Outbound

We managed to set off by 6. Well, more like half past six. Quick stop for petrol and we were off. The plan was to drive to Bentong and then Gua Musang. Hopefully it was well before lunch when we reach Gua Musang.

Traffic has been light so far but it was still early doors. I wasn't doing the driving, but I had to stay awake since our driver was hopeless with directions. Need to make sure that he took the right turn .....

Filling up before setting offTraffic was still light in the early hoursPit stopIt was getting crowdedIf everything goes according to plan, we would be staying in Kota Bharu until Wednesday while my mother-in-law would be returning on Friday.

We booked a room at the recently refurbished Perdana Hotel. Let's hope that the place lived up to its billing ..... Onwards!

More links to the trip here.

All Work

Getting them to do their task was rather difficult. But we had no choice since we had to get their homework sorted out by tomorrow as we would be leaving early Sunday.

No outing tonight. It was all work. We didn't even managed to start our packing yet. So, long night tonight. And an even longer day tomorrow!

Plan Back on Track

The boys were feeling much better and Anita had managed to get their projects under control. This meant that the Kelantan trip would be on this weekend.

There was however a slight change in the plan. Instead of leaving on the Monday, we planned to set off in the early hours of Sunday morning instead. We would also be coming back a day earlier, on the Wednesday.

We were expecting a long journey this Sunday. Traffic would be bad. So, we will be setting off by 6 am. At least that was the plan ..... Good luck to us!

Links on the trip here.

Part 9 Last Stop

It had been a nice sunny day, and I was happy that snapped more than 300 frames. It would be a long day of editing right after but as usual, we met up one last time to say our goodbyes and of course, had something to eat.

This year, it was a cafe right next to Masjid Jamek. It was called CoffeeBox. Not great but it had wifi and air-conditioning. That should do the trick nicely.

Busy crossing

Networking..... and post-mortemThis was when we exchanged cards and found out a bit more about what the other participants did for a living. We had a Government Servant, a senior Bank Officer, a retired pilot, and full-time photographer i the mix.

I enjoyed the walk this year, and it was a lot to do with the fact that I was not involved in organising it. Being a walk leader was not really hard work, but on the day, you worry about what the participants would take back from the walk. You ended up trying to keep things on track rather than you yourself walk around enjoying the day. I also managed to get the day off, meaning that I only had minimal interruptions from the hospital.

Time to say goodbyeBack to the LRTIn the end, a afternoon off for me, and I managed to learn a few things about Chow Kit and central KL. When I was talking to the fellow walker at Capital Cafe, we felt that there were plenty of KL which was left undocumented. These celebrated past may be left untold to the future generations. Plenty of anecdotes about the shops and cafe would be lost forever if we do not start jotting them down. Something to take for the future I think ……. Something well worth pursuing …..

More about the walk here.

Part 8 Masjid India

By the time we left Capital Cafe, it was already well past noon. Masjid India was already crowded by then, and as customary on every Saturday afternoon from 3 pm, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman would be closed for the night market.

We could hardly go anywhere without bumping into people, and the big dSLR which some of us carried looked awkward in this crowd.

Still in the spirit of MerdekaBlind street musician. Had been a feature here since the 80s.Sweet stuffNot your typical "Gadis dan Bunga"A couple of things I noticed about the place. Firstly, the crowds were mainly local, which was a change from Chow Kit. And secondly, there were too much bling here. There were goldsmiths everywhere, and the place must have the highest concentration of money changer in town. It seemed that on one of the rows, every other shops were money changers. I wonder what was the crime rate like at this area?

"Reserved"Lost count of how many jewellers and money changers around hereMore money changers and jewellersThe sun was bright. And we just had lunch. Not really in the mood to venture too far from the route. We ended up entering one of the Indian cafe and again, talked to one of the owners. This particular shop sell ladoo to the airlines and made them fresh everyday at the shop by hand. Some of them were sold at the shop next door, while some of them were transferred to a small warehouse in Sepang to be sent to the airport.

The gentleman I spoke to was there to help out his family after he retired, and he spoke in perfect English. We asked what did he retired from, and it didn't come as a surprise when he used to work as a journalist. He certainly got plenty of story to tell.

The place was also full of Indian candies - ladooRead the signs - Palaykat!Stopped by a ladoo shop, where they actually prepared the candies on siteWe even interviewed the ownerTime to move onAfter lingering on for another half an hour, it was time to meet up at the last destination sadly. We gathered at a cafe next to Masjid Jamek for one last meal ……

Links to the write-ups here.