Nani just got married

Nani got married three days ago to Scott David Shuey @ Kareem Abdul Jabbar (his Muslim name) on Friday 23 Sep 2011 with the Akad Nikah solemnized by her dad (namely me) at the Masjid Saidina Umar al Khatab in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.  It was attended by some 60 family members and friends. Zaki captured the unique event on video to be shown at the Wedding Reception on the 24 Sep evening. Why unique? Because it was all done in English, on stage and sitting down on comfortable lounge chairs.
The next evening we had a Wedding Reception at the Grand Ballroom Flamingo Hotel Ampang. Some 430 family members from far and near, friends and colleagues attended the function which started at 8:30 pm and ended around 11:00 pm.  It was a simple ceremony without the traditional Malay kompang, bersanding or merenjis.  No live band either; just soft piped music to enable the guests to converse easily without having to raise their voices. 
It was a good evening without any rain but quite a few traffic jams due to several Hari Raya "open houses" around the city.  Nevertheless, the guests made it on time for the function to commence at 8:30 pm as planned.  And almost everybody sat at their designated seats with relatives or friends.  Feedbacks from many guests were that the food was excellent, the telor pindang delicious, and the Nikah video was something memorable as the ceremony was conducted in English. Most of the guests had never experienced such thing, because Malay weddings would normally be in the Malay language and people sitting cross-legged on the floor.  All in all it was a great occasion for all.

To all the guests we thank you for your kind attendance and generosity with gifts in cash and kind. We are most grateful to God that everything went well and everyone had a good time. 

Raja Aziah is not well

Raja Aziah Hanim bt Raja Aziz, niece of my wife Raja Azma, is in Universiti Hospital Petaling Jaya for cancer treatment. We visited her yesterday after Open House at Yang's in PJ. Raja Aziah is in the ward at 6th Floor Menara Timur of the hospital.13 Sep
Aternote:
From Raja Azma: 5:30 pm Tuesday 13 Sep 2011.  Raja Aziah passed away today at the hospital.

Pak Salim is not well

Ham and I went back to Ipoh yesterday for Raya. We also visited Pak Salim, Timah's husband and Ham's uncle at his daughter Yati's place in Desa Chemor Impian. Quite an effort to find the house, but we got there all right after much inquiry.
Pak Salim had a stroke on 21 August at his house in Ulu Kinta. He is now very weak, being fed by tube and unable to manage himself. However, Yati who is a nurse by profession, has arranged for physiotherapy for her father to recover his strength. He is as old as I am; 72.
Afternote:
From Normah 3 Sep. Pak Salim nazak di hospital; and passed away at 7:00 pm.

Raya 2011

We had a good Raya today (Tue 30 Aug 2011) although a slightly bad start at the mosque where we had the Aidil Fitri prayers. The Nazir Ugama as usual blasted away with his oratory which was quite unpleasant. He took too long to deliver his "khutbah" so I walked out after the first khutbah. I was told later that this incurred his wrath and I somewhat became the subject of his second khutbah which finally ended at 11:00 am. Anyway, we had a good breakfast at Mama's with the family;

only Ida, Faizal and Zaki were absent. After that it was Open House at Bonda's starting from 12:00 noon - in fact a couple of Rotarian guests came at 11:45 am - and ending around 6:00 pm. It was a pleasant day, no rain, and a fairly large crowd of relatives and friends turned up; some non-Malays even wearing the "baju Melayu"

My Africa story is in SUV.4x4.MPV magazine

The August issue of the SUV.4x4.MPV magazine has my story on Trans-Africa IV. I have also written in the "Berita Pudu", my Rotary club's weekly newsletter from issue #1 to issue #6. Read all about it here http://www.rotarypudu.org.my. Click on Berita Pudu button on the menu panel to access.

I’ve crossed the Equator twice

The first time I physically crossed the Equator ie walked across it was in Quito, Ecuador on December 2, 2008. This was when I did the South America II trip from Lima, Peru to Cartagena, Columbia via Caracas, Venezuela.

Then on May 31, 2011, I did it again; this time at Nanyuki in Kenya, Africa. And this was when I did the Trans Africa IV trip from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Cairo Egypt. (Travel Blog not ready yet.)

Very Hot in Sudan

The road to Khartoum from the south is good, in spite of the many check points along the way. However, driving in mid-summer as we are doing now, the heat is oppressive at 45 deg C. For the 400 km drive yesterday 9 Jun 2011 it took us the whole day to arrive in Khartoum by 7 pm, with many stops along the way to rest man and machine. Litres of water were consumed to keep the body hydrated. I felt as if hell fire was just being turned on; there is more when we drive through the Nubian desert tommorow.