2D1N @ Kukup Village, Malaysia
Having a long weekend so Qiann and my family and their friends went down to Kukup.. a small fishing village in Msia.. The weather wasnt really on our side when we head down.. and there was a long 30min jam through the Tuas Custom.. but we got through it eventually and was just cruising down the very long 70km plus road until the Kukup village..
Drove until their parking area to leave our cars behind.. but as the carpark and the destination is a bit of distance.. they provide shuttle van service.. but the standard is definitely not some 5star luxury shuttle.. but instead its a super small crappy van which has no door too! Lucky we werent bringing much things or otherwise some of us have to walk..
Walked towards our accommodation.. and after 3min of walking along all the houses.. i start to question myself on where we are really staying and if its going to be up to the minimum standard.. All the houses here are built on stilts above the muddy swamp where you will see snakes, crabs and mudskippers.. and rats too when its during the low tides.. We also managed to catch a glimpse of a crane though there wasnt enough time to grab a camera..
After walking for about 5min into the housing area.. we reached our accommodation.. its basically the house of a local.. but has customized it so that they can rent it out during the weekends to earn some cash.. Judging by the look outside its already amazing.. So whats inside?
Giant is an understatement.. They have customized it mainly for tourists actually.. with most of the rooms having nothing else but bunk beds and a huge living room with a computerized karaoke set connected to the tv.. and 3 toilets and basins so that it can accommodate the large group that stays there.. It is also equipped with 3 mahjong tables and a few dining tables with coffee machines and tibits to snack on.. So although its quite a layback lifestyle there.. it still enable us to not feel too away from home..
After we settled down and had some of their homecook food.. we went out to do shopping at the streets out there.. there aint much things to buy though i had stocked up a little amount of snacks to bring back to munch on while doing nothing.. Clothes there doesnt appeal to me as much as Bangkok so i gave that quite a skip.. Weather was really hot so we had Mango Ice to chill us down before part 2 of the shopping..
Part 2 is mainly preparing for the night.. mostly consisting of fireworks and explosives and all the crackers stuffs which are new to me.. However what interest me most is how they sell it.. because they aint allowed to openly do it.. So all you have to do is ask them whether they sell such stuffs.. and they will bring you to the back.. push away some of the goods at the top.. and REVEAL the EYEOPENING amount of EXPLOSIVES beneath.. it felt as if we entered a black shop to buy a AK47 or some illegal goods.. (well it is semi illegal lols)
Afterwards.. we went to the Fish farm.. which you would have noticed that i been there before if you had been following me.. however this time round there is more creatures that we didnt encounter the previous time so i assure you there is always new stuffs in my blog.. =) Took the ferry there and we were greeted by the same fish farm.. i guess this is the only one that is opened to the public.. but the rest should be similar anyway..
Had the usual starfish and horseshoe crab.. but whats new are the sea urchin (i think) and a male and female shark.. Had some hands-on with them where we get to feel how they really feel like.. Here is a spoiler: That species of shark.. when you touch its skin by moving your finger to the left its smooth.. but when you move to the right its rough.. or was it right and left? Duh.. And thats my Dad with Qiann =)
Soon nightfall came and we had BBQ dinner just outside their house.. Nothing special there except that its stingray is delicious and its Eat-All-You-Can type of buffet.. afterwards we light up the sky with all kinda fireworks and other crackers type of explosives.. there are bees and butterflies types where they will fly around and burst into flames in midair.. the normal one which goes up and Boom.. or grenade type which is VERY LOUD and you can be assured that everyone around will jump when it goes off..
However as much fun as it is.. it could be quite dangerous too.. We had a case where the firework bottle was supposed to point upwards but was blown down by the wind and it bursted and exploded into the firework while it was still on the ground.. It was quite a funny sight when you see everyone of us running in fear IN the firework.. Now that is what i call UP-CLOSE =) From that day on.. i can say i had been IN a firework before.. Scary though..
Finished the day with Mahjong and the next day was just some catching up with more shopping before we head back to our Singapore.. Not much pictures this time round since there was nothing much to do around there.. But enough to give you and me an idea of whats going on.. =)
