Ramadan food bazaar....

Pasar Ramadan or the Ramadan food bazaar. Yes, food bazaar that comes only during the month of Ramadan, the Moslem fasting month. Now regulated, these bazaar sprang up like mushroom after a raining night. It is usually organized at the parking lots or empty spaces at housing estate. There are everywhere all over the country comes Ramadan. At our place there is one, every year without fail come Ramadan at the parking space at Jalan Satu, Ampang Jaya. The place would be crowded with stalls selling foods and drinks ready to go. The selection are unbelievable plenty, the range of delicacies are just not that possible to count during one visit. There are the already cooked one and there are one that are been cook or grilled. The smell of those wonderful food is simply overwhelmingly tempting!! The spread of foods are laid to tempt anyone who visit this food courts of a sorts. Malaysian love this bazaar and they would throng the bazaar which usually open for business after four in the evening and would end just before the time of the breaking of fast. For that short period of time these bazaar became a sort of a carnival, with cheerful people buying their needs for the Buka Puasa [breaking of the fast]. In turn its make those vendors real happy..Indeed a real win win situation, in this auspicious month of Ramadan.

Yesterday I decided to take a short drive to the bazaar and look around of the happening. With my camera I took a few images of the scene and above are some of what I saw on that evening. The couple that create the wonderful Popia, the making of the famous Roti Canai, The Ikan Bakar [grilled Fish], the Makcik's Kueh [Mom's traditional cakes], the Mamak with it's Nasi Biayni, the crisp fried chicken. The varieties of foods and drinks are endless which makes the Ramadan Food Bazaar, famously know as Pasar Ramadan, something real special.

I did not come to this bazaar to buy anything but as usual end buying. With that I head home to wait for the time of the breaking of the fast, which at my place is at seven minutes past seven in the evening. Well life is like that. Have a nice day.

Kuantan 1912 and 2006....

Well, here is some images of my home town Kuantan, the capital of the state of Pahang. That colonial building which once house the administrative office or the District Office of Kuantan, now a museum is still there when I visit Kuantan last month... The black and white image is a copy I found at a restaurant in Kuantan and the one in color I took during my last visit to Kuantan...Enjoy...

Ramadan, the fasting month..

Ramadan in Malaysia start on today Sunday the twenty forth of September two zero zero six. As usual it start with the Trawih prayer session at the local mosque after the Isyah prayer on the evening of the twenty third [yesterday]. It should be noted that Moslem calendar start from the evening prayer [the magrib prayer]. The Magrib prayer is the first prayer of the day and not the suboh or early dawn prayer. So from today Moslem all over the world would fast during the day. That is from the moment of sunrise to the moment of sunset. Fasting is actually the state of the mind. Once the mind is set to fast during the day, then it would be just easy, a sort of a second nature. Once Magrib time comes, it is time to break the fast. I would just take some sweet liquid and dates for a start and then do the Magrib prayer. After that I would sit to enjoy the first meal of the day. After a short break I would go the local mosque and do the Isyak prayer follow with the Trawih Prayer. Trawih Prayer is a congregation prayer done only during the fasting month. In today's term it is a sort of a recreation for the physical body and the mind. In a way we get to meet others of the community to socialized as well. The trawih session is for all, the young and old, the man and women and the children. For Moslem it is a change from the normal ritual of everyday life activities to that of the special Ramadan ritual, fasting during the day, eating and drinking during the evening only and the social events in the mosque. Well, surely change in the normal ritual would do good to our species. It would not only do great to our physical body but to the mind as well... Friends Have a Great Ramadan this year..On this auspicious month I wish that everyone have only LOVE in their heart... Have a nice day.

The Tenun Pahang, a works of arts....

Works of Arts comes in many forms. Textile is one of the many. The one that are hand woven are unique in itself for they can never be two alike. If you own a piece of this hand woven material especially the traditional one, you would surely have one of a kind. Just like the Tenun Pahang or The Pahang Weaving textile. A sarong of a sort now made into textile that could be turn into a fine lady dress and other apparels as well as table clothes, tie, handkerchief and other souvenir items. It is actually a part of a tradition that had evolve in times. The Tenun Pahang, once the exclusive for man has now became a designed fashion textile, that is unique. It still retained that traditional Malay sarong touch. It is a textile that is made famous by the Royal House of Pahang in the Royal town of Pekan, Pahang...

While in Kuantan the other day we decided to visit the house that churn these intricate piece of traditional sarong that had been use with pride by the Royal House of Pahang for centuries and now with the government getting involved more of these once exclusive sarong are made available to the public. There is this little house at Kampong Soi, just off Tanjung Lumpur where a group of young ladies sat to work weaving the sarong the traditional ways. They still use the traditional wooden weaving hand loom of another era. Patiently they works manually with their hands and feet to woven the cloth with intricate design. At the end of the day turning it into a gorgeous piece of materials. Another works of Arts. Keeping the tradition alive...

This intricate woven cloth in the past could only be got at Pekan, the Royal Town of the State of Pahang. History has it that the art of making this special textile that are only worn by the royal came from faraway land of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Sulawesi is the home of the seafaring Bugis who had travel all over the Malay archipelagoes and one group that is lead by a Bugis aristocrats reach the shore of a new found land on the east coast of then Malaya and eventually settled at the royal town of Pekan. Today these fine textile could be got at the state own gallery at the Teruntun Complex in Kuantan. [ to enlarge the images above click on it ]

Meriam and Norlela, the ladies entrepreneurs...

It was yet another beautiful day..Without thinking much, after dressing up I told my spouse that I am going out for awhile. I drove the Honda Accord and just take its easy. In my mind if there is a parking lot at Ampang Point I would just browse along at this shopping mall but after cruising along I just could not find a lot to park my car. In that situation I decided to drive on and eventually got the Great Eastern Mall. Parked my car at the basement and took the lift up to the lower level and then went up one floor to see if there is anything exciting at this level, a sort of a lobby where exhibition are held from time to time. I saw that there is a interesting exhibition of Arts of all sorts on exhibit and sale there. Since I love works of arts, I browse along and eventually got to talking with a group of young ladies entrepreneur, one of whom is an painter and were selling her works of arts. There is another lady who works on small items of metals turning it into items of beauty and a works of arts, the like that of cosmetic jewelry. They were real articulate in English so the conversation soon became more interesting, the subjects seem to change as we go on. Indeed these two young mother in their forty something were the new emergence entrepreneurs who decided to turn their love for arts into business. I got their permission to take some snaps of their works of arts and above are the images that I took using my cell phone. Its really do look great...

I am indeed proud that these ladies with grown up children and from the look of it had themselves good education decided not to be employed but instead to go on their own, turning their interest or hobby into a business venture. As a person who had trained many young entrepreneurs before when I was working in a government agency, I gave whatever advise I could and encouragements to them hoping that they would continue to enjoy success in their enterprises.

These ladies that I met today are from the generation of my children and I am glad that they are on the way toward success in their business venture. In a capitalist system that the country practice, the future of a good living standard with a great quality of life depend very much on the individual. I believe that these young ladies entrepreneurs that I met today are among the many young people that makes the new Malaysian business people that would herald this country to a new height in the future. So to Meriam and Norlela I wish you well and hope that you both would continue to prosper and enjoy in whatever you are doing. Have a nice day.

Things of the past...

They say that the things of beauty is a joy forever. I believe this is one of those things...I took this image of a mode of transport in the bygone days. The Rickshaw, a transport vehicle that makes its hey day in the late nineteen and early twentieth century. The about image was take at a location in the city of Kuantan on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Just take your time to ponder and admire this works of arts. The most modern means of transport at that time in the period of our history. Amazing how we had progress from this manpower vehicle to that of the Jets of today's, the would whisked us in mere hours from one location to another location in this wonderful planet of ours.. I live throughout these developments and am happy that our species had progress that far in such a short period of time in our world modern history of communication.. Have a nice day.

Anwar Ibrahim for the UN ....

Well, among the few personal that had been mentioned as a possible candidate that would be taking over from Kofi Annan is our former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim. This is mentioned in an article in the Time Magazine , posted on September 3, 2006. That's something and to be mentioned as a possible candidate is indeed a honor to Anwar Ibrahim. Well even if he is not elected to the post of the Secretary General of the UN, at least He is among the few that had been mentioned as the possible candidate. I hope that He got that job. It would be a honor to Malaysia.. Anyway that is politic "The Arts of the Possible".. It could be possible if he is destined to be so. My friends that is life.. We call it Destiny......... Have a nice day.

Ken Orril's final destination!!!......

Well, how and where do I start telling this episode in the story of the passing of a true friend, of which I wrote about his demise some months ago.. Let me start like this, a sort of Part two of this true story of friendship that spans culture, a story of a stranger that became a friend and a story of one's destiny..This second episode start Friday the 11th August. It has been three weeks already. Time passes just like that and here I am continuing writing about the events that look like an episode in an adventure novel of a sort, a drama in real life that unfolded as its happen....

While in the LRT [Light Rail Transit] that is packed like sardine, I hang on and wait anxiously for the train to stop at my destination, the Sentral Station. While in the midst of day dream in that cramped space, I got a call from one of the friends that I am supposed to meet at the Sentral station, saying that they are now on the Express Train from the Airport on the way to the Sentral Station. I told Her that I am on the way and if they arrived first, that to wait for me. A few minutes after that I arrived at the Sentral and then rush to meet them after getting another call from Her, that they had already arrived. I told them just to wait and eventually got to the arrival hall. I look around and then look outside and there they are, four of them waiting for me, all strangers..In that instance we recognized each other and shake hands as thought we are old acquaintance..In the next moment we are strangers no more. Two of the person in the group are the daughters of my dear friend the late Ken Orril and the other is an English gentlemen with his young son. They all are on their first visit to this country.

In my previous posting I wrote about these visitors from the UK and they are on a mission of a sorts. Their late dad had willed that His remain be cremated and then his ashes be flown to Malaysia and scattered into the sea at the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia, a country that he had spend most of his time as a soldier on OHMS and then later in life he would come over and stay for months enjoying the hospitality in this adopted home, a country that he call as his second home. While in his sick bed He had planned to make another visit to Malaysia but fate that He did not make it for He was called to Lord in London. But He was determined to get here one way or the other and make it as his final destination in life.. So for that purposed His children, two of the His daughters and a close friend came over. William of PJ who had known Ken since the days of his youth studying in the UK and whose home became a base whenever He is in Malaysia, took the part of organizing this part of the funeral. On that beautiful Sunday morning, after a simple ceremony at a Temple in Brickfield, Kuala Lumpur, Ken's ashes was then taken to the Straits of Malacca at the Port city of Klang. Using a boat His ashes was scattered into the sea as He had wishes. He had come Home to rest at last in his home in Malaysia. A country that he love and cherish all his life...Well Ken your wishes had been granted and I am sure that you are happy that it had turn that way. The way you like it....

This turn of events had given the opportunity for My spouse and Me to meet his charming and wonderful daughter, Max and Lo. And also found a new friend in Trevor.. Well life is like that!! Destiny they say. And when the time comes it just happened, like meeting this two charming ladies and the ever smiling Trevor. Well as I had described in my last two posting, after they had done their official business here in Malaysia, they went on a spree of a holidays by touring the country by car, with the great Trevor on the wheel all the way. The car was arranged by William of PJ, the other part of the equation in this Malaysian Ken's relationship. From the look of it, this guy Trevor is indeed a seasoned traveler. He was so confident of driving on strange roads as thought He has done it before. That is the way Trevor!! That is the way to go, to see a country especially Malaysia where the road are good and driving a pleasure!!. In doing this you would get the opportunity to see the country as it is and the way you like it without the hassle of a tourist guides. As you drive along you would surely get the pleasure of enjoying the greens of the tropic. Greens in all shades and trees in all shape and sizes. The ever changing rural and the urban scenes, the traditional villages and the most modern Malaysia, parts of this ever changing country sites. A country on the way to be a fully develop nation by year 2020.. Well they did got to all the destinations that they had planned to...They first drove to Kuantan, then to Terengganu with a stop over at the tropical island of Redang. They then stop a night at Kota Bahru in Kelantan before proceeding to Penang and Langkawi by taking the East West Highway. I believe they all had a wonderful time in Penang and Langkawi and eventually got back to Kuala Lumpur via the North South Highway, to be in the capital to watch the events of the 49th Independent day celebration....

The evening of August twenty nine we hosted a dinner for them together with William and his spouse.[images about are taken at our home in Ampang Jaya]. It was indeed great to have them in our home where their dad use to enjoy visiting us from time to time. Sometime having lunch or tea and stayed to chat all the day long. It is indeed strange that only after his demise that we get to meet his children. I guess that is the way it had to happen and we, my spouse and me are indeed happy that it did happen..An episode that is waiting to happen and happened it did, at this period of our life. Well Ken..We are indeed glad that your children came over and from the look of it they really had a great time here. The dinner went extremely well, just like a family gathering do.

Friends that had been our weeks and its really been a great one.. Have a nice day.