One Local Destination A Month : A Revival

In 2017, I embarked upon an initiative to do a monthly travel stint to a local destination that I've not been to before. It was an idea that came from an old school friend who posted about it on her Facebook wall on the final day of 2016.

I used that travel experience to write blog postings as a way to document the visits. The first post was about a trip to the Galeri Darurat Bukit Kepong in Muar, Johor which I visited in January 2017. Following that first entry, I continued to update the series for the subsequent months but only up till October. Although I had traveled to Perak and Penang in the last two months of the year, I failed to write the final two posts to complete the collection.

I am now using this opportunity to summarise my travel articles for 2017 which includes a brief mention of the two missing destinations.

1. January 27 : Bukit Kepong, Johor
2. February 17 : Tanjung Kling, Melaka
3. March 24 : Lumut, Perak
4. April 30 : Taiping, Perak
5. May 24 : Jugra, Selangor
6. June 28 : Mersing, Johor
7. July 17 : Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
8. August 25 : Pedas / Linggi, Negeri Sembilan
9. September 16 : Kuala Gandah & Temerloh, Pahang
10. October 10 : Ulu Rening, Selangor
11. November 30 : Ipoh, Perak
12. December 2 : Teluk Bahang, Penang

Part 11 : Labu Sayong Signature Restaurant, Ipoh, Perak

We were on our way to Penang at the end of November and had stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Meru, Ipoh. I felt that this place deserved a mention in my list because it is one of the few Malay restaurants serving authentic local cuisine in a fine dining setup.

Traditional Malay architecture

Interior setting. Note the `labu sayong' water pitcher that lends its name

Can't remember the name of this fish dish but the taste was exquisite

Part 12 : Entopia, Teluk Bahang, Penang

Many years ago, this place was simply called the Penang Butterfly Farm. Many constructive upgrades have been done and it is now re-branded as Entopia. Apart from butterflies, the exhibits also include other insects and reptiles. Truly a place worth visiting.

A rare pic of my better half

According to the information plaque, this variety is known as Leopard Lacewing

Tarantula

I plan to do another 1LD1M series this year, although I'll be a bit more flexible as to the places that I wish to write about. You can say that it is in the spirit of Visit Malaysia Year 2020. Again, I'm not sure if I can complete another 12-part chapter but we shall see. The first trip in January has already been done so the post shall be published soon, God-willing.

20/20 Vision...

As noted previously, the whole of 2019 has passed without me making any significant entry in this blog. Many things happened last year but somehow I could not push myself to put them down in writing. This disinterest in blogging has, of course, occurred before, so I shall refrain from making any excuses. Similarly, there is no promise that the new year 2020 would bring any improvement in the creative drive.

So we'll just get on with it. No need to express what my visions are for this year's blogging target.

Just to re-cap on two events of note that happened last year :

19 April 2019 (Friday) - My father, Hj Isma Yatim Bin Hj Ramli, passed away in early morning just before dawn. By the grace of the Almighty, the arrangement for burial went smoothly and the whole process was completed before mid-day. Innalillahi wainna ilaihi rojiun.

My mother, brothers and sister at my father's grave about a month after burial

2 November 2019 (Saturday) - Our second son, Harith Shahiran, tied the knot with a young lady from Kota Damansara in Selangor. The latest addition to our family is called Aisyah Bt Abdullah.

Harith & Aisyah

May good things happen this year that would be worth writing about...

Trivia : 20/20 Vision does not necessarily mean that you have perfect eyesight. It is a term used to express normal visual acuity (clarity and sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. If you have 20/20 vision, you can clearly see the eye chart placed 20 feet away from you, as what the average person would be able to see. If you have 20/30 vision, it means your eyesight is worse than average. At 20 feet away, you can only read letters that the average person can read at 30 feet distance.

Conversely, a person with 20/15 vision has sharper eyesight than most. At 20 feet, he is able to read a line on the eye chart the average person can see at 15 feet.