small town – Page 2 – TV Smith's Blog

Hometown Colours

Hometown Colours.

Rain falls on the parched road of tiny Sungai Mati town. The town of Dead River used to be a bustling river port. It was so named because it became an oxbow lake or billabong after breaking from the Muar River. Located on the outskirts of Muar town.

It is not my hometown and I stopped here while I was going to Muar for a holiday. Stopped because the colours were so striking. It was also on this trip, I discovered there is a bridge which Muarians call the Penang Bridge. Confusingly, the official name is also very original as in Jambatan Kedua. WTFish? Haha.

Incidentally, I received a second booking for the new Muo Boutique Hotel by an unknown person for the Hari Raya period again. If you are planning to book a hotel for the “balik kampung” trip ahead, please do so early. It is getting to be a common practice and people do it for various reasons. Many small town hotels are understandably small and have limited rooms.

MyCen Hotels should have a hotel listed or searchable for every town. Let me know, if you have difficulty finding one for your destination. Contact me and I will try to help you find one.

Below are some of the sample presets or links to towns or cities with ready links of hotels at the lower part of the booking page at http://www.mycen.my/hotel/

#smalltown #hometown #balikkampung #muar #sungaimati

The Bruneian Poor Man’s Harley

The Bruneian Poor Man’s Harley.

Brunei’s Kuala Belait wet market is like what our Central Market used to be; except the art deco building is circular.

I met vegetable seller, Bujang, inside. Somehow, we started talking about big bikes and he said he’ll go home to get his bike to show me.

It was the fairly rare Hyosung GV650 Aquila, a shiny cruiser. I remember distinctly Bujang telling me is China-made but a Google search later revealed it is a Korean product.

He described it as a poor man’s Harley for those facing mid-life or three-quarter life crisis. Bujang was 65 at the time.

The poor man’s Harley for Bruneians still cost a hefty USD 8,000 before tax. It is tax-free in Brunei, of course. I like the reaction of his then six-year-old daughter when she saw her dad returning with the bike. That’s Bujang’s wife’s bike behind the daughter.

Kuala Belait is the second largest town in Brunei, after capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

There are now 5 good hotels or more in small town Kuala Belait.

Book here: http://www.mycen.my/hotels-in-kuala-belait-brunei/

#documentaryphotography #streetphotography #travelogue #travel #market #biker #motorcycle #cruiser #superbike #harley #hyosung #aquila #brunei

The Ghost Of Old Malaya

A semi-rusted town bus in what could be a bus graveyard in tiny Renggam town. Inspired by the earlier post about urban sketchers, I decided to run this small town image through some art and paint filters.

I am disturbed by the appearance of the face of a woman wearing a white tudung on the wet asphalt on the bottom of pic. Do you see it?

Curiously, the Renggam Bus Company spelled it as Rengam (with one R) on the bus body. The company was registered in 1959 and its buses were adorned with the the colour splash of its era. See my earlier posts on my visit to #renggam and #simpangrenggam.

#renggam #simpangrenggam #kluang #johor #bus #busyard #smalltown #history

Anson Bay – When Doves Cry

Anson Bay – When Doves Cry.

Many Malaysians normally don’t go out of the way to avoid pigeons and enjoy seeing the birds flying helter-skelter because of some thrill they get by doing so. It makes such people feel powerful, I guess, to see animals dispersing because of them. Knowing how awful it is to be interrupted while eating, I always avoid pecking birds and take a detour which is not hard.

I set my camera to a very fast shutter speed to freeze the anticipated dispersal and waited. My awesome co driver, navigator and camera assistant then, Zyneste acted as human spotter. She told me she saw a human approaching. As expected, he crashed the bird feeding party headlong and sent all the hungry birds into flight. Got the shot and we went to look for the famous Ah Chai fruit rojak after that.

Sony A7R, ISO 1600, f16, 1/3200 sec.

With so much to do in TA, you may want to spend a night in this west coast town, Book the hotels directly from here by cilcking on the links.

Lavender Hotel Teluk Intan,
Angsoka Hotel Teluk Intan,
Yew Boutique Hotel Teluk Intan,
Grand Court Hotel Teluk Intan,
Merge Summit Hotel, Teluk Intan
Sri Bandar Hotel Teluk Intan.
Stephanie Hotel Teluk Intan,
Chin Yee Hotel Teluk Intan,

Here is another list with over 10 hotels in Teluk Intan to choose from. Number of hotels available may depend on your booking dates.

#telukintan #ta #anson #perak #smalltown #pigeons #bif #streetphotpgraphy

A Curious Case

Many years ago I thought of visiting a good friend in his hometown of Taiping during Chinese New Year. That was when many people are back in their respective hometowns and locals always make competent and knowledgeable guides to an unfamiliar small town. I called the friend and he said there was virtually no walking space in his mother’s house, with all his siblings returning.

It is a time honored tradition or custom to go back during a festival. He said he will throw a mattress on the floor for me. I told him to book a hotel for me. He called me later to say he cannot find a vacant hotel in town and offered to give me his room. He was staying in a hotel? As I was to find out. many other returning locals were taking up all the hotel rooms in town.

Seemed their pampered urban kids can’t sleep without air conditioning or bath without hot water showers. They like the Cartoon Channel and other kiddie shows on satellite or cable channels too but not all hotels provide it.. My friend explained that it was also to shield his infant child from the rampant sounds of bomb like firecrackers and fireworks in his village.

Meanwhile, poor grandma cannot understand why her grandchildren are unable to sleep under mosquito nets and a fan.

I was not surprised as I know of another friend who will put his two young daughters in the car with engine and air condition running whenever there was an extended power breakdown at night. He checks into hotels too when there is water disruptions.

It is a new phenomenon that impacted many Malay and Indian families too, as I was to find out. Don’t laugh at the proliferation of budget hotels everywhere because you think they are meant for ‘day use’ customers. They play a vital role albeit thrice yearly during festival exodus by urbanites.

If you are planning to book a room for the upcoming Hari Raya holidays, you may want to book now. Do a search for your hometown’s name at MyCen Hotels http://www.mycen.my/ and find a hotel you like. Let me know of your experience. Thank you.

Pic of a sheltered park bench at Taiping Lake Gardens from a MyCen Hotels post about Hotels In Taiping, Kuala Sepetang and Kamunting.

#cny #hometown #smalltown #exodus #festival #hotels #taiping #park #rain