Sekolah Pondok Bustanul Ariffin.

Salam fellow readers, its been a while right? After receiving tons of emails and text messages, i've decided to find some spare time and update my blog. The past months, i was busy with my usual works, traveling here, traveling there. Meeting here, meeting there. It was a hectic month and its still is. Just for some general information, the hotel that i've been working on in Melaka which is The Quayside hotel is opening soon so be sure to get a room when they are opened later on to see my works in your hotel room ( lol ) . So yeah today i've decided to make an entry about my latest project that im working on with my fellow teammates, a documentary about Sekolah Pondok Bustanul Ariffin and their students.

I think most Malaysian's would know what is a Sekolah Pondok, its a special school which students there ranging from any age would go there to learn the ways to get closer and knowing Allah S.W.T by studying the Al-Quran and through story telling by their Ustaz and Sheikh. What makes this school different from other Sekolah Pondok's in Malaysia is that they don't teach how to read the Al-Quran in different Taranum's, instead they teach how to know Allah S.W.T, how to get closer to Our Creator and the proper way of life.

After interviewing some of the member and teachers of the school, i decided to walk around and get close with the students there. Since they were all male and most of them are still young, there were very playful but shy to meet us. It was hard to convince them not to run when i came closer but eventually, they came to me because they were curious about my camera so yeah. Success! 

I had the chance to interview one of the children studying there, i asked them how's life here, don't you miss your family? They answered, " Yes, i do miss my family but learning about my religion is also important and i want to make my family proud when i get back home later. " Even i am proud the children there, nuff said.  After that, i walked around, looking at their rooms and activities. We reached the school quite early so the children's there are mostly still sleeping and some of them are chilling around the block observing us. Some are very confident to stand in front of my camera while some are shy. 

There's nothing much that i can say but, wait for our documentary video soon. It was a great experience  knowing these children's even though some of them were shy but, its in their nature to be shy. I made some friends there with the kids and i will be going there again soon. Hope you guys like this entry and always, leave a comment below about it. Salam. 

2013

Years to months, months to weeks, weeks to days, days to hours, hours to seconds. An old acquaintance of mine once said, the best teachers all time is our past. Learn and change for better good. 2012 left us with a surprise. Running errands here and there makes us unaware of time. Now its 2013. How time flies. What 2012 taught me is , people are different. Each individual has their own identity, trademarks, with their own specialty. I've met many fresh, young, talent people in 2012. Loads of them. Bit by bit, they influence me and i hope i've influenced them too. Some are positive , some negative. 

In the past, i was a very shy person. Didn't talk much, didn't ask much and never seem to cared much. When i do things, i just do. Ignoring people surrounding me. What people say, let them be. It dosen't matter. I was in my own world. Only people who are close to me could only understand. But slowly, i began to open myself. Random chatting with people, becoming more friendly but i learned, being nice to people has limitation. Some people just want to watch the world burn. They kill kindness with stupidity. They act like stupidity is a act of cuteness. I wonder, how can they live knowing that they are doing something stupid? Which is obviously wrong. Pardon my words but thats reality. 

2012 was the year of struggling. I've faced many challenges; academically, mentally, and spiritually. In the fight to survive, i relise, being yourself is the number one priority. Be original, be unique, dont be something common. Become something rare. People may say its a waste of time, your not going to get benefit from this, your to young. Be true to yourself because only you yourself know your limitations and how far you can go. Kill us with words, kill them with proof. The road may be bumpy, but fight it. Face the challenges, accept the challenge, and claim the reward. The starting would be bitter as hell but in the end, your just eating the sweetest candy in the world.  

All things living, one day will die. That's the nature of things. Not one soul/being can escape death. Death teaches us to be prepared 24/7. Can you predict death? If you die, what would people remember you for? What legacy did you leave behind? I think about that every single day. Enough fooling around and make something useful, be something, be someone. Time is something that we cant see. Time is something that is beyond our reach. Can we stop time? Can we even see time passes by? If Allah S.W.T gaves us the ability to see time pass by, how scared would you be. You posses the ability to see time pass , but not the strength to stop it nor to slow it down even a bit. What is done , would not be forgotten. 

Life is something that is full with surprises. Sometimes it brings happiness, sometimes it brings sadness. Some are colourful, some are mono. Design your life how you want it. Plan ahead. Make changes, change for the better good. Good things wont last forever but the path leading to happiness, is always colourful. 

2013, here i come.

Fraser's Hill Trip

Salam. The past three days, i went on a trip to Fraser's Hill. Even though it wasn't a relaxing trip, but i had a great time walking around taking some photographs and enjoying the cool breeze. It was really-really cooled there at night. The temperature at night was 4 degrees Celsius! So now im back in Shah Alam, back to my daily routines, classes and work but, i want to share my pictures with you guys.

Dizzy bus ride to the top.

  We started our trip early in the morning, we rode a bus and yes it was dizzy like hell. The road was winding and winding curving and curving up and down sideways plus the hump through out the road, it was a dizzy and sickening bus ride. Didn't say much, i just stayed near to the window and hoping to reach the destination quickly. Unfortunately, it didn't end quick. After all the rides, throw ups and everything ( i didnt throw up ) we reach our destination. We stayed at Silver Park Resort apartments and the room was generously good, i got the fifth floor apartment and this is the view from my apartment.

Breath taking view from my apartment.

Even though it was foggy all the time, i managed to capture this photograph before the fog came. The coldness too. After we checked in, kept our bags, we head to the cafe for some hot coffee and lunch. That hot coffee really hit the spot, warmed up our stomach and gave us warmth to explore Fraser's Hill.

Fad enjoying the hot coffee on a cold evening. 

So we went around, took some pictures with friends around the block, but the fog was really heavy, barely visible. Even seeing something ahead of us was difficult. But what my eyes couldn't see, my camera can. So i continued taking some photographs in the heavy fog and continued to walk around.

Some heavy fog. 

i just love taking random photographs. 

Really love the mailbox surrounded by the greens.  

My Professer , Prof Mustaffa Halabi. 

Some attempts to do macro shots. 

Twilight photographer .

Thats some of the photograph i took while i was at Fraser's . I'll try to upload more in the mean time, if im not busy with work. That trip really cleared my mind but i didn't relax much, i walked a lot and im still exhausted until now. Really looking forward for the next upcoming trip. Where to, im not certain but insyaAllah, ada rezeki i'll travel again. Goodnight.

Interpreting my portraits (2)

Salam. Sorry for the late entries, i promised each week a new entry but it seems i failed due to the assignments and work. With that explained, i would like to interpret another series that i have done which is a journal that i did on the previous Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The past Raya, i went to Terengganu, i really love Terengganu. The scenery, landscapes, and the people there and mostly, the food. Kerepok lekor is a must every time i go to Terengganu.  I actually didnt plan to shot or anything since its was Hari Raya, but i always bring along my camera with my trusty 50mm incase there's something interesting to capture. My instinct proven right, it was on the 2nd day of Raya, after celebrating, chit-chatting with family and cousins, i went for a walk near Terengganu's Pasar Payang and i was surprise, even though it was Raya , people are still selling goods such like a normal Pasar would and i cant help to question myself, why aren't they with their families? Why aren't they celebrating with their family and having fun on a very special day in Islam. Thinking wouldn't answer my question so i approached  them, took some photo's and had a brief interview. Here's the picture. 

" Penarik Beca " Pasar Payang, Kuala terengganu - 2012

This old man ( photo above ) is a trishaw man aged 65 with three children. Even though he is old, he still has the man power to cycle his trishaw. The story of this old man is, his family is poor. He told me, Raya or not, its the same. His income per month is as low as RM200 per month and he has a family to feed, if he doesn't work, his family would have nothing to eat or drink. He also claimed that he is terribly ill, but he is willing to sacrifice his health for the sake of his children, to make sure that every day there is food on the table for the family. Let his family celebrate raya with happiness and let him work to keep them alive. Looking straight into his eyes would tell you everything, what has he been through, the suffering, and his love for his family. It really hit me hard. Such sacrifice a father would do for his family. I thought in the Millenium Era, there wouldn't be anymore poor people since the Government had done many projects to help the poor but i guess the help didnt reach everyone. After the interview, i walked down the road leading to a small Jetty infront of Pasar Payang. There was a man sitting there reading newspaper infront of a bot. Couldn't resist to take a picture a interviewed him. Here's the picture. 

" Pak Mail " Kuala Terengganu - 2012

This is " Pak mail " . He is a boat driver, in the background is his boat . He provides a service of showing tourist the interesting sights of Terengganu though the waterways. He has done this job for more than 20 year.  But sadly, he also has the same story with the trishaw man, working to feed the family. Working long hours, hard labor at his age and health state, it is truly a father's sacrifice to take of the family. He offered me a ride on his boat, i couldn't resist the offer so i took a cruze on the boat. 

The interview still was going on, he told me that he has children and a family to feed. Without him, the family would survive. They depend on the earning of Pak Mail to sustained their daily spending on food, fees, clothing and such. So Pak Mail is working very very hard for his family. Pak Mail rates are RM50 per ride, which is a 30 minutes cruze along the river passing several interesting places and breath taking landcape. Since the his working on a public holiday, i asked him wether he doubles his charges ( which is a normal thing to do in the city ) but he simply reply, no. " Why trick the customer with doubling the charges, i dont care wether it is a public holiday or what, in Islam, lying is a sin and i am an honest man working to earn Halal money to feed my family " . Such a great man. 

These photograph carry the emotions, feelings, deep meanings and i captured those emotions so that it would remain as a reminder to everyone, the sacrifice of a father. This is a real event, real words, real emotions. The value of these photographs are priceless. If someday, i sell these images, i would donate some of the money to them InsyaAllah. Let us all pray to Allah S.W.T to give them good health and to reward them Syurga for the sacrifice they have made for their loved one. Amin. 

Korban

Salam. Its been a while since i've write and published a new post. The reason for my long silence is that i got a new upgrade recently and been very busy with classes, work, family, u name it. Oh and it was my birthday so yeayy me! lol. So as we all know, Hari Raya Haji Aidil Adha just passed and as usual , there will be the ceremony of Qurban. I think i dont have to tell you detailed about the ceremony, but the thing that i would like to stress out is that, the way they treat the animal for Qurban . I pity the animal, the way they treat them. Please treat animal with respect, they have feelings too. What if someone cut off the throat of your family members in front of you, how would you feel? Yes it is the claim of Islam but please, handle the animal with care and respect. Nuff said, here's the pictures.

Yea so there's the picture. You make your own judgement wether they treat the animal with respect, harmless or not. Its a shame that our people, Islam people do these kind of things to animals. I mean, by knowing our religion, we should treat the animals far more better than this. Such an eyesore event.

Terengganu Traditional River Boat Cruise Service

The boat cruise has been in existence since 1930's known locally as Bot Penambang Seberang Takir ferrying passengers across Terengganu River between Pasar Payang on the city side and village of Seberang Takir on the opposite bank.  During  its early service the cruise was merely performed by small boats called sampan powered by sail. Nowadays the cruise consists of twenty traditional boats powered by diesel engines. The Persatuan Bot Penambang Seberang Takir manage the entire 20 boats. The duration of the cruise takes about an hour return. Come and enjoy the trip, you have nothing to lose but so much to gain ! Come and experience the ROAR power of 22 horsepower diesel engine that you'll never forget!!

Where to board

Head to Shah Bandar Jetty located near Pasar Payang

Boat Fare

RM 60 per boat max capacity 12 persons

Destination of river cruise

1. Taman Tamadun Islam http://www.tti.com.my/
2. State Museum http://museum.terengganu.gov.my/
3. Leisure cruise along both side of Terengganu River

Other attractions along the river include traditional boat making, ship yard, famous monsoon cup village resort etc.

Please visit their official Persatuan Penambang Bot Seberang Takir blog, http://traditionalterengganu.blogspot.com/

For inquires call "Pok Mail" 0139367630

Faces of the village

Salam everyone! First of all , i want to say SELAMAT HARI RAYA to all my muslim and non-muslims friends. So sorry i didnt have the time to wish it earlier. :( Anywho, this raya i head back to my village, Terengganu. Im half Terengganu and Kedah. Its been a while since i've been to my village. After seeing my village now, not much has change i must say except for the new buildings and better roads. The second day of raya, i decided to go out, take my camera with my portrait lens and head out to the city and village to see how people celebrate their raya. Unfortunately, not all of us really enjoyed raya. Enough talking and let the images talk. Thats all i can say.

Be grateful with what you have now because some people are not lucky/simple life like you. Some of them had to work on the second day of raya to make a living. They cant afford to take a day off. When asked, "why arent you with your family? Isnt raya a special day for your family to get together and ask forgiveness?" They replied, " raya is just A special day. But my family are ALWAYS special to me. If i dont feed them, how will they live? I rather sacrifice raya for the happiness of my family. "Kalau kita ingat kita susah ingat, ada orang lagi susah dari kita.