A Sweet Love Story

The joys of street photography is not just in capturing people with your camera. It is about meeting, engaging strangers, to listen to their life stories, if they are willing to share. Inter racial marriages seem to be more common in small towns and I was happy to hear a new perspective. A sweet love story.

Meet The Family.

Puan Saudah’s husband Ameer and daughter Ramizah came to join the conversation. Looking at my pics on the iPad, the man noted he knows one of the guys I photographed. It was Gurcharan Singh from the Sikh Temple in Kalumpang.

I looked up at Ameer’s face again and did a double take. Our conversation went from Malay to English at this point:

Me: Don’t tell me you are Punjabi?

Ameer: Yes (with a grin). I am Ameer Abdullah, formerly Balbir Singh the Sikh.

Me: How long ago was it when you married Saudah and how did your community take it in those days?

Ameer: Some 30 years ago. I fell in love, converted to Islam, discarded my turban and married the girl of my dreams.

Me: That’s so sweet.

Ameer: I became an outcast for leaving my religion, was shunned by my own community and treated as traitor.

Me: I understand. I had a Punjabi classmate who hated singer DJ Dave just as much for the same reasons.

Ameer: Not surprised. Hey. I know Dave and he is from Tanjung Malim (further up on Federal Route 1).

Me: I think things have changed and people from the Sikh community are now more tolerant of inter-racial marriages?

Ameer: Yes. And time heals everything. I am accepted as a friend again.

Me: How do you know?

Ameer: When fellow Punjabis in town call me by my childhood nickname.

Ameer, a civil servant, is happily married, deeply religious and have four grown-up children now. Ramizah is 22 and is a teacher at a Islamic religious school in KKB.

Am honoured to meet such a warm, honest and animal-loving family.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f5, 1/80 sec.

#documentaryphotography #sikh #muslim #kkb #kualakububharu #smalltown

Tanjung Malim

When I was photographing Tanjung Malim and surrounding areas, I was looking for a nice hotel to stay. I ended up at the Slim River Rest House because I liked the green surroundings.At one glance, Rumah Rehat Slim River looks like a charming hippie commune from the flower power days. Only thing missing is a VW Kombi with psychedelic colours.

Unlike other government rest houses from colonial days, this one is relatively recent. The reception clerk told me it was built in the 1960s.

The motel-style chalets are on stilts, clustered on a big lawn with nice countryside surroundings as a backdrop.

Unfortunately, it is run by the district council and like many government owned rest houses, the government servants in charge see no need to be competitive by making affiliations with online booking merchants.

Can’t really blame them when the more sophisticated Sekeping Serendah and Summit Signature Hotel Silm River aren’t signed with Agoda or Booking dot com either.

Sad that many fine and historic rest houses with awesome food eventually closed down. There is a rest house in Tanjung Malim town itself but it was abandoned and left in shambles. I wrote about it some time ago.

So where can you stay in the Tanjung Malim area?

Hotel Sahara Inn -Tanjung Malim,
Adelia Hill Farm Kalumpang,
One Home Hotel Batang Kali, 
Bukit Beruntung Business Hotel,
The Leverage Business Hotel Rawang,
Slim Village Leisure Farm (Pet Friendly) Kampung Penderas,
Felda Residence Trolak,

Summit Signature Hotel Slim River (Tel: 605 452 8993)
Sekeping Serendah (Tel: 012 324 6552)
Slim River Rest House (Tel: 05 52 0023)
Fernz Hotel (Tel: 05-458 1120)
Sri Malim Hotel  (Tel: 05-459 9333)

See also our page on Hotels in Kampar, Bidor and Tapah.

Hotels In The News Part 4

Hotel In The News is a Backup Of The Popular Section at MyCen Hotels under Hotels In The News. Bookings can be made via the links given here too.

Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino The Strip Las Vegas (booking link)
Las Vegas hotel sued for life-sized mannequin in room.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-hotel-sued-for-life-sized-mannequin/

Manila Hotel Manila Bay Philippines (booking link)
New eats: Pinoy street food re-imagined at Manila Hotel buffet.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/life/05/17/17/new-eats-pinoy-street-food-re-imagined-at-manila-hotel-buffet

Marriott Swansea Hotel Swansea United Kingdom (booking link)
Swansea hotel charging football fans a whopping £4,650 per night on Champions League final weekend.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/champions-league-swansea-cardiff-hotel-10435337

Hotel Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland, Canada  (booking link)
Newfoundland hotel designs rooms for children with autism.
The refurbished suite features extra locks to prevent children from running away while objects that could be thrown during tantrums are now secured.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/newfoundland-hotel-designs-rooms-for-children-with-autism-1.3415023

Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur (booking link)
Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, STRIPES connects guests to the pulse of an urban neighbourhood, right by the city’s business hub, with some of the city’s greatest local food, art galleries, shops and legendary landmarks.
http://www.stripeskl.com/

The Akmani Legian Hotel Legian Bali Indonesia (booking link)
Singaporean tourist flings himself from fifth floor of Bali hotel after consuming magic mushrooms.
https://coconuts.co/bali/news/singaporean-tourist-flings-fifth-floor-bali-hotel-consuming-shrooms/

Hotel California Todos Santos Mexico (booking link)
The Eagles are suing the owners of a Mexican hotel named Hotel California, claiming it is capitalising off the band’s hit song of the same name.
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/world-news/2017/05/04/the-eagles-sue-mexican-hotel-california/

Element Kuala Lumpur by Westin (booking link)
Element Kuala Lumpur stands proudly at 275-metre high in Ilham Tower.
Built green from the ground up with eco-friendly practices, natural light and open spaces.
http://www.elementkualalumpur.com/

Nude Hotel,  Zipolite, Mexico (booking link)
What it was like to stay at the Nude Hotel in Zipolite, Mexico.
Mexico’s only legal nude beach and hotel are quite an experience, even for the most liberal travellers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=11848026

Las Alamandas Carretera. Quemaro, Mexico (booking link)
This Hot-Pink Hotel Is 1 of the Best-Kept Secrets in Mexico.
https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/Las-Alamandas-Hotel-Mexico-43422777

Mandarin Oriental Taipei Taiwan (booking link)
Gong Yoo’s Hotel Room in Taiwan Costs 20 Million Won?
http://my.castko.com/archives/9152

Radisson Hotel Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei (booking link)
A taste of authentic Thai cuisine at Radisson.
http://borneobulletin.com.bn/taste-authentic-thai-cuisine-radisson/

The Baglioni Hotel Kensington London United Kingdom (booking link)
The Baglioni Hotel is the perfect place to put your feet up.
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/15242821.Travel__Why_The_Baglioni_Hotel_is_the_perfect_place_to_put_your_feet_up/

The Silo Hotel Cape Town South Africa (booking link)
Forbes declares The Silo Cape Town’s latest‚ greatest hotel.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/lifestyle/2017/04/27/Forbes-declares-The-Silo-Cape-Towns-latest%E2%80%9A-greatest-hotel

Chirag Plaza Hotel Baku Azerbaijan (booking link)
You maid my day! Hotel guest cheers up house-keeping staff with hilarious figures made from pillows and duvets.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=11846076

The Taj Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, India (booking link)
The only Indian hotel in the world’s best heritage hotels list.
https://www.gqindia.com/content/rambagh-palace-only-indian-hotel-in-the-best-heritage-hotels-list/

Cathedral House Hotel, Glasgow (booking link)
How Cathedral House earned the title of Glasgow’s most haunted hotel.
http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/cathedral-house-most-haunted-hotel-12063508

The Omni King Edward Hotel Toronto Canada (booking link)
King Edward Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom reopens after 38 years.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/04/19/king-edward-hotels-crystal-ballroom-reopens-after-38-years.html

The Lowry Hotel Manchester United Kingdom (booking link)
Manchester United hotel searched by sniffer dogs before derby clash with Man City as security is tightened.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4449560/Manchester-United-hotel-searched-sniffer-dogs.html

The Swan Hotel and Spa Newby Bridge Rusland United Kingdom (booking link)
A hotel robe, an hour-long facial and succulent scallops in the Lake District.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/trips-and-breaks/swan-newby-bridge-lake-district-12900449

XVA Art Hotel Dubai (booking link)
A Dubai Hotel for People Who Don’t Like Dubai: The XVA Art Hotel.
Under the radar for nearly 15 years (but a darling of the global smart set), it’s the project of gallerist Mona Hauser, a longtime champion of contemporary Middle Eastern art.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/annabel/2017/04/24/a-dubai-hotel-for-people-who-dont-like-dubai-and-people-who-do-the-xva-art-hotel/#60c93bcbecab

Roslin Beach Hotel Thorpe Esplanade, United Kingdom (booking link)
Roslin Beach Hotel rated as one of boutique best in the UK.
A boutique hotel in Southend has been listed in the top 20 beach hotels in the UK by the Times newspaper.
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/15243873.Roslin_Beach_Hotel_rated_as_one_of_boutique_best_in_the_UK/

Curtain Bluff Spa & Resort All Inclusive Antigua & Barbuda (booking link)
Inside Curtain Bluff: How glamorous 1950s American couple built Antigua’s oldest exclusive hotel – and where old-world values make it first choice for the most discerning vacationer.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4358080/Inside-Curtain-Bluff-Antigua-s-original-exclusive-hotel.html

Jam Hotel Brussels Belgium (booking link)
Concrete thinking’s in fashion at Brussels’ brutalist Jam Hotel.
Budget hotels always offer basic, boxy rooms, but not many are as creative as this alternative gem in the Belgian capital.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/apr/23/jam-hotel-brussels-belgium-review-budget-travel

Movenpick Hotel Mansour Eddahbi Marrakech Morocco (booking link)
Follow in the footsteps of Morocco’s greatest sultan with a visit to golden Marrakech.
The treasures that Ahmad al-Mansour Eddahbi brought to Marrakech remain much in evidence, and a new hotel nameafter him only burnishes the city’s opulence.
https://inews.co.uk/essentials/lifestyle/travel/hotel-review-movenpick-hotel-mansour-eddahbi-marrakech/

Summer Bay Lang Tengah Island Resort (booking link)
Set your sights on Pulau Lang Tengah, dubbed ‘the Maldives of Southeast Asia’
http://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/jom/2017/04/232622/set-your-sights-pulau-lang-tengah-dubbed-maldives-southeast-asia

Malmaison Birmingham (booking link)
Woman who swiped hotel’s freebie shampoo begs them for more after she says it CURED her psoriasis.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3380603/psoriasis-cured-hotel-free-shampoo/

Art Series The Olsen Hote Melbourne (booking link)
Art Series The Schaller Studio Bendigo (booking link)
Cheeky hotel promotion encourages guests to take nude selfies inside the rooms – then artists turn photos into life drawings.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4427482/Hotel-promotion-encourages-visitors-nude-selfies.html

Shangri-La Hotel, Paris (booking link)
The Shangri-La is a Parisian paradise.
The aptly-named luxury hotel in the City of Love is quite simply as good as it gets.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/the-shangrila-is-a-parisian-paradise-35632965.html

Sheraton Hotel Addis Ababa Ethiopia  (booking link)
Mt Etna, Ethiopia: Journey to one of the hottest places on Earth.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/africa/91219465/journey-to-an-ethiopian-volcano-located-in-one-of-the-hottest-places-on-earth

The Ritz Carlton Vienna (booking link)
The Ritz Carlton, Vienna – hotel review
Sumptuous luxury and a world class steak helps David Ellis relax during a weekend of Austrian culture.
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/the-ritz-carlton-vienna-hotel-review-a3496761.html

Grand Central Hotel Glasgow, United Kingdom (booking link)
Tempus at Grand Central Hotel has a new set menu and it’s a bargain.
The train station restaurant has a touch of old school glamour about it and the service is impeccable – but you’ll be happy to know that the prices don’t match the decor.
http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/tempus-grand-central-hotel-new-12901530

 

Heartless Bastards Some Malaysians Are

Another Vietnamese story or travel tale to tell. I was traveling between Danang and An Hoi, Vietnam when our crazy (reckless) and impulsive van driver stopped suddenly at a very remote and isolated beach.

I went down the beach and there were a row of empty beach chairs. I sat down on one and a man soon appeared out of nowhere to claim rental. Paid him and continued to relax with the sounds of waves and the South China Sea breeze massaging my face.

Not long later, I spotted a hunchback old lady inching her way towards me from far. It can’t be good, my instincts told me.

The old lady reached me, exhausted and almost breathless. She had a bag and she sells souvenirs. She pulled out a RM 20 note to show me. My van driver translated for her. A Malaysian customer previously bought stuff from her and gave her the RM 20 note. Being an uneducated villager, she didn’t know that Malaysian currency was not accepted at money changers at that time.

Poor lady took a long bus journey to Saigon to be told she can’t exchange that. She didn’t know any black market dealer, of course. In my mind, I was thinking what a heartless bastard who gave her the note knowing full well that it will be impossible to change in a small town. Every tourist changed to USD before arriving.

I asked the driver how she got to know I am a Malaysian? Word got around in the village grapevine, it seemed. Is like one in a million chance a Malaysian will land here since it is off the beaten track and unknown, Fate had demanded that I redeem the name of the country.

Gave her USD 50 and she told me it was too much. I said it was for her trouble and bus fare to Saigon. I stayed at a hotel similar to Emily Hotel near the beach in Danang,

You can find this and many Danang beach hotels, Vietnam at http://www.mycen.my/

Pic of My Khe beach from Emily Hotel at Agoda. I was a fan of Dana Delaney and China Beach series but never knew I will one day be at My Khe Beach where the Vietnam War TV series was based on and (partly) filmed.

#danang #vietnam

Heritage Hotels In The Old Quarter Of Hanoi, Vietnam

Since the recent post on meeting the girl in Saigon is well liked, I want to share another story of a Vietnamese encounter but this time up in the capital city of Hanoi. I was wearing a pair of exercise shorts, standing outside a bank in Hanoi. Opposite was the Hoan Kiem Lake park where many old people played chess and performed tai chi. It was a touristy area and a guy selling guide maps soon approached me.

Without warning, he told me “Ptui! Sure Lose!”

Me: I beg your pardon?

Man:You are not from Malaysia?

Me: Yes and thanks for the very warm welcome.

Man:You are not from the football team playing in the match on Sunday?

There was some Asian soccer inter nation tournament going on and Malaysia was to play Vietnam. It hurt me that outsiders think our national team sucks too. Maybe it was psychological pre-game warfare.

There are many heritage hotels and French colonial hotels in Hanoi, I stayed at a very old hotel too but naturally cannot remember the name. One very famous heritage hotel near where I was standing is the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Hotel (pic from Agoda shown). The area with the fabulous and charming colonial day French architecture is known as the Old Quarter.

Other heritage hotels in or near the Old Quarter area:
Hanoi L’Heritage Hotel,
Maison D’Hanoi Boutique Hotel,
Hotel De L’Opera Hanoi,
Golden Silk Boutique Hotel,
Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel,
Anise Hotel,
Maison D’ Orient Hotel,
Mercure Hanoi La Gare,