Jom Jalan-Jalan! & Jom Makan! Mee Bandung & Otak-Otak @ Muar, Johor (Saturday, 12th December 2009)

Salam,

After the bridal make-up jobs on my client were done, before leaving for Kuala Lumpur, Ummi and I drove to check out Muar, the town next to Tangkak. FYI Muar is the bigger town compared to both Tangkak and Segamat. If you want to exit for Kuala Lumpur using the PLUS Highway, you must use the exit at Tangkak Toll. However if you want to head to KL using the old road from Muar, you will use the road going through Melaka but the distance is still quite the same. By the way I laughed when on the way I saw a residential area named

Taman Suraya *LOL*

Muar is slightly more developed than Segamat and many government buildings are located in Muar as well. There's a quite wide river named Sungai Muar (Muar River) therefore there are more activities in Muar. Fairuz told me that there is a river cruise service that charges RM 10.00 per head. I was attracted with a few of the old buildings which are influenced with English architecture in Muar. I was informed by Ummi that the Johor Royal Family is closely connected with the United Kingdom since the Kings were among the earliest Kings sent for studies in the UK.

For example, this majestic looking white (though I saw on the net some photos show that the colour is very blue in daylight, at night I saw more of a bluish white) mosque really caught my attention. It is the Masjid Jamek Sultan Ibrahim (Sultan Ibrahim's Jamek Mosque) which architecture is rich with the influence of British colonial designs instead of having the typical Middle-Eastern elements of most mosques.

This mosque is located nearby with Jeti Tanjung Mas (Tanjung Mas Jetty) and also quite a walking distance with another beautiful colonial design building named Bangunan Sultan Abu Bakar which unfortunately I did not snap its photo.

The breathtaking architecture of Masjid Jamek Sultan Ibrahim.

That night, Jeti Tanjung Mas was flooded with throngs of people since famous radio station, Hot FM conducted an event, Hot FM Night Jam where many of infamous celebrities lined up to perform including Malaysia's #1 Songbird, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza.

I just went to the vicinity to check out the crowd, but did not intend to watch the performance.

Dark Blue, Red & White Johor flag.

The crowd at Hot FM Night Jam.

Of course when you come to Muar, it is not to be missed for you to try their infamous local dish called Mee Bandung (Bandung Noodles). As many of you know, Bandung is a place in Indonesia but I never encountered Mee Bandung in Bandung anyway :p

Oh yes, Muar has lots of packed eateries, especially a few Medan Ikan Bakar (Grilled Fish Food Court) where there are rows and rows of grilled fish stalls. We decided to go to the food court which is located nearby to the bus terminal.

Ummi ordered Mee Bandung which the specialty is in its corn flour gravy . I insisted on eating Fried Rice (which was so bland and only filled with vegetables). The Mee Bandung is priced at RM 4.00 per plate. Ummi said the taste was normal, nothing special, the gravy was not thick enough so there was not enough kick in it. Also, the portion of yellow noodles was not very generous.

Mee Bandung

While eating dinner, we could not help to sympathize a bride named Teh Afifah who lost her newly-wedded husband, both 23 years old, in a tragic car crash in Perlis. It was so traumatizing for her to lose her husband, her parents-in-law and a friend. She lost him for only 3 hours after their Akad Nikah (solemnization ceremony). The fact which gave me goosebumps was when the newspaper the next day reported that her husband texted her saying 'Do not be surprised when you check out what I will wear tomorrow.' He intended he was going to wear a really nice groom's apparel since she has not seen it before, but fate decided he was going to wear the Kafan cloth for the passed away.

I cried pondering at her fate, because the bright couple, who was separated in UK and New Zealand for further studies, both doing engineering, basically had their love relationship online due to the distance. Teh Afifah was still in her final year pursuing a degree in Chemistry Engineering when she returned home for her wedding. Her husband, was due to report for his job as a lecturer at UiTM a few days after their wedding.

Though Teh Afifah refused to be interviewed by the media, the father informed that she accepted this as an obstacle from Allah to test her Imaan towards Him. I truly respect her for her patience and perseverance after reading her statement.

I pray for Teh Afifah to be blessed with strong Imaan and al-Fatihah for her husband, parents and friend.

Ummi watching the news about the ordeal of Teh Afifah.