Friends forever!

It is not easy when you lose someone. It is even harder when you lose three people whom you knew and very close to..... very close! Arwah Ali, Arwah Mohd Nor and Arwah Sri Zana.......

Arwah Ali Manaf

He will always be remembered as  our brother.

Both Arwah Ali and Arwah Norlila attended our
first reunions of the Turtles down to memory lane.

             I started my journey to Kuala Terengganu with my husband on the 22nd of January to visit , greet and meet our friends . we started quite late and I was very sleepy . So I stopped quite a number of times to fill up the fuel, to set our prayers and most of all to freshen up. At last by 10pm, we arrived safely in Felda Residence Hotel in Kuala Terengganu! What a relief. Upon arrival, my husband's friends called him and promised to fetch him up for dinner! I skipped. I had my late dinner in my room and off to sleep. He came back late that night and I knew he had a good time with his friends. Good for him. Six series men get together after so many years separated!

The Felda Residence in Kuala Terengganu

            We woke up for Subuh prayers and I realised that I forgot to charge my phone. Oh dear! That was a mistake. I turned on my Facebook and read through . I was shocked. I had to read over and over again to absorb the news. Ya Allah! One of my best buddy in MPKT passed away last night! Inalillahi Wainalillahirojiuun!  How to call to confirm when my phone was out of battery! Helpless!  Lucky me that my husband kept some of my MPKT friends' numbers but none of them answered!  It was terrible! Of all the days, today my phone failed me! Helpless.... Speechless..... 

                   When my phone came back to live, I managed to contact Titina and we both planned to drive to Kuantan and we did! We stopped by Dungun to fetch Kasmawati but we were late. The funeral was over and we failed to pay our last respect to him...... very sad  but we managed to see old friends like Taksiah, Amin, Azman, Nik, Zin, Azman Kecik, Rostam and Syikin. We even met Encik Hamid, our lecturer whom I did not recognise at first sight! We visited Arwah Ali's wife Norihan and his four daughters. It was a great lost to all of us. Then we went to Nik's place since we were in Kuantan! We left Kuantan quite late and arrived Kuala Terengganu by midnight. Throughout the way, we talked about our good old days with him..... we truly miss him. Because of him, I missed my husband's gathering with his old friends but I met mine..... eventhough I had to lose one!

 

Our first MPKT reunion..... TURTLES in MPKT.

              We left  Kuala Terengganu for Kota Bahru.  My daughter and family gave us a great surprise. They were there too in Kota Bahru to attend the same wedding in Bachok!  My heart lifted when I saw them. It eased my pain after losing a friend..... Masyaallah! We stayed in Kota Bahru for a couple of nights and revisited Kuala Terengganu! My eldest grandson tagged along with us all the way in our Starex..... What a feeling!

                Below are photographs of ASAS69/72 get together in Kuala Terengganu. Nice to see when many turned up from the early rise of the sun until late night.

Terengganu vs Kelate

Two doctors came all the way from Kuala Lumpur....

it is also a get togetrher for the wives.

Meet the organizer!

              Then I drove to Kota Bahru , Kelantan for another of ASAS69/72 gathering with those who are living there.  Che Din Sulaiman and Hajjah Wan Remlah tagged along with us.  Along the way we stopped by the mosque  for Friday prayers. I stayed at my friend, Akhtar Zaiti and her hubby Wan Ikram as promised. That night we had dinner with the ASAS 6972 Kelate  citizens whom I have not met before. Just imagine  for some of them, like my husband, this is the first time he only met his ex schoolmates after 43 years! Most of them were in tears......  Most remembered one another  but some need to be reminded.....hehhehhe.

Everybody is trying hard to guess the images of their Terengganu n
Kuala friends.

                It hurts so much when you lost somebody but Allah knows BEST. We have to accept the fact that they are gone but never forgotten. Whenever they flashed into my mind, I recited Al Fatihah as a sadakah for them. The momories together with them  will be in my memory forever. So, my dear friends, we all are getting older. Try in any ways to call one another, get together as frequently as possible because we all are living on borrowed time...... we just have to plan a get together soon. We already lost Norlila Samad and recently Ali Manaf. Who is next in line.... it could be any one of us. Attending weddings of your friends' children is another way of getting together. Try not to miss any!

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ASAS6972 ...... old boys!

A happy family.

Akhtar tagged along with me to the wedding in Bachok.

Spend some time bringing along you own family to visit your friends in other places. It is good to do so for we hope that this friendship will not stop until our generation only but prolong forever. Insyaallah.

Ny daughter n her family with Ikram.

Ikram enteratining my grandsons in his birds cage.

Visiting Akhtar n family in Kota Bahru.

Meet the MPKT Turtles!

Fahmi and Edward

Recently, my primary ex students came to my place.  They both looked good, young, vibrant, handsome and available. Fahmi, a promising young director with RTM,  stayed in Kuala Lumpur and Edward is currently doing trading in Guangzhou, China. So nice of him to bring along his mum Christine  whom I knew 27 years ago! I am so proud of them. I hope to have more of my ex students to come over to visit me in future.

Total Relaxation.....

            I have been to many places. May it be  big cities or  small towns. May it be far- far away or just nearby. But there is one place that can give me a feeling of total relaxation of the mind and soul...... just this one.

             I had to drive at least 2 hours from home to be at this place. From home I took the  DUKE highway. Then passed the Gombak Toll and take the Karak Highway. After Karak Toll, take left towards Bentong on the state road. Take right towards Mempaga after Bentong and  then you are on  the Felda road until the last 3 kilometers of off road!  LTER can easily be detected through your GPS .  Like me, I use Waze and sometimes Google Map.  It helps alot especially for first timers. To feel the  real total adventure..... just crack your brain and try using map instead! This kind of place is nothing new to me because when I was young, this is the kind of road that I had to travel for 26 miles to school. When the weather is dry, the road became very dusty and during the rainy seasons , we had to move on muddy road and worst,  flood! But it was fun.  So, this place brings back sweet memories to me. The memories of my childhood which I spent in the jungle deep in Padang Kubu , Kemaman, Terengganu with my late parents and sibblings. We need no friends because we have each other! 

My family home in Padang Kubu.  I miss my arwah Mak and arwah Abah.
I had to fight back tears ..... down to memory lane!!!

             Recently, I attended a wedding in Bachok, Kelantan. I drove my Starex and my daughter with her family in another car. I took the PT2 highway and passed through Padang Kubu. I took my family to the place where I grew up and showed them what life was  before. Through that visit, they now understand why I love Lembah Temir Eco Resort very much! It is just like going back home in the  TDMB Palm Oil Estate, in the jungle! 

 

            Lembah Temir Eco Resort belongs to a family friend. The owner is Haji Che Din Sulaiman and his wife Hajjah Wan Remlah. A very nice couple and always welcoming friends to their 78 acres land with Temir River flowing and forming two  beautiful water falls, 1,500 durian trees which include D24 and  Musang King, Rubber estate, Palm Oil estate and varieties of fruit trees like the Mangosteens, Rambutans, Pulasan, Dokong , Langsat, Jack Fruit, Ciku,  Bananas and everything else!  During the fruits seasons , 4  pick-up vans full of durians were collected and sold daily! Not only durians  but  other fruits as well.

Some of the fruits  planted in LTER

              Lembah Temir Eco Resort is still under construction.  They started buiding from scratch five years ago with only one small little hut . But now, they already built 5 chalets  plus 11 rooms which can accomodate the most 60 person at one time. As for right now, the main lobby with 11 rooms on top is about to be ready soon. They hope to start business somewhere in the middle of this this year! I have been visiting LTER for many times now and everytime I went, there will always be something new. No wonder, Che Din just love to be there riding his motorbike around to see his employees working to make his dream come true.  Hajjah Remlah said that whenever he is at home in Damansara, he will feel latargic, tired and grumpy but he will be a total;ly different man when he is in LTER...... always on his feet or on his motorbike making rounds and looking for ideas to build LTER his way and his wants.  

          Latest , they even made their very own furniture from  Chengal wood which they found buried underground or just left aside in the jungle. They have Chengal benches, tables and chairs built for the resort. Chengal is a kind of wood that no termites will be able to destroy because it is very tough and hard. You can use it indoor or outdoor! Mmmmmmmm nice!  Hope to have one coffee table soon...... keep dreaming!!!! hahhahahahhaha

Kayu Chengal furniture add colors to LTER...
well done CDS!

            LTER is lucky to have Abang Zul who is in charge of the whole operation when CDS  is not around. A very down to earth man and very hard working. I can say that CDS is very lucky to have such a very good employee. Not only he works hard but he is a very creative person. Everything that he sees in the jungle is art. He was so proud when he managed to cut tree trunks into halves and arranged nicely as a wall panel and blended with ferns from the jungle. The outcome is mesmerizing!!!! Beautiful at no cost at all! The best part is, Abang Zul is Hajjah Wan Remlah's younger brother! Everything is meant to be!

Abang Zul assisting HWER to cut open the
 Musang King Durian for the guests.

                     Hajjah Wan Remlah's Kelantan food is another attraction to LTER. She will always sent me photographs of her cookings which she knew I cannot resist. If I gain weight, it is all because of her marvelous, tasty cooking. In the mornings in LTER, she will always prepare Nasi Berlauk..... ( one of the favourite food served for breakfast in Kelantan).  In the afternoon she will prepare many different kinds of dishes which comes with White Rice, Sambal Belacan,  Sambal Tempoyak, Petai, Salad and not forgetting...Budu!  She will prepare desert as well. It might be Jemput-jemput Durian, Curry Puffs, Pulut Manis, all kinds of Pengat and so on. So if you want to gain weight, this is the place! In LTER, food is totally home cook! She reminds me of my arwah Mak who just love to feed people with her finger licking good food. My daughter said that, when she missed her arwah Mak Tok, she will look at HWR's face and that helps! That is how I felt too.  They look alike.

The famous Nasi Berlauk

The most tasteful Laksam..... yummeyh!!

HWR always make sure that food is good and enough.

HWR just love entertaining guests.

CDS and his sons welcoming their guests with open arms.

            The 78 acres piece of land has much to offer for nature lovers. You can ride you 4WD into the jungle, ride on the motorbike, cycling, jungle tracking, fishing, swimming and just practically anything including playing Futsal . A Futsal court had been built and used ... but as I said, not all is  ready yet. Just wait and Insyallah, CDS will think of everything for his guests! 

Chalet number 9 is nearest to the falls. It is my forever favoutite.

                 Just underneath the lobby, is flowing the Temir River with a school, a big school of Ikan Kelah waiting patiently for us to feed them! It is a beautiful view when you see the fish swim and jump against the current to go upstream....... just like the Salmon! Very Interesting!

The school of Ikan Kelah in LTER.
You can even swim with them. 

Ikan Kelah will swim and jump upstream from this pond towards the falls.

                       What can I say? I just love this place very much.  When LTER comes in mind, I just drove there with my husband and sometimes even with friends just to be away from the noise. It is so peaceful in LTER. All you can hear is the sound of the water, the sound of the insects and  a total peace of mind.  Furthermore, because it is  away from the nearest town Bentong,  phone coverage is not easy to get. You need to be in one spot , the highest point in order to check your phone calls or messages which I think is good. We shoul learn how to enjoy the nature more. Life will be more meaningful and families can finally sit, eat and talk together as what  humans do!   Trust me, no regret! Almost all of my friends and  neighbours whom I introduced to this place, just love to revisit again and again. One even dream to ride horses in LTER! Hahahhahahahah. To me, LTER is one place, the best place for honeymooners! 

My Little Temir

                 Back at home in Shah Alam, whenever I miss LTER, I will sit by my fish pond and with my very own creativity, I made it looked like a tropical jungle! With my Koi swimming and the sound of the water falling and sometimes the sound of the  birds made me imagined of being in LTER. Meet my  Little Temir!!

                I do hope CDS dream will come true and hope many people will come and stay at the resort once it is ready. As for now, I will keep on visiting LTER to ease my pain of missing the good old childhood days of mine..... many-many years ago.......

Selamat Pengantin Baru......

Hampir setiap hujung minggu, tugasan utama kami suami isteri adalah memenuhi jemputan ke majlis-majlis perkahwinan.  Kami bersyukur kerana masih ada lagi orang yang mengingati kami dengan menjemput kami ke majlis meraikan anak menantu mereka sebagai pengantin. Alhamdulillah. Bila ada jemputan bermakna, masih ada yang memikirkan kita. Semoga yang baik sajalah yang diingati mereka. Insyaallah.

Minggu lepas, dua orang anak angkat perempuan kami telah selamat dinikahi jejaka pilihan masing-masing. Sebagai ibu bapa angkat, kami cuba sedaya upaya memainkan peranan yang sepatutnya. Allah menguji kesabaran kami dengan hari pernikahan dan hari persandingan diadakan pada hari yang sama! Kemanakah harus kami pergi dan dulukan. Kedua-duanya kami sayang. Alhamdulillah pernikahan ZZ berlangsung pada waktu siang selepas solat Jumaat dan pernikahan SS pula berlangsung pada waktu malam selepas solat Isyak. Lega. 

ZZ ibarat adik kepada SNI. Mereka membesar bersama.

Pada kedua-dua majlis tersebut, suamiku berperanan sebagai pengerusi majlis pernikahan. segala skrip ucapan disediakan agar perjalanan majlis lancar. Bermula dengan mengalu-alukan kedatangan pihak lelaki sehinggalah selesai majlis. Dan aku pula selaku wakil kepada tuan rumah dengan mengendalikan perjalanan majlis licin dan teratur.

Teman karib SNI dan SS

Seperti biasa,  selesai diijabkabulkan, diikuti dengan solat sunat syukur berjemaah kedua mempelai dan penyerahan mas kawin kepada isteri dijalankan. Tetapi majlis tidak selesai disitu sahaja.  Kami inginkan kelainan untuk majlis ini. Kami mahu supaya majlis pernikahan ini memberi lebih erti kepada kedua mempelai dan kepada semua hadirin  yang hadir. Kami meminta agar bapa kandung kepada pengantin perempuan memberi pesanan kepada menantunya tentang perasaan dan harapannya dan harapan ibunya agar anak perempuan mereka  di jaga dengan baik dan sempurna dengan penuh kasih sayang dan saling hurmati-menghurmati. Ketika ini, kedua ibu bapa dan hadiri menitiskan air mata. Syahdu mendengarnya... apa lagi apabila diucapkan dengan penuh perasaan dari lubuk hati  seorang bapa.

Pasangan bahagia Kushaa dan Ss bersama G15.

 Kemudian, pengantin lelaki mengambil peluang pula untuk menjawab permintaan bapa mertuanya dan disaksikan semua orang. Namun pada hari itu, ZZ membuat kejutan dengan mengucapkan terima kasih kepada kedua ibu bapanya atas segala pengorbanan mereka melahir dan mendidiknya serta memberinya pelajaran sehingga ke peringkat tertinggi. Lebih syahdu lagi apbila ZZ yang membahasakan dirinya 'adik' meminta agar ibunya menghalalkan setiap titisan air susu dan memohon keampunan dari kedua ibu bapanya dengan nada yang tersekat-sekat dan akhirnya seluruh hadirin tidak dapat membendung lagi rasa sebak dihati. Maka bercucuranlah air mata di majlis tersebut.  Aku bangga dengan adik. Jarang seorang anak muda begitu berani berbuat demikian... sangat jarang.

Pasangan bahagia AF dan ZZ bersama G15.

Sebenarnya, Majlis Pernikahan adalah majlis yang paling penting dalam perkahwinan. Kebanyakan  orang gagal melihat akan kepentingannya. Sayang sekali! Sebab itulah, Jurunikah mestilah berperanan apabila menyampaikan khutbah nikah. Khutbah nikah yang disampaikan dengan jelas, terang dan nyata den

gan ton suara yang sesuai akan memberi impak yang baik untuk semua yang hadir.... menusuk ke hati! Harapan kita agar yang hadir itu, sekiranya sudah berkahwin, akan memperbaiki kesilapanan mereka, bagi yang belum berkahwin, agar terbuka pintu  hatinya untuk berumahtangga dan bagi yang baru dinikahkan agar memberi mereka bersemangat dan bertekad  menjaga hubungan mereka suami-isteri hingga ke Jannah. Insyaallah. 

Bagi kami yang dapat sama menghulurkan sedikit pertolongan merasa lega dan gembira apabil keluarga kedua belah pengantin khasnya tuan rumah dan hadirin dapat merasa kesyahduan majlis tersebut. Semoga masjlis ini menjadi kenangan abadi buat semua khasnya bagi kedua mempelai dan keluarga mereka. Semoga usaha kami diberkati. Insyaallah.

Selamat pengantin baru kami ucapkan kepada kedua pasangan pengantin dan keluarga mereka. Semoga kalian berbahagia selamanya dan cepat-cepatlah menimang cahaya mata kerana kehadiran seorang cucu akan sentiasa memberi keceriaan kepada sesebuah keluarga...Insyaallah.