Malam Raya - Day 4 Cuti Raya

Malam Raya 5, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

It is almost here. Last minute shopping was done, but unfortunately my Dad took up smoking again during Ramadhan. His bronchitis is back and he started to cough badly in the last couple of nights. The night before, he needed nebulisers at the local clinic. I decided to get him checked out at UMMC this morning. Thought of putting him on short-term steroids. Then we found out that his blood pressure was sky high.

We put in down to his diet and the fact that he stayed up most nights for prayers during Ramadhan. He needed to chill and most importantly, give smoking up. He may not be able to drive with us to Penang on Monday. He may have to catch a lift from my sister.

On the way back from UMMC, we drove past Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. The road leading to it was well empty, but oh my God! Were we wrong? The entrance to Chow Kit was gridlocked. Mostly by foreigners. I bet the locals have done their shopping and has already legged to their respective kampongs. We had to skip our plan to stop and have a look.

Initially apprehensive

Irfan soon warmed upIdlan getting groovyLater, I brought the kids to visit their Grand Dad, where we had to stay an extra couple of hours due to haevy rain. The rain was severe enough that apparently there were reports on another landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa. It was close to Iftar by the time we reached home.

A lot of chores needed doing that night. After clearing and cleening, it was time to treat the boys with some fireworks and sparklers. They stayed up until almost 11pm. Initially Idlan and Irfan were intimidated by the sparklers, but later they warmed up. Grand Ma done all her cooking during the day. The rest of the troops spend the evening decorating and preparing the main tables, cookies and all. I was really tired by midnight, hence can only punch in this entry the day after. Happy Hari Raya.

Cuti Raya Day 3

MidValley Raya Decor 2, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Hey! Nice tree!It was raining when I got up, which is a pain since I have to go to UMMC this morning, taking my Uncle to see my Urologist colleague. The appointment was at 9.30 and since there were some issues about his scans and what not, we only managed to get everything sorted by 11.30. There will be follow-up after Raya and it is more than likely that he will have to undergo an operation.

On the way back, I decided to drop by at MidValley after hearing a alot about their Raya decor. I arrived there just after mid day and the crowd has already started building up. Apparently it was worst yesterday. A lot of the crowd has already left for their balik kampong ritual. I look forward to an empty KL in the next few days.

More Malay Kampong touchesThe decor was as sweet as what was described. It cartoon replica of a traditional Malay kampung, made of wood. And they are actually functional. Some of the decors were used as stalls where you can buy cookies and other Raya goodies. There is also a big stage in the middle, presumably for music and fashion shows I must say that compared to Lat's work in KLCC, this was on a smaller scale. They are also a lot more predictable, with elements of Malay kampong. I found it lack 'character' and spirit. If you were to ask school children to design a set around the theme of kampong, I am sure they will come up with something similar to this. It lacks originality and innovation. I found it to be too functional.

Lat's work in KLCC is more colourful. You can relate to it a lot more with characters from his Kampong Boy repertoire. You can tell that the designer actually comes from a kampong. It did not try to hit it over our heads that this is what a kampong should look like. It was more involved and evolved. At least that was what my take was.

I reached my home just in time for Jumaat Solat. After Solat, felt tired and decided to take a power nap. It was fine until the power nap actually took a good 3 hours! I was really knocked out. When I woke up, at least my sore throat was gone. I was more than likely carrying a virus, hence the reason for the lethargy. We therefore had to skip Idlan's music class.

From aboveI had to run a few errands after berbuka and drove past Alpha Angle. Can't help but to smile when I saw the queue into the car park. Plenty of people were out to do last minute shopping. I went by to buy some Tandoori, and now back home. Drizzling outside. Maybe it's time for another power nap.

Look at my new shoes - Cuti Raya Day 2

Kasut baru, kasut raya, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

A rather dull day today. Anita had to go to Putrajaya to settle the maid's permit for next year, and I babysat the two boys. She was back by 1 and we planned to do some shopping later in the day and get a haircut for Idlan. His fever is now better and he is getting restless to leave the house. Since Anita and her Mum was tired from the Putrajaya journey, they took a nap before we left.

We set out at around 3.30. The traffic was really bad along MRR2 and Jalan Ampang. We finally reached the Great Eastern Mall carpark just before 6! 2 and a half hour journey to travel 7 miles! Madness. Apparently the Minister has announced that tomoorow will be a day off for schools. The parents hence set about to leave for kampung tomorrow and went into a last minute shopping frenzy. The traffic was basically jam-packed, not just at Jalan Ampang, but most of the trunk roads into the City Center. We were lucky that the boys were still under control in the car, and nobody needed to rush to a toilet.

Since time was tight, we got the shoes for the boys. Irfan actually picked her own (above). Apparently the spider on the laces were the clincher. He can't stop running around in them right after. We then headed to Cozy House to see if there are any empty table for iftar. We were turned away however. Reluctantly we had to settle for a table at Penang Village right next door. I decided to have Japanese instead at Express Sushi. It worked out better for me I think.

Luckily the traffic back was smooth. By the time we reached home, everybody was already tired. Time to catch some zzzz. I am taking my Uncle to see the Urologist tomorrow, so going back to UMMC for a bit tomorrow morning.

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More Updates in my PhotoBlog

I have been encouraged by the positive feedback I am getting so far on my photoblog at harisphotoblog.com. I have added on another tab or segment called 'theme'. This is basically a project-based series of photographs conforming to a theme. The theme will be added from time to time, and the one I am building up to at the moment is concerning the Eid. The Eid 2009 theme menu in the site can be accessed here.

As you can see, it is further divided into four to five sub-segments and over the next week or so, there will be separate slideshows on each of the segments. So please check them out. If you have not visited the photoblog please do so. I trust you will see that the photos will be decently presented, and please enjoy them Should you wish to use them for any purpose, please drop me a line. I am more than happy to accommodate your requests. Happy Puasa - or the coming few days and 'puasa enam' at least.

Hari Raya Holiday - Day 01

KLCC Night Walk 6, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Yes! The holidays already started, but unfortunately without a bang. As those who followed my tweets had learned, Idlan had high temperature last night and had to be taken care of. He seems to have been better during the day and started playing his Wii again. That's a good sign.

Lat's artwork in perspectiveI had plenty lined up to do. To start off, I sent the car for service as we are planning to use it for our trip to Penang after Raya. Then I took Irfan to his Pingu School while Anita had her manicure and pedicure. Bak home, we ran a few errands, going to the bank to transfer our maids' money back home. We then headed out to buy some groceries before it started raining heavily. I have yet to do my own shopping, so I decided to do it after iftar. I set of alone to KLCC.

I had the opportunity to observe Lat's artwork close-up that evening, and it was mesmerising. Simply breath-taking, true to form. Lat s a famous cartoonist and I grown up with his comic as staple. He takes a very dry view of current affairs and hit home with his drawing. He takes no prisoners, and regularly lampoon famous public figures and normal boring daily routines alike. I find his drawing funny and touching, but the best of all was his series on kampung life. If you grow up in kampung, you can't help but smile every time you read it. And this is no exception.

The life-size mock-up of a kampung houseThe Ghazal trope on showIn the main foyer in Suria KLCC, are life-size work of his 'Kampung Boy' series, with all its stereotypical characters, complete with a full-size kampung house. When I arrived there, there were also traditional ghazal troupe playing, and tourists were taking the opportunity snapping away. Let's start with the positives, the artwork was classy, and very well presented. The troupe played very well, excellent sound system and acoustics at the foyer. The vantage points and access was great. I spent almost 20 minutes looking at all that was on offer. Next to them are stalls selling gifts and cookies, all themed similar to the artwork. Very neat indeed.

What is ashamed was there was no guidance for the tourist. It's fair for us who are familiar with firstly Lat's work, but more importantly the selling of the kampung concept to the visiting tourists. There were no tourist guides explaining the goings on, what the exhibits are, not even pamphlets for them to read. I can't help but to realise that there is an opportunity missed here. Worst still, the only access to staff for information were in the form of security personnel, and they were all non-Malaysian! Alamak! Imagine if a tourist ask what was the guitar-like instrument the troupe was playing, I would offered to run around naked at the foyer if the Nepalis 'Pak Guard' can say 'gambus'. If you hear in the news that a naked streaker was cought in KLCC, you have yourself an exclusive on who it was and why.

After doing my shopping, I headed for some food. Unfortunately, most of the food were sold out at the stalls since there was a rush earlier for iftar. Even O'Brien ran out of white bread for sandwiches, and they only sell sandwiches. Had some nasi ayam, then off for some coffee at Starbucks before a quick stroll. There were still plenty of people at Suria at 9.30 last night, by the time I headed home. It was a pleasant walk in the end. At home, the boys were helping their Mummy and Grandma baking some cookies for the Eid. The smell was nice. Idlan's fever was also down by then. Alhamdulillah.

You can see the Twin Towers through the roof