Monday, January 30, 2012

JB - Jalan Tan Hiok Nee

You will not find this on Google. It’s not part of JB’s tourism attractions. It’s just part of the old and intrigued streets of JB, near the causeway.

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This is the street where my grandfather used owned a shop house.

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It is fascinating to see multi-racial businesses along in one street.

Indians – pottery

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Chinese – convenient store

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Malays – hair stylist

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Came across a very old shop selling bread. It existed since 1937 and the owner uses coal to bake the bread. Really ancient and smells super nice!

The utensils for baking.

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The coal stove where the baker will put in the dough for baking.

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The final product. How can anyone resist this bread?

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Old streets just has that special magic to draw people towards them. Every corner every step is like a discovery journey.

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I think we will be back to take more photos soon.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Kukup, A Fishing Village

A small fishing village situated about 40km away southwest of Johor Bahru, in the district of Pontian, it’s roughly 2-hours drive from Singapore.

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What made Kukup famous is the cheap and nice seafood available in this small town (our seafood lunch for 7 is only M$95), with most of it’s seafood restaurants built on stilts over the waters. There are several tour packages available for food-lover Singaporeans like us. For S$55, you get a 2D1N stay in a Chalet, with 1 breakfast, 2 lunches & 1 seafood dinner provided. For more information, just Google for it and you’ll find plenty of choices.

Besides the seafood we usually associate with Kukup, this time we actually took a boat ride to the nearby Pulau Kukup for a walk.

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Pulau Kukup is a mangrove island located just about 1km offshore from the fishing village. The area of the mangrove is more than 2000 hectares.

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The scenery was beautiful, peaceful and full of breeze.

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It’s always a fun time to go out with the in-laws.

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Along the walk, we’ll see all these eco-friendly signs, they are quite meaningful too.

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Guess what was the highlight of the trip? Wild Boar!
Typical Singaporeans, the only time we see some form of animals besides the usual dogs and cats is in the Zoo. So all of us were visibly excited to find a wild boar.

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Seriously, even when we see a dead water snake, it’s a extraordinary sight.

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All in all, it was a wonderful time with our family. Truly, nothing is more important than family.
Father And Mother I Love You!

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Doesn’t Kless looks like her mother? I mean the smiles are so identical.

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No one wants to look at me leh..

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Some other photos of the day…

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A very tired Nigel, he slept in the car while I drove, he slept on the boat when we were travelling to the mangrove island.

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Joey

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Jayne

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Isaiah

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A Photographer In The Making

All photos are courtesy of Joey Kuan.

This is the 6th year & 3rd year we brought Joey & Jayne respectively back to JB for CNY. This is a tradition that has been in the family for decades. Which is why CNY is always such an enjoyable time for our family because it’s a time of reunion and bonding among relatives.

This year, Papa Isaiah decided to let Joey be the photographer. And she is fast showing the talent for a beginner and probably fulfil her daddy’s dream of becoming an outstanding photographer.

She knows the one-third rule..

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Surprisingly her photos are quite sharp and clear.

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This is a super good photo! Love the arrangement of 5 Lye sisters.

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Joey took at least 10 shots to find this perfect pose.

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Can you see the potential? Maybe I have to buy a better camera for her in the near future.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Sentosa Flowers 2012

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Thanks to my dear wife, we were invited for a blogger/ media event for the upcoming Sentosa Flowers 2012 before it opens to the public from Jan 22-29.

The highlight was to witness the unveiling of this Dragon Sand Sculpture.

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It’s befitting to have dragon dance performance since it’s the Year of Dragon.

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A full view of the dragon.

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Joey was more interested in the drums than the dance.

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After the special event, we had a chance to walk around Imbiah Lookout, enjoying some of the different flower theme gardens like, Spring Melodies, Tea Journey, Trees of Life, Sweet Love, Dragonflies, Lost Garden, Dinoland, Sea World & Flower Fairies.

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At 5 years old, Joey is able to appreciate the fragrance of the flowers. But Jayne totally don’t understand what is jiejie sniffing.

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Just take a pretty photo with Mummy la..

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To end it off, take the cable car ride to Mount Faber to continue the Dragon experience.
Didn’t know that the cable cars are so nice and new.

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I think this is the first time Jayne sits in a cable car.

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Some shots from our cable car.

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At Mount Faber, you will find the Dragon Gate Inn.

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We were being treated to the famous Long Jing Tea. Heavenly!

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Even Joey loves it!

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While Joey loves the tea, Jayne chooses the tea jelly.

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The Kuan Family wishes everyone, Gong Xi Fa Cai!!