Fish Hunting Johor, Malaysia 27th July 2013

It's been some time since I went exploring the jungles of Malaysia, so me and a friend decided to drive in to collect some fishes and plants, of course, the real reason is to go pig out in Johor...heh heh...

I decided the route and we headed to the east side after a hearty breakfast at the usual nasi lemak joint.
The weather was not looking good and started raining, storm clouds were looming ahead at the causeway area. Then to our surprise, as we drove further upwards, it started to clear and we could see the sun!! Woohoo!!

We were travelling on the road where I know there was a roadside restaurant selling "Jungle Bak Kut Teh" basically it means "jungle Pork Bone Soup". We had been passed this place many times and we always say we want to stop by one of these days to try it out but we always never do. So finally, both of us decide to go try it.
As we just came from breakfast, we only ordered the Bak kut Teh and fried dough sticks. The style of the soup was herbal, none of that cheap pepper soup crap you get in Singapore. I have not had herbal Bak Kut Teh for quite some time now so was looking forward to tasting it.
It was Good! no wonder they have such a crowd in the middle of no where inside a palm oil plantation. There is a drawback however, it's pricy! we paid RM$27.00 for one claypot bowl of Bak Kut Teh, two Chinese tea ice, two bowls of rice and fried dough sticks.

After filling up our stomachs for the second time, we now head for the area where the fish is. The weather up to this point was fantastic, as it rain the night prior, the air had a clean, cool feel.

We followed the road around the forest reserve and stopped by any pool or drain we think holds fish. The water was very clear in the drains, that means its flowing out from the forest streams. Clear running water also indicates that only certain species of fish will be available. Definitely won't find any blackwater species here.
First dips with the net revealed that Rasbora Einthovenii  was abundant here. They seem to be available in all states of Malaysia. The size of the Einthovenii here were quite huge, their colouration was also more vibrant, maybe due to the minerals present here. I notice some type of Barbs in the water too and tried to scoop some up. I don't know if they are Puntius Everetti of Dunckeri? I kept some of them to give to my neighbourhood aquarium shop. There were many Betta Pugnax as well, they had great big yellow eyes and was quite large in size as well. I caught a weird looking loach as well.

The water in the streams was cool and clear and felt good, if it was deeper, I'd take a swim in it!

We went on to collect more fish and explore more on the terrain. We came across a wider stream but the water was murky due to rain the previous night, lots of foliage around and we looked around trying to find fish or plants. I was plucking some sort of grass like plant and was looking around and then I discovered some tiny Cryptocoryne growing on the stream bed. They were really small, looked like very young plants and I have no idea which species they are. So, I plucked some to bring home to grow.

It was in the late afternoon by now, so we decided to call it a day. We headed for the seafood dinner joint as usual. Halfway, we passed Ulu tiram town and a roadside bazaar for the Ramadan month, lots of food there!! Pig out time again!! Hahaha!!!!

 By the time we reach the seafood area, it was already packed with people and we had to wait beside tables that were finishing to fend off other hungry customers! We ordered fish, crab, vege...

After dinner, we went for massage as the causeway was jammed. The foot massage lady talked a lot and I was dozing off...zzzzz.
We went to fill up on gas, then car wash and headed home. Happy day.

 

 

 

 

 

Bangkok 11-16 July 2013

My 2nd Bangkok trip of the year. I happened to chance upon a cheap deal from Jetstar and managed to round up two friends to go together.
My last trip was just two months ago in May with my mom. This trip was solely for myself to enjoy!

My plan was to buy more T-shirts and more fish and hopefully visit some places that are new.
My biggest agenda was to buy the Betta fishes as the ones I bought just two months ago had already had a few deaths. Unfortunately due to my bad planning, I only went to the fish section of Chatuchak on Sunday, by then all the best fishes were gone and I'm left with only the worst looking fishes to buy. I totally forgot that all the new fishes arrived on Saturday and you have to jostle with the crowd to get the best ones. The worst part was when I finally reach back home, two of the females of the species  I was targeting jumped out of the container and died!! Arrggghhh!! imagine my horror when I woke up in the morning!! All my effort in bringing the fish all the way back down the drain. I guess I have an excuse to go back again.

I tried another cooking class too, a different school, it was more modern in interior and there were only three of us during the lesson, so it was pretty cool. The food was not as tasty as the previous school I attended though.

Lots of eating on this trip, the weather was not bad too, not hot like the previous trip. It rained on two of the days though. I spent quite a bit of time shopping too and bought like more than 10 T-shirts! Of course not forgetting the nightly foot massages too, shiok!!

I visited a new place too, the Fighting fish gallery. It was pretty far away. Had to cross a river by boat but the place was cool, it was like a kampong area and everywhere was natural swamps. Really nice place to cycle around during the weekend. I saw lots of tourist bringing their own bicycles on the boats. The Gallery itself was just a very tiny part of the whole area, nothing special. The resort Villas there were extremely luxurious though and according to the guide, costs 30,000 Baht per night's stay.

I never get tired of Bangkok and no matter how many days I stay there, it always seems too short. Planning my next trip already.......heh heh.......

 

Shanghai, China 25th -29th May

Just 4 days after I returned from Bangkok I left for Shanghai.
It  was like going from hell 40 degrees celcius to heaven 22 degrees celcius!!

It was very windy in Shanghai too.
This was my second time in Shanghai, we did not stay in the city this time round.
The City central was like 50mins away.
Unfortunately, I had a bad throat infection just before I left Singapore and it got worse there.
I lost my voice on the second day and could not find any Strepsils sweet over there. Can't find any liang Teh shop too, apparently, according to my supplier, Shanghainese don't get "heaty" as their summers are short. That's why not much herbal shops around sell liang teh. Or maybe it's just the ulu area I Stay.

It was a short trip and we did not get to go anywhere much just like the previous trip.
I still enjoyed 1 or 2 good meals though.

We spent the last 2 hours of our stay having dinner and strolling the city center shopping district in town before we left for the airport.

 

Bangkok 14-20th May 2013

It's been a year since I've been to Bangkok, Thailand.
This time I went with my mom, it was 6 days of eating and shopping and nothing else, Shiok!!
Unfortunately, the weather was horrible, on the second day, it was 40 degrees Celsius!! WTF!!
I started perspiring the moment I left the airport until I reached the airport to fly back!!

The shopping and eating was great though. Somboon seafood was fantastic! we had crab, fish, prawns and fish maw soup at just a little over S$50!!
I was at chatuchak like 4 out of the 6 days we were there! crazy! Haha!!

Went to Rot Fai night market which I've never been to, it was great but sweaty due to the heat.
The trip seemed short although it was 6 days, I spent the first day at MBK which was a waste of time. I won't be going MBK on my next trip there.
Platinum was better with a better range of clothes and accessories.
I caught a movie at MBK though, Star Trek into darkness, pretty good but the first one was better.

My mom had trouble with her knees and couldn't walk up staircases so we took a lot of taxis and tuk tuks. I brought her to her favourite fried oyster shop at Chinatown and it tasted great!

I even enrolled in a thai cooking class with my mom and it was one of the highlights of the trip. We learnt all the Thai ingredients in cooking Tom Yum soup, green curry and Phad Thai. No MSG included.

I also bought the highest record number of fishes back from Bangkok this time after suffering from a few deaths the last trip. I bought a pair of each species and a few extra females of betta just in case. Some of them are already showing signs of dying now. It's definitely the water condition in Singapore, they looked very healthy when I bought them.
Anyway, I'm going to try breeding them.

Can't wait to book cheap tickets to Bangkok again!!

 

Ho Chi Minh Jan 2013

I returned to Ho Chi Minh City better known as Saigon after a 5 years absence.
I really missed going Saigon for so long, I love the food, the people, the slower pace of life, I love almost everything about it.

I had mixed feelings about going back. During my last trip there, more than 5 years ago, the development of the city was kind of in hyper mode. So my greatest fear was that it would be overly developed for it's own good and lose all that charm which it originally had. Kind of like what happened to Singapore's Chinatown and most of our "original" places of interest.

I landed in Tan Son Nhat airport early in the morning. Upon arrival, I got into a cab and started making my way to my hotel. Right from the airport out, I have already noticed new buildings which were not there 5 years ago. I was starting to fear for the worst.
Throughout the whole taxi ride, I see a lot of clean up on the streets compared to previously. The streets are much cleaner now. New buildings, lots of them, some jarring compared to the 50's modern architecture which littered the landscape all over the city.

By the time I reached my hotel, it was pretty clear that in the last 5 years, Vietnam has gone through a tremendous architectural revolution. With lots of new buildings in place of old ones which were demolished. It felt like Singapore in the late 60's and 70's when it was going through it's own developement into a first world country.
Still, there was the old Ben Thanh market, still standing there proud and enduring. A sign of relief.

I felt a sense of despair along the way from the airport to my hotel, all the things that I love about Vietnam is changing. They are changing at a very fast rate. I estimate in another 10 years or so, Saigon will be just as modern in outlook as Singapore.
I just hope that certain parts of it will retain the old charm of Saigon unlike Singapore where it has gone totally clinical.

The redeeming part of the whole trip though was still the people and the FOOD!!!
Almost every meal I had was excellent. Vietnam food is so clean and cleansing. Compared to our Singapore food which is more rich and heavy in spices.
I would describe Vienamese food as similar to Japanese food in that it's simple and clean. Clean, meaning no heavy accented spices and rich ingredients like coconut milk. Even if there is such ingredients, they still taste "clean". It's difficult to explain, you have to eat it to know.
I guess the ingredients are fresh and are more organic compared to more developed countries.
I hope the food in Sagon don't go in the way that the city is developing into, otherwise, it will be such a pity.