Hi again, :)
Yes, more travel updates for my footprints journal here!
Day 1
Starting out...
We started out from our apartment around 7am, waited for our friend, E's friend, L (we didnt know him then) to pick us up from Bk Jalil train station. Unfortunately, it was pouring catz and dogz by the time he arrived. When the whole group of 8 rendezvous around the bridge, it was already 8am. So after coordinating the time and GPRS on the mobile phones, we set off in 2 cars :) both were real dainty satrias, driven by E and his Friend C, who proved that dainty cars can be garang and wild on the country roads too...
Stopping for...
As we didnt eat much for breakfast, and the highway out of the city was super jam-packed with cars leaving the city, after one-and-a-half hour inching our way forward along the snake of a queue ( and the reason for the traffic jam was ridiculous really-the road going the opposite direction had an accident but cars along our direction slowed down to watch?? very funny yeah???), we stopped at this rest stop for something to eat. And to do toileting as well hhehe...and to stretch our stiff limbs and back...phew!!!
Pretty flowers by the roadside next to the first toilet stop
Unfortunately there wasnt much nice food around so we had to make do with whatever they were selling there. I had a piece of some greasy waffles and a cup of AliCAfe...which E and CY,(his neighbour as well as his best friend's wife's little sis, we shared a car), joked about the possible viagra-like effects of tongkat ali in the coffee on me during the road trip. haha...as if!!!
On the road...
Then we were back on the road again...this time we saw a couple of supermen on wheels...they were both literally flying on their bikes!!! As in, their bodies were horizontally stretched out across while driving their motorbikes!!!! Too bad they were whizzing past us so were too fast for me and my mobile camera :( so I couldnt record their dare-devil stunts here for you all to see...
Stopping at this famous fishball place at Yong Peng
the shop and its name...
What me and K had...one meehoon with soup, one '老鼠粉' dry.
Next, we made a stop at this old Kluang rail way station and had some tea/breakfast there...L and her fiance, and A joined us there and made up the total of 11!
At Kluang railway station & its coffee shop where we waited a long time for it to open for business
Shop finally was opened, we flowed in....
What to order? I had Kampong chicken eggs, toasted bun with kaya and butter that oozed out, iced milk tea and nasi lemak, sharing with K of coz.
nasi lemak, such small portion....but only RM$0.70
our toasted bun and milk tea
Stopping for the nite...
At Mersing...
This junction of round-about announced to us our arrival at the little town of Mersing
The beach was dirty and it was low-tide.
The town...
Well, so on and on we drove and stopped, for fuels for the cars, for food for ourselves, and finally arrived at Mersing where we took lodging at this motel...it was passable for its offer of the basic necessity for travelers like us. Funny thing that we kept joking abt was the sleeping arrangement...11 people(inclusive of 2 couples) sharing 3 rooms...haha ...
Well, one of the girls, A was teased merciless for being a lamp post( she shared the room with one couple) hehe...
About Food...
As you may have noticed that the photos for food were much much more reduced for this trip because i was always way too tired and hungry to take photographs anymore...plus by the time when the food had arrived, we were all gobbling it up in no time. So it just means that if i didnt hurry enough, i might be left with the last morsel on the plate! hehe...the Gluton in me.... so bad hehe...
We had wanted to eat at this highly recommended place but was turned away coz it had full reservation. We searched for another and found this place. Ordered about 8 dishes but portions were really very little for their large size...tastes were so-so...not spectacular... only this dish of squid stuffed with duck egg yoke is worthed mentioned here...
Day 2...
Driving along the way...
E told us that those 2 stone-like things were bunkers used by the brits soldiers in WWII
At Kota Tinggi Waterfall...
families on vacations...everyone got really wet here....not us! (except C, the other Satria driver and AL, L's fiance)
at the very top that we managed to go up to...
The ice-kacang that J, the funny guy of the group got while we waited in a shed for the 2 playing with water...
At this old historical fort
It was located really deep in the jungle.
At a fruit farm before Desaru
Luscious fruits hanging from the ceiling...
The dragon fruit plants...the first time i had seen them!
At a Desaru resort...the stars, the moon, the sand...the sun and the sea
the hotel block that looks like hostel block for university students
and bedroom...
The view out from our room balcony
The sea, the sand & the fun-loving people...
K's and my footprints
Lovely sunset upon the swimming pool and its reclining chairs ...
While walking along the sandy beach at nite, i stumbled upon this creature with beautiful shape...Was it a moth or a butterfly?
fire engine antique for decor?
Our trip started out from KL city to Kluang, then on to Mersing where we stayed for the night. The next day, we camped out and drove to Desaru, where the beautiful sea and beach beckoned. We stayed one night there and enjoyed the moon, stars and sand...
Day 3
The early next morning, i woke up and as K was still sleeping soundly, I didnt bear to wake him up so i put on my bathing suit and went to the beach to enjoy the morning sea and sun :)
Since i was going into the water, I didnt brg my mobile camera with me...so sadly, no pics of this beautiful moment to share with u...but i did pick some smooth pebbles along the beach...waddle for a while in the sea...and finally went to swim in the swimming pool to cool off...the sun was getting really hot by now...
'Lost and Found'
Noting the time i knew i had to return to the room to wash and change and pack up, I returned the beach towels and walked back to the hotel block....it was a huge development and i got confused with the colours and subsequently forgot the long numbers for our room( even though i specifically memorized it before walking out to the beach). Darn!!!
After much frantic search and trying to recall the way i set out earlier, i finally made it back to the right room!!!! phew!!! u know, i was almost working up a storm of panic attack...(recalling how angry K was when he thought he had lost me in Shanghai...hehe)
Breakfasted and off we went again :) I was in a sour mood coz of my 'lost and found' episode which made me feel rather foolish and angry at myself. However, poor K got the full brunt of my anger as I blamed him for not accompanying me to the beach earlier...I know it wasnt his fault, I was just being irrational but i really wished he was with me at the beach...However, after some sleeping the anger off in the car during the ride to Johor's famous duck rice shop, i felt much better after.
The famous braised duck cut into pieces for us hungry lot...rather a huge amount even for 11 of us! there were also cabbage, braised eggs and braised pig intestines etc....
Duck rice , yes duck... i dont like duck, but for survival sake i ate some :p hehe ...but i still think chicken tastes much better.
ok, so once we were fed, toileted and car refueled, we set out for Malacca...all the three cars... 2 satrias and 1 honda city...
Stranded...
unfortunately, one car did not make it...something happened to it...guess what?
it was the car I was in of coz, why else would i write about it? haha ...
So what happened was that after the duck rice meal, we needed to do toileting and refuel the car as well, so E drove into this gasoline station, the 3 of us passengers alighted and visited the washroom while he got about to do the refueling...
Well, i guess what happened took less than a second! the car key was left behind in the engine as E vacated the car thinking to pump petrol! It was that auto lock mechanism that we were talking about just the day before!!!
I only found out about the car key after coming out of the toiltet ...oooops!! my mind running amok again with wild thoughts...Gosh what are we gonna do now??? My mobile phone was in the car! K' s was battery dead, & we were stranded in a no man's land? along the the highway, open targets to all the toms, dicks, and harrys ( sorry E, i am just being melodramatic for my blog here :) hehe, i was truly not the least worried coz as long as i had my hubby K with me :)
Looking for help...
E tried to contact his friend back in KL who has his spare car key, wanting to try to connect via mobile transfer the long distance activation of the car lock system. Anyway his friend was away so this attempt was KIV. He tried to call his car company's mechanic who was too far away to come to us ( plus it was the festive holiday seasons too) advised him to 'spring open' the car bonnet from below the car with L-keys...So we all went around looking to borrow from car owners who were there to pump petrol.
The Good Samaritans...
2 very helpful station attendants were there trying to help us. They got us the steel T-rule to try to 'pry' or 'spring' the door lock directly but to no avail. They also got us the torch light as requested so E could work below the car got his hands dirty. They also directed the traffic away. (those who were waiting to queue for our lot at the refueling stations. )
We tried to call for other chinese mechanics since we thought they could be at work during this time of the year. 2 groups of very helpful car owners got us their mechanic numbers and we called for help. unfortunately both were also very busy at other roads helping others and couldnt come right away. Luckily then there was this tow truck driver coming by to get his share of petrol. we appealed to him to help. with his tow truck we could at least lift the car away from the ground so that E could see easily which spring below the car he was supposed to pull to open the bonnet. While they were all trying very hard, (the car by now had been moved to the road side so as not to block traffic) another good samaritan with tow-truck also came by to help, he tried with the T-rule on the doors but also to no avail. He gave up when he got his call to go. It was already 5plus pm.
Finally...
As we were all about to give up hope, E gave a last tug with his L-key and suddenly the first tow truck driver sprang open the car bonnet from behind! We all gave a loud cheer! No need to stay here for the night after all!
What an experience for us all! It could really happen to anyone, no matter how careful you are with your things. And I would say we were really lucky. Thank God!!!
And not to forget those who were there to offer assistance to us in the time of need. It was really nice to know that people are still so full of the 'gotong royong' spirit of helping one another like in the kampong days. Thank you all, our good Samaritans.
This is actually the first time for my blog that i am writing so much... i also find it strange... coz i normally let the pictures do the talking. Guess there are somethings much better expressed with words too...
Car finally was opened, I was the one to climb in from the bonnet to unlock the front door! I took my phone out so that this picture could be taken for the tale it was worth!
the first one got away as soon as the door was opened, we almost didnt have time to thank him properly.
And guess what? E's mechanic had obviously given wrong advice over the phone. In fact,
it was the holes at the front rather than the back that E had managed to 'spring open' the bonnet from. No wonder we had wasted precious time to many futile attempts trying on the back holes at the bottom of the car...too mechanical/technical for me to describe so pardon me here...
Since it was too late to join the others whom by now had a jolly good time in Malacca, we decided to head back to KL. The evening saw misty clouds surrounded the mountains...very mysterious looking. the mist settled as low as the mountain foot such that the road looked rather misty too.
We stopped to eat out dinner at this place we chanced upon called 'xxx餐厅，it was fairly crowded so following the herd instinct, this seemed a good place for a good meal.
We noticed something cute and touching...3 rather young children helping their parents wash the dishes...I hope this photo will not cause problem to the proprietor. I just think that the children were really cute and adorable, especially the youngest one, who was the sweetest of all, with such chubby cheek and big round eyes, pretty smile :) she seemed to be enjoying herself in the chores too...she would be a capable restaurateur one day with such skills she is honing hehe...
After much excitement and adventure, we finally headed for home. Thanks to E and CY who were our fellow car mates for the trip...Great company full of fun and gossip ... E's superb driving skill that made cruising along the country roads and highway seem like a roller coaster ride for me...i love roller coaster...haha
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