2018 Banana Fruit Progress

Whenever a tree I plant produce a fruit, it is a joyful moment. It doesn't matter how big or how many fruit I can get. It is like making a property investment, and the investment produce a good result. Of course, one will want to maximize the profit of the investment. I can prepare the next batch of banana trees. So, do my current and future investment.

Two of my cotton banana trees already bear fruits. The current picture of the banana fruits on 27 Sept. 2018.

The first to bear the fruit is on the left. The closer look of the banana fruit is as below:

The first to bear the fruit is on the right. The closer look of the banana fruit is as below:

This time, I put more nutrient soil at the base of the fruit to ensure the fruit has enough nutrient.

A couple of weeks later, another tree also bear fruit. However, I am not so sure what kind of banana tree is this. The tagging I put at the base of the tree is missing. It looks like a lemak manis banana.

The banana tree is the smallest and lowest among the three banana trees. It as a pleasent surprise to see it bear fruit at such a small size. Hence, I put more nutrient at the base of the banana tree. Although the number of banana pieces are small, I hope they will be big and fat.

It is a big surprise to find out that a fourth tree has bear fruit. This is the gold banana tree.

However, this is the thinest tree among the four trees. I hope the nutrient soil I put is enough to ensure the fruit size is satisfactory.

The most important thing is my family will get a 100% organic fruit!

Pilgrim to Mekah for Hajj

Malaysians pilgrimage to Mekah for Hajj is handled by Tabung Haji Malaysia. Every Malaysian pilgrim must go through Tabung Haji Malaysia, TH. In TH, there are a group of people who will administer, assist and manage the pilgrims. This is called Muasasah. This year, the cost to go for Hajj through Muasasah is about RM10,000.

Some people who want a better service can go through Hajj packages handled by Malaysian travel agencies. There  are only a limited number of companies who have the license to provide the package. You can find out the list of companies from TH. This year, the cost to go through a package is about RM35,000. Each pilgrim who want to have the package service must also pay Tabung Haji Malaysia for RM10,000. Therefore, those who get the package service must pay RM45,000!

What are the similarity and differences?
The activities, travel and lodging at Arafah, and Madinah are the same.
However, during staying in Mekah, the hotel by package is closer to the Kaabah which is less than 100m. There are many advantages being closer to the Kaabah. You can quickly and easier to go back and forth from the hotel to the Kaabah. This is essential for those who have weak legs. Hence, you have more time and energy to spend at the mosque. The food is also better by package.

For those who are young and healthy, it is okey to go through Muasasah. From my brother's experience, he only missed one day to go to the mosque during zohor and asar. He went the Hajj from 25 August until 21 September 2018. While his older companions who are retirees, always miss to go to the mosque for the same period. The age and energy are important factors for religious activities.

Is it worth it?

Beside the cost above, you should prepare some extra money to ensure a smooth activities such as:
a) money to rent electric scooter if you cannot walk through tawaf or sai'e which is about dirham 50.
b) money to rent carriage service if you cannot walk through tawaf or sai'e; saie is about dirham 500, tawaf is about dirham 300 x 3 (wajib or compulsory)
c) money to buy souvenirs

Strategic Thinking is Important

I bought my first house when I was 26. And I bought my 2nd house and live in it when I was 29. At the age of 45, I moved in to a more comfortable house which is gated guarded. The housing area also have a club house with a swimming pool and gym. I hope I can retire in the next 15 years and live in the present house.

I am not from a rich family. But, I always like to think strategically due to my hobby to play chess. A lot of people would like to think tactically. This means they would like to work hard, and accumulate a lot of money in order to buy their dream home. Some people hope that they stumble upon a project with a huge profit so that they have enough money to buy their dream home. Little do they know that without strategic thinking, these tactical mindsets are easily refuted by the property market.

When I was working as an engineer, I rode a Kawasaki KIPS to go to work. Everyday, I have to stop by a traffic light at Perling junction which is no longer there today. When the traffic stopped. I always calculated my expenses, and how much and fast I can accumulate my capital.  My salary was RM2,000. While a two storey house of 22' X 70' was about RM140,000. Based on my expenses and contribution to parents, I can only accumulate about RM600 every month. I will need about two years to accumulate the deposit or down payment to buy a house. However, the interest rate at that time was very high. Hence, the monthly payment was very high. Thus, an excess of RM600 per month is not enough to pay the mortgage. In addition, house price kept increasing. So, I would need a longer time to buy a house.

My second goal at the time was to buy a shop lot so that I can retire conveniently. This tactical calculation is a lot harder to achieve than buying a house. My conclusion, I cannot buy a shop lot with my present job, and by using tactical thinking only. So, I decided to further study while refining my strategic thinking for real world applications.