A Beautiful Home in Batu Rakit...

We were in Kuala Terengganu [May 27 and 28, 2011] and there we met Hassan of Almanar and his spouse. It was our first time meeting after having met him on cyberspace through blogging. He invited us to his home in Batu Rakit for Tea. So on the afternoon of May 28 with the weather on our side we drove to his house using the GPS as our guide. Since he did not provides us with his home address we had to just rely on the destination of just Batu Rakit. On nearing Batu Rakit we got lost as to which direction we should take. I then call Hassan on his cellphone and soon was directed to his home with him talking on the phone as we drove on. We were directed to just drive into his compound, a sprawling bungalow amid the Kampong environment.

Parked the car and went out to shake his hand and met his charming spouse Salmah. We were taken to the patio of his home, an area facing the sea. He had built his home well. Not too far and not too near the seafront. Out-front of the patio are trees and shrubs that he has planted over-times; giving the house a windbreaker of sort from the harsh monsoon wind and rain comes the end of the year. I like the house and the way it was designed.

At the patio we sat to enjoy the special blend of mango juice that Hassan especially prepared from his homegrown mango. We sat to chat and enjoy that heavenly juice with an aroma of sweet and freshness, a bliss. I saw a Kesidang trees with many white flowers. I grasp my camera and snap a few images of those flowers. It sweet soft fragrant is indeed enchanting and does add to the atmosphere and beauty of the garden around the patio. We talk on small-talks and then his spouse excuses herself and left for the kitchen.

We then move back into the house and sat at the dining table where we had tea with that special Keropok Lekor that taste like no other that I had tasted before. In between Hassan kept pouring the mango juice as soon as one took a gulp and placed the glass on the table. We then move to the sitting area where we continue with our chat. On some serious subject that are close to our hearts, the education of kids in the rural. The two women stayed at the dining table to compare notes on their own. From what I could see Pokcik Hassan dream was to give back as much to the community and in this case he decided to give free tuition to school going kids at his own Tuition Center near his home. Over time he has indeed managed to educate more kids than he ever thought possible. With the knowledge they gained most of those kids has done excellent in the examination and tertiary education and later on in their lives too.

A numbers’ have return from time to time to say Thank You in person to Pokcik Hassan. The image on the left [stolen from his blog] shows a group of successful ex-students revisiting their once tuition center and gurus.

The home itself is a dream for most of us but it a reality to Hassan and his spouse Salmah. A well designed house with everything in need within reached and he has colored the whole house in various shades of blue, the coolest color on planet earth. I like it and instantly fell in love with this modern architectural home amid a Kampong environment. How I wished it is mine to live in and enjoy life in my golden years. But then it is not possible since we have different needs. After living so long in the suburb of Kuala Lumpur I no longer could live outside a city environment; where everything are within my reached and it is a first world with its own economic system.

Anyway I do envy Hassan for getting his dream home come true and enjoy every minutes of his life in the golden years at this paradise of his. At the same time parting his knowledge to the young who would otherwise deprived of such educational opportunity that has been proven would improved their quality of life. Well, we cannot have everything in life. For me I am grateful for what I have got. And enjoying our lives as we know best with our loves one in our Pondok in Ampang Jaya, just five minutes away from the world famous Petronas Twin Towers commonly know as the KLCC.

Well folks we did had a great time in those short-spans of time in that beautiful home in Batu Rakit, thanks to the hospitality of both Hassan and Salmah. Have a nice day.

[Please click image to enlarge]