A weekend @ Aonang Part 2

The second day at Aonang was fairly interesting...woke up early, had a quick breakfast of bread and cereals...then was shuttled to the beach...i decided to take the island hopping package (booked a day earlier), which was via a speedboat..the trip would be from 9am-3pm....i guess it was the highlight of the Aonang experience...

To be honest i cant remember the names of all four islands except for the last one which was named Chicken Island (as one of the hills was shaped like a hen)....from the pictures below, i was amazed at the crystal clear waters and green scenery (note: not the human scenery :-))..

Subahanallah........Allahu Akhbar.......It was amazing....Being raised on an island (penang) for most parts of my existence, ive always had a thing for beaches and sea...there could be other beaches which are far better, but at that spur moment in time, i was speechless......it was definitely beautiful........A unique feature in this island hopping trip, was the "food boats", which is practically a boat selling food, drinks, snacks and not ferrying people..

I really enjoyed the experience hopping from one island to another....reached back at Aonang beachfront at around 3pm....then took the shuttle back to the hotel...quick shower... returned to town for a quick dinner at a restaurant in Aonang Princeville (which is certified Halal), whilst watching the birthday celebration of the King of Thailand on TV....

Returned to my hotel, then i bumped into Hisham at the lobby...we chatted like an hour or so on various issues ranging from the King of Thailand, Thai politics, the Tak Bai massacre, him wanting to set up a tour agent rep office in KL, his visit to Malaysia over years (mind you he used to live in Penang)...we exchange contacts and parted ways (as i was going to leave Aonang the next day)....Syukur Alhamdulillah, Allah has pertemukan me with a kind chap who was like a saudara to me on this solo trip.......

The next day, i did a little town tour with Sulaiman, a Tuk-Tuk driver...he just got married and earns on average 500bahts /day...taking into account the daily rental plus fuel he has to pay his uncle, his take home pay is roughly 300bahts/day...my goodness, 300bahts or ~rm30/day...tough life some people have to face...emm..

left Aonang for the airport and flew back to KL at 2.30pm....Alhamdulillah....Thank you , Allah for this experience..

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Dari Abu Hurairah ra dari Rasulullah saw. beliau bersabda:"Setiap perbuatan baik yang tidak dimulai dengan memuji kepada Allah maka tidak sempurnalah perbuatan itu." (Riwayat Abu Daud)

A weekend @ Aonang Part 1

I planned this trip at the very last minute to be honest. It was a trip to runaway from work (but I did bring along work to finish. mind you) and the dilemma & stress I've been through lately (let's not get into details).

It was also an opportunity for me to spend more time being closer to Allah in a different place whilst admiring Allah's Great Creations. Subahanallah.

Arrived on saturday and checked-in at a hotel overlooking a hill (not the beach). I was ushered by this friendly staff. "Assalamualaikum", he said. "Waalaikumussalam", I replied. He spoke the malay language. His name was Sham or Hisham in full and was my closest confidiante at Aonang. He has a brother who so happens to be a malaysian citizen and an arabic lecturer at ukm. He advised me the do's n don'ts and whereabouts. A very well-mannered chap. After placing my bags, I went straight for the 5pm shuttle to Aonang town.

80% of the population in Aonang are muslims. On my way to the town (and also from the airport) I did get to see some mosques by the road. When I arrived in the town, I was like wow. There's a starbucks, b.king,mcd, svensens, subway & even a haagan daaz outlet there. But halal is an issue with these joints. Don't despair,there's a whole host of choices and halal-certified restaurants to whet the appetite...but me being me, i was still picky where i ate (halal + hygienic..huhu), i chose a restaurant certified by the Halal Standard Institute of Thailand...after a quick dinner of seafood tom yam, calamaris and white rice, i had a quick stroll in the town to observe life...there were the normal souv. shops, pubs and bars, tattoo parlours etc..but what took my attention was the food stalls set up around town...there were Muslim ladies (in tudung) selling pad thai, fried rice, and this special dish - a pancake..haha...pancakes flavoured with chocs, honey, banana, and even strawberries..mind you, tourists thronged the stalls like nobody's business..Hope their business is blessed by Allah..

After another 30mins of strolling down the beach like a mad man (haha), i returned to self-reflect before calling it a day

to be continued......

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Dari Abu Hurairah ra. bahawasanya Nabi saw. bersabda:"Kata-kata yang baik itu adalah sedekah". (Riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim)