SANGKAK SESAK

Its has been a while.
Since the book written in MALAY Language, I'll review in MALAY. Sorry English reading people, there's few blog still in writing process including my Road Trip to BANGKOK in March and following THE FULL PLEDGE MUNKEES to JAPAN. :)

Dari Wan Fahti Kamil, Hafiz Rashid dan Rayhan...

Aku tak pernah review buku2 orang nih... hehe tapi dah janji dgn Rayhan nak buat. Jadi... sila lah membacanya ye.

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Buku rilisan Pustaka Kolektif ni sebenarnya mempunya 2 cerita. Satu ditulis oleh Wan Fahti Kamil dan sahabatnya Hafiz Rashid... cerita diberi nama SANGKAK. Dan saru daripada Rayhan Ahmad diber tajuk SESAK.

Aku tak pasti relatif antara kedua2 ayat SANGKAK dan SESAK ni... pengajian bahasa aku cetek... hehe... yang pastinya pengalaman mengembara diorang ni best. Apa2 pun pengalaman mengembara... dari sapa2 pun best. Sebab yang pasti tak ada yang sama. 

Kedua2 tempat ni... VIENTIENE, BANDUNG, BALI, aku pernah pergi... seronok baca dan relate dgn pengalaman yang ada.

Aku baca buku ni sehari lepas aku dapat dari Rayhan dekat event Kawan Fest. habis baca sepanjang perjalanan naik bus balik ke JB... tapi sekarang baru nak review... hehe sorry ye Rayhan. :)

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SANGKAK
oleh Wan Fahti Kamil & Hafiz Rashid

Perjalanan 5 sekawan ni, dalam process pembikinan 'Puncak I Love You Too'... dah tgk 'Puncak I Love You'?... sila tgk kejap video dibawah...

Filem pendek arahan salah satu penulis Hafiz Rashid dalam buku SANGKAK SESAK nih... menarik kan? dengarnya hasil2 seterusnya ke TV9... aku jenis tak tengok TV... jadi terlepaslah.

Pengalaman pengambaran dan kembara 5 sekawan ni tak kurang menarik... dari rumah, ke lapangan terbang... sampai di Bandung... HUJAN. Mujur diorang charter VAN untuk kemana2... dengan driver lokal nama ADI.

Cerita diserang pencari2 rezeki di TANGKUBAN PERAHU dan hari terakhir shooting di landasan keretapi... tak dapat aku bayangkan perjalanan cerita yang diorang nak buat tu. Tapi yang pasti pengalaman yang tertulis sentiasa buatkan aku senyum.

Kemudian cerita PEDOT dirasuk hantu di BALI... huh. Aku tak ada cerita2 pelik pegi BALI... tapi sepanjang aku mengembara ke sana ada kawasan2 yang agak ANGKER. :) tapi kebiasaan aku pergi dengan lokal... cerita Kamil dengan HAfiz betul2 buatkan aku teringat akan BALI...

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SESAK

Oleh Rayhan Ahmad

Aku secara personal suka sangat2 land border crossing... dari Laos ke China... dari China ke Nepal... Nepal ke India.. Laos ke Vitnam... Laos ke Kemboja... Kemboja ke Vietnam atau ke Thailand... Thiland ke Malaysia... Mungkin sejak dari kecil aku dah di didik pegi balik Singapura - Johor Bahru. Setiap kali Eid_Ul-Fitr... setiap kali nak carik barang2 rare... setiap kali nak skate... dan setiap kali nak buat urusan2 music. Dah terbiasa mungkin... ATAU sengaja cari pengalaman BARU, kerana setiap border corssing mesti ada cerita2 tersendiri...

Ada pengembara tak berapa suka merentas sempadan nih... sebab makan masa, urusan VISA dan imigrasi tak lekang pula urusan kastam dan sekuriti yang kadang2 menyakit hati. Tapi bagi aku, itu satu pengalaman yang sentiasa ada dalam benak... sentiasa tersimpan dalam hati untuk diceritakan.

Masa aku muda2 dulu (sekarang masih muda)... selalu mengembara seorang diri. Indo-China memang tempat bermain dan bergurau senda. Secara jujur, cerita Rayhan ni buatkan aku terkenang aku dulu2. Menggarap setiap sempadan yang ada sampai ke selatan CHINA.

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Secara kasar perjalanan Rayhan terletak didalam peta diatas. :)

Mengembara seoarang diri ke tempat yang kite tak pasti keadaan keselamatannya, tempat tinggal atau pun makanan adalah satu pekerjaan yang mencabar. Tapi kalau dah terbiasa dia akan dadah... akan jadi satu kemestian.

Perjalanan Rayhan bermula dari JOHOR BAHRU ke KUALA LUMPUR, singgah sebentar di IPOH dan berakhir di PENANG sebelum bergerak ke BUKIT KAYU HITAM. Bagus Rayhan nih... sebelum merentas sempadan seorang diri, jumpa kawan2 dulu... kalau aku dah tak sabor2 ke Thailand. :P

Rancangan awal naik kereta api ke BANGKOK bertukar dgn Bus ke HATYAI... kemudian baru kereta api. Kemudian ber kereta api lagi ke NONGKAI... Menjejak kan kaki di VIENTIENE kemudia mengubah perjalanannya ke selatan LAOS... PAKSE/PAKXE kemudian terpaksa berpatah balik ke VIENTIENE kerana tidak mahu melayan kerenah Imigrasi KEMBOJA.

Aku pernah masuk LAOS dgn duit yang sikit, tapi pengalaman keewangan Rayhan lagi melampau... hahaha... mujur nasib sentiasa menyebelahi Rayhan. Kalau tak mungkin Rayhan dah jadi rakyat LAOS...

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Apa yang menarik?
Pengalaman penulis unik... perjalanan beliau istimewa. Pengalaman beliau boleh dijadikan pengajaran untuk semua... kerana setiap perjalanan dari satu titik ke titik seterusnya sentiasa akan MENGAJAR kita erti kehidupan dan kemanusiaan.

Terima kasih Rayhan.

Bangkok Road Trip

Hi All.
Sorry for NOT updating. But, I don't have any interesting contents to share... :P yeah..
Just recently I just come back from Bangkok... driving with 3 month old infant... my son. It's interesting, challenging and intriguing at the same time. Everyday is a discovery, a learning curve as parents, a traveler and new unfamiliar asphalt/road/junctions... rules.

My excursions was based on paper MAPS (no GPS) and rigorous study on roads especially Bangkok on Google Maps prior before road trip begins. On my next post I will lay down every cost and distance, places and experience. Travel period between 11.March until 19.March. We spend around RM3K++ for petrol, logging and meals (including little trinkets and female pants. :P ). No more hostels for us since little NYJAH was brought into this world. From time to time, as a parents we will try our best to give our little NYJAH the best travel experience he will have. And of course learn A lot from it.

Well that's all for now... I'll continue when time permits. Hopefully by the end of next week everything will be here. :)

Chiang Mai RoadTrip

Latest excursion. I'll be writing about this road-trip plans in a couple of days including itinerary, cost, length and time. So far the itinerary of the journey will cover...

A) Johor Bahru, Johor
B) Changlun, Kedah
C) Chumphon, Thailand
D) Phra Nakhon, Thailand
E) Chiang Mai, Thailand
F) Bangkok, Thailand
G) Chumphon, Thailand
H) Hatyai, Thailand
I) Penang
J) Johor Bahru, Johor

Estimated the journey will took approximate 13 days with appropriate rest day in Chiang Mai and Bangkok... :)

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Two Thousand Fifteen

Plague Of Happiness 2015 team

Happy New Year!

I would like to express my gratitude to all of you readers who still keep on opening my blog even though I haven't updated for a while (not sure if my grammar is alright :P). Starting my 2015 post, still with my English writings insecurities... well for sure that's my goal this year. Writing good English. 

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Talking about Plague Of Happiness.

By the end of 2014, the band already starts the studio works for our second album. Managed to complete tracking for drums, bass lines and most of guitar works. As usual since our work on USELESS ENEMY and HASRAT, the band starting offs with the standard drum tracks and followed by guitar tracks. Not sure the norm, usually bands will put bass track second... however, playing guitar in punk/rock bands you tent to pound the guitar a little bit harder. Avoiding DETUNING along the process. You might wondering where I get this, well it was in RANCID INDESTRUCTIBLE recording DVDs by BRETT GURAWITZ at SKYWALKER RANCH. We happily follow the process. Now left the HORNS tracking, a little guitar fill in, vocals and miscellaneous instruments.

Trying to make a video snippets out of the process, but haven't got the time to edit yet. 50% of the lyrics need to be rewrite and I guess with a new mix styles. We manage to have 14 songs plus with a cover songs, currently still waiting for approval from the band record label.

What to expect? we tend to have few experimental songs crossing between metal and hard rock with horns and reggae. A little bit more SKANK driven songs for those who love to dance their ass offs. Not forgetting the standard SKA PUNK songs like we do on our previous KAWAN and RESAH AWAN. Not forgetting the recent FEBUARI. There're few crossing genres songs, hopefully it turns out well.

So far there's no plans to put songs in video yet, so far the band already have FEBUARI in YOUTUBE since first quarter of 2014. Next thing for sure, the band will kick offs the 2nd album with a mini tour with other NYARING bands starting at the end of FEBRUARY.

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Enough about Plague Of Happiness.
Travels plan. So, far I've been planning to have a 2 weeks THAILAND road trip this coming March. Me and my wife are blessed with a new born end of last year. I think this is the time we train our baby to our world. I always think that traveling will always be the best way to teach yourself and others to be more open minded person, respect to human and environment and to adapt with various cultures around world. Hoping someday, when my son grew up... he have the same passion and share his experience to others. Building a bridge between ever increasing gap between peoples because people nowadays are lazy to learn about each other. Judging and mocking others right on the spot before learning the background of any situation. Hoping someday my son will learn a lot about life.

Emei Shan (Emei Mountain) in January 2014

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Gear updates.

I need to put on hold on building my ES330 and amp head. Hopefully, before JUNE the building up process will continue. I've already buy the tuner and titanium bridge... well hoping everything settles then.

Gibson ES330

Amplification.

Marshall JCM2000 TSL

Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier

I've been using both amps more than 5 years each. Took them on tour, using them to record Plague Of Happiness materials since 2005. Based on my experience both amps are road worthy, however Marshall foot switch cable tends to worn out easily. 

In term of consumables item and maintenance, MESA tens to be more expensive then Marshall. Right after our second appearance in Rock The World in 2013, MESA fail on me after approximate 5 years of rigger usage. 

So, what's next... I'm planning to scale down to one channel amp and play around with effect pedals. I believe one channel amp are much more easy to maintain and consumables like tube and parts are much more cheaper.  Both previous amps having 3 channel... after more than 10 years I realize it's too complicated. :P hahaha

In term of sounds... I think I'm a little bit of a Marshall guy. Brown old school sound is something that I look for. In our recent recording project, I used FID (The Full Pledge Munkees) rig/JCM800 to lay down my guitar tracks. Frankly, I'm down with the sound... I'm Into it.

So, Marshall please send me one JCM800 2203 reissue please. :) hehehe

Marshall JCM800 2203 reissue

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Last but not lease... the Obsession towards BMW R GS 1200 LC continues. :P
While entering CHINA with personal vehicle is still questionable, even though somebody have done it... I kind a fond about INDIA-MYANMAR opening their borders for tourist to cross. It sounds intimidating, but dodging your vehicle crossing from THAILAND to INDIA via MYANMAR sounds good to me. Northern East INDIA like DARJEELING should be one of the best riding itinerary to be recon with.

But for now.

Having a motorcycle itself is an adventure for me.

Highland to East Coast

Expecting someone special in early January 2015.

So much about preparation, covers his/hers insurance medical last two weeks, pretty excited and intimidated altogether. But I'm pretty optimistic... for being a good father. But before that... we will try our best to spend time as much as we can as a couple.

Since we do our weekend gateway last October with the new bimmer (Husky), we thought why not having another roadtrip together... again. I think it's the right time before Ain entering the third trimester. 

distance calculation from google maps

Road tripping is my thing back in the days... I guess, most of my roadtrip around peninsular Malaysia were like... driving towards Kota Bharu from Johor Bharu in the first day, then drive towards Sg. Petani meeting friends and spend a couple of days in Penang before heading back to Johor Bharu on the 5th or 6th day... I have done it more than 20 times, and 80% of the trip I do it alone. All this while I've done it with my trusted FortySix and once with Ain Swift back in 2013.

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We going to start our journey from KL towards Berinchang on our first day... spend out time there for two days then continue our journey towards Kelantan. Headed to Tok Bali and again spend our time there for tow days. We might venture towards tumpat on our first morning at Tok Bali... or maybe some places nearby. 

So on our last we will drive by the seaside until Berserah Beach to visit a friend. Tentatively we plan to arrive back in KL on the same day.

Hopefully the weather are on our side... 

Mr. FortySix and Me... (Teluk Bahang, Penang)