Ramadhan 1434

Hello darlings. InsyaaAllah you are in the best of health, iman and amal this Ramadhan, I hope.

What have you been up to? I suppose if your answer is "days have been packed with amal dan dengan kesedaran" then this is a fruitful Ramadhan indeed. I have photos to share;

  He is a Musaharati, or dawn awakener, who strikes his drum to wake Muslims for sahur. Lebanon. 

They live at the cemetery in difficult and poor conditions and gather between the graves for breaking fast in central Gaza Strip (ya Allah, please let me not complain ke atas rahmat yang diberi. Ever.)

 Love. India.

 And never let us buka puasa seperti ini. Please. Ever. Turkey.

More.

Have a most successful Ramadhan. Semoga Ramadhan ini lebih tenang dan lebih bermakna dari yang sebelum-sebelumnya InsyaaAllah.

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Books, Books, and more Books Part 50 - The Road To Grace

In fact, I bought the book because of its cover (!)

The farm looks rather lonely on the countyside road. I thought the picture itself tells a multitude of stories. And it has got some good reviews on the back page too.

Bila saya baca review di Internet, katanya it is a Christian book. Alamak. But I trudged on, ada la dia sebut pasal ugama but only in the general sense. Richard Paul Evans hails from Utah, jadi saya agak dia mesti Mormon (macam Osmonds).

It is about a man whose wife had died and then lost his business to his very own business partner. He is on a walking mission from Seattle to Key West because he asked why not? On the way he met people that showed the way to forgiveness and healing.

There are a few books written of the long journey. In this book (the third in the Walk series, if I am not mistaken) he passes through South Dakota and into Missouri. Kalau nak tahu dia sampai Key West ke tidak kena tunggu buku yang last lah.

Saya agak kalau nak cari inspiration, banyak buku lain boleh baca. But since I've read this one I suppose I have to find out what happens in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. If he takes such a route. And if he makes it to Florida, that is (mungkin boleh baca Battuta instead..?)

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M * A * S * H

One other significant thing I found at the War Museum was the chopper. When I saw the first two photographs below in the exhibition hall I felt a sense of déjà vu - thinking that these scenes I have seen in the past. Somewhere.    

 

Then I knew that it reminded me of MASH, a 70s - 80s show that I used to watch on tv. And never missed, if I can help it. The show is about a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in South Korea during the Korean War.

As it was produced / showed during the years of the American war in Vietnam I always thought it is about Vietnam (and I suppose dia cakap jelah Korean War..). Anyway the show is funny most of the time. Silly sometimes. Serious other times. 

 But seeing the hardship, tortures and cruelty of war at the museum I have uncomfortable thoughts / questions that there could be comedy in war..? (I must watch MASH again with new perspectives). The museum is indeed a somber place. If you've been there, did you cry?

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Saigon

Hello darlings! How have you been? I was super, ultra, incredibly (all the nouns to describe a superhero..) busy. But that has eased off a bit. For now. Even superheroes have got to recharge their batteries (grin).

Anyway. It has been like almost a month since the last time I posted anything - I had some issues with blogger too; they had tweaked the apps and I cant seem to post anything. Siap kena pergi community to look for answers lagi. Hmmmph.

But all is well now. And first things first - let me wave away all the cobwebs in here!

Lots have happened - there were weddings (including some that we missed!), mum was in town for a while, new cucu sedara, some great news, some bad ones (I'll keep those to myself). And most recently a trip to Saigon. And I have photos to share.

We went on a cruise (a cruise sounded so much more glamorous than our boat ride) across the Mekong River. When hubs looked at my photos he said hey, that looks a lot like my kampong la.. (he was just jealous I suppose!) Ros looked as glamorous as ever even on murky waters (envy).

 

We visited Cu Chi tunnel (now I understand why we always associate the communists dengan hutan getah). I was impressed with the intelligence of the whole operations set up.

 

We visited the War Museum. Kata Tre, our tour guide, the exhibition was sad. And I agree with him. The photos here are some examples; the one below is of a man begging to be spared and the next is a girl in front of her burning village. The scene got worse when we got to the Agent Orange Aftermath exhibit. I didnt take any photos of that (and I walked quickly through the exhibition hall). To me the museum is not a place to take happy photos. You leave the place feeling downright somber. And rightfully so.

 

One thing I love about Saigon is the architecture that was left by the French (I love the bread too actually). Tall buildings has got a balcony on each of its floor; some with pretty flower boxes. The church in the second photo below was built by the French and is called the Notre Dame of Vietnam.

 

 

 

We did some shopping (at least I did); some did lots. Saigon Square is for more trendy items I think. I equate Ben Thant with our bazaar; more traditional and a bit more old school. It is a vast pasar with lots of things you can think of buying - coffee, kacang, kain, alas meja (I love), traditional crafts, souvenirs, tshirts, lace and anything and everything. I dont think I explored even a half of the place.  

 

We watched the water puppet show; which was quite entertaining. No, I didnt fell asleep like some..

The locals -

 

And I love Vietnamese cuisine. It is light, aromatic. They have lots of soups and their leafy veges have got delightful smells. They retained a lot of authenticity in their dishes I think. The ubi kayu rebus was served with kacang tanah tumbuk; kopi was brought to our table with Vietnamese penapis (orang yang ada coffee maker bajjet aka mahal kat rumah kata payah, payah pakai benda ni; I thought it was quaint, charming in an old fashioned way. And yes, you need to put in a lot of patience for your coffee); and I love the ala French road side cafes tapi Vietnamese aka kampong style.

I suppose Saigon is a good place to visit and see a different world a bit. I might come back to eat (although halal food is somewhat limited) and shop.

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