OE Roslan Aris' Son's Kenduri- Ayer Tawar Perak 14 January 2017

An old school-mate, Roslan Aris, invited us friends to his son’s kenduri in Ayer Tawar, Perak. The kenduri was to be held on Saturday 14 January 2017. I have not been to Lumut area since 2009. I took this invitation as an opportunity to re-visit the town. I made the necessary reservations at Swiss Garden Damai Laut Resort. This would be my first time to stay there. Previously, I used to stay at the Orient Star Lumut.

I left KL for Lumut on Friday morning at 10.00 AM. The drive along the PLUS Highway was smooth and traffic was light. While driving, I was still thinking of the options where to exit the highway to head towards Lumut. There were 4 options – exit via Sungkai, Bidor, Tapah or Gopeng. I decided to exit via Bidor interchange and use the road to Teluk Intan. After that, I took the road to Bagan Datuk and followed the direction to Manjung/ Lumut.

It rained when I reached Teluk Intan area. Fortunately, the rain stopped after I crossed the bridge over Perak River, where I stopped at the BHP petrol station at Matang Guntong Baru for a toilet break. The drive to Manjung and Lumut was pleasant since the rain had stopped.

At the Lumut Waterfront.

I arrived Lumut by 2.30PM. Even though it was cloudy but the air was warm and humid. I stopped by the Waterfront to take some pictures. After enjoying the breath-taking view of the Manjung River, I went to the bazaar nearby to buy some snacks to bring home. After the purchases made, I headed to Damai Laut Resort, which is the opposite side of the Manjung River from Lumut.

I passed near Sitiawan, then, took the road towards Pantai Remis. The road passed a bridge over Manjung River. The scenery along the way was some shipyards, swamp areas and palm oil plantations. There was a new housing project being build. Since it rained earlier, the road was slightly muddy from the rain water flows. There were several lorries on the road so I was extra careful.

Upon entering the road towards the Resort, there was a sign warning all drivers of the many road bumps ahead. As I drove along the road, I understood why. The road was has many s-bends and the road bumps were to encourage all drivers to cut speed before the taking the corners. At one point I saw a Brahminy Kite (a bird of the Eagle family) perched on an electrical cable pole by the road side.

I reached the Resort by 4.00 PM. I saw several other guests arriving and checking in. Apparently there were two big groups that were arriving here that afternoon. After receiving my room-key, I headed for my room. It has a view of the sea and the gardens. The room was also near the Garden Terrace coffee house.

Window view. Pangkor Island in the distant.

I was tired to drive out to town for dinner. Therefore, I ordered fried rice and a fruit platter. I slept early after dinner.

Saturday morning, I checked out from the Resort at 10.00 AM. I headed to Lumut town again to buy some more seafood snacks. After the purchases made, I went to Ayer Tawar. I used the road that by-passed Sitiawan town center and followed the direction to Ipoh. The kenduri was held at a local hotel at Ayer Tawar town. I reached the venue by 12:15 PM. Car park space was limited, so, I parked my car by the padang at the housing area a short distance behind the hotel.  

As I approached the hotel entrance, I saw the host, Roslan Aris. We shooked hands and were glad to have met after over 30 years. Roslan informed me that several other schoolmates had already arrived. I walked towards their tables where they were seated. Those who have already arrived were – Jamaee, Ramli Yusof, Rozi, Azman “Iban”, Mas Kamaruzaman, Shaheri and Ahmad Salleh. A while after, Hanafiah, Razif, Mahyuddin, Mohamad Shah, Dzulhanan and Dr Noor Azmi arrived. The last to arrive that day was Ahmad Khairuddin. Amongst those who were present, several also I have not met for the past 38 years – Mas Kamaruzaman, Azman “iban”, Ramli Yusof and Rozi. Rozi participated in the karaoke, rendering 2 Malay oldies. We schoolmates cheered Rozi for encouragement. Hey! Rozi sang really well.

From left-Shaheri, Mad Shah, Mas, Azman, Salleh.

From left- Rozi, Razif, Jamaee, Dzulhanan.

From left- Rozi, Dr Noor Azmi, Jamee, Razif, Mas.

From left- Jamaee, Razif, Khairuddin, Mas, Ramli Yusof, Shaheri.

Rozi while rendering an M Daud Kilau song.

We spent the whole of the afternoon catching up with old times and getting to know how each other has been.

By 4.00 PM we had to leave. We thanked the host, Roslan Aris and bade our farewells.

 

Group pix with Roslan and the newly weds.

 

With Roslan Aris (middle, in Baju Melayu).

 

Hope to return to Lumut and Manjung area again.