At KLIA en route to Labuan

8.22am: At airport waiting for flight to Labuan for a meeting.

Pic above shows the aircraft which will take me there.

The craft had just arrived from somewhere and luggage are being emptied from it.

Be back home tomorrow insyaAllah.

At Pantai Cahaya Bulan

I am updating this blog direct - ''live'' if you like - from PCB, Kota Bharu.

My family and I arrived in KB from Ipoh this afternoon having picked up Emak from Kampong Kepayang.

We are now having dinner at PCB. Off to Kuala Terengganu tommorrow, insyaAllah.

Gone Fishing

Our first catch of the day, a lampam sungai

One happy fisherman with the one that didn't get away

Novice fishing family in action

Our whole catch for the day (after 3 hour's work)


The end of year school term break is almost coming to its end. Yet - apart from the trip back to kampong - my family and I have not gone anywhere for a holiday.

I have not been able to take a leave for the boss has gone to Makkah for his hajj. And yours truly has had to cover up for him whilst he's in the holy land.

Consumed with a sense of guilt, I had to think of something to make up for it and found myself having to resort to something a bit more creative, albeit quite out of the ordinary somewhat.

Just last week we took the KL Hop On Hop Off bus ride around KL.

Yup, you heard me right. We became like foreign tourists in our own country. But it was a joy nevertheless. Got to go to a few places that we'd never been to before.

For me especially, it was a much welcomed change because for once I did not have to concentrate on my driving. I just sat back and relaxed and had the full opportunity to view and enjoy KL streets, buildings and its people.

Today was a totally different experience altogether.

We went fishing in Putrajaya.

The Putrajaya Lake is teeming with fishes. This includes much sought after species like the baung, tenggala and even the odd kelah. More common species are the lampam sungai and predators like toman.

But one cannot just fish anywhere in Putrajaya. The lake and its flora and fauna are strictly regulated and managed by Perbadanan Putrajaya so that they are not plundered by overzealous fishermen.

To do fishing one can always head to the Lake Recreation Centre in Precinct 13. Here, upon paying a small fee, everyone can fish to their heart's content from 9.00am to 7.00pm.

For a novice fishing family, we did not do that bad today. For a three-hour's work, we managed to catch four lampam sungai.

One tenggala was donated to us by a kind angler by the name of Hassan who took pity on us upon seeing our meagre catch by his standard. Hassan managed to catch eight lampam and two tenggala in just two-and-a half hour!

We had the fish for dinner. They were just delicious.
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Boeing 787

Boeing's new B787 passenger aircraft successfully completed its first test flight in Seattle, US two days ago.

Dubbed as the Dreamliner, it promises to be one of the world's most fuel-efficient planes due to its very lightweight design using carbon and titanium construction materials.

In this day and age of rising fuel costs, it is no wonder that the Dreamliner has attracted some 840 orders from all over with Japan's All Nippon Airlines scheduled to take the first delivery by end 2010.

The 787-8 Dreamliner will carry between 200 to 300 passengers on routes ranging from 5,650 to 15,750 kilometers depending on different versions of the aircraft.

The aircraft looks so sleek and beautiful that aviation enthusiasts would find it hard not to fall in love with it at first sight.

I wonder if MAS is one of those putting an order for one of this aircraft. It would look great in MAS’s colourscheme.

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In Melaka

Views out from the hotel

I am now in Melaka - with the family in tow - for a leadership training course.

I've been to so many training programs before. But this one is rather different. It is a leadership training course with emphasis on mind development.

But this is no ordinary mind development course either. For it is based on the Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) methods. It is quite a heady stuff which includes talks on self-awareness, the meta-physics and spirituality.

As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on this approach to leadership training. Nevertheless it's quite intriguing.

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Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha

A very old photo of Wukuf at Arafah. Besides submission to Allah in the fullest sense of the word, the hajj is also about sacrifices. Looking at the condition of wukuf in years gone-by, pilgrims nowadays have never had it so good.

Yesterday was wukuf day at Padang Arafah. This was the very climax of the hajj pilgrimage.

It is also the day when pilgrims get to be the closest to Allah s.w.t. spiritually.

Today is Aidil Adha, or "Raya Korban" as it is sometimes called here in Malaysia.

All in the family are back home. We shall do our solat Aidil Adha here in Bandar Tun Hussein Onn. After that we will set off for Ipoh to visit Emak.

I wish everyone a happy Aidil Adha. And hope that the significance of the word "korban" is not lost upon us as we busily and happily go balik kampong to meet friends and families.

Let us ponder, for a moment, the sacrifices that the Prophet Ibrahim a.s. made in the name of Allah thousands of years ago. And then, let us reflect on the sacrifices that we ourselves have really made for that cause.

It pales in comparison, right?

Salam to all and everyone.

Two weeks to wukuf

The atmosphere around the Masjidil Haram today (13 Nov. 2009) during Solat Jumaat. Photo courtesy of Manzlie Makkah Blogspot (this blog is updated daily bringing latest development in the Holy City)

It is now just two weeks away from wukuf. I still remember clearly when I was in Makkah for hajj three years ago that during this time - just two weeks away to the climax of the hajj - the holy city of Makkah would be choked-full of people.

The Masjidil Haram would be jam-packed with pilgrims 24 hours a day either praying, doing the tawaf, doing the the saie, reciting the Quran or just lying on the floor, resting.

I would watch in awe at the pilgrims going about their business. To think that all these people of varying nationalities, and shades of skin from the four corners of the globe could congregate in this holy city fore-going the comfort of their homes in search of Allah's pleasure really struck me as an act of the highest order of humility and total submission to Allah, the Lord, our Creator.

This year's hajj season sees quite a number of my office mates - including the boss - answering the call of Allah the Almighty. My mother-in-law is also there now. One of my riding mates, Kolonel Azudin, shall be leaving this coming Monday.

I pray that they will all be able to perform their duties well and come back safely, recharged and rejuvenated in their iman.

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