Kelong Paradise Waterfront Resort, It was a nice break!

Fishing village of Bagan Nakhoda Omar or BNO!

Another view of the frishing place!

Rec room with pool table, and Astro, Yes!

Just imagine the view of the Straits of Malacca!

As we approach the unknown!

Fish anywhere you like!

A group of us took the North-South highway and turned left at Behrang then we had lunch at this quaint little town, then cut across towards the coastal plain to Sabak Bernam then to Bagan Nakhoda Omar and straight to the jetty where we took a boat to this nice kelong, about 10 nautical miles in the Malacca Straits.
Basically this kelong is a nice concrete resort built by the previous Selangor state government, a place where you go fishing and to relax. Relax I did , and a fish I did not catch, infact none of us caught any. We ended up buying some at the nearest fishing village!
The thing that strikes me about my room is there were no bugs, the quilt was dry and no musty smell and I had the best sleep of the century. The we woke up had breakfast, then we had lunch and played some cards and then we ate, then we had dinner.
The place is only about two hours drive from KL. Head for Kuala Selangor then to Sabak Bernam. Before you reach there you will see a sign that says Bagan Nakhoda Omar or commonly known as BNO. The people at the jetty front off rice are very friendly you can just go without a booking or you can call:0376257838, 016-6662466, 016-2333219, 0162333215, or FAX at 0376257840; or check out the website at: http://www.kelongparadise.com.

ends

Trail of destructions, yet developers and local government refused to spare Ampang Hills!

Residents are against irresponsible developments.

This stretch of green will be strapped bare leaving the hilltop apartment building to fate! and soil erosion!

Residents are actively campaigning against the development.

Local politicians hoping they are more powerful than developers!

They are adamant to win these resident association against the hill development! I am with them!

Local assemblywoman, Elizabeth Wong, making some pertinent points vis-a-vis errant developers! I am with her also!

These house owners paid with their blood sweat and tears and it takes only handful of corrupt people to destroy nice surrounding!

Forgotten yet many misplaced "residents" must also be taken into consideration! They have no where else to go for heaven sake!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some real "statistics" on the trail of destruction and landslides in Ampang-Hulu Klang areas. Yet development in such sensitive hill slopes is still allowed and when will be ever learn!

- Forty-eight people died on December 1993, when a 12-storey Highland Towers hill slopes apartment collapsed. - On May 15 1999, several landslide forced the evacuation of 1000 apartment dwellers at Bukit Antarabangsa. - On November 20, 2002, eight people died when a house of a retired general was swept and crushed by a landslide. - On 31 May 2006 four people died when three blocks of longhouses were swept by a landslide in Kampung Pasir, Hulu Klang.

And yet today a massive mixed developments project were allowed on a 61.54 acre site near Ukay Heightsl where all of the trail of landslides took place.
The residents of the Ukay Heights area are protesting over the mixed development project that will see a massive retaining walls will be erected behind their apartments and houses and are trying very hard to tell the local and state government to help.
"It will be like a huge wall that you see in the Gaza Strip that separate Jews and Arabs, and on top of that any development along that ridge is by far one of the most dangerous project ever to be attempted or undertaken by any idiot developer," said Mr Eng, a resident.
The fear is if a massive landslide that will surely impacted residents living down below.
At today's meeting it6 was attended by Selangor state government exco member, Elizabeth Wong, who said while past green light given on any development by the previous government could not be rescinded, but the matter will be looked into properly.
"We cannot simply cancelled previous decisions made, but we are going to look into the matter properly," she said.

One resident said developers in Malaysia are like drug pushers, they do not care how many people will die as long as they can develop and make money.
Ends

Gimp is a diabetic and we are taking care of him!

His normal routine to sleep on our bed!

His other routine: to bask under the sun!

Gimp is our beloved feline friend and we have been looking after him f0r the past 14 years now that makes him about over 60+-year human age?!
For those of you who know him he is now a diabetic. It happened one year when we were away when five people came to look after him and feed him. We came back he was so fat we had to put him on a very strict diet. He acted very strange for a while after we came back from Canada. A test showed he was diabetic, sigh! So now the routine is one of us has to get up at six every morning to give him the insulin jab, and then again at six-thirty every evening. We now, Marion and I, cannot go on holiday together for one of us has to stay home, we cannot send him to the Vet for a prolonged period for he will be stressed-out if one of us is not around. It would be a miracle if someone among our friends and who love cats and who can stay at our place for the duration of our holiday, if we were to take a holiday, to take care of Gimp. Of course it will not be for free I am willing to pay! Gimp is a very gentle creature, he is a Leo like me.

Cheers!

We need your support to save Ampang Hills and to save lives!

The green lungs of Ampang started at Menara Mutiara, will be shaved bare by unscrupulous developer and the local authorities are not doing anything to prevent it!

The voice of sometimes helpless citizens pleading for the authorities to help protect their environment from being degraded!

The voice of helpless rakyat!

Hi people!

I received a pamphlet in my mailbox upon arriving home from Singapore and the pamphlet depresses me! After seeing how beautiful and green the island republic is is am now disheartened over the inability for local government to protect taxpayers interest!
In a nutshell, the pamphlet is distributed by a neighbourhood "save our hills" committee set up to prevent a big company from developing a 62.5 acres of forest running from Menara Mutiara in Taman TAR to Jalan Hulu Klang. The proposed project by this company, says the pamphlet, will include 450 units of shop lots and 149 bungalow lots. A group of people have been working tirelessly to ensure any development in the neighbourhood is consistent with the Selangor State and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) Structure Plans, which is the official guidelines for safe and responsible development.
Just a highlight: the project is on the same unstable hill that caused the collapses of the Highland Towers condominium in 1993 killing many and the home of former Army Chief Tan Sri Ismail in Taman Hillview, killing several of his family member.
The pamphlet also said, the land for the proposed development is even steeper with 70% of the area having slopes higher than 20 degrees. According to the Selangor State Structure Plan, this land is "high risk", meaning it is prone to erosion and landslides, and according to MPAJ's Structure Plan, it is environmentally sensitive and thus should NOT be developed!
In spite of all these expert and scientific finding to prevent more lives from being lost, why is the residents of the areas are still fighting tooth and nail to save the hills, are our authorities too corrupt not to be able to put the minds of the residents at rest as to say "don't worry taxpayers we will not allow any development once and for all on the hills in view our structure plans for developments!".
What can you do! Well just send an email to saveukayhts@email.com with the subject heading "count me in." And to include your name and email address. This will make it easier for the committee to save the hills to keep you informed.
For more check out their website for up-to-date information at: www.nolandslide.org
They need your support to save lives and the environment!

Cheers!

We had good Hari Raya open house, many came and we had good time!

Some of our good friends at the open house.

Happy Campers!

They came, they saw, and they were happy and busy concentrating!

Iaian and Maznoor! Great couple!

Hiyall!

It was somewhat a tough preparation for this year's Raya open house when both Marion and I pulled off and basically executed a soiree of the century, well as far as we are concerned considering Marion was hospitalised and came out okay. Well, over one hundred people came, including Stephen Francis, and we had a good time.
We had masak lemak cili padi pucuk ubi with duck eggs, curry chicken filled with lady fingers, brinjal, tomatoes, big chilies, and potatoes and the curry is that famous Curry Cap 'O' from Kedah, my sisters rendang, lemang, ketupat with a very special ketupat sauce made by my orang bunian friend, my famous "Rusdi's Madness" which is basically chopped onions mixed with chilies and lime peel, lime juice drowned with my favourite Kicap Tamin and one secret ingredient, special sambal chili from Kelantan, green pickled chilies, and about slightly over a six kilos of rice were consumed.
The best part was those who came are truly people, new people, that Marion and I truly liked! Especially Iaian and his lovely partnerMaznoor! So I posted some pictures for me to share with those who couldn't make it due to traffic jam, and those who suffered and got infected by Black Death and from plague and other communicable diseases, as their excuses for not coming!
Cheers!

Last Raya we were at our jungle hideout! And took some more pictures!

Marion preparing lemang and rendang for dinner, in the jungle!

I just shoot and aim my Canon Powershot to the jungle at the back of the house at night hoping to catch one and sometime two sets of glaring animal eyes, usually wild cats.

My "excalibur" embedded in the ground and whomever can pull it out will become a honourary Moron!

Beautiful morning in my jungle hideout, view from the East!

A rock magpie and they are so tame in my "Garden of Eden" get it, get it!

Can you spot the oriole?! Look closely, and if you can spot it you are already a honourary Moron and you can come and visit us!

Buah pokok beringin banyak macam nak gila, burung pun banyak macam nak gila, actually semua nya macam nak gila bila dia orang datang makan buah buah yang banyak macam nak gila!

Kadang kadang air kat bilik air ni pun sejuk macam nak gila, mandi pun takut!

Just look at the contrast, blue sky green and just nice! Macam nak gila!

You guys should all come and we can sit by the yard at night and smell the night air, it is like mad, you know what I mean!

More blue sky over Montana, oops sorry over Seri Menanti!

Yawn! More Blue sky!

Hiyall!
Thought I share some more pictures of our jungle hideout, the weather there was perfect the sky was blue and the air in the morning was clear and crisp. The bright yellow orioles, the rock magpie, a troop of leaf monkey were out, almost a Minangkabau version of the Garden of Eden. Did you know that both Garden of Eden and East of Eden are all about Minangkabau, get it "Eden" get it! Ha ha! Anyway, our pokok beringin behind our little wooden houses are bearing berries and in the morning the chirping of birds will make you wonder about life and how you want to live it!

Cheers!

Pistachios: My favourite nuts!

Hiyall!


Long time ago when I was first introduced to pistachio nut I was thrilled by the taste, the same way as a sun dried fig thrilled my taste buds.
You may find this strange talking about nuts, but for the longest time I was enthralled, still do, by the power and taste of pistachios! My favourite packet of pistachios come from Tong that I will grab from the counter of every petrol stations that we stopped on the way to somewhere.
I use to think pistachios come from the ground like groundnut, but actually this beautiful and sexy nuts came from a majestic tree that can grow really big and tall.
When I was a journalist I imagined that my editor would call me one day and said: "Rusdi go to Iraq or Iran and do a story on pistachios!" That would have been a great moment in my journalistic career - to write a long piece on pistachios! Alas that was the thing of the past since I will never get the chance to meet eye to eye with a pistachio tree!
BTW! it is fun to write anything that you feel and you do not have to think really hard, on your own blogsite, you do not necessarily have to write about heavy stuff like boring politics.
So guys, try pistachios if you have not and enjoy the day!

Mery Christmas!