Author: tvsmith

Rain Over A Fishing Village

While traveling from Taiping to Kuala Sepetang, I saw a standalone purple hotel on the way. Thinking it might be the Yam Hotel, its name was even more intriguing as we drove closer. It was named after another tuber and it was The Potato Hotel!

Kuala Sepetang, formerly Port Weld, is such a charming town. It is a fishing village and there are mangrove river tours to watch fireflies and eagles, There is also great seafood and there are a number of charcoal kilns good for educational visits.

Remnants of the original first railway line of Malaya 1885 is till there with the ticketing counter (now a kopitiam), the original station sign and bits of the old tracks still around,

The town is both a historical and eco tourism gem that is under promoted and unknown to many Malaysians. The town’s name change didn’t do it any favours, I suppose.

It is so near to Taiping, another sleepy and picturesque colonial town, well known for its Lake Gardens. I saw the Potato Hotel again when compiling a list of hotels for the Taiping area. Am pleasantly surprised to see so many new accommodation options for Taiping.

No disrespect to past and present detainees of the notorious Kamunting detention camp but you dont need to be detained under the ISA to stay in Kamunting town nearby.

Kamunting has many budget hotels. Or one can also stay in Bukit Merah Laketown where there are chalets on water. See the Potato hotel or pick another hotel here and visit the triangle of attractions:

http://www.mycen.my/hotels-in-taiping/

Picture captured from bridge spanning the river mouth at Kuala Sepetang.

#taipng #kualasepetang #portweld #perak #rain #river #larut #ecotourism #tourism #fishing #village #hotels #smaltown

Julio Iglesias Could Be From Kuala Pilah!

If you are in Kuala Pilah and a suave Latin stranger asked you “Passar Di Mano?” Don’t panic as the Mat Salleh was speaking loghat Nogori (Negeri Sembilan) dialect and wanting to know directions to the market. Tell him the famous cendol stall is outside the market. Anyway, I think he was singing in Italian it may have meant passing through Mano.

Saw this post on Instagram by Zet (@zeti__) and thought it was quite cute and humorous.

I shall ask my Italian friend Elle Effe (@ellecina) what it means and where is Mano. Mano isn’t the name of an Indian actor either.

#negerisembilan #nogori #julioiglesias #spanish #italian

The Day I Became A “Jaga Kereta” For A Submarine

The Day I Became A “Jaga Kereta” For A Submarine.

With LIMA starting in a couple of days, I am looking at the many images I captured over the years. This is one of my favourite moments from LIMA and it was from 2007. It was so bizarre, funny and am honoured to be able to experience it. I stumbled upon the scene at Porto Malai naval harbour by chance. Was walking on the dockyard after a lunch cum tour hosted by a Royal Malaysian Navy ship earlier.

An Indian Navy submarine was trying to dock after resurfacing. There was such a big commotion, with every sailor shouting back and forth. One would think one was standing outside the noisy kitchen of a mamak restaurant. LOL. The confusion and pandemonium were probably caused by the unfamiliar territory and unconventional berthing. The captain was the coolest guy standing there (below the tower) unperturbed.

A submarine up close was such a rare sight and I was standing at the edge of the dockyard photographing the drama when, all of as sudden, one of the sailors threw a thick and heavy rope at me! I grabbed the the rope, hooked it to a bollard and started shouting “Gostan, Gostan” like a boss. More like a ‘jaga kereta’ (a self-appointed parking attendant by the roadside with a dirty rag), actually.

The local word “gostan” (to reverse) is believed to have originated from “go astern” in sailing terminology.

“Gostan sikit. Lagi, lagi… Oooppp!” Hand slaps submarine, jaga kereta-style.

Not an expert on submarines but a search of scant archived documentation of LIMA hinted it could be the INS Sindhurakshak, a Russian-made Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine of the Indian Navy. Hopefully it was not the INS Sindhurakshak. In August 2013, the Sindhurakshak sank after explosions caused by a fire on board when the submarine was berthed at Mumbai. There were fatalities.

Find or book a room in Langkawi here:

http://www.mycen.my/hotels-in-langkawi/

#lima #lima2017 #lima15 #maritme #navy #naval #submarine #india #langkawi #olympus

Older Younger Pics

  1. Found an old and younger pic of Patrick Teoh, I think Christine,
    Janice Lim and me. Jeez, My hair was so long in those days!

2. Anybody knows who she is and where is she now? I remember her as
Hani the blogger and actress. I know it must be after year 2000 as I
returned from Hanoi with that T-shirt in early 2000. Year, according
to Cheah E-Ling who traveled with me there for work

Sad that we both lost all the pics. Shit happens. I miss the pics of
Củ Chi Tunnels and the rat hunting dog in the paddy fields. His owner
would smoke the tall grass and the dog will leap in, dissappear. and
return with a rat in mouth. High risk job as there were still remnants
of Agent Orange.

#tbt #oldpics #vietnam #memories #me

Aloha

Air Asia X will be launching direct flights between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Honolulu, Hawaii starting June 28, 2017. The flight will go via a two-hour stopover in Osaka, Japan. Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean and is about 11,000 km from KL, as the crow flies.

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls and numerous smaller islets. Hawaii is a state of the US and you will need a visa.

Once you land in Honolulu in Oahu Island, you can island hop to other islands. For the purpose of listing accommodation options, I will categorise them as Oahu, Maui and Kauai. I will also include the Big Island of Hawaii.

What do we Malaysians know about Hawaii except from watching the original Hawaii-Five-O TV series in the 1970s when the highlight was watching Steve McGarrett (uttering the now classic catchphrase) “Book em, Danno!” at the end of each episode?

Who, who saw the original series can forget dour faced Asian detective Chin Ho played by Kam Fong Chun?

For the purpose of the upcoming hotel compilation, I contacted my Hawaiian Instagram friends such as (@hello_achi) or Love C. The seasoned adventurer sent me some pics to use too. I like this turtle pic she captured (used with her permission) of a turtle swimming in the crystal clear blue ocean of Maui.

Other Hawaiians friends like Susan (@susansusan808) and Rick Lui (@happyrickthunder) have not responded at the time of posting this preview. I will add their suggestions, if they come.

The hotel page is still work in progress and I will announce it when it is ready. Meanwhile you can search for Hawaiian hotels or a hotel at anywhere in the world, here:

http://www.mycen.my/agoda/

#hawaii #honolulu #airasiax #oahu #maui #island #turtle #underwater #ocean