of the peninsular. I have alot of commitments to attend to, mostly facilitating the technical training of new employees and the training scheme is for one year. So, it looks like Ram and I will be commuting to the east coast more often now and for about one year. This may be extended if there ius an extension of the scheme beyond the initial one year plan. Ah well, it keeps us occupied though.

This commitment takes us away from the regular activities we were used to, like attending to the community services near our home, attending to the activities and classes at our favourite charitable foundation, attending to the Retirees Fraternity for which I am the secretary and others. We manage time, however, to visit mum in the south and to attend to weddings and major family gatherings. This is essential and is one way of maintaining and preserving family and social contacts and camaraderie.

My brother's mother-in-law, staying with him and family in Melaka, passed away while we were in the east coast. She was 80 years old and had been quite sickly at the time. We could not attend her funeral, but we had the opportunity of meeting her a few months ago. She was very frail and had then asked us to offer special prayers for her. Now that she is already gone then only we realised that she was indeed asking us to pray for her. We made an effort to visit my brother and family as soon as we could get away from the east coast.

We also held a simple gathering of nephews and nieces, Ram's sdie, in our house recently, to offer special 'thanksgiving' for various happenings amongst family members and to seek the Almighty's blessings for our well being. There was a good turnout of Ram's family members including her two sisters who came up from JB to be with us for the occassion. A birthday of one of Ram's grand-nieces was also celebrated that night, complete with cake-cutting. There was alot of family banter and I think everyone had fun. Too bad Shaffik and Sita could not join us for the occassion, being too far away.

My family grouping, TCC, held a meeting recently to plan activities for the upcoming annual gathering of family members. Although I am the Chairman, my schedule was too tight that I could not attend. It is quite a distance to travel from the east coast to the south and it is a one day travel one way!! Instead of postponing the meet everyone agreed that the meeting should go on without me and another senior family member took the chair for that meeting. Praised be to the Almighty that the meeting went well and that specific action plans were set in place and in motion.

I hope I can still find time to post here as regularly as possible. I will try ... I will try.... with the blessing of the Almighty....

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya

Roman Bath Near The Circus!

After visiting the Stone and Wood ceremonial structures, and after a short picnic in a park nearby, we went on to Bath, another city in the Southwest, about almost an hour away to the east, from where we were. The city was very hilly and the buildings mostly old and typical of English designs. We started off with visiting a park and observed several hot air balloons taking off nearby. It was exciting for Najla especially to see the balloons from up close. She commented that the balloons got fire burning and asked why. I think she could not comprehend why fire was needed for the balloon to fly. She nodded and said ‘yeah’ when I explained but she had that blank look! The park must be close to the University as we noticed many students ‘doing their own thing’ in the park.

A short distance away from the park was the Circus. No no! not the animals and trapeze type, but the housing and living quarters’ type. Yes, it was the typically English four storied apartments (including basement), in three blocks built in a circle, hence the name ‘the circus’, surrounding a small park in the centre with large trees in a circle as well. A road runs around the circus, in front of the apartments, with three entry and exit points, one of them leading to the city centre about half a mile away. Najla was running around the little park and played with the kiddy stuff there. She was enjoying herself. It was then almost 8.00pm but it was still light and bright as sunset nowadays is about 9.30pm.

We walked about the town area, quite busy with people out partying and enjoying the good weather, most in restaurants and cafes sitting outside in the open. We went looking for the historical, public ‘Roman Bath’ but found it closed. So we had no chance to see the exhibits in the building but went around the outside of the main building and the pump house nearby. According to the brochures the bath is not in use now and is only displayed as a tourist attraction. It would have been interesting to see the exhibits…. If one need to take a bath? There is a bath and spa outlet close by that charges £25/- for the full works, whatever that was……

We later asked around and located the town mosque, performed our obligations and then had dinner that we bought from a suitable fast food outlet in the town centre in one of the parks close by. People were walking through the small park with some walking their dogs. There was one particular man who walked along close to where we were sitting with his dog unleashed. Najla was especially nervous and apprehensive seeing the dog coming by. But when the dog just passed by she commented, “luckily I have cut my finger nails”. Apparently Sita had coaxed her to cut her long finger nails by ‘conning her’ that long finger nails invite worms to live underneath the nails and that dogs like to lick little childrens’ fingers that have worms in their finger nails. Phew! What a relief it was for Najla heh heh!

It was close to midnight by the time we were ready to leave for home in Tenby. We noticed several people staggering along drunk and one particular girl being helped along, hardly able to walk on her own, obviously very drunk. She was whisked away in a car by her friends who were themselves in some level of intoxication. I wondered if the driver was capable enough to drive! We arrived home at close to 3.00am and ever ready for bed. It has been a pleasant outing, something old, something not so old, and something new along the way. What next? We only have a few days left in Tenby and we have no specific plans of how to spend it. For me, I will continue my daily walk as the weather forecast said the sun will be up and the temperatures anywhere between 15 to 22 degrees centrigrade, nice and cool for walks in the country side……




MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
Wales