lesson learnt: don't judge a departmental store by its facade

naza had always wanted to go to The Store Jalan Tebrau. i had never registered any interest on it because from the outside it looked rather uninteresting.
we went out to shop for small things and intended to go to carrefour jalan tebrau.
it was raining and there was a massive traffic jam leading to carrefour.
along jalan tebrau towards jb city, however, traffic was miraculously smooth. we saw The Store up ahead - our only option. and naza was smiling endlessly.
so in we went. there was not many cars on the parking area. and not many people around in the store itself. the concept of jalan tebrau's outlet is rather like a hypermarket - emulating giant and carrefour. there are various outlets on the way to the supermarket and departmental store proper.
what i like best was the vegetable section - for its hydroponics. green leaves come alive! ready to be cut and weighed.
there's ample selection of things. and i think, whatever you want, they would surely have it. being a departmental store, it doesn't stock many choices. but yes, they have things that you're looking for.
then there was the bakery. naza and i bought a loaf of cheese bread, potato buns (cheaper and better than elsewhere), and hot milo (for me), teh tarik (for naza - of course).
we sat there and enjoyed dipping those bread and buns. blissful...
so, lesson learnt this time - you have to somehow experience things before judging it. and much to my astonishment, this one was a good experience.

wooden shophouse in Pekan en route to Kuantan. it has a verandah, much like a normal malay kampung house. and it looks like new, although it might have been around for decades.

passing by quite town Pekan, Pahang. i love these old wooden shophouses. that old car passing by adds quite a nostalgic feeling.

east coast trip

back from the east coast trip yesterday.

it was a long drive, but not that tiring. i enjoyed the scenery and more so because we pass through places that we never been to.
no highways, albeit the journey was enjoyable.
not like the usual rides, Naza was awake most of the time accompanying me.

we went to cherating, kuala terengganu and kuala rompin.
i enjoyed cherating and kuala terengganu.
took quite a number of photos. my digital camera is still on repair, so i borrowed Rawani's Nikon Coolpix E3200. quite a good camera.

it was not a destination-to-destination journey. rather, it was a stop-and-go ride. en route to cherating, i stopped for a while at Pekan and took some photos. then to cherating and check in at the hotel.

the next day, check out of hotel and to kuala terengganu. on the way we stopped at chukai (kemaman) and had coffee. i was wondering what chukai had to offer. and, at the crossroad, i saw the red letterings of 'kedai kopi hai peng' on a building. i quickly find an exit and went on to the parking bay. and so, i treated naza coffee with kaya toast.

i'm stopping now, and would continue on later, with photos.

A much delayed honeymoon

Saturday 8th. April is Sultan of Johor's birthday.
A holiday for the state of Johor.
And, Tuesday is Maulid-ur-Rasul - Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) birthday.
I had applied for an annual leave for Monday.
Hence, a 4-day long weekend. I and Naza planned for a trip to the east coast. On my job trip to Kuantan last February, I wished to go to Cherating with her some day. And, this long holiday would be it, insyaAllah.
We'd cover Cherating, Kuala Terengganu and Rompin, hopefully.
Booked the hotel rooms, and can't wait to drive up there.

moi, etudiant

i was rummaging through old cds and came across this one.
i remember a few things about it.
it was taken in 1998 while i was studying in The University of Manchester.
was taken by my classmate Rudy using his SLR. good, quality photo.
scanned by Zul with his brand new scanner (quite rare, those times).
i was young. and handsome. and slim. those are 501 jeans. quite loose eh.
those nike acg shoes that i bought a few weeks after arrived in Manchester. had to leave them in Mancs because they were totally worn out and there was not enough space left in my shipping cartons.
was a sleepy saturday - not much traffic.
i miss those days.

need i say more?

masjid pasir pelangi, johor bahru.

the sultan of johor's emblem on the gates of masjid pasir pelangi in johor bahru.

bright sky, strong wind. and animals lifted up to the air. pasir gudang international kite festival. taken on 28 feb 2006. photo courtesy of Ely.

built tough. the crow's nests are 'constructed' with steel wires that can be found scattered around the fabrication sites nearby.

crow's nests on a tree nearby shipbuilding store in MMHE.

the 250MT (tiny!) Ledang-Anoa platform under construction. photo taken 23.1.2006.

me on ledang-anoa platform under construction. at the back is kikeh dtu spar under construction.