Trip to Alor Setaq

my friend Kak Emah had extended the invitation to visit her in her hometown for so long, in fact ever since she moved to alor setar early this year. i had the occasion to visit her this weekend, as terengganu is celebrating Sultan Mizan's birthday today.

i arrived in Alor Setar on a wet Friday morning, and Kak Emah cooked some nasi lemak lemuni and told me it's a healthier version. her mother told her to bring me to lots of places (which we didnt go, opting for shopping instead) then we went to pasar panjang, aptly named because it covered the entire stretch of road.

in the evening, i had the chance to eat fruits at the fruit orchard, as kak emah brought me to kuala nerang, where we picked rambutans from her family friend's orchard. i could easily reach the rambutans, and ate them. then we headed to her relative's house, who also had a fruit orchard of duku and durians. i dont care much for duku, but ate my fill of durian, including pulut and durian with coconut milk. the relatives were a nice couple, they kept telling me i could ask for a transfer to the school near their home. anyway, it was a very tiring day, and with mangosteens, cempedak and rambutans we headed back. once we reached kak emah's house, after prayers, we slept. didnt have dinner at all.

on saturday morning i had a breakfast of thosai, which i think has more character than chapati. kak emah showed me her school which is going to celebrate the centennial celebration next week, istana anak bukit (which is more majestic looking than istana badariah and has Siamese influence in the decor; but then again, terengganu royalty doesnt like to show off so that's a relief) and everything else in alor setar. which is of course, much bigger than KT.

in the afternoon, we made a trip to Padang Besar. i left my passport in the suitcase so we didnt cross the border. on our way there, we had to pass a sugar cane plantation and the view was fantabulous, it felt like we're in the english countryside, on a wheatfield. we arrived at the bazaar and stalls where thais talked in that sing-a-song voice. still, in the 1 hour that we were in Padang Besar, i bought a bag, 1 shirt, 2 blouses and some souvenirs.

to go anywhere with kak emah, one has to understand that plans can be changed, and time isnt fixed. that also means that she'll cut the time so close u'll be very anxious. we reached her house from Padang Besar at 8.50. i had 15 minutes to shower, pray, dress, pack all my stuff and dash to the bus station.

i enjoyed my weekend tremendously, but the best has yet to come. on the east-west highway at around 2am, we saw 2 elephants and a baby elephant, on the side of the road. this are real mccoy creatures, not some tame elephants in the zoo. so i was thankful that i could see those gentle creatures.

and that's the end of the story.