The Wheels of Life...

...The Down.

When you find out that there is something lacking in your surroundings, as a human being with a functioning brain you will try your best to complete the picture. After the success of the Darul Iman League, mad redo1 had planned for another event.

As the requirement for the Darul Iman League team to have at least a 'C' Licensed Coach at the helm could not be enforced due to the lack of numbers, thus it is a logical step to produce more local coaches with the qualification.

So, we came to the next project on mad redo1's calendar. The 'Basic Course for Coaches' conducted by an instructor from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). It was a short course over four days and by the time the registration closed there were a strong list of 23 names of aspiring coaches.

Or, that was what he thought.

The morning of the course saw just eight participants arrived and registered with the Secretariat. The embarrassment was enormous to say the least. By the time the first lecture started, there were only 13 and for the practical session the next morning there were just ten.

The instructor had no other choice but to cancel the whole thing.

However, the cancellation does not mean it will be the end of the Coaching Courses in Terengganu but merely serves as a wake-up call for mad redo1 that there are a lot to be done to make sure it will be a success next time around and the number of qualified coaches in Terengganu will increase in order to help the development of football in the state.

Come on mad redo1!

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The Wheels of Life...

...The Up.

mad redo1 was one happy man after the Darul Iman League 2009 reached its conclusion on Wednesday, 12-08-2009. Kuala Terengganu 'A' defeated Besut 3-0 in a closely fought contest which was decided in the capital's team favour after the team from north of Terengganu began to tire.

Why I was so happy. Because the tournament saw the return of proper state league football in Terengganu. For a number of years now a number of tournaments had been held which saw similar meetings between districts in Terengganu but it was not really organised by the Terengganu Football Association.

But this year, the association with the assistance from the state government launched the Darul Iman League which was launched on 02-07-2009. Since then 27 matches had been played at various venues around Terengganu with the culmination of the final match above.

What I really hope is that it would not be just a one season tournament but will be continued as a perpetual event that will help unearth football talents and serve as practice grounds for those involved in the sports.

Will mad redo1 be blogging about the 2010 edition? He hopes he will.

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A Round Trip...

...on the Bas Bandar.

Since the 'Bas Bandar' service was launched more than a year ago mad redo1 and the AKSes have been planning to get a ride on it. Unfortunately there were always reasons for the plan not going accordingly.

But on Monday, we were determined to get ourselves on the ride, which is still FREE as the fleet of buses has not been approved by the Commercial Vehicle Licencing Board to be used as a commercial vehicle due to some features on the buses which do not meet the board's guidelines.

Since it was a holiday in kT we had ample time. First, we came quite early when the bus driver informed us that the next service would be at 1.30pm. Thus we went to the Delima Kuning restaurant at Giants first to fill our hungry stomachs.

Then there was the kT Autoshow at the Terengganu Trade Centre, showcasing a number of latest edition cars, SUVs, trucks and bikes from almost all car-makers. A cool RM88k would see mad redo1 travelling up and down the country on a HondaCBR1000, which is something that he really wants to do someday.

Berg on the other hand, wanted to buy a 4 ton truck manufactured by Inokom. Not that she is interested in trucks or vehicles of that kind, but because the purchaser of the truck will be given a free 32" LCD TV. For her, that was a good reason enough to buy the truck.

We knew that by hanging around the autoshow meant we missed the 1.30pm bus trip. Thus we settled for the 4.30pm which gave us abundance of time to hang around for quite a while more.

Finally, we got onto the bus. Of course this was quite different from the normal buses with all the decorations and pictures are meant to put Terengganu arts and culture to the forefront.

There were quite a number of people taking advantage of the free ride to go around and it would be much better for tourism if there is a schedule of the bus service and the route it takes, together with interesting places that it goes through.

Despite the 'park bench' like seats, it did not stop the 'pakcik' from enjoying immensely to the extent that it took him to dreamland. The AKSes could not help themselves from having a giggle after looking at the 'pakcik'.

The bus that we took went through the Waterfront that faces Pulau Duyong, Chabang Tiga and then straight to the Terengganu Muzeum and the Islamic Civilization Park (TTI) on Pulau Wan Man.

The bus stopped for a while at the TTI which gave some of the tourists there the opportunity to take their pictures with the unique bus much to the amusement of mad redo1. But on the other hand, mad redo1 would also photograph himself with the old double decker buses in London if he is given the opportunity.

Then it was time to go back. Berg enjoyed herself very much and certainly the recently added cushion on the bench gave the ride a bit more comfort than I imagined it would be when it first came into service.

The Bas Bandar service offers two routes: to the TTI via the places that I mentioned above and the other one is to Chendering where it will go through Batu Buruk Beach, the Terengganu Palace, Masjid Terapung and Noor Arfa Craft Complex (NACC).

Enjoy the ride!

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Kuala Abang...

...Waving!

On Friday mad redo1 had an assignment in Kemaman. Together with the AKSes and Linda we departed from kT around noon and after an hour on the road our stomachs began sounding their hunger bells. Of course mad redo1 already had a place to stop for a quick picnic on his mind.

It was a place in Kuala Abang, Dungun. For those who do not have the slightest idea of this place, it is just three km away from the famed Rantau Abang and around the same distance to Tanjung Jara. On a warm afternoon the place is just perfect to catch a nap or two (though there is the inherent danger of the nap becoming a long, long sleep).

Luckily the place was quite deserted when we arrived, perhaps due to the fact everybody was at home having meals or at the mosque performing the Friday Prayer (mad redo1 took the musafir option).

The planta rice with tandoori chicken prepared by Linda was heaven. Berg helped herself to at least three servings. It more or less confirmed both of us share that common strand of DNA. Even though he would like to have a bit more but a full stomach could be a hazard for drivers and mad redo1 was not willing to risk that.

So, if you are ever in that area, look out for the place and who knows, it might be the first of many visits there.

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D-Day...

...in Kuala Terengganu.

Following the collapse of the roof structure at the RM300 million Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak, Terengganu football teams have no choice but to go back playing at the old Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah.

The stadium which has seen so many memories in the past, went into a small re-construction when the steel structure supporting part of the stands were removed for safety reasons. This reduced the capacity of the stadium from 20,000 to around 15,000.

The Football Association of Malaysia have provisionally approved the usage of Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium as the home ground for both Terengganu and T-Team during their Malaysian League campaign for this season and most probably next season too.

However, there have been a number of complaints in regards of the state of the pitch and also the flood-lights which according to certain quarters do not meet the required standards. In addition to that, the stadium pitch also has seen a number of non-football activities being held there.

There was the Search 'Di Awan Biru' concert and recently an equine event, The Sultan's Cup pre-launching ceremony was held there. The latter especially would take a heavy toll on the already bad pitch.

This has prompted the Kuala Terengganu City Council to carry out improvement works on the stadium by replacing the bulbs of the floodlights, patching up certain areas of the pitch and re-installing the security fences around the ground.

Whether these actions would satisfy FAM technical delegates will be known after their visit to the stadium on Sunday.

For the sake of football in Terengganu, mad redo1 hopes they will.

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Bekang...

...anybody?

It is another Terengganu delicacy which I remember having for the first time when I was eight years old in Pasir Panjang. It was during a school holiday and I was staying at a relative's house to prepare for a function. It was quite vague but I remember lining up before this old lady who had a reputation as the best bekang maker in town. If not, why the line was so long with people waiting patiently to get their hands on the bekang.

The bekang comes with two sauces, the sweet sauce and cream sauce. My preference is the former. The sweet sauce (above) is brown in colour, most probably due to the use of brown sugar while the cream sauce is white.

The bekang basically is made from rice flour and eggs. According to my mother, the bekang will taste perfect if the right mix of the two ingredients is achieved. However I found the current makers of bekang tend to hold back on the eggs which makes the bekang a bit less tasty.

Nowadays, the place is no longer there. The old lady most probably has long gone to meet the Maker. We can always look for the current version but it is not what it used to taste like. Then again, we always think that foods from yester-years taste better than their counterparts today.

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Surprised...

...I Was Not.

I was on my way to the office when calls and text messages started to come in on my handphone conveying the same message: SULTAN MIZAN STADIUM COLLAPSE!

When the first call came in I thought it was referring to current work being carried out at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium. However when more and more messages coming in then I decided it was best to check it out myself.

On the Sulltan Mahmud Bridge the wailing of the siren a police car more or less confirmed something bad had taken place. Perhaps it was still quite early as the traffic was smooth all the way to the Gong Badak Sports Complex.

As I approached the area I could see from a far the extent of the damage. The whole structure was still intact except for the roof which now has been reduced to an unrecognizable heap of steel and concrete. The crowd was getting bigger as news began the get around about the unfortunate event.

At the time the police line was still quite near to the stadium and the crowd was able to get quite close to the stadium. As I began to walk away after taking a few shots of the place, the Civil Defence Team personnel began to set up a new line to ensure the public would not be exposed to any danger.

The funny thing about the whole event was that it WAS NOT UNEXPECTED.

A year ago during the construction of the stadium the roof had collapsed once but it was not widely reported since there was no life lost and it would be a very bad publicity to the state which was about to host the SUKMA Games.

One interesting thing was an engineer who was involved in the construction of the Indoor Stadium advised me that if I have the choice, do not sit at the grandstand. It was something that immediately came to my mind upon seeing the extent of the damage.

This event certainly triggered a number events. As for mad redo1 it means a number of things that has to be done pronto in order to find a new home for the Turtles before the Super League resume on 16 June with a match against kL PLUS.

The best of luck to me then.

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An Evening...

...with the Kambengs!

It was not really out of the blue as Milla already texted me they (she and Mr Kambeng) will be holidaying in Terengganu.

Today she gave me a call when they were about to leave the island. We picked them up at the kT Bus Station. I was caught by surprise with the large number of people in town today, but there were quite a number of things going on actually.

The road in front of the Paya Keladi Business Centre leading up to Pasar Payang was closed and they opened stalls a-la 'upmarkets'. Over at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, a President Cup match involving T-Team was underway.

Of course, there would be the Search's 'Di Awan Biru' concert at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in the evening.

We saw them walking and promply picked them up. Without any specific place to go we just drove around to the Batu Buruk Beach where, you can guess it; there were more people there. So we just proceeded to the Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque or more famously known as the 'Masjid Terapung'.

After a few snaps, our stomach began to growl for dinner. To make it more convenient we decided to have it somewhere near to the airport. Of course it would not be the usual 'tom yam' place which sprouted all over town.

Instead we took them to a place where they have this 'Air Buah Gelas Besar' (fruit juice in large glass) in Seberang Takir. But before reaching the place mad redo1 decided to make a detour to Pulau Duyong and we snapped a few shots at the Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort & Spa.

 

Only after then we proceeded to the 'makan' place where Milla had a plate of Nasi Minyak while Mr Kambeng had a bowl of 'laksam'. Of course in between there were quite a substantial number of 'keropok' passing through our esofargus.

With Milla's low tolerance to hot food she had to decline from trying eating more delicacies though in reality it should not be the case as Terengganu food is not known for being hot.

Mr Kambeng was quite good with children and that was the case when he entertained Nina in wrapping the hot 'keropok'. As Yoda would say: "A good father he will become."

Then after filling our stomach to the fullest (well, that was the case for mad redo1 at least) we finally made the move to the airport which was just five minutes away.

Hopefully they had a good holiday over here and meeting us would not diminish the experience. Come again in the future, you all!


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Lets Bludaa...

...Everybody!

Ever since Awang Goneng mentioned the name 'Blu-daa' in his account of 'Growing Up in Trengganu' the traditional 'paun' has been making some sort of comeback, and a successful one too. Now it is quite easily available at markets such as Chabang Tiga and Pasar Payang though I have yet to see it on the shelves of Giants.

mad redo1 has his fair share of 'blu-daa' since and I must say, it is quite fulfilling (who won't after consuming ten of them!)

So, why don't you have one too... the next time you find yourself in Terengganu.


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Labouring Day...

...in Sports.

It was the labour day and mad redo1 found himself struggling to catch his breath as he participated in two sporting activities.

First of all was a futsal match at the Sportsplanet.

According to the organiser, it was supposed to be a friendly tournament between MyViT (Terengganu MyVi owners' club), ViVA Team and GanuSoccer.Net. Unfortunately the Viva Team did not turn up and it became a two hour futsal match between the two remaining teams.

Two hours!

Luckily both teams brought enough players to last the whole match. In the end, I did not know the actual scores but there must be thirty odd goals scored by both teams. After all, it was just a friendly match, right?

Then right after futsal mad redo1 proceeded to the Diman Bowl to join Linda and her siblings for a couple of rounds of bowling. It seems this bowling outing is fast becoming a routine for us.

For mad redo1, he would not be complaining that much. Despite having played futsal earlier, he managed to enjoy himself and kept away from the 'longkang' for most of the time. A bit of improvement though he needs to work more on getting the spares which could bring a bit more difference to his pinfalls.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable Labour Day though for most of us in Terengganu it was not really a holiday as it fell on a Friday, which in a circular by the state government deemed not to be carried forward to the next day.

Pity us, Ganuans!

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