Tanjung Piai, Johor

So, this was one of the visits we had back in January 2013.  This trip was strictly to Tanjung Piai, Johor - the southern-most tip of mainland Asia!  This trip was one of the reasons we stopped in Pantai Hiburan, mentioned in my previous post.

Since Papa likes all things unexpected, we didn't book any hotels or homestays beforehand.  We were between Mersing and Kota Tinggi when he started calling up all kinds of lodgings.  In the end we managed to secure a homestay near UTM Skudai - Papa's alma mater.  And boy! Was he happy to be back after some 20-odd years!

We arrived there quite late but the owners were there, waiting for us.  We took some wrong turns but managed to arrive there safely.  Nasib baik boleh tidoq jugak.  The house was small but very comfortable.

Very early the next morning, we started on our way to Tanjung Piai.  It was actually quite far - about a few hours' drive.  However, the view along the way was priceless.  The signboards were also tourist-friendly until we were almost near Tanjung Piai itself.  The signboard stops right at Tanjung Piai's fishing village and we were bewildered!  There's no sign of the big globe built right on the Malacca Straits.

However, Papa decided that we should drive on.  And true enough, after a few minutes we arrived at our destination.  There were lots of macaques and I don't like macaques.  Anyway, since it was almost 11am, we were famished! So before we actually entered the forest reserve, we bought some keropok lekor, fruits and drinks.  The makcik (she's around my age actually, hahaha) adviced us to eat there so that we won't be swarmed by the hungry macaques.

Then we bought the tickets - a few ringgit per person, very cheap to enjoy nature!  On our way in I saw some bushes and approached the signboard there and that's how I got to know that Piai is a name of a species of fern.  And it seems that the fern is all over the place.

So here are the pictures...

Borong hampir semua keropok lekor tu sebab lapaaaaaaag!

Good thing Meen did not notice the beroks. Hehehe..

Posing dulu sebelum beli tiket

Nature all around us.  You have to be there to appreciate it.

The 3 teenagers again!

These people were not part of our rombongan.  I just wanted to snap the signboard but they didn't budge.

That's the globe but it's in a deteriorating state.

The tide was in and we couldn't get to the globe.

So, ambik gambag dari jauh ja la...

At one of the few spots penetrated by sunlight

At one of the platforms ON the Malacca Straits!  We were actually not on land.

Then, we climbed the viewing tower but we couldn't see anything as there were too many mangrove overgrowths

So, one from the family - sans Papa - sebab dia gayat.

Ketaq okay nak turun tu!  Lembut lutut. Patut la Papa tak mau naik.

Two eksyen teenagers - sebab depa tak gayat.

As usual, Meen will always be by my side.

So, behind us was a giant replica of the Piai fern.

Pantai Hiburan, Johor

Since we moved here last year, we've been to many places especially in the East Coast.  I have to say that I've fallen in love with this place and with the East Coast.  It's just so beautiful.  We don't have the kinds of beaches back in the West Coast - not even in Penang (our favourite place of all).

I had some miscommunications during our early days here.  I couldn't understand a word they were saying.  And when I went to the sundry shops, I just smiled whenever the makcik or pakcik owners said something.  I think they were asking me or something, but I couldn't understand anything they were saying.  Even the Chinese and Indians here use a lot of the dialects in conversations.

However, we survived.  All of you were very good at adapting yourselves especially in schools and have made many friends and started to speak using some of the East Coast dialects. Good for you!  I had to hide in my cubicle at the office, everyday, before I was comfortable enough to interact with my colleagues.

Anyway, this post is actually the first post about the beautiful places we've visited or stumbled upon along our many journeys here.  One of the places is Pantai Hiburan.  Yup! It sounds very 1970s! It's situated on one of the small roads in the East Coast of Johor. So, the beach is very similar to the ones we have in Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.

We stumbled upon this small and quaint place/beach on our way to our monthly holiday (over kayyy!!!), this time in Johor.  That was in January 2013.  Papa and I agreed that this place must've seen it's better times in the 70s but to us, it's still very interesting to be there, even for a short while.  There were still a lot of people there, with housing developments nearby and lots of food stalls like the ones here.

We always stop for food at small, nice and interesting places because they have something that's more authentic than in big cities - the taste.

Here is the Pantai Hiburan I told you about.

The beach and the South China Sea is in the background.

As usual, a snap with Princess is a must.

There were many people around us, actually.

All the four of you.

Always nice to each other only during mealtime. Hahaha...

While waiting ofr our food, Meen and I ventured to the beach.  The beach wasn't very beautiful, but it was helped a lot by the ambience of the place surrounded by hills.

The view from the beach.

They had some wonderful Ais Kacang and Laicikang and cheap too - RM1.50!

The hors d'oeuvres were delicious.

Popia Goreng, Keropok Lekor and Banana Fritters.

We ordered and ordered and ordered....
Maybe because we were also hungry kot after a few hours in the car.

Done with the snacks, we were ready to continue our journey.

Papa and his girls.

My teenagers and I

So, that's Pantai Hiburan.  Our hiburans for the day were the good food and drinks, some really big black ants hovering over the spilled Ais Kacang and Laicikang and of course Adik Meen's antics.

After that, we continued our trip to Mersing and on to Johore Baharu for our Cuti-Cuti Malaysia.  I will upload more photos of our short weekend trips to everywhere.

Ronda-Ronda

Last weekend (7 Sept), kita ronda-ronda Kuantan Parade. Sebabnya bosan duduk kat rumah dan Papa nak re-stock DVD dia yang dah habih dia tengok.  Nasib baik hujan dah stopped. So, we were able to enjoy ourselves.

Simple enjoyment ja pun but we were happy and we are happy with our way.

So, here are some pictures of us so that you will remember the good times we had together as a family.

 Elok sampai saja, tengok-tengok ada pameran Bonsai Kuantan.  Layan!

Tengok dan posing dulu lah kita, ya! 

I'm not sure whether Asha appreciates bonsai or not cos she seemed indifferent 

Okaaaay... she started showing a little interest. 

Mmmm... maybe she's still unsure of herself. 

Cantikkan? Cantikkan? Bonsai tarik sebelah. 

Macam kena snapped dengan wand Harry Potter la pulak

I'm not sure what these two girls were checking, though. 

Kat perdu bonsai tu ada putera puteri dok berdating. Nampak dak? 

Yang ni the biggest bonsai there and super santeks! 

After checking out the bonsais, it's makan time! Nasi ayam at RM5.00 per plate.

Pulun dok potong isi ayam tu. 

One from Mama dan Asha. 

A snap with her is a must. 

Okay, two snaps!

A visit to the stationary store is a must for this girl. 

Princess! 

The Princess and the sister 

They were hollering at Papa and Tareeq who were at the opposite end and enjoying coffee while us girls roamed the mall. 

Okay! Lookie here! One shot before we go to Papa. 

Aaahhh...  Bliss... Hahaha but not as nice as Tareeq's and Nina's massage though.

So, that's how we spent that weekend. After that, Papa went to buy some DVDs with Meen and Asha while Nina was with me. We were checking the treadmill.  Hmmm... waiting for the arrears in salary next month. Then we'll decide whether to buy the treadmill or not.

Taqreesa Cabut Gigi

Asalnya Asha nak tampal gigi ja.  Mama pun setuju sebab kalau ikut umur, rasanya dah tak tumbuh lagi dah gigi tu.  Tapi dentist tu insisted nak cabut dengan alasan gigi teruk sangat.  Well, who are we to say no.

Mama tengok masa kat rumah tak la teruk mana pun.  Maybe sebab kalau tampal murah, kalau cabut mahal (talk about negative thinking!). 

Anyway, nasib baik gigi geraham.  So, tak nampak la kalau Asha sengih. Tapi kalau dah makin dewasa nanti, kena buat gigi pelesu ke? 

Bersiap dulu bila jumpa cermin. Lepas tu baru masuk jumpa dentist.

Mama dan Meen pun pulun jugak

Lepas keluar klinik gigi, Mama dan Papa bawak pi makan-makan tepi Sungai Kuantan. Lupa lah pulak nama kedai tu. Tapi cool ambience ala ala cafe Papa dulu (cewah!).

Asha hanya diam saja sepanjang malam tu sebab mulut penuh kapas lepas gigi dicabut. 

Gambar Meen is a must! Kalau tidak definitely merayuk. 

Kalau Meen merayuk, bising satu rumah sampai esok pagi.  Meen kaki merayuk.

Tareeq dan Nina agak pulun bergambar.  Asha dah masuk dalam dunia dia dah.  

Mungkin sebab melayan sakit gigi kot.

Kesian Asha, malam tu dia tak makan.  Tapi don't worry Asha, the food was not up to expectation. I think Tareeq can cook better food with better taste.  Am not joking here!  So, it's not your lost.