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Published: February 3rd 2007
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Watch It!
I didn't see no crocs:( What have I done since my last entry.....nothing much😊 Kevin, his wife Joanne, and I went to the the Sungei Buloh wetland reserve a couple of weekends ago. Now that was cool and it only costed a buck. It was so nice to get out into nature again and to see some wildlife. I had three goals of the outting which involved seeing: 1. a crocodile; 2. a monitor lizard; and, 3. a monkey. I saw the Malayan water monitor (
Varanus salvator) however there were lots of them. They are pretty cool creatures but I was disappointed about not seeing any crocs even though there were several warning signs posted😞 The time we were there, it was high tide so I didn't get the full appreciation of the swamp but it was still interesting. There were so many crabs on the trees and although it was neat, it was creepy at the sametime. Swarms of crabs are quite gross. Their homes were cool though, looked liked mud castles. Saw lots of red-eared slider turtles (
Trachemys scripta elegans), and schools of fish that appeared to be feeding. There was a sign that said don't feed the monkeys but I saw no
Cool spider
How many of these webs we walked through.....don't want to know. monkeys!
After dinner one night my friend YuYang, took me to the seedy area of town, geyland which is basically hooker lane. Of course he asked if I wanted to walk down this particular street and I was totally into it. It was quite depressing really because the girls were so young and shouldn't have been there. Many of them Thai girls who come to Singapore because there is more money to be made by hooking here compared to Thailand. They just looked so different from the hookers back in Toronto who seem older and scankier.
Just this past weekend I went to Malaysia again but this time to Melaka with another one of Jaime's friend, Nadya. It was good to get out of Singapore even just for a brief period of time. The bus only took 3 hours and I thought about how not all my travelling will be on a sweet ass comfy bus like this one. Nadya's cousin who lives in Melaka picked us up at the bus station and took us out for some ball ball chicken rice. This dish is basically what it's name is, balls of rice with chicken. Instead
Malayan Water Monitor
Pretty cool. There were lots of them and all different sizes. This was the smallest one we ran into. of chicken, since I am a vegetarian, I got the ball ball duck rice😉 Ha. The rice totally tastes different then just plain rice that's not in a ball. After lunch, her cousin dropped us off at our hotel, Baba House, in Chinatown. The rooms were clean and we had our own bathroom so it was all good! We dropped our bags in the room then headed back on the streets of Chinatown to check out the shops and the food! After a lot of window shopping and trying on some see through shirts, which I did not buy because of that very fact, we headed for the fort on top of a hill. We passed several different types of museums but didn't bother to go into any due to the lack of interest on both our parts. I felt like I should go because it is the touristy thing to do but really, I am not interested in the museum of stamps or Malaysian architecture. Sorry lah. So we climbed the steps to the fort....which wasn't anything too spectacular and then went back into Chinatown so Nadya could eat. She was very disappointed in me because I was not
Euwwwwwww
Too many crabs on the tree. hungry and would not eat. She says that everyone comes to Melaka to eat! I love food but I am paranoid about my weird stomach and having to find a washroom fast! Well I compromised by having some of her laksa, which was kinda spicy, and Cendol (or Chendol). This is a desert of shaved ice with white coconut milk, green-coloured pea flour noodles, and palm sugar. It is very nice and refreshing especially on hot days which is basically all the time in Malaysia, at least for me it is. As we were walking back to our hotel, we noticed people were setting up for the night market. The streets get taken over by stalls of crap (nicknacky things, jewellery, etc) and food. And when I say crap I mean it in the nicest way.
Back in our room we rested for a while until it got dark then we headed to the market to do some more browsing. There was a cooking contest going on and some karaoke. I wasn't at all hungry but Nadya again forced me to eat by just buying tasty treats anyway😉 Deep-fried sweet potato, pork dumplings (not for me), pineapple tarts. Mmm
Don't Feed The Monkeys
I didn't see no damn monkeys! good. Her cousin picked us up and we went to eat again but this time it was for Satay Celup (or steamboat satay). When Nadya was describing to me what this dish exactly was, I was little skeptical, again because of my stomach. She described it as cooking your meal at your table by dipping anything from raw meat, seafood, or vegetables that are on skewers into this boiling pot of spicy peanuty sauce. I picked out some prawns, veggies, tofu, and fish balls to try. And to my surprise it was quite tasty, not too spicy at all and my stomach was fine! YAY stomach! Super full, we went back to the hotel to sleep. Next morning, I very much wanted a prata and I got it while Nadya got this "pancake" called thodosai, but it's not the typical western pancake we have back home. For lunch we went to this famous place that serves ball ball chicken rice, where the owner makes the rice balls by hand, waking up in the wee hours of the morning. I must admit, they were damn tasty. Better than the ones yesterday but I guess that is why the place is famous.
We did more walking around before taking a taxi to the bus station. We caught an afternoon bus and by evening we were back in Singapore.
Yesterday, Nadya invited me to a Hindu festival called Thaipusam which is celebrated by the Tamil community and occurs on the full moon month of Thai (Jan/Feb). This is a special day for worship of Lord Muruga and commemorates the occassion when Muruga vanquished the evil demon Soorapadman when given a
vel (lance) by Parvati. On the day of worship, devotees shave their heads and partake in a pilgrimage on a set route to the temple while preforming several acts of devotion, one being to carry a
kavadi (burdens). The less painful
kavadi I witnessed was the carrying of a pot of milk on the head while others pierced their skin, tongue, or cheeks with
vel skewers. The most extravagant form of practice I saw were those who carried the
vel kavadi which is a portable alter that is carried 2 metres high, beautifully decorated with various colours and objects (e.g., feathers), and attached by many piercings to the back and chest. The festival was very fascinating to watch since I have never
Night Market
Pork dumplings....such good food which I cannot eat...because I'm a vegetarian:) been to any sort of religious event, not even Church. Seeing the piercings which are not little or small by any means made me wonder how there could not be any blood or scars afterwards but supposedly those people who undertake these rituals go into some sort of trance and do not feel pain, bleed, or acquire any scars. I witnessed several devotees before taking the steps up to the temple, start to tremble and shake and cry out, like they were in some trance like state. Some of them could not even move and that is why those who partake in the pilgrimage bring with them a support team of friends or family to help them make it to the temple. It reminded me of those certain churchgoers who are just overwhelmed by god within themselves and go crazy and need the pastor or ministry or whoever to touch their heads and bestow calmness on them (seen from church services on tv). I did enjoy myself and am glad that I was able to witness such an event that happens only once a year. Quite fascinating indeed.
I've been meaning to go to the zoo, night safari, and
Mmmmm mini pancake
Nadya enjoying her chocolate filled mini pancake bird park but each time I want to the weather is bad. This sunday though, I am going to the zoo which is supposedly famous for its
green polar bear. Ah maybe it will make me sad for home.....ha I doubt it😊
So that's about it for now. Toodles.
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