Malacca Down By The River

Shifa's trying out the Fedora hat with Abe Lincoln's look.

'Aishah with the straw hat - a perfect fit for the sun.

On the boat sailing up and down the Malacca river.

Tourists and their cameras.

The tickets for the river cruise.

Toying Around In The Afternoon.

Don't throw away your toys. Keep them somewhere safe. When you've got enough to fill up the entire house, display them nicely in a run-down disco. Call it The World's Largest Toys Museum, and charge people good money in entry fee.

Of All The Places In The World...

Teluk Intan is a popular destination. The girls loved the leaning tower, after having heard about it from me throughout the trip. From there we drove to Bagan Datok, of all the places in the world. We had lunch there - at the only nasi shop owned by a pakcik with three or four women. They could be his wives.

Penang - Grik - Jeli

A view from the other side of the bridge

A lovely view on top of the Banjaran Titiwangsa. It rained right after the shot that we had to rush into the car. Such a bunch of city slickers that we are as if we've never been hit by the rain in the city.

Leaving Penang for Grik.

Three For The Road For A Week

A town along Malacca's coastal road. I thinks it's Lubok China.

A trip along trunk roads, small towns, kampongs and meeting nice people.

Seberang Pintasan, Dungun

Better than Florida. Maybe it's the most ideal place to set up a wooden house facing the estuary that opens up to the South China Sea. There is already a house being set up to the left hand side of the picture. You won't see it because it is built amid the trees, next to a hill. It's a beatiful wooden house, raised just right above the ground for ventilation. It has a nice verandah set facing the sea.

Trunk Road

Shifa' & 'Aishah - 1st time on a ferry from Seberang Perai to Penang.

Familiar blue signs you'd find along the old trunk road.

A stop-over at a masjid before Batu Gajah, Perak

Instruments inside the office of the Station Master at Kuala Kangsar.

We took a drive along the old trunk road instead of the North-South Highway. Glad we made that decision. It was a good, slow ride all the way to Penang, Alor Setar, Kangar, Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kuala Kangsar, Grik, Jeli, Kuala Trengganu, Dungun, Kuantan, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and back.

A Rail Find

Chances are a lot of people who travel by car won't find beautiful train stations like this is one in Bagan Serai. It's a real find in terms of size, structure and the general sense of history. I like this station very much. It is located behind Caltex station. There's a small road next to the station that leads to it. I found it by chance, cruising along the old road from Bidor which leads all the way to Pengkalan Feri Sultan Abdul Hamid (or Halim) in Seberang Perai, Penang. It's a nostalgic drive, minus the toll. In terms of time, it's almost the same as taking the highway. You have to put up with traffice lights at all the towns along the way though. If you've got the time, and a good car, I'd say take this road and enjoy the drive.

The Facts Are Rail.

People are not keen to travel by rail anymore. Why should they when every one can afford a car. KTMB announced over the radio today that running a railway business is a losing endeavour. Last year they lost RM11 million. Expect them to lose even more money this year.

The Rail Thing

One day this station will make way for something new. The last time I was there (17 May 2008) this station is standing in the sun like an old man whose legs are about to give way before he comes down to the ground. One day this will be gone forever. All I have are pictures of Taiping Train Station.

Drama In Rail Life.

The romantic era of rail travel ended when people no longer considered getting there an experience in itself. It's about going further and getting there faster. New highways are being built at the same rate they are tearing down railway stations to make way for a spanking new-age station to cater for the new generation of trains powered by electric.

The rail men, and women, are slowly being phased out by a new batch of men and women trained to handle a new era of rail travel.

This blog is created to document the elements of yesterday's rail travel that are still available today. Some of these are in sad state of affair but at least there are still there for me to preserve them in pictures. I hope to document as many small town train stations as possible before they are gone forever. Some of these buildings, e.g Taiping, have existed close to a century. I know these are not pretty sights to look at. But to me, they represent a golden past that is slowly being replaced by something designed to accommodate the new lifestyle of the future.