Winter in Kuala Krai!

Recent news on drop in temperature in some parts of the peninsula had created quite a buzz…some got excited and some scared. Did the Earth actually tilt or is it just pure winter wind?

Kuala Krai, my hometown, where Mercury touched a record low 17C in Jan 2014 was made famous by that phenomena and the temperature had somewhat continued to stay below or around 20C during early morning throughout the month, even until today.

There are 2 phenomenon here; one is the temperature and the other is the thick fog. While the temperature is a new phenomenon, the fog has been there every January…especially after the monsoon / rainy season, sometimes it is so thick and it only disappears at around 10 am after the sun is high and warm enough. You’ll see this same fog scenario around Mount Kinabalu, the only different is that it happens every day in Kundasang and it only disappears in the evening.

The cold temperature of recent time was most likely be due to the cold winter wind from northern hemisphere, blowing southwards to where the variation favours, assisted by monsoon winds from north-eastern seas. We saw many regions in Europe, Russia, the USA and Canada suffered severe winter storm during the same time when mercury dropped in South East Asia and snow was reported on Indonesian mountains and frost on Mount Kinabalu.

So why Kuala Krai happen to feel this effect more than others? Of course because Allah wants it that way but we also need to understand more on how it happen, this knowledge should not drive us away from the Creator but instead draw us closer.

From our limited knowledge, we can make an educated guess that the temperature dip and the fog are due to its unique geographical location and the weather conditions. Slightly different from Besut, where although it is more exposed, it has the sea moderation effects.

Kuala Krai is a town located on the confluence of 2 major rivers that give birth to the Kelantan River ie Lebir & Galas, it sits landlocked right in a middle of a huge ancient valley, the Kelantan river basin / flood plain, at an elevation of less than 200m above sea levels, surrounded by the Timur mountain range on the Eastern border, Titiwangsa range on the West and Tahan range in the south. It is however, exposed on the Northern side, and opened to the effects of wind from north.

In December and January, when northern hemisphere experiences its winter season and the North-eastern monsoon wind lashes the East Coast, cold winds blowing south will come to a halt when it meets with these mountain ranges and the wind will circulate around this valley and causes the temperature to drop.

The wind initially brings huge amount of rain and moisture which will be dumped in the valley, some will flow to the rivers and cause flood while the remaining will be absorbed by the soil. Only dry air crosses over the mountain ranges. Later on, when the wind bring less moisture, due to the many hurricanes / typhoons which occurred earlier during the season in the Pacific and have sucked up the moisture, the change in air humidity will affect the atmospheric pressure which will then cause the water in the soil to rise to the surface as fog. This area can also be dry during other seasons when winds blows from other directions.

So that is how I look at it on the phenomena of the temperature dip and the thick fog of Kuala Krai. I don’t know of any scientific study on this specific subject but if there’s one, empirical data would provide better confirmation of this theory.

So how long will this temperature thing will go on? As far as I can see it, perhaps this will continue until the winter season in northern hemisphere moves to spring and summer as well as when the northern wind changes its direction after the monsoon season.

Are we going to experience it again? If the globe has tilted, we will definitely experience it again sometime next December and January…perhaps we can start to develop winter resorts, grow strawberries and wheat in Kuala Krai, but if the globe is not tilted, then the chances will very much depend on winter severity and wind strength from the North.

Make sense? Only Allah knows best.

Re-energizing The Blog!

As salam everyone and hope everyone is in peace.

We would like to start writing on our blog again, re-energize it, after being quiet for a long spell…tight up with work and personal matters, just couldn’t find the time to sit down and write.

Thank you everyone who had visited our site and found it useful in any way and we apologize for not answering many of the questions posted…it’s like no one was home! And of course made worse by the technology…the FB and the Instagram etc…faster but normally lack of details.

We plan to continue writing and sharing life experiences, which we think may be useful, based on our own ideas and thoughts and of course our limited knowledge ability to write well. We intend to cover subjects on Islamic school & education, Islam in general, local holidays & travels, food, family happenings, books, may be a little bit on politics …basically just about anything that may interest us and might also interest you.

So let’s go again……insyaAllah

What A Celebration!

Ibu celebrated her 45th birthday two weeks back. Another 5 years to half century, how fast time flies. With social network, facebook, twitter and all kinds of apps to remind you of one's birthday, wishes kept pouring in into Ibu's mailbox via sms,watsapp, fb and e-mails. That's how advance the technology that we have nowadays. Unlike ten twenty years back, people struggle to remember birthdays of their loved ones and when you received birthday cards, messages and gifts, you know that you are genuinely remembered and treasured by that person. Well, regardless of the apps that keep sending reminders to you of your family and friends birthdays every other day, the thoughts of someone remembering and making the effort to send greetings and wish you is all that matters. It just mean that they think about you.

This year, Ibu had wonderful birthday celebrations. Three days in a row! It started a day earlier as her birthday falls on Saturday. Her colleagues treated her to a buffet Japanese at Suki-Ya and Shabu Shabu located at the Tokyo Street, Pavillion on Friday. It's a japanese steam boat with a choice of two types of soups out of three offered, Shabu Shabu, Kimchi and Sukiyaki. You are given unlimited slices of lamb, beef and chicken and a whole range of vegetables. They also have sushi and ice cream to supplement the steam boat. It was quite good actually and worth the price of RM29.80 for lunch and RM33.80 for dinner. Thanks Su Yean, Amanda and Shanna for the lunch treat.

After work, it was her BFFs turned. This time it is at the Redbox Pavillion for Karaoke and Dinner. Pavillion again! The last time we celebrated birthdays in Redbox was in 2009 and it's been four years now. We celebrated Ibu and Along birthdays this time as Rynne could not make it at the last minute. Our birthdays are close to one another and it's worth to combine the celebration. We were there from 6pm to 10pm and had great time testing our vocals and showing off our talents with the oldies and the eighties. We even suggested Along to go for the Kilauan Emas audition since she is the best among us and used to be one of the school singers those days. Thanks to my BFF for the lovely purple swatch...they even created a watsapp group to discuss the gift they wanted to get for Ibu, how sweet. Thanks gals for such wonderful time and fabulous gift.

The next day, the actual birthday we were busy with the kids as usual, fetching them from schools and did their laundry. Adik called Ibu right after his subuh prayers to wish Ibu, Abang called much later in the morning and Kakak sent a video message via watsapp. In the evening, Ibu received a bouquet of flowers, of course purple in colour from the family in Hartamas. How thoughtful of them, was touched by their thoughts.

That night, we had another celebration, this time with the Gombakclanners who celebrated their birthdays in February and March, Tok Nani, Tok Onn, Tok Wan, Zarith, Qistina and Ibu. As usual, Tok Mami was the one that organised everything and she grabbed the 50% off for buffet dinner at Taming Sari, Istana Hotel. Smart move and great savings by Tok Mami as always. Both Abang and Adik managed to get off for the weekend to join the celebration, Alhamdulillah. The place was quite packed and the food was not that bad. After the cake cutting, it was time to exchange presents. This time, Ibu gets four recipe books, Jamie Oliver, Nigella from her dearest cousin and a special cupcake tools from the Royal Carribean from Tok Mami and a nice telekung from Tok Nani. Thanks so much for the wonderful gifts. Now, Ibu has no excuse not to cook for the rest of the year!

The celebration did not end there. The next day, Sunday Ibu had another surprise from TLG. They prepared a little cake and as usual sang the birthday song plus a special gift Channel No 5. Alhamdulillah, that was so thoughtful of them. It was a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by people that you love and care and you know that they feel the same way towards you. Thank you to all that made me feel special on my birthday and I am thankful that Allah swt has bless me with such amazing people in my life. Abah and the kids, although this year no cards or presents from them like always, but they are the best gift Allah swt has given me, they are always there for me. Alhamdulillah.