My Hifi "Silk Road"_ Part 2

The first addition to the system was
a phonogram(record) changer. It was a UK made
unit .
This was an automatic player. A few records could be stacked up on the spindle and they would be played one after another.

Purchased in 28/1/1968 at a cost of RM69.

It was connected to the radio's mono amplifier, driving a 12" speaker and a tweeter.The speaker cabinet was made of reinforced concrete. Very unique indeed.

The phonograms(record or vinyl) came in 2 sizes; 7 inches diameter ( speed 45rpm) and 12 inches diameter (speed 33 1/3 rpm).

Average cost of a small record at that time was RM2 and that of the big one was RM6

All purchases were documented.

He is my dad's favoutite singer.We had a full collection of his albums.

The last entry was in 1/9/73

Of course I still bought records after that, but never border to keep track

The next upgrade was this stereo Monarch Amplifier, bought 11 months after getting the record player .

Being a sterophonic unit, it had to be connected to a pair of speakers( left and right channel) So a second speaker cabinet was added. But the second cabinet was just made of plywood, not concrete.

My Hifi "silkroad"_ Part 1

It was my father that exposed me to the world of audio sound.
This is the first audio set in the family, a German made Greatz multiband radio which I am still keeping.
It is a valve set. At that time, transistor still unheard of.

( this pic was just taken recently)

This is its birth certificate.

It was bought in 1958 at a cost of RM496. At that time 496 was a lot of $, may be my father's 3 months pay.

During those years, FM station was unheard of. So the norm was to tune to 'Medium Wave'(MW) or Short Wave(SW)

But too bad, although the radio still looks beautiful, it is not functional anymore. The wires had been bitten by rats. Hopefully one day I can find the time and gather enough passion to restore it.
I still have some collection of spare valves.

The 1st valve on the right is called"the cat's eye". It is used as a tuning indicator. It is lighted up as a green circular display. When the radio is properly tuned to a station, the display will narrow down to a fine green line. Very interesting.

All roads lead to Kota Bahru

There is a saying that says " All roads lead to Rome".
But to me , all roads lead to Kota Bahru. From the East-West Highway, we can go to KB through Tanah Merah, or through Machang, or through Rantau Panjang. I have been to KB a few times, but I was not certain which one is the best route for travelling, until this latest trip.
If we follow the road signs, the best bet will be going through Machang because this stretch is wide and straight. But the ' slow and steady' Kelantanese drivers will really test one's patience. They seem never in any hurry at all.
Anyway, being not that adventurous, I always take this route.
Through conversation with a local this time around, I was told that the shortest route is through Rantau Panjang. True enough it shortened our return trip from KB to Jeli via Rantau Panjang. The downside is the road is more winding and need to pass through a few road blocks.

So maybe the road signs should add some wordings like these:

By the roadside to Machang , the sign should read :
" Ke Kota Bahru, Laluan selesa untuk pemandu sambil lewa"

By the roadside before junction to Rantau Panjang,
" Ke Kota Bahru, Laluan optimum untuk pemandu mengejar masa"

Wuahahahahaha...............








The main attraction of the east coast states: beautiful beaches.

Travelling between Kota Bahru and Kuala Trengganu also faces the same dilemma; use the coastal roads D7 , T3, T1 though the kampongs, or use the inner road 3 that is more winding and hilly. The choice is yours.

New experience_Home Stay

1st of May, Worker's Day is on Friday. I have 3 days break. A petrol head friend suggests a long drive to Kelatan and Trengganu. Being a last minute plan, we couldn't find any available hotel room. Luckily a colleague gave a contact for Homestay accommodation in Kota Bahru. We just grab it.

In my mind, homestay in a kampong means maybe putting up in a place like this:

The place we booked was quite deep inside a kampong. So the host had to meet us in town and led us in......

.

.

(I always look left when I pass through this part,

especially at night)
.

.

.

.

.

.

jeng,

.

.

.

jeng, jeng.

.

.

.

. jeng, jeng, jeng

.............. to our great surprise!!! we were led to THIS place!

Woa! a bungalow man!!!!!

Walaueh! Homestay in a mansion in the kampong. That was the last thing we would have expected.

The host stays upstairs. We had the whole of downstairs to ourself.

There is a living room and 2 bedrooms

Dining area and a second hall.

It won't lose out to staying in a hotel. I would say we were very lucky to have found this place.

We were even told we were the first customers. Wow!!! how lucky we were. Should have asked the host to let us cut some ribbons before entering. Hahahaha.........

So............, if you happen to be around KB and feel like breathing unpoluted air in surroundings like this

You should contact the friendly host, Encik Aminuddin.

Drive 1000km in a round trip to see a tree

Ini cerita surat khabar lama.

Two years ago my buddy and I drove a round trip of about 1000km, just to look at this tree. Crazy ! isn't it?

Pokok Cengal Terbesar - The Malaysia Book of Records

Nama Spesies : 'Cengal', Neobalanocarpus heimii
Ukuran : 1,675 cm lilitan dan 65 meter tinggi
Tempat Dijumpai : Kompartmen 5, Hutan Simpan Pasir Raja, Dungun Terengganu

Pokok cengal terbesar dan berusia kira-kira 1,300 tahun ini ditemui di Hutan Simpan Pasir Raja, Hulu Dungun pada 1999 oleh Pegawai Renjer Durian Mas II, Encik Omar Mohamad.

Pokok tersebut yang berdiri setinggi 65 meter dan ukur lilitnya 16.75 meter, atau kira-kira 13 pemeluk, serta bergaris pusat 5.32 meter memerlukan 27 buah lori bagi mengangkut kayunya jika ditebang.

Isipadu pokok cengal ini dianggarkan 220m3 dengan keberatan 120 tan metrik.

Usia pokok tertua ini dianggarkan 1,300 tahun iatu berdasarkan kaedah pengiraan pokok di kawasan tropika mengikut pertumbuhan gegelang (growth ring) pada kadar 0.4sm setahun.

Pokok yang terletak lebih kurang 200 meter dari sempadan Taman Negara dan 390 meter dari paras laut di kawasan Kompartmen 5 hutan ini, telah menerima pengiktirafan The Malaysia Book of Records sebagai pokok terbesar di Semenanjung Malaysia dan didokumenkan dalam keluaran edisi ketiga pada tahun 2001.
Pokok cengal kedua terbesar pula terletak dalam kompartmen 4, Hutan Simpan Pasir Raja dan dianggarkan ketinggian 45 meter dengan ukuran lilitan 10.75 meter.

Source:http://www.forestry.gov.my/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=98&Itemid=101


It was a 4x4 expedition. We started from Penang, took the Simpang Pulai route to Cameron Highland first.


Routine check on the 4X4 to make sure it would not act up during the trip.


After lunch in Brinchang, we drove to Ringlet and exit to some jungle track.


The government was building a highway that links Cameron Highland to the Karak Highway. We drove some stretch along the alignment of the highway that was being constructed. These photos were taken 2 years ago. I wonder whether the Hway is open to traffic now.











After many hours of driving in the jungle, we finally joined the Karak Highway at somewhere near Bentong. Drove on to Kuantan and put up a night there.

We had dinner here:


and the next morning breakfast here:


Actually only 2 cars were from Penang, the Land Rover joined in from Cameron , and 4 more
were from Kuantan.
From Kuantan were drove up to Pasir Raja.






Then drove through some Felda scheme.


and reached a river. Our cars were not well equiped enough to cross the river.



Only the Land Rover attempted to cross ,buttttt.............. aiyayoh, it got stuck


Team effort to free it.


The rest of us left our cars at the riverbank and walked the jungle track.

Aiya, stuck again.




After tracking for more than 1 hour, we finally reached our destination and saw this:











After we had seen and touched enough, we track another hour back to the river. Originally we planned to pitch tent and camp 1 night here.

But it was only 3 pm, still had enough time to shoot home. So we started our engine and brooommmm....., straight to Kuala Trengganu, then to Tanah Merah, then East West Highway.

Finally, home sweet home at 11pm. Still in time to yam char at Jln Raja Uda.