05/06/2010
First thing in the morning Frank called me to come and see - The mobile shop had arrived - They parked their small truck on the pavement and proceeded to sell their wares, from fresh prawns, fish filleted (on the sidewallk), vegetables and tinned goods. They come around 5 days a week and the locals come over and buy what they need.
Right now it was off to the local corner coffee shop for breakfast this morning. Mmmmmm coffee was strong but very good ambition for the start of the day.
We walked around the the town and residential area for a while. Frank was checking out the motorcycle repairs shops looking for spares for his toys at home.
The plants and flowers around are stunning. I came accross a garden with the most perfect orchids just growing outside on the pavement. Unbelievable!!
We went back to the house and Grandmother Tan had made us the most delicious soup for lunch. Soup in this heat, you ask?, but was just right somehow!
We walked up to the plant nursery in the afternoon. Oh what bliss! The orchids - Wow, The staghorns - Wow, The bonsai trees from China - Big, Big Wow!
On the way hame we walked through the night market. We tasted Rambutan (similar to litchi) and Dokong (loquat family). Mmmmm very, very, nice Pieter!
A little boy at one of the stands we passed was so astonished at seeing "White People", quickly pulling out his cell phone, he asked if he could have a photo taken with us. What a giggle. One of the other funny things we have heard during our stay was, "I thought all people from South Africa are black!"
Mrs Tan made the most amazing soup and curry chicken for supper.
06/06/2010
This morning it was off for breakfast and coffee again. We could definitely get used to Roti Prata for breakfast everyday. It is a type of dough that is stretched very thin, then folded over like an envelope and cooked on a hot plate. It is then served with a small bowl of curry gravy. Yummy!!! You can have egg and onion filling as well (it is put in before folding).
Shia Ting's friend, Esther Teow, came and picked us up. We went to the fishing village at Kukup. What an interesting place. the houses are built on stilts, with pathways running between them. We had a seafood lunch which was simply delicious (I am now starting to sound like a broken record). Several different dishes are ordered, which are placed in the middle of the table and then your individual plates arrived with a serving of rice on it. You then proceed to help yourself to a little of this and a little of that. We had Baby Squid in Sweet 'n Sour Sauce, a Fish Cake sort of thing, Seafood Noodles with Shrimps, mushrooms and who knows what else. Oh yeahy you get a plate of vegetables also.
With bellies full we went and did the tourist thing and went for a ride on a fishing boat around the area (Melacca Strait)We then stopped at one of the platforms in the middle of the water. Here they breed fish and it also looks like a holding cell for fish they have already caught.
Now we made our way to Tanjung Piai, the southern most tip of Asia mainland, which is in Taman Negara Johor (Johor National Park). We walked on platforms paths through the mangrove forest. It was awesome. It was now about 6:30 in the evening so we made our way back home.
Frank went with Mr Tan to the bar/coffee shop/restoran(same place we had breakfast) and sat chatting with the guys while I tried to catch up with the blog.
Going by that it is going to be scary trying to feed you when you get here!
ReplyDeleteYou haven't mentioned photos, hope you are clicking away!
I would also be taken with the flora, bonsais in particular!
It's great that it's gone so well up to now good luck for the rest of the journey.