Kelantanese dessert for Iftar

Event date: 26th July 2013

I had my fun snapping photos at Bazaar Ramadhan as soon as my sister and I landed in Kota Bharu on 26th July 2013. Our original plan was to have iftar at the city. Since we could not decided what kind of food and/or which restaurant to go, we followed our brother suggestion, Shabri to break our fast at his house. His wife was cooking Nasi Kerabu on that day. It was around 6pm when we reached the bazaar in Kota Bharu and right before iftar, we reached his place.

We bought many desserts that day. Among what we seen and some of our purchased are shared in below photos. Hope you may get some ideas of what the Kelantanese desserts are for iftar. I will name the food in a local dialogue for easy reference and some fun listening to the dialect.

Beledo Sate

Sirro Pise

Bungo Tanjung

Jala Mah

Netbak

Puding custard

Akok

Beledo Timun China

Sekayo (seri maku) & kueh bakar

Sirro labu

Beledo meroh beledo ijja

Tuppat sutong

Sausage ilir angry bird...hahaha

Buah2 untuk Collek

Giving (Alms) by Kahlil Gibran

Youngest brother with his 3 days old lamb

Kahlil Gibran speaks on Giving

You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?

And what is fear of need but need itself?

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have--and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;

Tahlil to beloved parent and all the dead on 27th July 2013

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.

And is there aught you would withhold?

All you have shall some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights, is worthy of all else from you.

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.

And what desert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?

And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?

See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers... and you are all receivers... assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the freehearted earth for mother, and God for father.

Remarks:

In Islam, zakat, or the giving of alms, is the third of the 5 pillars Islam. Various rules attach to the practice but, in general terms, it is obligatory to give 2.5% of one's savings and business revenue and 5–10% of one's harvest to the poor. Possible recipients include the destitute, the working poor, those who are unable to pay off their own debts, stranded travelers and others who need assistance, with the general principle of zakaah always being that the rich should pay it to the poor. One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God and, therefore, wealth is held by human beings in trust. The rightful thing to do is to prioritize alms to the closest family members, before giving to others.

Memories of 28th July 2013 with 4 sisters, 1 sister-in-law and 1 step mother

Vijayawada-Rajahmundry-Vishakapatnam-Araku Valley

Tour date: 23rd & 24th March 2012

Tree in Araku Valley, snapped from below

Despite my grievances over the lost photo, it shall not stop me from posting what was left in other sources. Some saved photos was either sent to a friend or was shared in the Facebook. So, I have a few to record my journey. It was an important journey to me when I reached Araku Valley (almost at the border of Orissa State of India). The beautiful charming valley is located about 457km from my apartment in Guntur district. See the map of my journey, in below map.

Due to a long distance journey, I invited Ganesh, an office engineer to accompany me and Phani, who will be responsible for driving. We left quite early on Ugadi Day (public holiday in AP State), heading towards Rajahmundry. I was already very much impressed with the bridges in Rajahmundry that I saw from local in-flight magazine. Therefore, as soon as Godavari River was seen from my visible eye, we stopped for a short while to satisfy my photography passion. The only 2 photos saved near the Godavari river was what I sent to my friend in gmail that I called them as "Washing Day by Godavari River" are now shared in this entry.

Rajahmundry city is known as the Cultural Capital of Andhra Pradesh noted for its versatile Vedic (the Vedas book of Hinduism) culture and intellect. It is a birthplace for the famous Telegu poet, Nannayya and a 7th populous city of AP State, with 1 million people. 

As soon as we reached Vishakapatnam city, we chose a place to stay for a night with a help from Ganesh friend. We went touring to see numerous places of attraction right after we have done with short rest. Vishakapatnam houses several state owned heavy industries and a steel plant. It also has the only natural harbour on the east coast of India. We went to see them before we visited Vishakapatnam's most famous beach at Tenneti Park. The boy in below photo is in the same age of my youngest sun. After I snapped his photo, he followed me just to say "Thank You Sister". I smiled all the way whenever I got to see his face again in the photo. 

Beside the natural harbour, the sandy beaches and the submarine museum, I also went to Kailasagari which is reachable after about 20-25 minutes drive from the city. As it is located on the hill, it gives a spectacular view of the sea from this angle. I had enjoying a moments capturing each one of them, the expression of local tourist, the fresh fruit juice etc etc. I snapped the most beautiful shot of huge sculpture of Shiva and Parvathi (those photos gone now). Since I have recovered from regrets, sorrows and sadness, I put a big smile on my face though I only able to save 1 photo saved somewhere, below. 

RK Beach and Rushikonda beach seen from Kailasari

We had a lovely dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in the city that night. The next morning, we left quite early so that we have ample time to explore the beautiful and breathtaking scenery of Araku. It was almost 5 to 6 hours journey of about 114 km road distance. Since I'm unable to share the pictures with you, you may search all images from the google website to share my excitement that day. What was left for sharing are the faces of tribal people of the hill that I fall deeply in love with. The first time I saw the tribal lady of Araku were from the in-flight travelling magazine. It was a bless to see them in real life.

After I snapped the tribal girl in below photo, I shot an old grandmother taking a water from the pail and a lady sleeping next to the dog showing her back. It was a bliss moments and photos. I kept staring at them over and over again until I lost them. However, the memory remain lingers in my heart.

This is the last photo of people faces before I reached the top of Araku valley visiting their tribal museum and Padmavathi botanical garden. Again, in the garden, I lost in the photography world capturing hundreds of roses and other species of flowers in Araku beautiful garden. While shooting, the reality hits me, when I received a call from the client about the delivery on the next working day. So, I had to leave and back to Vijayawada to attend the office matter.  

Our last stop before saying goodbye to the valley was a short exploration inside the Borra Cave, located in Ananthagiri hill. It has a variety of impressive speleothems ranging from small to big irregular shaped stalactites and stalagmites. The only 1 that I have was a picture of me with the speleothems, below. The cave was discovered by Geological of India in 1807.

Remarks: I have highlighted in bold, various point of interest that you may consider to visit. Beside, Araku Valley is also famous for it's coffee plantation. There is a proper stop for the tourist to record their visit by having a nice picture. I had mine while gazing at the coffee stall. I think I better stop here before it breaks my heart further. That record of mine is no longer retrievable.

Vijayawada Sightseeing - Surya Lanka Beach

Tour date: 24th June 2012

Hubby spent his daily afternoon by playing tennis at the court available just opposite our apartment. He easily found friends with his ever ready smiley face. Due to that and due to my work load, we decided not to explore any other part of the Southern India as initially plan. It was fine that he stayed at home while waiting for me to return from work. But we do have lunch daily at home.

So, on Sunday morning we left quite early to Bapatla small town to experience Vijayawada beaches in a nearby area. Our destination was to reach the famous Surya Lanka Beach. That was the second time I went to the beach while in India. The first time was when I went touring to Araku Valley, an afternoon that I spent in Vishakapatnam (Vizag) beach. Sadly that I have lost all photos in Vizag during that visit.

However, the journey to Surya Lanka Beach was very pleasant. We both felt like we were having a third honeymoon, without Nasrul, our trip usually becoming less stressful. The beach was about 93km in distance from Vijayawada city. We took a turn from Guntur junction along Vijayawada - Chilakaluripet Highway that our company is constructing.

The journey takes about 1 and a half hour. The marvelous village scenery, mostly green with fertile land along the journey makes it more interesting and peaceful to watch. We found a river stream and unique locals village house, which we have not seen before in our entire life. We made a stop and snapped a photo with the locals. 

When we reached the beach, it was like any other festive beach in any part of the world. There's crowd of peoples having their picnic and swimming with their family. There's a lot of food stall and gift shops that can be found here. In overall, we did enjoy our time looking at them. 

I hope you guys would enjoy all nice photos sharing in this entry during that lovely trip. Thanks for visiting.

Vijayawada Sightseeing - Bhavani Island

Tour date: 23rd June 2012

On Saturday afternoon of 23rd June 2012, I left the office right after lunch to take hubby for sightseeing in Vijayawada city's attraction. We passed Durga Temple as he never likes to visit any. Of course we are different in nature and character but a compromise in marriage does help a lot. After all, love and compassion are all that you need to stay together for long. Hope, until death do us apart :) Okay, We had to take a boat as the island is not accessible via land.

Our destination was to see what is there Bhavani Island has to offer. Office colleague had given a recommendation that Bhavani Island is good for picnic. It is perhaps a largest island on a Krishna river, seated closely to the Vijayawada city. The boat ride is very short, so do not very so much about the transportation as the boats are mostly readily available every half an hour or so. 

Andhra Pradesh (AP) tourism is converting the 133 acre island into an attractive tourist spot and at present there is a nice decent river front resort in the island. Bhavani Island is located very near to Prakasam Barrage. It offers a marvelous picnic spot for the family. It also has maintained a swimming pools, food court and other facilities for the visitors. In addition, the AP Tourism Development Corporation making a good arrangement for boating and fishing. Let's have a view what was available as recorded in my photo collection.

Locals and tourist are enjoying the water adventure and water spots which were made available in the island. Beside fishing, a ride into and within neighborhood island is very interesting. The view while riding a boat to the island was marvelous. 

As for us, we do not quite like it very much. Maybe due to summer weather and the heat makes Bhavani Island not properly ventilated. Besides, the smells of peat land is not to our liking. Hence, after a short walk (less than an hour), we decided to leave with the next available boat.