The Present - My dear friend

my dear friend of sarangsinga came visiting, on his way to holiday in East Java. Look forward to making a trip to Kertih this season

The Present - Pleasant Season is back

recorded this around 7.15 am, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. It was 23 c before midnight and I am pretty sure it has dipped below 21 c around dawn. No wonder I felt my body planted on the bed.

The Present - In The Cloud of Carbon

me, in the cloud of carbon monoxide. The process of detoxifying the car engine from the glut of carbon, to keep it revving healthier and emitting less pollution to the environment. Shot courtesy of Abeja, a fellow Pugsters.

The Present - Getting wet in National Park

Mohon izin sarangsinga.blogspot untuk memaparkan gambar pukulan beliau disini.

The Present-Sunset over Kuala Lumpur

Plan to use this for future presentation. Never mind,let you all have the 1st view.

The Present - Somewhere in the East Coast

my little BIG son!

The Present - Cambodia 2007

June 2007, The sky is gloomy and no shadow on the ground as you walk. Cambodia, in particular Phnom Penh is is raining season. Not the best day out for photographer, but certainly a great few days to leave my footprint all over the city.

The tired limb didn't allow us to discover all of Phnom Penh on foot. To blend in the city and feel the heartbeat of Phnom Penh, a ride on tuk-tuk or took-took is strongly recommended. Motorcycles rule the city, and on tuk-tuk you are in motion with the city sight, smell and sound.

Phnom Penh meets has variety to offer to each traveller's needs. From sinning fun to charming colonial French leftover and shopping haven to those with deep pocket.

The Present - Hot Blue

Sometime we ignore the very nature that goes around us, the moment that rarely stand still for more than you could notice. How frequent do we look up the sky and see the reflection of life on the ground. This is 5 miles north of Metropolitan Kuala Lumpur, and I imagine the smell of salty sea breeze into my living, the sounds of wave that goes with it, a cup of coffee,......and I continue to dream.

The Present 4 - Some field works

The last photo was shot in Phuket,Thailand in 1997. It cost me 10 bucks which I would not have paid. The trigger happy photographer is all over in Thailand. The moment you had finished your game or whatever, they were there flashing your photo. 10 bucks or not, you would not want it to ended in the wrong hand. By the way the golf swing in the last photo was bad. The ball I still remember clearly, ended beyond the the walking track, into some bushes. Nevertheless, at the end of the I managed to square off fairly with other experienced golfers . That was one of many outing on courses away from home.

The Present 3 - Not too long ago

I was strolling along Bayswater Rd in London in unusually cold spring of 2005 and chance upon this sign to the tube station. It reminds me of the movie starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, a romantic comidy about an American woman and typical English lad who were in love. Nothing much reminds me of the place except for an arab restaurant where I stopped for a quarter pounder and row of shops selling used and antiques.

The Present 2

...ever wonder how the sun rise over land of rising sun? Kansai Inter. Airport, codename KIX, Osaka Japan

The Present - Four (4) decades later

Fast forward to present day. From a simple wooden hut back in late 60's to all over the place. With Allah's grace,bounty and gifts, this feeble body get to leave some pug marks at places where his forefather dare not even dream of....

The Beginning

Photo taken with my great grandmother (of father's side). This grand old lady continue to live for another 18 years, till mid 80's. Photo shot at grand mother's house (mom side), and it was during monsoon that this baby was born and it is no wonder why rain and myself has always had some chemistry bonding.

I never knew her name until very recently when the photo was removed for scanning and the back of the photos revealed my father's scribbling. My father has the penchant of jotting down every little details into the back of photos, his note books, diary etc and many-many years down the road, such notes is found to be priceless. It tells where I was born, whom I with, my weight, date of the shot and date of birth.

Before the Beginning - The Birthday Party

Kelantan folks celebrating birthday in what I think was in 1968! emmm,very modern.... I recognized an auntie, 2 cousins, and I guess the rest would be distance aunties, cousins and relatives.

If my fading memory serve me right, photo was shot at the grand uncle house in Kota Bharu based on the type of timber flooring it has. The house still stands to this date, albeit in dilapidated condition, unoccupied and with overgrown lallang on the courtyard......that's a cycle of life. The house was once the the grandest house in the whole of the village. A village just 2 km away from Kota Bharu town centre.

Before the Beginning 6 - Kuala Lipis Now

Now and before, what have changed? the photo snapped on the verandah of Pahang Club recently at almost the same spot where the earlier photo was shot a generation ago @ 40 ++ years ago, and the charming building (formerly rest house) had so far won the test against nature and time.


There in Kuala Lipis you will find mileage stone that tells you are already in K Lipis, in case you don't realize. Wonder where it begins? Kuantan, and it is still in British Imperial Unit,a reminder of the past.

Before the Beginning 5 - Kuala Lipis Before

Found this photo which indicates that it was shot in front of Kuala Lipis rest house in the 60's. The building is now occupied as Pahang Club House. The present rest house located at Bukit Resident and Tg Lipis, both on the peak of two hills overlooking the town and surrounding areas.

In time before me, the town was used by British Colonial to administer the state because of of its strategic location in the centre of Malaya (or in the centre of nowhere). This is where you will find colonial's relic such as Governemnt Administration building, British's Resident Sir Hugh Clifford's house, Post Office
and Train Station.

Kuala Lipis - "where clock stops ticking", people are laid back and appears in no rushing mood, only made famous in recent time by Malaysia's most coveted singer, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza. I ve been making countless trips to Kuala Lipis for the last 13 years not realizing that a generation before me had left their footprints earlier. Me, married to a lady from Kuala Lipis now, and each trip to this town certainly an escapade from the daily rat race.

Before The Beginning 4 - Singing in the face of danger

The year was 1965, Malaysia was in the midst of 'small war' with Indonesia. Confrontation was launched by Indonesia (President Soekarno)in 1963 to annexe Malaysia after the admission of Sabah and Sarawak into newly formed Malaysia.

The Indonesian Army which was largely influenced by communist, had the impression that invading Malaysia would be easy. They almost got it correct in Kalabakan, Tawau, Sabah when they ambushed our 3rd Battalion Royal Malay Regiment resulting in many of our young soldiers and the Company commander killed and many others injured. Al fatihah to our braved men who perished in the incident.

Photo showed our men in the remote outpost of Tawau, Sabah in 1965 during confrontation, possibly the last frontier facing Indonesian border. They were unwinding themselves, probably after a day out patrolling the border. Tawau was the springboard for the defence of the east coast of Sabah and many of our young men saw action there.

More of the history of confrontation with photos that were never featured anywhere before on Indonesian botched invasion of Malaysia.

The phrase 'Singing in the face of danger' is borrowed from an article wrote by former Army General in last 2 issues of NST.

Before the Beginning 3 - Flood

1967, heaven's gate opened, Kota Bharu was flooded, but there was neither dull faces nor dull moment, this was the time where love first sighted and blossomed. People went out in drives to 'main bah' or literally means 'playing in the water'.

Strangely, this only happen in the east coast corridor of Malaysia. 3rdd photo featured my dad and uncle, wearing quite a daring outfit for a Kelantanese in the 60's.

1st and 2nd picture was shot a few days later when flood water receded.

Before the Beginning 2 - The Soccer

Dad (centre) before boarding MSA Flights. Destination unknown to me. I believe it was before or after Malaysia Cup football game. Yeapp!! he represented Armed Forces football team in the 60's, they were a team to fear. In mid 60's they went to Malaysia Cup final and lost 0-2 to Selangor with the like of Ghani Minhat playing for Selangor.

A bit of the MSA. It was a National Airline for Malaysia before it was split in early 70's into Singapore Airline and Malaysia Airline System as its known today.

Before The Beginning - The Introduction

This is window to the past, both photos was shot in 1967, 2 years before the beginning and 40 years from present day. That's explain the title of the blog, which is not particularly about me neither my dad (who is regularly featured in the photos) nor my family. It about anything that is connected with collection of photos that I had, story behind it and history.

Through collection of the old photos, I ll rewind all of us back into the glorious past. The past perceived by many (including myself) appears only in black and white.

A keen photographer himself, I must thank dad for his collection of photos. First photo was shot in Singapore and 2nd one was shot in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. A world apart!! Why Singapore and Kota Bharu? we will discover it in later part of my blogging experience.That's my dad and mother, young married couple in their late 20's, then.

With the help of my fellow blogger and brother wmsoo who has been scanning these photos, more and more of the past will be revealed...and of course bit of present day.