Kg. Kuantan, Kuala Selangor, MALAYSIA

February 20, 2010

The smart guys, the scientists call it pteroplyx tener. We call it "kelip kelip" or fireflies. Kg. Kuantan claims to be one of 2 places in Kuala Selangor that become famous because of fireflies. So we decided to pay the place a visit.

Killing Time before dark & showtime

Kg. Kuantan Fireflies Sanctuary

The river was fast flowing. The boats looked small. The fireflies would be on the other side of the riverbank.

Our boatman

Boarding Time

Off into the darkness

Sadly, I could not photograph the fireflies as it was too dark for the camera to work. They lit up the "berembang" trees like Christmas trees. I was told the best time to see the fireflies is during moonless nights when things are pitch black. We came during moonlit night. Another ideal time will be after the rain.

The brightest lights emitted comes from male fireflies. It is the process of attracting females. The light comes at the rate of 3 blinks per second, so they told us.

It was still a sight to remember, a must see before you die.

Taiping, Perak, MALAYSIA

February 13 - 15, 2010

It happened to be a 4-day weekend for Malaysia. It was Chinese New Year, Year of the Tiger. We drove back and it took us almost 8 hours to reach Bagan Serai. The return journey was only 3 hours with one pit stop.

The trip back was in conjunction with "kenduri aruah" for Ton's late mother. We missed the kenduri anyway because of the jam. We stopped for lunch in Tanjung Malim at a mamak shop across the street from the famous Yik Mun Pau. We stopped for cendul pulut Haizar in Sungai Gedung just before we reached Bagan Serai. That was worth the stop.

In the evening we drove to Kuala Sepetang for prawn mee. After making a few wrong turns, we finally arrived at Mee Udang Mak Jah, a restaurant serving prawn mee made famous by newspaper and tv. The makeshift restaurant was beautifully done. We waited for a while before someone took our orders. After that the foods came super fast. We ordered 1 special for Ton and 5 regulars for Nina, Anas, Syamim & Arif (Anas' cousins) and me.

The front of Mak Jah Restaurant

The mee was above average. The gravy has strong prawn taste in it and there was a very generous servings of prawns in each bowl. The specials came with bigger prawns. Anas and his cousins were not really prawn fans and the three of us, adults had about a kilogram of prawns to finish. The mee also came with above average prices, from RM6 to RM11.

Mak Jah Restaurant at Dusk

The next day we drove into Taiping looking for the Kuey Teow Doli, again made famous by the media. After spending about half an hour looking for the place, we stopped at Taiping Museum, mainly to ask for direction. We went inside the museum and some of the exhibits were closed. Later I learned that Taiping Museum was the first museum opened in the country. We did not know that we were at a historic place.

The First Museum in the Country, circa 1883

We made a second attempt to find Kuey Teow Doli. By some chances or fate, we ended up right in front of the restaurant without actually realising it. So we had the famous kuey teow. I found that it was just ordinary. As a kuey teow lover, I had better kuey teow at roadside stalls. The price was heavily marked up. At least we could claim to have tasted kuey teow Doli in Taiping.

Jalan jalan cari makan!

Tawau, Sabah, MALAYSIA

January 31 - February 1, 2010

This was another quickie trip for us, crazy golfers. We took the first flight out of KL and reached Tawau just in time to tee off at Sigalong Golf Club. Zack, DI, Haji Amir, Shahrul and I made up the golfers from KL and Jamil joined us.

Sigalong is a walking course situated deep inside oil palm plantation. I have played in Tawau many times but this was our first at Sigalong. It was more of a course on a road less travelled. The road leading to the club was like any other estate road, bumpy and bad. We expected the course to be equally bad.

There were not many golfers that day. I believe there is not much traffic here at Sigalong at any one time for obvious reason. The six of us formed one flight and much to our surprise, the course was better than some more well known ones. The fairways were well kept and the greens were above average.

The crazy golfers

Sigalong is a walking course. Due to the hilly terrains, walking was a struggle. The locals call it commando course. As we played along, I began to like the place. It was a truly challenging course. Accuracy was more important eventhough the course played more than 6000 metres.

The mid day heat and walking the hills took tolls on some lesser mortals. DI and Haji Amir were using drivers as walking sticks towards the end of the game. We took a "picnic" rest at most par 3 holes.

I played 45 on the front nine with one birdie. Shahrul was the other guy with birdie. The second nine was a struggle. It was hilly and some greens were really elevated. Losing balls was quite normal. Luckily, I had some left by the time we finished the rounds.

Zack on "Bridge on River Kwai"

After the game, we proceeded to a seafood restaurant, the second reason we came to Tawau. Zack's wife and youngest son joined us for dinner.

Picnic Rest at every par 3. DI having duku langsat

We were scheduled to play 36 holes on the second and last day in Tawau. I decided to skip the morning session at Tawau Golf Club at Hotsprings. The group left the hotel around 6am. I was wise enough to stay back and enjoyed my sleep. I joined them for lunch at Sri Keningau Restaurant after their game. Then we proceeded to Shansui for our final game. The guys were dead tired and I was fresh as Tawau's seafood. Shamsudin, Sri Keningau's owner and Azlan joined us for this round. Both of them above average golfers. I managed to get another birdie at Shansui.

After the game, we rushed to the airport and by 10.30pm I was back home. Another crazy trip.