Last Summer Days

The leaves are now starting to wither. The streets are becoming littered with dead leaves. Although the sun is still shining, the temperature has became a lot cooler nowadays. This scenery we took yesterday is nice to see, before everything will become brownish and dull in the coming weeks once Autumn starts to properly set in.

When we were back home, we were told the August month here was quite wet. In fact it was the second wettest August month ever recorded in Holland. We definitely could see the evidence as our lawn was in a messy state with overgrown grass. Our first attempt to cut the grass resulted in our 12 year old electric mower to call it a day. So we have to buy a new one last week to get the business done. Back home one could call professional grass cutters and get it done at around 20-30 dollars. Not here, with the high labour cost, everything is better done ourselves. After all it is always good to do a bit of gardening and do things yourselves.

14th Day

What else could we find in the market? The choices of dates this year are quite disappointing. There seems to be only Tunisian and Iranian types available with a noticeable absence of Jordanian dates. We have not been to the bigger weekend market in Beverwijk which is more like an Arabic souk, they are lot more choices there as this market caters more for the Middle Easterners.

The fasting month is now almost halfway - although last night we could see it was already full moon. Today is the 14th day of fasting here. The month has gone like a breeze. The terawih prayers at the mesjids here are only 8 reka'ats.

For the occasion like previous years, the mesjids here normally invite imams with excellent Quran recitations to come to Holland during the month. For the Indonesian mesjid, they come from Indonesia and they rotate between the few Indonesian mesjids in Holland. With Isya only coming in at 9.45 pm, Terawih prayers only start around 10.15 and finish just before 10.45 pm.

Omega-3

Yesterday was market day. It's always quite fun to go to the weekend market as one could walk endlessly amongst the hundred of stalls and be spoil with choices. And you are also bound to meet somebody you know. There are many choices of fish here, itself a big industry in Holland. A quarter of all fish is landed by the national fleet. The remaining three-quarters are imports. Eighty per cent of all fish is sold abroad which makes the the country one of Europe's few net exporters. Imports are currently some 1.3 billion euro, whereas exports generate over 2 billion euro, going mostly to European countries on her doorsteps.

The Netherlands has eleven fish auctions where fresh fish is traded weekly. Then there is the processing industry where the fish is filleted, breaded, conserved or processed in one or another way before it is offered to the consumer. Across the country there are approximately 400 companies involved in such processing and further trading.

Talking about the goodness of eating fish, it is said that we should eat fish in order to diminish the risks of cardiovascular diseases. Oily fish in particular, like mackerel, herring, eel, salmon, smoked herring and halibut are good for the heart and the arteries. Fish, especially oily fish, contains omega-3 fatty acids. These unsaturated fatty acids have a beneficial effect on the heart and the arteries. It is said that as little as 0.2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids a day can reduce fatal cardiovascular conditions by 30%. In addition, the omega-3 fatty acids increase the lifespan of people who already suffered a cardiac infarct. Eating fish twice a week is already enough to provide the required amount.

The other bit is that oily fish increases intelligence of children. We know many parents back home in Brunei do insist their children take a spoonful of omega-3 syrup everyday. It is said research confirms that poly-unsaturated fats stimulate the development of the brains of small children and improve their eyesight, especially the unborn child, because these fatty acids play an important role in the formation of the brain tissue and the retina.

Talking about Food

When we were back home last month, what is becoming a norm during family function nowadays are the serving of traditional cakes. They really look nice. Not sure whether the ones in the photo that we took are all local traditional cakes but one things we always wonder are their names. We can probably name one but not all. Any clue?

Away from food, in the past few days, there were a lot of disaster happening worldwide - flooding in Bangladesh, Hurricane Ike, landslides and so on. One 'disaster' that had all the kids in school talking about was the Big Bang experiment. Some scientists argued that it would lead to a major disaster, which eventually didn't happen, if the experiment was to go ahead. The experiment costs 5 billion pounds and 10,000 scientists, a big investment considering hundred of millions of people are still living below poverty line around the world. However the spin off from the technology could be tremendous to the future generations. Watch the space.

One thing for sure that will come back with a big bang this weekend is the premier league. There are two big games coming up - today between Liverpool and Man U, followed by Man City against Chelsea. With that comes a host of new signings making their debuts - Berba, Robinho amongst the big names.

Middle of Ramadan

Back to the thick of things again. It's been a week since we were back in Holland. Every body are back to their routines - the kids taking their daily train to school and me cycling to work - that's 19km everyday. In fact nothing really changed even though it is the fasting month. The kids refused to skip their PE lessons, which sometimes run for 3 periods, and just braving through with empty stomach. The current cool weather does help. My bicycle rides are now a bit slower, taking 50 minutes each way. Work finish just before 6 pm, enough time to cycle back and have the iftar which is now just after 8 pm in the evenings.

There's no gerai ramadan to go here, unlike back home where there seems to be sungkai offer everywhere - that we envy! The only respite here are the few Turkish and Moroccan food outlets in town.

Back to Pedal Power

There was a gap in the weather window when the sun suddenly came out. Off we went to the supermarket to get some goodies for the breaking of fast. It is a much simpler affair here in terms of what are spread on the table. The things that the kids are really looking forward to and has appetite for are the dates. We seemed to be struggling to get a good one here for now - there are quite a number of varieties but not the one that we use to buy during the last Ramadan. Admittedly the one from SupaSave was a good one - imported from Tunisia. Not sure how the Kurnia dates taste - didn't get that one.

Monday will be back to work. Will try to cycle the 9.5 km journey to the office. Fiz thinks that 's suicidal.

Cahaya Islam di Belanda

The only Indonesian Mesjid in The Hague is the Al-Hikmah. Formerly a church, bought at a cost of 600K guilders 10 years ago which was equivalent to B$500K. Nowadays the value of the asset is probably reaching 4 to 5 million Euros. Here's an article written by Republika, an Indonesian paper, regarding the mesjid, written back in 2000.

Semburat Cahaya Islam di Belanda

Republika, 04 Feb 2000
DEN HAAG malam itu menggigil dalam suhu udara 3 derajat Celcius. "Inilah masjid kita," kata M Chaeron, mantan Ketua Persatuan Pemuda Muslim se Eropa (PPME), kepada Republika di Den Haag. Dari luar, bangunan itu tidak mirip dengan masjid umumnya. Rumah panjang bertingkat dua, tanpa kubah. Suasana masjid baru terlihat ketika masuk ke dalam. Ada mihrab dan bentangan sajadah. Masjid Al-Hikmah di Heeswijkpein, Moerwijk kota Den Haag itu awalnya adalah gereja Immanuel.

Pada akhir 1995, di saat umat Islam Indonesia berupaya keras mengumpulkan dana untuk mendirikan masjid -- setelah musholah Al-Ittihad tidak dapat lagi menampung jamaah yang terus bertambah -- Probosutedjo, pengusaha Indonesia, membeli gereja tersebut dan mewakafkannya atas nama kakaknya RH Haris Sutjipto, yang wafat di Leiden, Desember 1995 setelah dirawat di kota itu. Masjid itu diserahterimakan Probo untuk umat Islam pada 1 Juli 1996.

Mengapa gereja? Untuk mendirikan bangunan baru di Belanda tidak mudah, sementara ketika itu banyak gereja yang tidak lagi difungsikan dan dijual kepada umum. Menurut Ahmad Nafan Sulchan, salah seorang pendiri PPME, masyarakat sekitar gereja lebih senang gereja itu dijadikan masjid daripada digunakan untuk kepentingan lain, diskotik misalnya.

Gereja Immanuel itu kini menjadi masjid. Lantai bawah digunakan untuk pengajian dan kegiatan remaja Islam. Lantai atas untuk shalat. Pada Ramadhan lalu, masjid Al-Hikmah dipenuhi warga Indonesia, yang diperkirakan lebih 5.000 orang.

Back to Bicycle Country

Arrived safe and sound yesterday. The flight was full. We had our Sahur on time just before 4.30 am, 2 hours before landing. The good thing about MAS is that there is a dedicated prayer area in the plane so one does not need to miss prayer during long haul flight. It's located between business and economy class, spacious, and all you need to do is to ask the aircrew and they will set up the area so that it is properly enclosed with curtain. Not sure whether other airlines do that. Apart from that of course the food is always good.

Temperature on arrival was in the low 10's degrees C. The cold temperature was the first reality check that we indeed have arrived back to cold Europe. Luckily no major drama at the custom -our luggage was full of goodies from back home.

Sungkai was at 8.30pm last night. Realising that Ramadan is moving 2 weeks ahead every year, the next few years will see breaking of fast at much later hours - not a good time to be in Europe then.

Today it was raining almost throughout the day. Although the temperature was not that low but the damp condition makes it quite cold. It is after all autumn. The whole things slowly becoming more greyish and bleak. Everybody now looks oversize with their big coat. And today the kids were back to school. All three are now in the same senior school, making things a lot simpler to handle.

Back on the Move

Today we are flying off. We are transiting at KLIA, staying over at the airtel hotel, a much needed resting place before catching the main flight 7 hours later. Right now still waiting for the connecting flight, there is a slight delay.

We had a bit of a shock when we checked in at Brunei airport. MAS, unlike RBA, nowadays only allows 20 Kg without giving an extra 5 Kg allowance. What is a bit odd is we got that 5 Kg from MAS on the way to Brunei.

We opted for Pan Pacific Hotel next door for Sungkai. Eating outs here in KL are generally quite expensive compare to Brunei. At Pan Pacific, the buffet cost RM90 per person which is more expensive than at Empire Hotel back home. It would be hard to find any cheap buffet offers here that you could easily find back home where buffet ranges from $5 to $20 per head.

Looking around at the restaurant, it was quite surprising to find that many people came here to have their sungkai, a place which is quite far away from any residential area. In fact the place was full.

First Day of Ramadan

The whole family came and had sungkai in the main family house. Later we performed the evenings and the Terawih prayers together at home, it was good to see young children also joining in and for some learning the prayers for the first time. Tomorrow the place will be very quiet as everybody headed home.

As always in the month, tedarus began at the local mosque. There isn't a big group here, the same faces like every year. Indeed it's a stark contrast compare to the the big crowd that throng the Istana every night. If only a fraction of those would come here that would already make a huge difference.

Today we only did one Juz. The idea is to do two khatams or completion of reading the whole Quran during the month. Apart from that, the Imam who is a Hafiz is also reading the Quran during the Terawih prayer.

Time for Reflection

Today is our first Ramadan back home in 3 years. But as we are leaving tomorrow, it will only be for one day to enjoy the sungkai here together with the bigger family.

The atmosphere during the month of Ramadan in Brunei is very distinctive and impossible for outsiders not to notice. It is probably similar in other Muslim communities in the world. There are a lot more things to do in a communal way than any other months. First, early in Ramadan, families would go together to the cemeteries to say prayers to those loved ones who have long gone. Then there are the Terawih/Witir prayer and Tedarus which occupy most people's time in the evening. But the most obvious difference is the food frenzy.

Indeed today on the first day of Ramadan, the food shopping for breaking of fast was already quite apparent. We only dropped by at SupaSave in the afternoon and there was already quite a crowd. Of course it was quite tempting to buy when you are walking with empty stomach.

Jam, Jam, and More Jam

The past few days have been a headache driving around. There were endless traffic jams almost everywhere in town. It must be the pay day and also the near start of Ramadan. But the reality is there are now too many vehicles with too few roads being constructed. Over ten thousands new cars are registered annually in the country.

The past few days also saw a few nasty traffic accidents. Last night we saw one along the Tutong highway which must had happened a few minutes before we passed the scene. There was another one at Tungku Link today at midday causing a huge traffic pile along the road. There was a plea on the radio for those plying on the other side to stop 'rubber necking' as they were also causing traffic jam on their side of the road.

A Sultan's Scholar

Congratulation and well done to Mohd Adiazizi (the one on the left in the picture). The youngest, amongst the four abdul's in the family, he was one of the selected three academic achivers having an audience with HM yesterday, to be officially awarded with the Sultan's scholar.

He is off to take Chemical Engineering at UCL.

The Sultan's scholar scheme was first introduced last year - only three get it annually. The three composed of the best at GCE 'A' level, International baccaluareate and peperiksaan sijil tinggi pelajaran ugama.

Our Big Family

With over 30 sons/daughters and in-laws, over 60 cucu's and 40 cicit's, it's not easy to get everyone together in one place. Especially when one only get the phone call in late afternoon yesterday that there is going to be such a gathering today.

There must have been nearly half of us who didn't turn up because of other commitments. It was only meant to be a quick photosnap before Ramadan while our grandma is still well. Our grandma, sitting right at the centre, is now 87 years old.

Another One Bites The Dust

Last night I attended a small gathering amongst local ‘rockers’ to bid farewell for one of our lad who left the company after 25 years to join another. Indeed it has been the trend recently that a few has left and gone for new pastures.

What it means is that Bruneians are now capable and globally marketable. In the biggest energy company in the world based in the Middle East, at least 5 Bruneians have already joined the company. Next door in Qatar, where mega projects are ongoing, quite a few has left the local companies here and opted to join these companies.

Elsewhere, there are nearly 20 others who are working for other companies in the same industry. It does not stop there. In the world of LNG, some 6000 jobs are opening up in the world as new plants are being built. This is now and in the future will attract some of our countrymen to join these new companies, to be paid at global market rate.

Amongst the ongoing contention is the difference between the local package and the global market rate. The other bit is the ‘lack’ of recognisition. Enough to say that they remained being the hidden faces behind the search and exploitation of the country’s main resources that have been primarily driving the country’s economy.

Last Friday before Ramadan

Today was a wedding function for the youngest brother in the family. As has been a tradition before Ramadan, we combined that with a doa tahlil.

Ayman' s Birthday

Today in the evening, we were treated to our little nephew's birthday. He is the one at the front in the photo. The children seemed to be quite happy to be left alone amongst themselves. We initially sat outdoor. But the rain and lightning got stronger as the evening went by that we have to be move indoor halfway through.

There's only a few more days to the start of fasting. Restaurants seem to be doing good business as most people want to eat out before the fasting. And it's also pay day today for most.

The Red March

Much has been said about how successful the Beijing Olympic was. So much so the Brits had to eat the humble pie early - that they will never match what was on display during the opening ceremony. What was also remarkable was China's medal haul. China only got its first gold in 1984. This time it got 51. India also got a billion people but could only manage one solitary gold.

I just started reading this book today bought by Fiz in KL last week. It has quite a funny story line, tracking the origin of underwear, a strange choice amongst all the multitudes of things coming out of China into the free world. In doing so the author tries to unravel the commercial, political, economic, human right and all sort of things related to China.

The author also attempted to summarise the history of China in a few words which I think is also true for many parts of the world. From a distance the story of China resembles a pattern of waves. He said the history of China is endless repeated four-phase story of power: the revolutionary bid for power, the assumption of power, the gradual corruption of power and the loss of power. Each story is an imperial dynasty. Some lasting a decade. Some a millennium.

A Small Yellow Book

It's all captured in the small yellow book for record. Today marked the 20th time. Only after 30th time would one get some sort of privilege from the hospital if warded for treatment. There is a rush to stock up the blood bank right now as the lean period is coming i.e. the fasting where people are less likely to donate.

Donating blood is quite easy and fast. At RIPAS, there is always a doctor on duty at the blood donation ward who can do the screening checks immediately. After that straight to the 'needle' room. The whole thing takes about half an hour.

Treasure Hunters

A sign showing work is ongoing in search of more resources for Brunei ‘s future. Oil is not an infinite resource. The current oil will dry out eventually, if not soon. For that whatever wealth that has been bestowed to the country should not be taken for granted to last for ever. We should make ever effort to spend wisely.

The sign indicates location of a large base camp nearby, housing over a thousands workers, conducting surveys in the jungle of Tutong. It would be a serious understatement to try to describe how challenging the work involve. Not only do these guys have to trek through the thick jungles and rugged terrains, the presence of wild and nasty animals would already make the job quite unattractive to a Bruneian.

Cyclists Passing Tutong

I happened to see this. At 10 am this morning, this group of cyclists finally reached Tutong. But then this was only half way for them before reaching Serasa as the final destination. It must have been quite hard work cycling all the way from KB. The gap between the front runners and the back was already about 5 km. It was said there were around 400 taking part in the event, to raise fund for the HoB or Heart of Borneo initiative.

We were told amongst the cyclists were some VIPs. There were also some others (including ladies) who are new comers to the world of cycling. But they have been training hard in the last few weeks. By finishing the over 100 km journey, the participants should be proud of themselves of having completed the journey. Apart from tinted skins and few days of aching muscles.

Another Memory Lane

The birth place. The old distinctive house is still sitting next to the river. A place with lots of sweet memories from the past, many weekends were spent here, times spent during childhood fishing and watching brave adults swimming in the river. Not that there were no crocodiles here.

Before electricity reached this village, the nights were only lighted up with kerosine lamps. I remember the lamps were always very bright. They were the pressured type, they had a fuel tank at the bottom with a small pump to pressurise the kerosene.

I noticed the old fire extinguishers are still hanging on the wall outside the house. The expiry date clearly shows that they have been 27 years overdue for servicing. Nobody bothered to remove it. But it is a clear sign from the past when the British has still an influence in the running of the country's administration. Meticulous. Safety was already considered then.

My old grandma is still around, healthy and well, although over a 100 years old now. The grandpa passed away 7 years ago at the age of over 120 years old. He didn' t have a birth certificate to prove. But he was born 10 years before a British Resident was put in place in the country.

Today I drove around the village. Some old houses are still recognisable from the past, tucked in-between newly built and modern houses.

These areas were flood-prone in the past and still are. Some clearing work apparently been done to the river to alleviate the repeated flooding. In the past, the only way to reach this place during the raining season was by boat or walking on the flooded roads as the whole areas were flooded. It normally took an hour to reach this house. Those were the days.

Rainy Days

The past few days have been very very wet. It seemed that the rain just never want to stop. Thses are golfer's worst enemy!

Some roads were flooded, but most dangerous of all were the stagnant water on some other roads. This is particular so on the Tutong-Muara dual carriageway where vehicles tend to move at higher speed.

We saw this empty land turning into a river of water. With no trees around and vegetations to absorb some of the water, this has resulted in some soil erosion. On its own, this is probably nothing to worried about. But what if the same water catchment area has ten or twenty of similar barren lands.

Missed the Flight

It's the end of our trip to KL. We headed home today but missed the flight! It's all down to conceiving a misguided perception. We assumed that MAS has changed its timetable to Brunei from 9.10 to 11.50 am as it happened to us twice.

So there we were at the airport wondering why our plane was not displayed on the monitor. Reality slowly sunk in. Our plane has flown out without us. This is the first time we have ever missed a flight. We looked for alternative - Air Asia was the best option. So that was another chapter in our short adventure to KL.

Air Asia departs from the other terminal. The facilities are quite basic but very crowded and chaotic. It's a far cry from the under-utilised KLIA. The terminal is meant to handle 9 million passengers annually but more like 15 million now.

Would you Dare?

One thing that I have been wanting to do is 'bekam'. It's a techinque of cleansing toxic from the body by pumping out blood or other fluids from the inner skin. A small suction cylinder is used for each selected point in the body, normally at the back or on the foot. The skin is first scratched with small cuts to allow the process to work. Eventually anyway between 10 to 30 of those cylinders would be used depending on own choice.

Bekam is actually a sunnah, or following our prophet's example. It is said to maintain the chemical balance in the body or even facilitate the cure of a number of ailments. The only shop that I know which offer this in KL is located at Ampang Park. The after effect on the skin is not a nice sight to see though, takes a few days for the scar to disappear. I have never been convinced of traditional medicine until this one. Worth a try.

On a different subject, one thing we found quite interesting at the new and sleek Pavilion shopping centre is that there is a small surau but somewhat hidden from normal view. The sign at the door is the only sign that a surau exists, not even mentioned in the electronic building directory. Wonder why? It's at 5th floor, next to Cannon shop. I only knew it because my bro-in-law told me so. Inside, the surau is actually quite nice.

Jalan Jalan Cari Makan

For the best Ikan Asam Laksa experience, try Sri Melaka restaurant. They have a branch in One Utama. We have been longing to go back to this restaurant since the last time we were here. Their speciality is also the ABC with the gula melaka toppings.

Watching Batman

Trying to watch a movie here is quite a challenge. Cinemas are crowded as schools are on their term break. We eventually settled down to watch Dark Knight, a good action movie, at Pavilion. We again did the fish spa. Quite enjoyable.

KL is in the middle of a monsoon. The weather is always one of downcast and when it rains, it rains big time, but mainly in the evenings. So overall the weather was pleasant. Even when it is hot, it is not so humid as in Brunei. It's probably because Brunei is sitting quite close to the sea.

We went for a stroll in the morning around the compound. The place where we are staying is part of a complex of up to 200 houses. Most of the residents are well-to-do individuals with flashy cars in the garage.

Each house costs at least 2 million ringgits 3 years ago, it is now 4 million ringgits. That would have been an excellent investment. In fact the demand for this type of housing is still quite strong. A few of our countrymen bought some properties around here.

Sri Hartamas and the areas around here like Bukit Kiara are really nice wooded residential areas not too far from the city centre. Drive to city centre during off-peak hours takes about 15 minutes. The new State Istana is being built just next to the compound. This would make the lands here even more expensive in the years to come.

Fish Spa Massage

Another of those gimmicks, but for the fun of it the kids tried it out. Initially it was quite ticklish and a lot of screaming by the kids as those little fishes started to swarm the feet. But soon it was quite okay and the kids really enjoyed the experience. The small fishes apparently eat the dead skins, in doing so, feel like they are massaging the feet. The shop is apparently doing well with many people really like the idea and want to try it out. The kids wanted to do it again another time.

Today was spending time at the Pavilion - a huge complex - big enough to spend the whole day inside. The food outlets are quite interesting and offer endless choices. We must have been eating continuously the whole day. Although today is a weekday, the complex in parts was still quite busy. Apparently the schools here are in the middle of their term break.

One thing that need improving here is the taxi service. It's not for lack of taxis but the way they charge the customers and drive the cabs. Those waiting outside the Pavilion would charge at least 30 ringgits for any destination. Otherwise they would just sit idly in a group waiting for those to take the bite. Arabs would just go for it. It is a small change. But then this would just encouraged these guys to continue cheating passengers. Their driving styles are quite erratic and dangerous. They would treat the street like their own Formula One track. Normally I would just tell the driver to take time and starts a conversation to ease his aggression. Most of the time this has worked.

Weekdays in Lembah Kelang

The family is off to KL for a few days. The intent is not to shop but to enjoy the culinaries on offer. It has been a while since we set our foot here. At KLIA, we noticed there was not a single foreign airline could be seen in this vast airport amongst the twenty or so MAS and Air Asia planes. May be it was not the peak time but then that is unlike any other international airports such as Singapore. For its size, KLIA failed to attract or retain many foreign carriers. The growth of passengers have only been fueled by the local carriers.

We were picked up and headed to Sri Hartamas, our base in the next few days. The motorways here are quite impressive, there's always new ones sprouting out here and there. These must be quite a heavy investment to the government but the return in terms of general convenience and helping the economy must have been many times. But then again KL is always clogged up with traffic. This city of two millions seems to have far too many cars, somewhat comparable to cities of 10 millions like Jakarta or Bangkok. I suppose this is due to poor public transport system. The LRT is not doing what it is suppose to do. And building more roads end up encouraging more car users - its a vicious circle.

Passing through the many large palm oil plantations, we started to talk about the high price of palm oil right now. Currently the price has dropped abit but is still about 3 to 4 times more than a couple of years ago. So much so that Felda and Sime Darby can afford to pay up to 2000 ringgits to the manual workers a month. So the aggro economy is a keystone economic sector to the country whilst it is moving to IT and high tech focus.

Our first food adventure was at Star Hill for a late dinner. The place is still full of Middle Easterners on holidays far away from Western Europe or the States where negative perceptions of Islam and Muslims are growing. The place looks weird though. Scantily clad ladies and fully covered Arab ladies walking pass each others. This year though some 300,000 Middle Easterners are swarming KL.