Thank God for variety | Arab - India - Aceh - Penang

Bismillah.

Thank God for variety. Glory be to Allah who has made us all look different; who has given us different languages and different food, so we may get excited about knowing one another. Opposites attract, people say. And variety is bliss.

I am grateful for the variety of attraction on my study table tonight. I missed my books and my study table. Travelling is good and the best part about travelling to me is to come home to a good book and to chill at my favourite nook in the house. Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. 

• There's a book on love letters written in the 1930s between Prince Edward who gave up being king so he could marry the love of his life - Wallis. How very sweet! True love wins the day, throne or no throne.
• There's a book on Malay proverbs. Oh, how boring you say, but did you know for that kind of deep love between Edward and Wallis, there's a Malay proverb to describe it? Kasih sepantun tulisan pinggan meaning 'a never ending love'. Yes, let no obstacle be too big to give up on one's true love ; )
• And a book about Islam in Hong Kong. Indeed, the author is right to have begun the book with this line: "When we think of Hong Kong, Islam is not something that springs to mind." Hong Kong to the minds of many people equals shopping, bright neon lights and skyscrapers. So, God bless all the da'ie of the olden and the present days for having spread Islam to the Far East. So that we have got a variety of Muslims - Arab Muslims, Indian Muslims, Chinese Muslims and so on.

   

And speaking of variety, my forefathers were from the lands of Arabia, India and Aceh before my grandparents ended up in Penang. So, it's only natural that I loveee.... eating nasi kandar LOL.

As promised to our foreign readers, here is a photo of nasi kandar. Nasi means rice. Kandar refers to the act of carrying goods on one's shoulder using a rattan basket. It is arguably the first method used by food hawkers in the old days.

My favorite Nasi Kandar @ Pokok Ceri
in the compound of Masjid Sheikh Eusoff in Penang

 Nowadays, all you have to do is queue up
and tell the mamak what combination of curries you fancy.
[Mamak refers to men of Indian origin.
They conquer the nasi kandar business for eternity. LOL]

Thank God for variety.

Come visit Penang, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. And as I mentioned several times before, 2014 is Visit Malaysia Year.

Malaysia - truly Asia : )

p/s
I think the Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia should give me a medal or something or free nasi kandar eat all you can, for one whole year. LOL.