Balik Pekanbaru : 3

In Pekanbaru, the local time is 1 hour late than KL. Subuh is at 4.30, Zuhur is at 12 something, and well..you get the picture. Just minus 1 hour. 

So by 6.45, we were all up and ready for breakfast. Our 2nd day there and we packed our bags again to leave for ayah's hometown, Kampung Bentayan or Bentaian. That's an 8 hour drive. For some it wouldn't be a problem but for preggers like me, 8 hours is forever. We filled in our tanks and I had a really big breakfast. I had the yummiest chicken porridge where they have soup to top it with, and garnish. The sambal was a perfect touch. Even thinking about it makes my mouth water. Some toast and eggs later, I was full and we all checked out of the hotel. 

Our cousins, Abang Al and Abang Merzahl picked us up and we all went straight to the cemetery. Last time we were here, we only found Arwah Pak Bakar's, but this time we paid our respect to Atuk Pidun and Nenek Jipah as well, the grandparents I've never met. *sad*

After cleaning their graves, we had a short tahlil. And then..take photos ..at the graves. Yes. In Indonesia thats the norm. In Malaysia if you do that people will say you're crazy or it's sinful or bidaah or whateverlah. Tapi amik gambar dekat kubur bukan berdosa pun. Orang selalu takut dengan kubur, kubur tu tempat menakutkanlah , apalah. But really, we were just happy cause we get to finally visit our grandparent's grave. I ain't gonna put up those pics though. 

After visiting the graves, we made a pit stop to Arwah Pak Bakar's house again for tea before the long journey. And..more photos..hahaha. Abang Indra made us all crack because after a few shots he said "Ya waduhhhh!! Lupa mahu masukkan SD cardnya" LOL. He's a crackhead and full of jokes, our cousins husband. Very humble and nice too. And man he talks a lot. HAHA. 

 From left : Kak Ary (Abang Al's wife), me , Kak Fitri , Azam and Zaki

 From left : Kak Shida, Kak Ary, Kak Fitri, Angah, me, Along and Ibunur (Arwah Pak Bakar's widow)

Me and my cousin, Abang Al. Anak Arwah Pak Bakar. When we couldn't find our relatives during our last visit, I constantly posted messages on any Pekanbaru website or fb page I could find. One day, their neighbour read my message, and came over and told them that their relatives in Malaysia was looking for them. I got a call from Abang Merzahl in 2010 at work, back when I was in UPM. Since then we've been only messaging each other on facebook . :). This was the last time I saw him, he left for Jakarta for training that day.

By 9.30, we left the house for Bagan. *groan*. I slept most of the way because the thought of enduring that bumpy road was too much. By 12 something, we were halfway there, and we stopped to have lunch. Masa ni tak payah cakapla, dah macam rupa makcik apa tudung  tu senget senget banyak bukak dari tutup. LOL.  We had lunch at Ambun Suri..and it was gooooooddd. Aizad couldn't get enough of the ayam pop. I had two servings of rice (oh my guess how much I weigh now?). 

We made 2/3 other stops for petrol, to pray and once for a bit of shopping. By 6, we reached BaganSiApiApi, the closest town to Kg Bentayan. Baby K was behaving, just sleeping in my tummy and rarely kicked. When we arrived in Bagan, my tummy was all cramped. 

We checked in at Hotel Lion and rest for a while before having dinner. I had THE MOST AMAZING rice with chicken soup, opor ayam, sambal and fried veges. Yummm. I was so hungry and it was so good I didn't even offer Aizad any. HAHA. He had soto kambing and sate kambing, which HE didn't offer me. HAHA. 

 No kuah kacang, just soy sauce and sherlots(excuse my spelling)  and bawang goreng. 

Jangan lupa teh botol. 

Most of them had rice, and soto and indo mee. For 13 pax the bill came up to 400k, around  RM128.71. RM10 per pax which is considered cheap cause we ate like monsters that night. 

What else after all that food except for some shut eye. We went back to the hotel , tomorrows another LONG day. We're going to visit ayah's little sister and all his cousins in Bentaian and Bagan. 

TBC..

XOXO

N & A & Baby K