Throwback: Kellie's Castle, Batu Gajah / Kompleks Sejarah, Pasir Salak

Assalamualaikum.

Was doing some spring-clearing in my facebook albums when I came across the "Meeting Sir Willian Smith & Sir JWW Birch" folder. Perfecto! The other day, this thought crossed my mind.

"Wei, asyiklah update jalan² over the sea. Update bah pasal jalan² dalam Malaysia pula. Bukan last time semangat mau buat sesi throwback ka?"

This impromptu day-trip was made sometime in Dec, 2010. I was in Kolumpor during the holiday. Plan awal was to go up to Penang but had to cancelled it last minute. Pagi yang asalnya kami patut departed to Penang, suddenly keluar idea nan bernas. Sudah alang² aku mau spend time berjalan² di Semenanjung, why not pigi jak mana² pun.

Since the cousin studies in Perak she suggested us to go there. Last time masa hantar dia balik kampus, kami ada singgah Kellie's Castle but we only took pictures in front of the castle. We didn't get to go in as time didn't permit us to be there much longer. 

Hence, dengan mata bersinar penuh bintang warna warni I agreed to her suggestion. Only the two of us, berani mati drive all the way to Perak from Cheras....without getting any permission from neither Angah nor Pakcik. Laksanakan misi jalan² dulu & any punishment kita fikir kemudian hari. Gitu kan. 

We departed at 9 that morning...stopped by at Tapah RnR for brunch. Sambal ikan keli is a must-have menu whenever I'm in the Semenanjung. And masakan ikan keli orang Perak is my all-time favorite. Titik! Cakap banyak karang ada air liur meleleh. Sob.

Read more about this castle here.

The never complete building. 

Many claimed seeing Sir William's spirit wandered at this corridor after his death. And I chose to just appreciate the classical value of this palace. Selamat tinggal cerita seram.

Motif lekat 'pemberitahuan' gitu? Hayun betul. I remembered vividly masa berjalan dalam bilik ni, half jiwa aku sudah terbang balik Cheras. Lutut pun ala ketar. Huh, penakut kambing betul.

Spot the so-called head of a bear on the tree behind me. Datang sini waktu malam, jangan haraplah mau jejak dekat pokok ni. 

She studies in Sri Iskandar for like 3 years, tapi kami sesat dekat sejam to Pasir Salak. Sempat singgah kampung orang tanya arah lagi. Hampagas!

Place I love spending time at. Masuk muzium memang best. Mau lagi kalau belajar pasal sejarah, Ehem, pasal tu dulu time SPM subjek Sejarah kaw² aku balun.  Subjek tu jak lah, subjek lain mampu lambai tangan dari jauh jak.

Since taking picture/video is prohibited inside the museum, marilah kita posing depan muzium jak. 

Where Sir JWW Birch (First British Resident of Perak) was killed by Datuk Maharajalela at 2^nd of Nov, 1875. 

I can't remember where did I put the rest of my pictures at Pasir Salak. Gambar Sungai Perak, traditional houses near the museum etc. 2010 sudah start blogging tapi jaranglah upload gambar se-extreme sekarang. Eh? Gambar memang banyak aku ambil, but mostly memang berhamburan muka sendiri. Pastu burn in cd. Lastly, jadi simpanan sejarah si Err di dalam laci. Sekian.

eryantierdabdulkarim

South Korea Day 4 - Dongdaemun / N-Tower / Namdaemun / Ewha University

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Wah lama gila kau rehat cuti² CNY kan Bie. Lama gila ndak update cerita Winter Trip. Suddenly one of the friend threw a bomb. 

"I'm going to Seoul soon ok! Finish ur entries asap lah" 

Ngek, baru ingat aku stop kejap haritu. Sambil seru roh rajin, aku gagahkan lah diri. Next time sila bertangguh lagi. Pfft!

On our third day in Seoul, we purposely woke up a bit late. Itinerary harini hanya untuk round area Dongdaemun untuk cari boots & sport shoes, pastu mau naik N-Tower (again) because the cousin wrote Teddy Bear Museum in the to-go-list & later to Namdaemun Market for souvenir hunting. Initially I planned to go to Herbs Island later that evening. Kekunun we will depart to Soyosan from Seoul at 3p. But we cancelled the plan because according to the cousin...

"Alaaaa jauh. From the bus stop we have to walk some more to get to the place. Pastu, mau tengok the same light festival macam di Morning Calm kan. Ndak payahlah, kaki orang masih lenguh. Terlampau sejuk last night, banyak lagi berjalan"

Fine, next time jaklah aku jejak Herbs Island nampak gaya. Insha Allah. Memang tujuan untuk tengok light festival jak pun. For sure semua pokok & tanam²an togel. Next visit harus jejak during spring season, baru bunga semua kembang semangkuk.

Underground cafe. U will never starve in Seoul. Dalam subway station, hatta berapa tingkat ke bawah sekalipun...memang wujud cafe gini. Waffle pun waffle lah, janji perut terisi for breakfast. 

First destination, alley yang jual so many designs & fashions of boots. Boleh pakai for spring & fall sekali. Dari entrance, memang berpinar mata aku menengok boots sepanjang jalan. Yet, sampailah mau melintas jalan...nan hado hasil rembatan. 

Twice datang Doota were during midnight...so ni first time aku tengok Doota during the day & dari luar some more. 

Spotted Best Western Hotel (far right). The very first hotel I stayed at in Seoul. That is Dongdaemun Gate; it was still under renovation when I came to Seoul for the first time in 2012.

Headed to Myeongdong after Dongdaemun. Misi adalah untuk jejak Namsan Tower. First time menjejak di siang hari juga ni. Before ni menapak bukit & naik cable car...this time I opted to take the shuttle bus. Pusing² sikit area Myeongdong before ascending to Namsan during the day. Boleh cuci² mata.

More info about this bus (here).

Niat untuk naik bas bukan semata untuk cuci mata. Tapi juga sebab mau try naik the newly launched electric bus. Memang sangat menjaga environment lah transportation macam ni. The bus is recharged once it reaches its last stop.

Annyeong N-Tower. Before berjumpa, izinkan daku menapak bukit itu terlebih dahulu. Sob.

Dia jak lah yang sakan bergambar area Love Lock Trees ni. Barulah aku nampak jelas area N-Tower ni. Memang berbeza feeling siang & malam.

Anyways, angan² untuk masuk Teddy Bear Museum adalah ke laut as the museum is no longer there. It will be replaced by Trick Art Museum (the third one in Seoul after Hongik & Insadong). Nasiblah aku faham sikit Oppa Counter Ticket tu cakap with this one Chinese tourist. Else, harus buang masa queue panjang² & ended up dapat berita "Muzium sudah nggak ada". 

Fountain ni kalau malam memang cantik. Berwarna warni siap menari air yang mengalir.

Puas ronda² atas bukit Namsan, we boarded the shuttle bus & hop off at Namdaemun Market. Pencarian boots & sport shoes bermula lagi sekali. Also aku mau cari trench coat yang murah²; boleh guna untuk bergaya for any upcoming trip(s). 

As usual, market ni memang ndak pernah lenggang ngan manusia. Local ka tourist, sama ramai memeriahkan kawasan ni.

Pastu disapa Candy Booth Oppa ni. Banyak kali sudah aku tengok diorang demo macamana dari seketul honey yang super keras, lepas di putar² akan jadi candy ala-suun. Gitu kan aku describe candy ni.

I've tried the candy few times. Tapi aku stop juga, kasi chance cousin aku tu tengok the demo. Done with the demo, cousin aku pun termakan racun Candy Oppa ni. Memang ndak plan untuk bawa balik so aku belilah sekotak. With almond as inti. Dalam 10 ketul tu, aku cuma dapat sumbat seketul. The rest selamat dalam perut cousin aku before I even realized it. Sweet tooth melampau².

I stopped at this gerai & looked at my cousin "Ni, dia ndak mau rasa?". And she gave me this jelingan tajam while saying "Not funny enough. Try next time". 

Singgah beli kebab Abang Iraq at the market. Pastu kami zoom balik hostel. Mau rest kaki & minda since niat membeli terbelah tidak kesampaian. Asyiklah mata melilau ternampak benda lain; tersasar jauh pula tu dari barang aku aku aimed. 

Late that evening, tiba² idea untuk terjah area E-Dae timbul. At first, aku ingat mau lepak area Yeouido. Cuci² mata tengok orang dating dekat Han River tu. But the cousin rejected my idea straight away..."Sejuk beku gini mau lepak tepi river?" Aigooo aku pun sedapkan hati lah, next time jak aku lepak. Sob.

Gambar Ewha Uni aku dapat this time is slightly better than last time. Suppose datanglah awal sikit kan Bie baru boleh dapat different view. 

We decided to walked further up. 

Just untuk merasa turun tangga nan mencabar luas ni. Memang view lain kalau berdiri the opposite way.

Kalaulah ada cafe gini di uni aku dulu...hmm, memang aku paling rajin buat partime sini. Jalan kaki jak dari kolej as this is located inside the campus area. Dulu kala, terpaksa naik bas. Baris panjang pula tu. Alkisah, si Bibie dulu buat partime di Mid Valley. Motif mau gebang pasal tu tiba²?

While waiting for the train. Huh, terkedu lama bila Top Oppa seakan berbisik something sama aku. Too handsome lah renungan mata mu, tajam menikam jantung.

Itaewon Street

Alkisah, aku bawa instant pasta from Malaysia. Didn't even bother to read the 'how to make' section. Ingatkan boleh buat macam masak maggi. Turned out, I need to used butter & susu cair. So kami pun pegilah Itaewon that night. Demi perut yang ndak tau erti kenyang, gagahkan diri walau sejuk mengigit tulang. Tapi harga sebiji butter 250gm pun sudah cecah RM30+. Padahal kami cuma mau guna dalam 30gram jak. Butter kecil² macam style jenama Anchor tu pula ndak da. Timbang balik decision berulang kali sebab butter mahal tu jak. We decided to cancel beli butter & susu cair. Kami cuma beli maggi. 

I told my cousin I will improvised another recipe that night. Nasiblah kan, demi penjimatan maksima. Harga makanan di Seoul bukan alang². Boleh buat aku sawan.

And so improvisation berjalan lancar. Or adakah sebab lapar, semua kami bedal. 

Tu kuah hasil instant pasta yang aku boil with water & tambah Secukup Rasa. Import khas from Malaysia. Memang berbaloi bawa perencah tu. Tiba² iklan ndak berbayar. And the pasta, aku buat ala maggi-goreng. Campur telur; harus. Ahjussi di kedai runcit depan hostel hafal muka aku, each time masuk mesti cari dalgyal a.k.a telur. Siap dapat free 2 biji gitu. 

Malam tu lepas melantak, kami spent time menonton We Got Married. Poyo gila ketawa padahal subtitle nan ado. Kunun² faham sikitlah apa yang dikarutkan. Gitu. Tidur lewat juga sebab esoknya plan kami pi Apgujeong jak. Ndak dapat jumpa orang, building tempat diorang practice pun jadilah. Haru.

eryantierdabdulkarim