Every once in a while, one either gets writers block, where we have no idea what to write, or we have too many to write and no idea what to write. Sounds the same but it's different. I was a little overwhelmed with things and stuff. So it took me a little longer to update.
The next day I was due to drive to Alor Setar before returning to Kota Bharu but that night my college mates were gathering at our favourite watering hole in Bangsar. At the very last minute, I decided to join them, even though I would be taking a long drive to Alor Setar the very next day. I discovered that at our age, when there's an opportunity to meet up, we should. So, I did. My intention was to say hi and bye, but seeing them, I realised how much I missed our little gathering, how much I missed my friends. We ended up talking nonsense till the stroke of midnight. We closed the place again as per usual. We had a grand time, just 7 of us.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, we left for Alor Setar. The mission? To bring my 82-year-old father to meet his 83-year-old brother, whom he has not met for a few years (including Covid). At the same time, it was to be a road trip just my parents and I. And on any road trip, especially to the North, it will involve eating, lots of eating. And so, we did, and the trip did not disappoint.
The trip begins on Thursday morning. And immediately we stopped for breakfast at the Rawang R&R. The place was amazing, and the offerings were great. My parents enjoyed the food there. I had hot plate noodles with my mother, while my dad enjoyed mutton soup and chicken.
We then proceeded to Ipoh, where we stopped at Nasi Kandar Pekan Lama at Jalan Bijih Timah. It was okay, just another trip down memory lane.
We proceeded from Ipoh and continued to Alor Setar. Normally, we would have stopped at my aunt's grave in Ipoh and grandparents grave and mausoleum in Kuala Kangsar. Not this time. My mother said, this trip is all about my father.
We reached Alor Setar just past 3 pm. Took a littler rest before we became a little peckish. And we proceeded to look for the famous Laksa Telok Kechai. The normal shop was closing as it was nearly 6 pm, but another one was still open.
It also had satay that was pretty good. Oh? What's laksa? Laksa is made from rice into a form of noodle strands with a very tasty fish-based gravy or broth. They also added a little sambal (chili paste)
That's a picture of laksa. Very tasty. Different proprietors have different recipes. So, tired out, we returned to the hotel.
That night we went to visit my aunt and uncle. Quite sad looking them looking frail and infirm. But the brothers were happy that they were able to meet up
The next day we went looking for breakfast. Finally, we found a place, a kopitiam at Ukir Mall. The food on offer was amazing. Whatever we wanted it was there.
What did we have? Oh, nothing much, just yong taufu, mango sticky rice, pulut sambal, apom lenggang, cok kodok, otak-otak. What are they? Look it up.
We returned to the hotel and prepared for Friday Prayers. We prayed at Masjid Akar Peluru or Masjid Al Ghufran. At the graveyard many of my ancestors were buried there. I will provide details later.
After Friday prayers we went to Grab and Bites, a restaurant in Jitra to celebrate my uncle's "surprise" birthday. Grab and Bite is owned by my ex Boss.
The food was amazing. Everyone loved it. I had an amazing grilled chicken. The nachos? Stupendous.
It so happens that the restaurant is located in Jitra where we used to live when my father was commanding a battalion at Camp Tok Jelai. We were there for 2 years.
And just like that the visit was over. We said our goodbyes and returned to the hotel for our trip to Kota Bharu.
The next day we checked out early and proceeded to have breakfast at an Ipoh White Coffee Kopitiam at the Kedah Digital Library. We had breakfast with my mother's side of the family that we discovered also stayed in Alor Setar. The food was just so so, service was quite bad though, surprising for Ipoh White Coffee.
Before we left Alor Setar, we paid a visit to the graves of my paternal family at Masjid Akar Peluru. Initially my father was upset that it took a while to find his mother's grave. His mother was buried beside her parents. Close by was the grave of her brother.
We then proceeded to the highway, but not before we stopped at the Gurun Rest Area. What caught our eye? This. The red and white tents!
And then I discovered this.
After Gurun we turned into Sungei Petani to pay a visit to my grandfather's grave at Masjid Kampung Raja or Masjid Muhsinnin.
We then begin our journey on the East West Highway, destination, Kota Bharu. It's going to be a long drive, 305 km. But, we took another short detour, for what else food! The old Gerik Rest House has been renamed Sri Inai Inn. The cafe was a surprise. The food was great! We were pleasantly surprised.
Good food, good service and friendly too. What's not to like? Definitely going there again. The journey continues. It was a pleasant drive, it rained the whole time, traffic was quite heavy, surprisingly. Before we knew it, we reached Jeli. Jeli is close to the project, my albatross around my neck. And the albatross remains. That confounded chicken thing is not yet ready! We stopped for prayers; the cafe proprietor insisted that we sat for a drink. We even had roti canai. My mother insisted in paying, though that were not their intention.
Continued the drive and before we knew it, we've reached my apartment. My parents stayed with me throughout while I went about my work. Well, they decided to clean up my apartment, and they did just that. And we now bring it to yesterday. Yesterday, we drove from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur using the Gua Musang route. That was 430.5 kilometers driving for hours and hours.
We stopped for breakfast in Kuala Kerai at our now favourite shop. We had a nice mutton curry with nan bread (they call it roti tempayan or payye). It was a full meal, and we were full. We then continued our journey and stopped at Masjid Tengku Abdullah in Kampung Gali Tengah, Pahang for Friday prayers. We then stopped at another now favourite stop of ours at Benta Rest Area. We finally arrived home at 4 pm. It was a good journey and despite the distance and time, my mother was fine.
![Joie de vivre [zhwaduh-vee-vruh]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/98d927_9bd54ac5248843daac7bd16909b74bda~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_216,h_216,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/98d927_9bd54ac5248843daac7bd16909b74bda~mv2.png)
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