Azura: Tahniahlah kepada Aida Aris dan pasangannya, saya suka tengok Aida Aris. Sweet gitu, hihihi. Mudah-mudahan perkahwinan kali kedua ni akan berkekalan hingga ke anak cucu. Amen.
Aida Aris telahpun selamat menjadi isteri kepada Husfarid Shaikh Ali @ Shaikh Hussain, 38, di kediaman pengantin perempuan pada pukul 10.45 pagi tadi di Taman Sierra Ukay.
Aida Aris dan Husfarid Shaikh Ali dinikahkan oleh Ustaz Daim Jajuli, pegawai tadbir dan pendaftar kanan dari Pejabat Agama Islam Gombak Timur, Keramat berwalikan abang Aida, Amiruddin Mat Aris, 42, dengan mas kahwin RM330. Aida dinikahkan oleh Ustaz kerana difahamkan bapanya uzur. Aida turut menerima hantaran berupa sebentuk cincin daripada pihak lelaki dan membalas kepada pasangannya dengan hantaran yang sama. Sementara itu, majlis resepsi mereka akan berlangsung pada malam ini juga di kediaman Aida dengan bertemakan warna merah dan putih. Mungkin dah selesai waktu ini. Selamat pengantin baru buat Aida Aris dan suami. Semoga bahagia akhir hayat.
KUALA LUMPUR 29 APRIL: Penyanyi popular, Faizal Tahir dan Yassin Sulaiman, muncul dengan video klip berjudul 'Berani' yang kini mulai mendapat sambutan di kalangan pengguna internet.
Meskipun tidak menyebut secara langsung, namun ramai menganggap lagu dengan tema perjuangan itu didedikasikan khusus kepada perjuangan Pakatan Rakyat.
Antara bait liriknya berbunyi 'Bagai deras sungai setelah hujan, tak putus walau dibelah seribu pedang. Mengalir bagaikan ia kepastian, takkan terhalang. Berani kerana aku benar, tiada apa harus ku takutkan, berdiri teguh..,"
Kemunculan dua artis ini dengan lagu bertema perjuangan, ketika kempen pilihan raya umum semakin rancak, sedikit sebanyak dilihat menambahkan moral penyokong Pakatan.
Ini kerana kedua-duanya sebelum ini dikatakan cenderung menyokong Pakatan, meskipun tidak mengisytiharkan sokongan secara terbuka, kecuali Yassin yang dilantik sebagai duta rasmi untuk kempen Angkatan Muda KEADILAN (AMK)
Februari lalu, Yassin membuat persembahan dalam majlis pelancaran manifesto Pakatan Rakyat, menyampaikan dua lagu berjudul 'Menuju Putrajaya dan 'reformasi', manakala Faizal pula mengiringi nyanyiannya sebagai pemain gitar.
Bidas kenyataan Norman
Dalam perkembangan lain, Faizal di laman Twitternya baru-baru ini membidas pendapat mengatakan industri perfileman akan hancur jika kepimpinan negara bertukar tangan.
Beliau dipercayai menujukan kata-kata itu kepada penerbit filem dan anggota kumpulan KRU, Norman Abdul Halim.
Norman dalam twitternya menulis sekiranya Pas berkuasa, industri filem dan muzik di negara ini akan hancur, malah pengeluaran filem dan muzik antarabangsa juga akan terjejas.
Ia disanggah Faizal yang menyifatkan kenyataan itu sebagai jenaka, dan menegaskan umat Islam wajib percaya bahawa 'rezeki datang dari Allah'.
Malah Faizal juga secara sinis menjawab tweet dari Ketua Unit Media Baru Umno, Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz yang dilihat tidak senang dengan kritikannya.
Selain Norman, turut menjadi kritikan penyokong Pakatan adalah kenyataan daripada pelakon 90 an yang tidak lagi popular, Azhar Sulaiman, apabila menuduh pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat dengan skandal video seks.
Menerusi video di Youtube, Azhar membuat kenyataan kurang bijak apabila mengatakan 'sanggup disambar petir' jika video fitnah yang dikaitkan dengan pimpinan Pakatan itu tidak benar.
Ketika rakyat kini mula membandingkan dasar yang ditawarkan Pakatan dan Barisan Nasional, Azhar hanya mampu mengitar semula kempen kotor Umno BN.
Sebaliknya beliau tidak pula bersuara apabila parti itu kini giat berkempen menayangkan video lucah dalam kempennya kepada masyarakat.
Bangkit bila ditolak jatuh bangunlah semula Bangkit bila diluka nanti pulihlah semula Bangkit biar bersusah dulu nanti senang semua Sakit pada luka kan pulih semula Bangkit
Dengan nama yang Maha Esa Maafkan aku aku terlena Mata buka tapi aku leka Sekarang kita sedia pasang deria kita lebih peka
Siap gerak gempur Siap rentak tempur Redah onak lumpur Maju tiada undur Tak kenal uzur hingga jasad kita terkubur Kalau kurang kaki tangan lutut dan siku dihulur
Ini malam kita pakai tanjak songsang Askar jati gerak senyap yang lain berkompang Berani segorombolan tak takut bila seorang Kuatkan benteng jangan ada yang berlobang
Bangkit bila ditolak jatuh bangunlah semula Bangkit bila diluka nanti pulihlah semula Bangkit biar bersusah dulu nanti senang semua Sakit pada luka kan pulih semula
Bangkit bila ditolak jatuh bangunlah semula Bangkit bila dijajah boleh tawanlah semula Bangkit ingat ketua dulu supaya jalan lurus Kalau tidak ditepi bendung ku tak berakar
Sabit kau umpama cahaya Yang menyinari bumi Kau umpama Hang Jebat Yang melindungi hak dirinya Kau umpama senjata Yang melindungi tanah Sememangnya pendekar yang gagah perkasa
Mana Tun Fatimah Mana semangat Tun Teja Datuk Maharajalela Mana cucu Datuk Merah Keberanian Sarjan Hassan dan Leftenan Adnan Mari memartabatkan perjuangan Datuk Bahaman
Keris dulu dalam tangan sekarang dalam otak Paling tajam tak perlu hunus keluar tengkorak Catur congak cukup sebelum langakah diorak Tanpa rancangan rapi dah tentu kemenangan rosak
Rapat-rapatkan saf dan buka kuda-kuda Bila bersatu tunggu lihat siapa berani cuba Yang akan datang menaruh pada yang semasa Bangkitlah nusantara
Bangkit bila ditolak jatuh bangunlah semula Bangkit bila diluka nanti pulihlah semula Bangkit biar bersusah dulu nanti senang semua Sakit pada luka kan pulih semula
Bangkit bila ditolak jatuh bangunlah semula Bangkit bila dijajah boleh tawanlah semula Bangkit ingat ketua dulu supaya jalan lurus Kalau tidak ditepi bendung ku tak berakar
Jadi bangkit berkumpul di bawah panji berbulan sabit Tak sujud pada sesiapa di bawah langit Tak mengalah walaupun betapa sakit Sebelum layar bahtera mari kita
Berakit-rakit ke hulu berenang-renang ke tepian Bersakit-sakit dahulu bersenang senang kemudian Kemudian
Bangkit bila ditolak jatuh bangunlah semula Bangkit bila diluka nanti pulihlah semula Bangkit biar bersusah dulu nanti senang semua Sakit pada luka kan pulih semula
Bangkit.. bangunlah semula Bangkit.. tawanlah semula Bangkit.. umpama cahaya
Pada: Isnin, 15 April 2013 Kecantikan dan kelawaan pelakon Tizz Zaqyah memang mencairkan ramai lelaki diluar sana. Maka dengan anugerah semula jadi ini dan bakatnya yang terserlah di drama/filem Nur Kasih, maka Tiz dipilih menjadi duta produk kesihatan, Nur Kasih Prune Essence.
Produk ni bagus sebenarnya untuk kesihatan, memetik daripada Facebook produk ni:
Nur Kasih Prune Essence is created for you. It is high in Antioxidant, Vitamin C and Fibre. Take one every day to achieve radiant complexion and beauty appearance...
Cuba dan alaminya sendiri.
Gambar dibawah ketika satu majlis pelancaran produk ini di MIHAS 2013.
Masihkah anda ingat dengan Erul? Erul merupakan salah seorang produk daripada rancangan realiti Akademi Fantasia. Lama mendiamkan diri tanpa khabar berita, rupa-rupanya Erul menyertai pertandingan Kpop Star Hunt musim kedua.
Kpop Star Hunt 2 mengumpulkan peserta-peserta daripada seluruh Asia untuk bertarung sesama sendiri. Selain Malaysia, peserta-peserta hebat dari Filipina, Jepun, Singapura dan Thailand turut sama berentap. Mengkagumkan apabila Erul berjaya memasuki peringkat akhir sebagai Top 3.
Kalau dulu Erul sebut "Anyeonghaseyo" pun tak betul, namun daripada video yang Abang Nara tonton, sebutan bahasa Korea Erul semakin maju. Yang membanggakan ialah apabila Erul berjaya merebut gelaran naib juara Kpop Star Hunt musim kedua. Tahniah diucapkan kepada Erul atas kejayaan ini.
Kepada Erul, semoga selepas ini bintang anda akan lebih bersinar. Jadikan pengalaman menyertai K-pop Star Hunt 2 sebagai pemangkin kejayaan anda di masa depan. Tahniah sekali lagi diucapkan.
[artismsia]_(tahniah)erul Af Naib Juara K-pop Star Hunt Musim Kedua
(TAHNIAH)Erul AF Naib Juara K-Pop Star Hunt Musim Kedua
*****(name=middle) -->
*****
Masihkah anda ingat dengan Erul? Erul merupakan salah seorang produk daripada rancangan realiti Akademi Fantasia. Lama mendiamkan diri tanpa khabar berita, rupa-rupanya Erul menyertai pertandingan Kpop Star Hunt musim kedua.
Kpop Star Hunt 2 mengumpulkan peserta-peserta daripada seluruh Asia untuk bertarung sesama sendiri. Selain Malaysia, peserta-peserta hebat dari Filipina, Jepun, Singapura dan Thailand turut sama berentap. Mengkagumkan apabila Erul berjaya memasuki peringkat akhir sebagai Top 3.
Kalau dulu Erul sebut "Anyeonghaseyo" pun tak betul, namun daripada video yang Abang Nara tonton, sebutan bahasa Korea Erul semakin maju. Yang membanggakan ialah apabila Erul berjaya merebut gelaran naib juara Kpop Star Hunt musim kedua. Tahniah diucapkan kepada Erul atas kejayaan ini.
Kepada Erul, semoga selepas ini bintang anda akan lebih bersinar. Jadikan pengalaman menyertai K-pop Star Hunt 2 sebagai pemangkin kejayaan anda di masa depan. Tahniah sekali lagi diucapkan.
terima kasih kerana membaca..jangan lupa komen tau....
The journey from Hai Van Pass back to town, in fact, fun and interesting. We blended well with locals who were on their bikes, crossing and honking here and there, without any shouts or accidents. Trust me, they REALLY good in avoiding street walkers and other vehicles. C-curve, S-curve, U-curve, name it, they know how to steer clear of the obstacles.
Approaching the town, we stopped by the road side, to discuss on the next destination. Looking at the map, Cham Museum located somewhere along the Han River.
"Han River is from there to there." The long stretch of the road is located along the Han River. How to find la weh?
Lucky us, we finally found the Museum, just by comparing the printed picture in my Tour Cookbook, with the real-life building. Great!
We went into the compound and parked our bikes near the entrance gate. The ticket booth was 10 meters away, so we had no choice but to pay the fee, VND30,000 each. Haha! To the far left, in front of one info board, there was a group of visitor (foreigners), who were listening to the tour guide, who explained on Champa history.
This building was opened in 1919, dedicated to keep Cham sculptures that were collected from various sites. A French archeologist took some of the sculptures back to Paris, while some were transported to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.
Due to the location of this building (near junction), this two storey building was designed in triangle shape with corridors on both sides. Alongside artifacts, gift shop and refreshment are available too.
Pak Ein and his wife straight away looked for a spot to rest their bums. Fortunately, there was one small chamber with long wooden benches in it. In a second, I saw Pak Ein positioned himself horizontally on the bench! Haha! Pity him. I know he wasn't into museum and artifacts, but he willingly followed and joined us. Thanks dad!
Meanwhile, Dan Arif, hubby, and I went in and enjoyed the sculptures. This museum allows visitor to take photo and video, but special filming might require special permission. Most of the statues like apsara, temple guardian, Cham head, "boobies", were taken from My Son, which clearly reflected Buddhism and Hinduism. That was the ground floor.
We went up to the first floor and things they kept here were artifacts of culture, mainly Chinese-oriented stuff. Enough with history and symbolic statues, we went out and met Pak Ein, his wife, and Aqram. On the way back to where we parked our bikes, suddenly, something caught our eyes. THERE WAS A SNAKE IN ONE OF THE STATUE! OMG! That is why, NEVER EVER stay close to historical artifacts, ESPECIALLY stone statues! Jom, jom blah!
"Eh, remember those marble sculptures by the river? How bout few minutes of photo session?"
"Can…jom…" Everyone agreed.
On the bike, we figured out how to stop by the Han River, right where those sculptures located. There was neither legal nor illegal parking space at all. We had to do what we had to do. We parked on the pedestrian! Hahaha! Hubby and Dan Arif had turned into two crazy paparazzi where they snapped pixies, non-stop.
Then I had my jaw dropped! WOW! This kind of statue, by the busy road side???
GREAT! More please?
So, no photo session for today. Pfft!
"Han Market, anyone?" *Wink! Wink!* I lured Pak Ein and his wife.
"Shopping timeeeee." I saw "nur" on both faces. Hahaha!
Few minutes from the sculptures site, there were Han Market, one of the major markets in Da Nang. This market comprises of Tran Hung Dao Street, Hung Vuong Street, Bach Dang Street, and Tran Phu Street. So, you will NEVER miss it. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE...BUT YOU CAN DRINK AND RIDE?
It is originally a small trading port for a period of time, under French occupancy. Established in 1940s, original market was completely gone after a major reconstruction in 1989. The design was less chaotic than other street market, with two floors, ranging from local foods to garments to cell phones. So, Pak Ein played once, the seller :)
"Muamột xin vui lònggiá rẻ..." means buy one please, cheap price. Hahaha!
Dissimilar to Con Market, the largest outdoor market in Da Nang, this market is less noisy, BUT STILL, smelly, like toxic! This smell genuinely came from wet market downstairs. Pak Ein's wife and I were forced to pinch our noses, ALL THE TIME, while choosing t-shirts and fabrics for "baju kurung".
"Ok, let's play bargain game. Let see who wins."
Pak Ein used his grandpa aura, told the salesgirl, that he wanted 12 adult t-shirts, 9 kid t-shirts, and 1 for a baby, WITH various sizes.
"OMG! Untuk satu kampung ke bahhhhh?" Well, they were for my sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews.
"Ayang, why not include us in? Dan, you want?" They nodded.
I took off my sling bag, pulled up my jeans, and sat on a small chair, right in front of the salesgirl, who in the midst of taking out the stocks.
"15 adults! Cheap! Cheap! I go no other shop! Only here! How much? How much?" I started bargaining. Well, just use broken English, look more Asian though.
"Pity grandpa, pity grandma, walk so far, tired you know, come, come, give me good price. Tomorrow we go back, we tell friends." I continued. Pak Ein and his wife quickly showed their sad face.
The salesgirl cum the owner of the shop, tried to offer me with lower but still higher price, that I was pretty sure that we can get lower than that. The alley was quite small, so when we sat down to pick the sizes, the front shop started to get jealous. She asked us to sit a bit further, not to "block" her shop. Wow. Cat fight alertttt!
Well, the salesgirl did tell us, that's the culture.
Back to the t-shirt story. I finally managed to get VND45,000 per piece that was approximately RM6. Better price than what Pak Ein got in Hoi An, few days earlier. Kids and extra large were ranging from RM5 to RM10.
Looking at their gorgeous designs, I then decided to get some fabrics for my "baju kurung". They were selling standard length, 4 meters for top, 4 meters for bottom, best length for their national costume, Ao Dai. I grabbed three sets that cost me VND300,000 each (RM30 per set).
EVERYONE HAD MOUTH WIDE OPENED WITH SALIVA EXPLODED.
Lapar gile kot. Masing-masing dah sunburn plak tu.
Everyone, I mean, EVERYONE, agreed to spend our last Dong, on delicious halal food. Where else? Mumtaz Restaurant, an authentic Indian food with halal signboard, without a doubt. 6 plates of rice, with veggies, fish, chickens, and eggs, we had never tasted anything good like this, throughout the journey. Yummeh!
Surprisingly, the price was affordable. Approximately VND800,000, about RM100 for 6 person, around RM17 per pax. Ok la kan?
"Let's get back to the first centuries of the Common Era. Knowing that Chinese, Burmese, Lao and Thai are relatively new in the Southeast Asian landscape, the biggest part of the peninsula was peopled by Austro-Asiatic (or Mon Khmer) ethnic groups. This means that Khmer and related groups (Mon, Kui, Bahnar) were certainly the oldest inhabitants of the peninsula."
"The process ['Nam Tien' or Vietnamese southward expansion] was well defined by Léopold Cadière in 1911: "As soon as they feel themselves able, they drive off the first inhabitants, whether in a peaceful manner, by taking over the land, clearing it and "planting the bamboo" – the hedges that to this day still surround Annamese gardens and villages – or by violence, then they fight with the Chams, destroying their temples and mutilating their statues." In short, there was no room left for the Chams."
The Khmer empire, from the ninth to the 15th century, obviously didn't develop in isolation. But, looking at the map of Southeast Asia from a historical point of view, it's nevertheless clear that this political construction benefited from an unprecedented geopolitical quietness, at least until the 13th century. The Vietnamese hadn't even begun their march to the south, and the Thai state was made up of embryonic chieftainships.
Yet the exception that proved the rule occurred. In the year 1177, guided by a Chinese deserter, the Cham fleet sailed the Mekong river upstream and from Phnom Penh, the Tonle Sap. They took Angkor by surprise, plundering and destroying the town. They quickly withdrew and, from 1181, under the leadership of the future Jayavarman VII, the Khmers won the war against the kingdom of Champa, which was soon reduced to a vassal state of the Khmer empire.
For the Khmer empire, military recovery was one thing; spiritual recovery was something else. If the very heart of the empire could be so easily struck, there were spiritual causes that couldn't be ignored. Under the rule of Jayavarman VII, the Khmer empire was the theater of the most dramatic religious shift in Khmer history as the new religion became Mahayana Buddhism. It replaced the Hindu religion, which had proved unable to protect the empire. Hindu gods still existed, but were submitted to the Mahayana Buddha. The temple of Angkor Wat was still there, but was no longer the axis of the world; that was now the Bayon. Who were those Cham who were able to disrupt a mighty empire?
The beginning of a long history
If we look at a current map of peninsular and insular Southeast Asia, we notice no fewer than nine countries. But the borders between these countries don't tell us anything about the region's ethno-linguistic components. The situation has become more and more complicated over the centuries.
Let's get back to the first centuries of the Common Era. Knowing that Chinese, Burmese, Lao and Thai are relatively new in the Southeast Asian landscape, the biggest part of the peninsula was peopled by Austro-Asiatic (or Mon Khmer) ethnic groups. This means that Khmer and related groups (Mon, Kui, Bahnar) were certainly the oldest inhabitants of the peninsula.
There is, however, an exception: a large blot in what is now central Vietnam where another ethno-linguistic group dominates. This group, named Austronesian or Malayo-Polynesian, is composed of a number of peoples such as Jarai, Rhade, Koho and Cham who speak closely related languages that have nothing to do with the Austro-Asiatic group. This presence seems paradoxical. Austro-Asiatic languages are spoken on the mainland with the recent exception of Malay. As concerns Austronesian languages, they are spoken in the Pacific from Easter Island to Madagascar and from Borneo to Papua. So, another Cham exception? Yes and no, because we now know, thanks to the works of Bellwood and Thurgood that: "The Austronesian speaking group settled on the coast of Vietnam from an earlier homeland in perhaps Malaya or, more likely, Borneo, some time before 600 BC."
From tribes to kingdom
As for the presumably Khmer kingdom of Funan (1st – 7th century), our knowledge of Champa comes from Chinese sources that gave us an account of Lin Yi.
Lin Yi, also known by its Cham name Indrapura, was a Cham principality together with Amaravati, Vijaya, Kauthera and Panduranga, which stretched from the northern part of Annam (in central Vietnam) to northern Cochinchina (South Vietnam). All these principalities were Indianised states, and as such inherited from India state conception, art, religion (Hinduism and later Buddhism) and script. Cham script has the same origins as Khmer and Mon scripts.
By the fifth century, Champa (Lin Yi) was developed enough to raid Vietnamese settlements in what is now northern Vietnam with war fleet of more than 100 ships. Ancient Champa can be best understood through its artistic remnants from the fifth to the 15th century. We can still admire the temple of Po Nagar, near Nha Trang, or the site of Po Klaung Garai, near Phan Rang. As the coast was heavily bombed during the Vietnam war, we often have to content ourselves with drawings and old photographs taken by early French scholars who were the first to study Cham civilisation. Cham sandstone statuary can still be admired in the museum of Cham sculpture in Da Nang or in the Guimet museum in Paris. Beautiful sculptures in the round, bas-relief and the most remarkable haut-relief of Southeast Asia are still here to show the greatness of Cham civilization. From an artistic point of view, in Southeast Asia these Cham masterpieces can only be compared to Khmer statues in the National museum of Phnom Penh.
The loss of a kingdom
Nowadays, more than 80,000 Cham people still live in central Vietnam. Many of them still speak the Cham language and still worship Hindu gods, but the land inhabited by their ancestors is now but a ghost kingdom. They are what remain of a once-mighty kingdom that over 1000 years has faced the tenacity of the Vietnamese conquest. The history of Champa can be read in parallel with the Vietnamese march to the south (Nam Tien).
In the early century of the Common Era, the first Vietnamese state (Dai Viet, which roughly corresponds to current Tonkin) had already reached prosperity through the dyking-up of the banks of the Red River. The Vietnamese defeated the Chinese army in 938 AD, marking the end of 1000 years of Chinese domination; from then, a new independent Vietnamese state could launch its Nam Tien, which was soon to become the nightmare of Cham history.
The traditional warfare pattern in Southeast Asia generally aimed at conquering and dominating sparse populations, using their skills in irrigated rice fields, arts and crafts. Nothing of the kind happened in the Vietnamese Nam Tien. This Vietnamese expansion down south was intended as a populating colonisation. The process was well defined by Léopold Cadière in 1911: "As soon as they feel themselves able, they drive off the first inhabitants, whether in a peaceful manner, by taking over the land, clearing it and "planting the bamboo" – the hedges that to this day still surround Annamese gardens and villages – or by violence, then they fight with the Chams, destroying their temples and mutilating their statues." In short, there was no room left for the Chams. In 1471, Vijaya, the Cham capital was stormed by the Vietnamese. Therefore, it was not the end of Champa which was much more a confederation of principalities than a unified state. According to the Cham scholar Po Dharma, a lively Cham state existed in the south till 1835. In parallel with the Vietnamese progression down south, the Cham fled overseas, to the isle of Hainan, to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra and to Cambodia.
The early history of the Cham in Cambodia is far from being clear. To begin with, were the Cham Muslims at the time of their emigration to Cambodia? Scholars have pointed out evidence that Champa had contacts with the Muslim world as early as the 9th century. A group of Muslim Chams are still living in Central Vietnam although they are a minority; there the majority still goes on worshipping Hindu religion. It is then plausible that prior to take refuge in Cambodia a part of the Cham population had already converted to Islam. The fact that today all the Cambodian Chams are Muslims led most of scholars to the conclusion that the conversion of the majority of Chams actually took place in Cambodia. The Chvea (literally Javanese), a large Muslim population, were already living in Cambodia in the 15th century; their origin is unclear as nowadays they all speak Khmer and don't have a language of their own. It is probably to their contact that the Chams converted to Islam.
The Cham were given by the Udong Monarchy (1601 – 1865) titles and land to settle. After the fall of Vijaya, no less than 3 big migrations to Cambodia occurred: in 1692, 1796 and 1830 – 1835, each of them corresponding to a major Vietnamese push down south. The Chams then deprived of their country were, as they often say, living in someone else's house. This doesn't mean that they had renounced having their own state, as their history in Cambodia was punctuated with several attempts to build a Cham state. The last of these short-lived attempts took place during the reign of King Ang Duong (1847-1860) and was severely repressed.
Modern times
It was at the time of the French protectorate (1863-1953) that modern Cham studies were pioneered in Vietnam and in Cambodia by scholars such as Aymonier and Cabaton who were also administrators. French protectorate also marks the beginning of a marginalisation of Cambodian Chams, who were not enthusiastic about sending their children to French schools. French schooling was broadly viewed as a threat to Muslim identity. Without the adequate degrees, the Chams could not take part in political and administrative life.
Sihanouk's years (1955-1970) defined a new attitude towards the Chams who were named "Khmer Islam". The implications of this have been well perceived by William Collins when he wrote that: "Anyone using the term "Khmer Islam" is aware that the Cham-Malay community is ethnically different from the Khmers. They speak languages related to Malay, they look abroad for their ancestral homeland. They vigorously maintain their distinctive identity, separate from Khmers, by professing Islam, which prohibits intermarriage with non-Muslims. This separation is reinforced by numerous ritual practices that contrast sharply with those of the Khmer majority community. Again, the indelible difference implied by Islam makes assimilation to Khmer ethnicity an impossibility, which suggests that the term "Khmer Islam" points to a feature of the Cambodian nation, that it includes Muslims among its diverse peoples."
The Khmer republic (1970-1975) was the theatre for the emergence of new geopolitical conception in which the Chams happened to have an interesting part to play. In the 1940s, the French authorities had promised to grant autonomy to the "Montagnards", ethnic groups living in the highlands of Vietnam. There was even a secret project of independence. In such a case, what is today Vietnam would have been split into at least two parts: coastal Vietnam and highlands. Due to the first Indochinese conflict, which ended with the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, these projects went unheeded.
The very idea was revived by the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (FULRO). Born in 1964, certainly with the support of the American Special Forces, FULRO has been playing for 10 years the part of a real army at the service of the South Vietnamese minorities. FULRO is a real ideological hodgepodge with demands for autonomy or independence, new borders… Republican Cambodia displayed a real interest in the FULRO through his high ranking Cham officers and particularly General Les Kosem. Also known by his war name Po Nagar, this outstanding character had already become famous through the creation of the Champa Liberation Front (CLF) in 1950s. He had also been a key figure in the setting of the FULRO and in establishing official links between the Khmer Republic and Cham nationalists. For him the second Indochinese conflict was an ideal opportunity to recreate a Cham state and in 1971 a Cham delegation representing the newly proclaimed Cham state was welcome in Phnom Penh in great pomp. At that time a new Khmer republican map was drawn with a new frontier between Cambodia (including Cochinchina) and Champa.
This last attempt to revive Champa was but short-lived. In April 17 1975, Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh and the 3 years 9 months and 20 days which were going to follow (Democratic Kampuchea) are amongst the most terrifying episodes the 20th century can offer. More than two million Cambodians lost their lives because of starvation, lack of medicines and executions. According to Craig Etcheson, execution is believed to have accounted for 30 to 50 per cent of the death toll. The Khmer Rouge killed about 125,000 Chams, which amounts to half of the Cambodian Cham population. Most of scholars agree on these facts. What is subject to disagreement lies in the analysis of the perpetrators' motives. Were the Chams peculiarly targeted as a religious or ethnic group to create an ethnic uniformity? In such a case, Democratic Kampuchea (DK) could be accused of having implemented genocide. A second interpretation is that DK implemented a typical communist mass terror and that the Cham didn't suffer more than the other Cambodians. Cham lifestyle was targeted because it was seen as counter-revolutionary; Islam entered the category of reactionary religions and the links of solidarity within Cham communities were perceived by DK as early as 1973 as a threat for the new order it wanted to implement.
The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) which followed DK after the Vietnamese armed intervention in 1978-1979 treated the Cham community with special tolerance. The emphasis on the sufferings of the Cham during DK was used by the PRK to stress the differences between the new "true" socialist regime from the radical DK approach to socialism. According to the text "L'Islam au Kampuchéa" published in 1987, the Chams would have entirely disappeared if DK had not been overthrown. There is now a population of 300.000 Chams in Cambodia which roughly accounts for 70% of the total Cambodian Muslim population.
Cham identity in Cambodia today
Although there are Cham groups and cultural associations abroad which go on claiming the ancestral Cham territory in Vietnam, there are nowadays in Cambodia no more hopes about Champa as a geographical entity or a Cham state anymore.
Cham identity is nevertheless matter of controversy in Cambodia. The way Cham people practice Islam is a very interesting example. The Islam of the Cham population can be roughly divided into 2 groups. On the one side, the Cham Sot who account for 10% of the Cham population (30.000 people) live in Kompong Chhnang, Pursat and Badtambang provinces.
A very unorthodox approach to Islam Cham Sot or "pure Cham" is the way they call themselves as they are accused by the other groups to practice very heterodox traditions. They only pray on Friday as opposed to the normal 5 times a day prayer. They still go on writing with the former Cham script as opposed to Jawi which is Arabic script originally adapted to write Malay.
Other infringements have been noticed by the researcher Agnès De Feo: only initiated people can pray in the Mosque, the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is not compulsory and can be dreamt up. They organize once a year in September a festival in their Udong Mosque to celebrate on the same day the Imam San they venerate like a saint and the birth of the Prophet; they consider themselves as the followers of Imam san. The celebration of the birth of the prophet and saints is considered as heretic by wahhabism and Tabligh which have exerted a growing influence on Cambodian Cham's Islam.
On the other side, there are the Chams who practice a more orthodox approach to Islam. This approach can't be easily structured and must be considered as a continuum. There is of course a clear cut phenomenon which is the growing influence of Salafism with its Wahhabit variant and Tabligh. These two approaches do not differ on the essentials: the cause of the decadence of Islam is mainly due to the fact that the "true Islamic message" has been forgotten. This "true Islamic message" is restricted to the religious practices of the time of the prophet and the famous pious followers (Salaf Salîh) and implies de facto to choose to overlook 14 centuries of Muslim history. In such a conception, there is no possibility of an approach to Islam which would tolerate the integration of local cultural practices; in clear, the frontier which separates the true religion from impiety goes through the Muslim community.
There is nevertheless another extremely interesting border line which hasn't been given yet the attention it deserves. Before the war (1970), many Cham people had built their identity on a combination of Islam, Cham language and Cultural inheritance from Champa. In such an approach Islam is but a part of Cham Cultural identity. Nowadays, there are still Cham people who define their identity through Cham culture even if this concept is often ill defined. But more and more Cham people tend now to rely only on Islam as the main source of identity. An ethno-linguistic survey conducted in 3 Kampot region villages along the road from Kep to Kampot illustrates very well this fact. The first village centred on the Les Kosem Mosque doesn't really differ from the others from point of view of religious practices. The difference lies somewhere else: precisely in the fact that Cham language is still practiced in the first village and a number of families still teach it to their children. People talk proudly about their difference. In the 2 other villages, the trend is else as almost no one can speak the language.
In many cases, the only remnant of Cham language is curiously the use in a Khmer sentence of the Cham first person pronoun "lun" meaning "I, me". In these villages, to be Cham will simply means in the end to be a Muslim. No one can predict what is going to happen even in the near future.
We have some reasons to be pessimistic about the survival of Cham language in Cambodia, not to talk about Cham culture which, as we have seen, can't be easily defined in the present Cambodian situation. Language will of course survive in a number of islets but maybe not as an active component of Cham identity. We can only hope that this exceptional linguistic, historical and cultural patrimony will remain alive and won't be only reduced to a museum-like display of a dead civilization.
Jean-Michel Filippi
-- Posted By School of Vice to KI Media at 9/16/2012 05:26:00 AM
Tahniah buat Along Cham kerana dilantik menjadi duta Modenas, nampaknya watak Bobby dalam filem Adnan Sempit membawa tuah buat Along Cham. Cayalah! Motor baru Modenas pun nampak cun.
Dibawah pula gambar sewaktu pelancaran terbaru Motor ACE 115 dan kemunculan pertama Along Cham selaku duta Modenas.
Kami baru mendapat tahu dari mesej twitter Along Cham Raja Lawak yang dikirimnya mengatakan bahawa isterinya, Zila AF4 selamat melahirkan bayi lelaki sulong mereka pada pukul 2.04 petang tadi. Tahniah! Kami di Wassupz! ucapkan kepada mereka.
Zila AF4 melahirkan anak pertamanya di sebuah hospital swasta di Kuala Lumpur. Bayi yang seberat 2.5kg ini telah diberikan nama Ahmad Dhanial, nama yang telah dicadangkan oleh tokoh motivasi negara, Datuk Fadzillah Kamsah. Pemilihan nama itu adalah kerana nama itu ada kena mengena dengan nama nabi atau pemimpin terkenal di zaman silam.
Pasangan Along Cham dan Zila AF4 ini mendirikan rumahtangga sekitar Januari 2010.
Diharap Along Cham dapat berkongsi gambar bayi lelakinya bersama peminat secepat mungkin. Tidak sabar hendak tengok kecomelan bayi ini. Tahniah sekali lagi.
Sinopsis Lagenda Budak Hostel (LBH) Lagenda Budak Hostel (LBH) mengisahkan gelagat pelajar hostel atau asrama iaitu Along Cham sebagai Kodan dan Along Eyzendy (Put) yang melakonkan watak pelajar tingkatan enam dan senior di sekolah berasrama penuh yang terpencil di sebuah pekan. Gelagat mereka cukup mencuit hati.
Apatah lagi, kedua-duanya cukup disegani dan digeruni pelajar lain di asrama itu yang berhadapan kes buli setiap hari. Bahkan, yang bagusnya setiap aktiviti nakal dilakukan Put dan Kodan tidak pernah ditangkap warden asrama, Cikgu Angah (Angah Raja Lawak). Malah, mereka juga bersaing merebut hati Seroja.
Seroja (Nora Danish) adalah anak gadis Cikgu Angah yang jelita. Justeru, dia menjadi pujaan ramai di asrama itu. Jadi, bagi mendapatkan perhatian Seroja, maka Put dan Kodan yang bersahabat baik sentiasa bersaing. Hinggalah, suatu hari muncul pelajar baru, Kicap (Epy Raja Lawak) yang sedia membatu.
Kicap mengingatkan mereka supaya bersaing dengan cara betul untuk tonjol kehebatan masing-masing yang akhirnya mampu menambat hati Seroja. Bahkan, Kicap mencabar Put dan Kodan supaya bertanding memenangi kerusi pelajar dan sekali gus berjaya memikat Seroja seperti yang diimpikan.
Masalah, hanya seorang saja yang akan berjaya memegang gelaran ketua pelajar itu. Maka, bermulalah 'peperangan' antara dua sahabat itu dalam usaha menarik undi siapa paling banyak. Malah, pelbagai taktik sanggup dilakukan mereka yang tidak mahu mengaku kalah demi mendapatkan cinta daripada Seroja.
Apakah usaha Put dan Kodan akan menemui kejayaan? Bagaimana pula dengan hubungan persahabatan mereka yang barangkali tergugat dengan persaingan itu? LBH pasti akan membuatkan penonton tidak kering gusi, apatah lagi Ismail sedaya upaya memberi yang terbaik pada filem ke-12 arahannya.
Lokasi penggambaran filem LBH: Sekolah Menengah Sains, Ulu Yam, Selangor
LBH mengimbau kenangan pelajar yang menetap di asrama sekitar tahun 90-an hingga 2000. Ujarnya mengambil kira kesesuaian lokasi, pada era itu pun penggunaan telefon bimbit masih tak banyak. Namun, kebanyakan pelajar asrama pula dikenali menerusi kenakalan mereka dan sikap membuli.
Pelakon Lagenda Budak Hostel (LBH): Along Cham sebagai Kodan, Along Eyzendy (Put), Nora Danish (Seroja), Angah Raja Lawak (Cikgu Angah), Pekin Ibrahim (Aeron), Epy Raja Lawak (Kicap), Eddy Rauf (Ballon), Atikah Suhaime (Mila), Siti Aziz (Zakiah) dan Mikael Andre (Tobek)
FILEM: Lagenda Budah Hostel
TERBITAN: Metrowealth (MIG)
PENERBIT: David Teo
PENGARAH: Ismail Bob Hasim
PENOLONG PENGARAH 1: Ahmad Rusli Mohd Khadri
PENOLONG PENGARAH 2: Mohd Azromi Ghozali
PENGARAH SENI: Anuar Paharuddin
PENYELARAS PRODUKSI: Azahari Abdul Hamid
SKRIP: Muhamad Razif Abdul Rashid
THE MAKING OF: Khairul Afiq Sani
STILL PHOTO: Tan Shier
KOORDINATOR: Najiyah A Rahim
PENOLONG KOORDINATOR: Irda Kartini Irwan Helmi Jame
Assalamualaikum peminat MiG Online. Dah hari keempat kita beraya kan dan masih belum terlambat untuk MiG Online kongsikan dengan korang video ucapan hari raya dari Along Cham. Bukan ucapan je tau Along juga ada nasihat-nasihat berguna kepada peminat-peminat tersayang dia. Haa nak tau apa jom kita tengok. Enjoy!
The journey from Hai Van Pass back to town, in fact, fun and interesting. We blended well with locals who were on their bikes, crossing and honking here and there, without any shouts or accidents. Trust me, they REALLY good in avoiding street walkers and other vehicles. C-curve, S-curve, U-curve, name it, they know how to steer clear of the obstacles.
Approaching the town, we stopped by the road side, to discuss on the next destination. Looking at the map, Cham Museum located somewhere along the Han River.
"Han River is from there to there." The long stretch of the road is located along the Han River. How to find la weh?
Lucky us, we finally found the Museum, just by comparing the printed picture in my Tour Cookbook, with the real-life building. Great!
We went into the compound and parked our bikes near the entrance gate. The ticket booth was 10 meters away, so we had no choice but to pay the fee, VND30,000 each. Haha! To the far left, in front of one info board, there was a group of visitor (foreigners), who were listening to the tour guide, who explained on Champa history.
This building was opened in 1919, dedicated to keep Cham sculptures that were collected from various sites. A French archeologist took some of the sculptures back to Paris, while some were transported to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.
Due to the location of this building (near junction), this two storey building was designed in triangle shape with corridors on both sides. Alongside artifacts, gift shop and refreshment are available too.
Pak Ein and his wife straight away looked for a spot to rest their bums. Fortunately, there was one small chamber with long wooden benches in it. In a second, I saw Pak Ein positioned himself horizontally on the bench! Haha! Pity him. I know he wasn't into museum and artifacts, but he willingly followed and joined us. Thanks dad!
Meanwhile, Dan Arif, hubby, and I went in and enjoyed the sculptures. This museum allows visitor to take photo and video, but special filming might require special permission. Most of the statues like apsara, temple guardian, Cham head, "boobies", were taken from My Son, which clearly reflected Buddhism and Hinduism. That was the ground floor.
We went up to the first floor and things they kept here were artifacts of culture, mainly Chinese-oriented stuff. Enough with history and symbolic statues, we went out and met Pak Ein, his wife, and Aqram. On the way back to where we parked our bikes, suddenly, something caught our eyes. THERE WAS A SNAKE IN ONE OF THE STATUE! OMG! That is why, NEVER EVER stay close to historical artifacts, ESPECIALLY stone statues! Jom, jom blah!
"Eh, remember those marble sculptures by the river? How bout few minutes of photo session?"
"Can…jom…" Everyone agreed.
On the bike, we figured out how to stop by the Han River, right where those sculptures located. There was neither legal nor illegal parking space at all. We had to do what we had to do. We parked on the pedestrian! Hahaha! Hubby and Dan Arif had turned into two crazy paparazzi where they snapped pixies, non-stop.
Then I had my jaw dropped! WOW! This kind of statue, by the busy road side???
GREAT! More please?
So, no photo session for today. Pfft!
"Han Market, anyone?" *Wink! Wink!* I lured Pak Ein and his wife.
"Shopping timeeeee." I saw "nur" on both faces. Hahaha!
Few minutes from the sculptures site, there were Han Market, one of the major markets in Da Nang. This market comprises of Tran Hung Dao Street, Hung Vuong Street, Bach Dang Street, and Tran Phu Street. So, you will NEVER miss it. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE...BUT YOU CAN DRINK AND RIDE?
It is originally a small trading port for a period of time, under French occupancy. Established in 1940s, original market was completely gone after a major reconstruction in 1989. The design was less chaotic than other street market, with two floors, ranging from local foods to garments to cell phones. So, Pak Ein played once, the seller :)
"Muamột xin vui lònggiá rẻ..." means buy one please, cheap price. Hahaha!
Dissimilar to Con Market, the largest outdoor market in Da Nang, this market is less noisy, BUT STILL, smelly, like toxic! This smell genuinely came from wet market downstairs. Pak Ein's wife and I were forced to pinch our noses, ALL THE TIME, while choosing t-shirts and fabrics for "baju kurung".
"Ok, let's play bargain game. Let see who wins."
Pak Ein used his grandpa aura, told the salesgirl, that he wanted 12 adult t-shirts, 9 kid t-shirts, and 1 for a baby, WITH various sizes.
"OMG! Untuk satu kampung ke bahhhhh?" Well, they were for my sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews.
"Ayang, why not include us in? Dan, you want?" They nodded.
I took off my sling bag, pulled up my jeans, and sat on a small chair, right in front of the salesgirl, who in the midst of taking out the stocks.
"15 adults! Cheap! Cheap! I go no other shop! Only here! How much? How much?" I started bargaining. Well, just use broken English, look more Asian though.
"Pity grandpa, pity grandma, walk so far, tired you know, come, come, give me good price. Tomorrow we go back, we tell friends." I continued. Pak Ein and his wife quickly showed their sad face.
The salesgirl cum the owner of the shop, tried to offer me with lower but still higher price, that I was pretty sure that we can get lower than that. The alley was quite small, so when we sat down to pick the sizes, the front shop started to get jealous. She asked us to sit a bit further, not to "block" her shop. Wow. Cat fight alertttt!
Well, the salesgirl did tell us, that's the culture.
Back to the t-shirt story. I finally managed to get VND45,000 per piece that was approximately RM6. Better price than what Pak Ein got in Hoi An, few days earlier. Kids and extra large were ranging from RM5 to RM10.
Looking at their gorgeous designs, I then decided to get some fabrics for my "baju kurung". They were selling standard length, 4 meters for top, 4 meters for bottom, best length for their national costume, Ao Dai. I grabbed three sets that cost me VND300,000 each (RM30 per set).
EVERYONE HAD MOUTH WIDE OPENED WITH SALIVA EXPLODED.
Lapar gile kot. Masing-masing dah sunburn plak tu.
Everyone, I mean, EVERYONE, agreed to spend our last Dong, on delicious halal food. Where else? Mumtaz Restaurant, an authentic Indian food with halal signboard, without a doubt. 6 plates of rice, with veggies, fish, chickens, and eggs, we had never tasted anything good like this, throughout the journey. Yummeh!
Surprisingly, the price was affordable. Approximately VND800,000, about RM100 for 6 person, around RM17 per pax. Ok la kan?
The journey from Hai Van Pass back to town, in fact, fun and interesting. We blended well with locals who were on their bikes, crossing and honking here and there, without any shouts or accidents. Trust me, they REALLY good in avoiding street walkers and other vehicles. C-curve, S-curve, U-curve, name it, they know how to steer clear of the obstacles.
Approaching the town, we stopped by the road side, to discuss on the next destination. Looking at the map, Cham Museum located somewhere along the Han River.
"Han River is from there to there." The long stretch of the road is located along the Han River. How to find la weh?
Lucky us, we finally found the Museum, just by comparing the printed picture in my Tour Cookbook, with the real-life building. Great!
We went into the compound and parked our bikes near the entrance gate. The ticket booth was 10 meters away, so we had no choice but to pay the fee, VND30,000 each. Haha! To the far left, in front of one info board, there was a group of visitor (foreigners), who were listening to the tour guide, who explained on Champa history.
This building was opened in 1919, dedicated to keep Cham sculptures that were collected from various sites. A French archeologist took some of the sculptures back to Paris, while some were transported to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.
Due to the location of this building (near junction), this two storey building was designed in triangle shape with corridors on both sides. Alongside artifacts, gift shop and refreshment are available too.
Pak Ein and his wife straight away looked for a spot to rest their bums. Fortunately, there was one small chamber with long wooden benches in it. In a second, I saw Pak Ein positioned himself horizontally on the bench! Haha! Pity him. I know he wasn't into museum and artifacts, but he willingly followed and joined us. Thanks dad!
Meanwhile, Dan Arif, hubby, and I went in and enjoyed the sculptures. This museum allows visitor to take photo and video, but special filming might require special permission. Most of the statues like apsara, temple guardian, Cham head, "boobies", were taken from My Son, which clearly reflected Buddhism and Hinduism. That was the ground floor.
We went up to the first floor and things they kept here were artifacts of culture, mainly Chinese-oriented stuff. Enough with history and symbolic statues, we went out and met Pak Ein, his wife, and Aqram. On the way back to where we parked our bikes, suddenly, something caught our eyes. THERE WAS A SNAKE IN ONE OF THE STATUE! OMG! That is why, NEVER EVER stay close to historical artifacts, ESPECIALLY stone statues! Jom, jom blah!
"Eh, remember those marble sculptures by the river? How bout few minutes of photo session?"
"Can…jom…" Everyone agreed.
On the bike, we figured out how to stop by the Han River, right where those sculptures located. There was neither legal nor illegal parking space at all. We had to do what we had to do. We parked on the pedestrian! Hahaha! Hubby and Dan Arif had turned into two crazy paparazzi where they snapped pixies, non-stop.
Then I had my jaw dropped! WOW! This kind of statue, by the busy road side???
GREAT! More please?
So, no photo session for today. Pfft!
"Han Market, anyone?" *Wink! Wink!* I lured Pak Ein and his wife.
"Shopping timeeeee." I saw "nur" on both faces. Hahaha!
Few minutes from the sculptures site, there were Han Market, one of the major markets in Da Nang. This market comprises of Tran Hung Dao Street, Hung Vuong Street, Bach Dang Street, and Tran Phu Street. So, you will NEVER miss it. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE...BUT YOU CAN DRINK AND RIDE?
It is originally a small trading port for a period of time, under French occupancy. Established in 1940s, original market was completely gone after a major reconstruction in 1989. The design was less chaotic than other street market, with two floors, ranging from local foods to garments to cell phones. So, Pak Ein played once, the seller :)
"Muamột xin vui lònggiá rẻ..." means buy one please, cheap price. Hahaha!
Dissimilar to Con Market, the largest outdoor market in Da Nang, this market is less noisy, BUT STILL, smelly, like toxic! This smell genuinely came from wet market downstairs. Pak Ein's wife and I were forced to pinch our noses, ALL THE TIME, while choosing t-shirts and fabrics for "baju kurung".
"Ok, let's play bargain game. Let see who wins."
Pak Ein used his grandpa aura, told the salesgirl, that he wanted 12 adult t-shirts, 9 kid t-shirts, and 1 for a baby, WITH various sizes.
"OMG! Untuk satu kampung ke bahhhhh?" Well, they were for my sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews.
"Ayang, why not include us in? Dan, you want?" They nodded.
I took off my sling bag, pulled up my jeans, and sat on a small chair, right in front of the salesgirl, who in the midst of taking out the stocks.
"15 adults! Cheap! Cheap! I go no other shop! Only here! How much? How much?" I started bargaining. Well, just use broken English, look more Asian though.
"Pity grandpa, pity grandma, walk so far, tired you know, come, come, give me good price. Tomorrow we go back, we tell friends." I continued. Pak Ein and his wife quickly showed their sad face.
The salesgirl cum the owner of the shop, tried to offer me with lower but still higher price, that I was pretty sure that we can get lower than that. The alley was quite small, so when we sat down to pick the sizes, the front shop started to get jealous. She asked us to sit a bit further, not to "block" her shop. Wow. Cat fight alertttt!
Well, the salesgirl did tell us, that's the culture.
Back to the t-shirt story. I finally managed to get VND45,000 per piece that was approximately RM6. Better price than what Pak Ein got in Hoi An, few days earlier. Kids and extra large were ranging from RM5 to RM10.
Looking at their gorgeous designs, I then decided to get some fabrics for my "baju kurung". They were selling standard length, 4 meters for top, 4 meters for bottom, best length for their national costume, Ao Dai. I grabbed three sets that cost me VND300,000 each (RM30 per set).
EVERYONE HAD MOUTH WIDE OPENED WITH SALIVA EXPLODED.
Lapar gile kot. Masing-masing dah sunburn plak tu.
Everyone, I mean, EVERYONE, agreed to spend our last Dong, on delicious halal food. Where else? Mumtaz Restaurant, an authentic Indian food with halal signboard, without a doubt. 6 plates of rice, with veggies, fish, chickens, and eggs, we had never tasted anything good like this, throughout the journey. Yummeh!
Surprisingly, the price was affordable. Approximately VND800,000, about RM100 for 6 person, around RM17 per pax. Ok la kan?
The journey from Hai Van Pass back to town, in fact, fun and interesting. We blended well with locals who were on their bikes, crossing and honking here and there, without any shouts or accidents. Trust me, they REALLY good in avoiding street walkers and other vehicles. C-curve, S-curve, U-curve, name it, they know how to steer clear of the obstacles.
Approaching the town, we stopped by the road side, to discuss on the next destination. Looking at the map, Cham Museum located somewhere along the Han River.
"Han River is from there to there." The long stretch of the road is located along the Han River. How to find la weh?
Lucky us, we finally found the Museum, just by comparing the printed picture in my Tour Cookbook, with the real-life building. Great!
We went into the compound and parked our bikes near the entrance gate. The ticket booth was 10 meters away, so we had no choice but to pay the fee, VND30,000 each. Haha! To the far left, in front of one info board, there was a group of visitor (foreigners), who were listening to the tour guide, who explained on Champa history.
This building was opened in 1919, dedicated to keep Cham sculptures that were collected from various sites. A French archeologist took some of the sculptures back to Paris, while some were transported to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.
Due to the location of this building (near junction), this two storey building was designed in triangle shape with corridors on both sides. Alongside artifacts, gift shop and refreshment are available too.
Pak Ein and his wife straight away looked for a spot to rest their bums. Fortunately, there was one small chamber with long wooden benches in it. In a second, I saw Pak Ein positioned himself horizontally on the bench! Haha! Pity him. I know he wasn't into museum and artifacts, but he willingly followed and joined us. Thanks dad!
Meanwhile, Dan Arif, hubby, and I went in and enjoyed the sculptures. This museum allows visitor to take photo and video, but special filming might require special permission. Most of the statues like apsara, temple guardian, Cham head, "boobies", were taken from My Son, which clearly reflected Buddhism and Hinduism. That was the ground floor.
We went up to the first floor and things they kept here were artifacts of culture, mainly Chinese-oriented stuff. Enough with history and symbolic statues, we went out and met Pak Ein, his wife, and Aqram. On the way back to where we parked our bikes, suddenly, something caught our eyes. THERE WAS A SNAKE IN ONE OF THE STATUE! OMG! That is why, NEVER EVER stay close to historical artifacts, ESPECIALLY stone statues! Jom, jom blah!
"Eh, remember those marble sculptures by the river? How bout few minutes of photo session?"
"Can…jom…" Everyone agreed.
On the bike, we figured out how to stop by the Han River, right where those sculptures located. There was neither legal nor illegal parking space at all. We had to do what we had to do. We parked on the pedestrian! Hahaha! Hubby and Dan Arif had turned into two crazy paparazzi where they snapped pixies, non-stop.
Then I had my jaw dropped! WOW! This kind of statue, by the busy road side???
GREAT! More please?
So, no photo session for today. Pfft!
"Han Market, anyone?" *Wink! Wink!* I lured Pak Ein and his wife.
"Shopping timeeeee." I saw "nur" on both faces. Hahaha!
Few minutes from the sculptures site, there were Han Market, one of the major markets in Da Nang. This market comprises of Tran Hung Dao Street, Hung Vuong Street, Bach Dang Street, and Tran Phu Street. So, you will NEVER miss it. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE...BUT YOU CAN DRINK AND RIDE?
It is originally a small trading port for a period of time, under French occupancy. Established in 1940s, original market was completely gone after a major reconstruction in 1989. The design was less chaotic than other street market, with two floors, ranging from local foods to garments to cell phones. So, Pak Ein played once, the seller :)
"Muamột xin vui lònggiá rẻ..." means buy one please, cheap price. Hahaha!
Dissimilar to Con Market, the largest outdoor market in Da Nang, this market is less noisy, BUT STILL, smelly, like toxic! This smell genuinely came from wet market downstairs. Pak Ein's wife and I were forced to pinch our noses, ALL THE TIME, while choosing t-shirts and fabrics for "baju kurung".
"Ok, let's play bargain game. Let see who wins."
Pak Ein used his grandpa aura, told the salesgirl, that he wanted 12 adult t-shirts, 9 kid t-shirts, and 1 for a baby, WITH various sizes.
"OMG! Untuk satu kampung ke bahhhhh?" Well, they were for my sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews.
"Ayang, why not include us in? Dan, you want?" They nodded.
I took off my sling bag, pulled up my jeans, and sat on a small chair, right in front of the salesgirl, who in the midst of taking out the stocks.
"15 adults! Cheap! Cheap! I go no other shop! Only here! How much? How much?" I started bargaining. Well, just use broken English, look more Asian though.
"Pity grandpa, pity grandma, walk so far, tired you know, come, come, give me good price. Tomorrow we go back, we tell friends." I continued. Pak Ein and his wife quickly showed their sad face.
The salesgirl cum the owner of the shop, tried to offer me with lower but still higher price, that I was pretty sure that we can get lower than that. The alley was quite small, so when we sat down to pick the sizes, the front shop started to get jealous. She asked us to sit a bit further, not to "block" her shop. Wow. Cat fight alertttt!
Well, the salesgirl did tell us, that's the culture.
Back to the t-shirt story. I finally managed to get VND45,000 per piece that was approximately RM6. Better price than what Pak Ein got in Hoi An, few days earlier. Kids and extra large were ranging from RM5 to RM10.
Looking at their gorgeous designs, I then decided to get some fabrics for my "baju kurung". They were selling standard length, 4 meters for top, 4 meters for bottom, best length for their national costume, Ao Dai. I grabbed three sets that cost me VND300,000 each (RM30 per set).
EVERYONE HAD MOUTH WIDE OPENED WITH SALIVA EXPLODED.
Lapar gile kot. Masing-masing dah sunburn plak tu.
Everyone, I mean, EVERYONE, agreed to spend our last Dong, on delicious halal food. Where else? Mumtaz Restaurant, an authentic Indian food with halal signboard, without a doubt. 6 plates of rice, with veggies, fish, chickens, and eggs, we had never tasted anything good like this, throughout the journey. Yummeh!
Surprisingly, the price was affordable. Approximately VND800,000, about RM100 for 6 person, around RM17 per pax. Ok la kan?
SEBUAH lagi karya arahan Ismail Bob Hasim kini menggegarkan panggung "Taikun", filem yang dikatakan merupakan genre aksi komedi pertama di Malaysia.
Mana tidaknya, jarang sekali watak gengster digalas oleh pelawak yang lebih sinonim dengan jenaka dan gelak ketawa.
Tidak hanya tertumpu kepada aksi mahupun komedi semata-mata,Taikun juga merupakan antara filem yang sarat dengan mesej-mesej berguna untuk disampaikan kepada penonton.
Apa yang pasti, penonton dikejutkan dengan pelbagai unsur suspen yang tidak disangka-sangka sepanjang tayangan filem itu.
Kurus dan gemuk
Percaturan yang menampilkan Angah Raja Lawak dan Along Cham sebagai peneraju utama ternyata satu pilihan yang tepat berdasarkan suasana gamat di dalam panggung pada majlis pratonton Taikun di Kuala Lumpur baru-baru ini.
Menurut Ismail, gandingan dua orang pelawak dalam filem aksi seperti itu memberi nafas baharu serta kelainan berbanding filem-filem genre aksi sebelum ini.
"Selalunya sebut sahaja gengster, segera terbayang lelaki bertubuh sasa. Namun, dalam Taikun ada kelainan. Saya pilih seorang kurus dan seorang gemuk untuk pegang watak gengster," katanya ketika ditemui usai majlis pratonton tersebut.
ALONG dan Angah diberi kepercayaan menghidupkan karakter gengster menerusi filem Taikun.
Gandingan mereka kali ini bukan sahaja untuk membawa watak komedi, malah Angah dan Along turut diberi kepercayaan untuk membawa watak gengster yang mana mereka perlu beraksi ganas dan melakonkan babak-babak yang membabitkan lagak ngeri.
Kata Angah pula, kesemua babak lagak ngeri dan ganas yang dipaparkan menerusi Taikun dilakukannya sendiri.
"Memang kami buat sendiri semua aksi itu sepanjang sebulan penggambaran, langsung tidak guna khidmat pelakon lagak ngeri," ujarnya.
Bagi Along pula, dia mengakui semangat serta komitmen perlu tinggi untuk mengatasi cabaran berdepan dengan aksi-aksi sukar.
"Puas rasanya apabila semua aksi dapat dilakukan sendiri walaupun kadang-kadang tenaga dah kurang dan keletihan tetapi kita buat juga sebab nak kejar masa" katanya mengenai pengalamannya berlakon dalam filem ke-65 terbitan Metrowealth milik David Teo yang kini sedang hangat ditayangkan di pawagam seluruh negara itu.
Dua kumpulan gengster
Selain Angah dan Along untuk karakter utama, Taikun turut mengetengahkan lakonan Adiba Yunus, Zul Supia'an, Alex Yanz, Adey Syafrein dan Liana Rafiai.
Taikun mengisahkan dua orang kawan baik Tai (Angah Raja Lawak) dan Kun (Along Raja Lawak) yang mempunyai masalah dengan pihak berkuasa.
Sikap mereka yang suka bergaduh dan mencuri menyebabkan mereka bertembung dengan ahli-ahli Geng King Cobra dan Geng Black Rose.
Oleh kerana Tai dan Kun telah berjaya membelasah ahli kedua-dua kumpulan gengster tersebut dengan teruk, ketua Geng Black Rose, Manan (Zul Supia'an dan ketua Geng King Cobra, Sarip (Alex Yanz) tertarik dengan kehebatan mereka.
Tai dan Kun lalu dilamar untuk menyertai kumpulan gengster masing-masing oleh Manan dan Sarip.
Sikap tamak Tai dan Kun telah menyebabkan mereka menerima pelawaan kedua-dua Manan dan Sarip tanpa mengetahuan Geng Black Rose dan Geng King Cobra yang merupakan musuh ketat dan sering bergaduh selain bersaing dalam perniagaan video cakera digital (DVD) cetak rompak.
