Visit to the Lido Village Fish Farm on 23rd June 2007 - Part 2

After the games, we assembled for a short boat ride to a nearby floating restaurant located off Taman Perling for a sumptuous dinner. On our way there, we had the opportunity to view the magnificent sunset.

After dinner, we returned back to the kelong by boat to complete the balance of out itineraries of the day. Prizes were awarded to the winning team. Prizes were also given to members who had answered questions relating to the operation of kelong fishing too

Lastly, members with birthdates falling in the months of May and June 2007 celebrated their birthdays at the kelong. We finally made our way back to the shores at Danga Bay around 9 pm with members delighted from such an educational outing.

Visit to the Lido Village Fish Farm on 23rd June 2007 - Part 1

After work, we made our way to the Danga Bay where boarded a fishing boat.

The boat ride merely took 15 minutes when we arrived at a kelong situated at the Johor Straits, just a short distance from the boundary of Malaysia-Singapore. The kelong housed a double storey wooden structure used as workplace as well for dwelling purposes.

After a brief rest, we quickly organized ourselves into groups for some games that had been planned for the event. We had fishing contest where the winner would be decided from the team that catches the most number of fishes from the pond. After that, the teams participated in a seashell contest where they are required to harvest the seashell, extract the meat and fry them. Winner would be decided from the teams who produced the heaviest meat. Lastly, the participants played the balloon game where the team that blew and broke the balloons in the shortest time frame will be decided as winner.

Visit to Kukup, Taman Negara and Tanjung Piai @ 15th April 2007 - Partr 2

Upon returning back to the Kukup town, Mr Ho brought us to visit where the locals reside. We walked on narrow planks connecting each individual houses built on stilts where only bicycles and motor cycles are passable. It was not surprising that most of us were lost after a short walk. We were shown a local Chinese temple with history of more than 100 years old. We also get to view anchoring fishing boats at the edge of the settlement. The sight of new houses under construction also attracted us and we were enlightened by Mr Ho that each building takes about RM250,000 to construct. Most of these buildings are now used by the locals as chalets for the increasing numbers of tourists who have been converging here to distress themselves.

From Kukup town, we moved on to our next destination, Tanjung Piai which is the southernmost tip of the Asia continent. We drove for about 10 minutes in several vehicles and finally reached the site. Mr Ho, the guide shoved us pass the Tanjung Piai Resort and lead us a long walk on a concrete jetty which face the Malacca straits with Singapore island on the background. Many large ships, mostly containers were seen anchoring waiting to berth at ports in the island. The view was magnificent so much so we didn’t mind having ourselves drenched by the drizzle as we were making our way back to the vehicles.

We then make our way to the Kukup Golf Resorts where we had our sumptuous dinner. Of course the main event of the day was where members of the CVClub with birthdays falling in the months of February, March and April 2007 celebrated their birthdays.

The whole outing finally ended at about 8.30 pm where we bid our guide, Mr Ho goodbye. Although unwilling, we reluctantly made our way home back to JB, wondering when would be our next activity in the coming months.

Visit to Kukup, Taman Negara and Tanjung Piai @ 15th April 2007 - Part 1

After driving for almost an hour and a half from JB, we finally reached Kukup town in the district of Pontian. We then assembled at a local restaurant for a quick seafood lunch before boarding a boat and headed towards Taman Negara which is situated on an island known as Pulau Pisang.

During the boat ride which took several minutes, we were treated with views of numerous buildings, old dilapidated as well as modern structures constructed on stilts and floating kelongs used for fishing purposes.

Soon after, we were greeted with a majestic jetty which Mr Ho, our guide for this outing promptly announced our arrival at the Taman Negara. Taman Negara is known for its intensive mangroves cultivation which is one of the largest in the world approximating more than 1,500 acres. We walked along wooden planks listening attentively to Mr Ho’s explanation on the various aspects of mangroves cultivation. We also learnt that mangroves are effective resistance to tsunamis which swamped the shores of several parts of our country several years ago. Trunks of mangrove trees when burned will be used as charcoal. In the early days of construction, the trunks are also used for piling purposes. There are several places of interest on the island such as the suspended bridge and the viewing tower. We also took the opportunity to try the sampan ride from the inner of the island all the way to the river mouth. The bird enthusiasts will love this place too as the island is also a haven for migrating birds. Too bad we weren’t armed with binoculars for close-up view of the island from the wooden tower.

Before we returned to the mainland, we stopped by a kelong to watch the process of fish rearing. Some of our members also took the opportunity to shop for dry seafood products such as ikan bilis, keropok and etc. Those more adventurous tried carrying life turtle, cray fish as well as feeding fishes with bare hands.