Saturday, 28 June 2025

Durians - king of fruits 万果之王 - 榴梿

It is durian season again. Apparently because of bumper crop this year, the cost of "good class" durians is expected to be low in coming months.

Went for early dinner in a hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio just now, and chanced upon a durian stall offering "discounted" price for the new crops of durians.

Durians are lauded as the King of all Fruits. The texture and smell evoke two extreme opposite emotions - you either crave it or hate it!

In Chinese culture, it is labelled as being "heaty" - apparently not good for people with hypertension, and can tip a person who is of "low immunity" to fall sick easily...

又是榴梿飘香的季节。开始有水果摊卸货拍卖榴梿了。

据说这次的榴梿产量过多,价格会很实蕙。

今天傍晚,不期而遇的碰到小贩中心附近的水果摊位在摆卖榴梿。标价确实比往常便宜一些。我老婆在不同的两个摊位,分别买了两盒猫山榴梿(新币50)及一粒猫山榴梿(新币12);品尝后觉得比较贵的口感好些。

Sunday, 22 June 2025

The dreaded jam @ Causeway 长堤堵车

 

The queue to the Malaysian custom

No inpatient to cover this weekend. Malaysia is going to enforce its long deferred VEP (Vehicle Entry Permit) come 1st July, 2025. A fine of RM 300 will be imposed on vehicle entering JB without a valid VEP. 

I have already activated my VEP since November last year. However, the RFID tagged to my new vehicle was apparently not detectable when I drove into JB last year. 

Hence, I thought it may be good for me to test out my RFID this week. 

But alas, New Straits Time reported that the jam across crossway was estimated to be 3 hours or more on Saturday (21 June). 

The intrepid me decided to drive into Johor Bahru despite the dire warning from the authority. Woke up early at 5.10am. Left our house by 5.45am, and began our drive to Johor Bahru today (Sunday morning).

And yes, there was some jam as expected. It took us slightly over half an hour to clear the custom on both ends of the causeway (which was not too bad, I reckoned). And yes, the RFID for my car worked well. We cleared the Malaysian immigration check point without any problem. 

However, while following the GPS guide to our destination in Skudai (a morning market which we haven't been to before), we drove back to the JB immigration check point unwittingly... Have to declare to the immigration officer, get clearance from another immigration officers housed in a hidden corridor (after submitting some written statement), then made a U turn through a tunnel. No... we were not the only car making the same mistake. There were two other cars being guided through the U-turn tunnel. 

Finally, we arrived at the morning market. My wife bought some local delicacies and vegetables there.

Parked out car near the morning market, this is a one way street with no exit....


Yong Tau Foo

Vegetable stall

We saw a shop house selling egg - bought 3 trays of Kampung eggs. Then walked to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast (curry noodles).



After breakfast, we drove about 20 minutes to Bestari Bestmarket (a supermarket cum wet market), and then another 15 minutes to Restaurant Triple One at Jalan Perkasa 3 (for Trengganu Curry Fish Noodle). After this, we drove to eat Foo Chew Noodles at Ah Ling Foo Chew Noodle (Jalan Mutiara 1/11). By then it was already 2pm, time to go home.

Inevitably, we were caught in the jam at JB causeway. It took us over 1 hour to clear the jam at both ends of the causeway.

The dreaded jam @ causeway


We finally reached home at 3.20pm. What a day!

在长堤上碰到堵车,是件令人揪心的事。再者便是成功过了移民关卡后,因为走错路而需重闯关卡,再有关当局的许可与见证下,於某个指定“隧道”来个U转弯,重新往新山闯,这种经历,更令人撕心。而我今天偏偏碰上了!

Tuesday, 17 June 2025

一道曙光,一线希望 Glimpse of hope

 


碰到阻碍时,切记别泄气,放手不干。要秉着持之以恒的态度,坚持下去。往往柳暗花明又一村,转机就在转角处。

一道曙光,一线希望,终会浮现出来。

No matter how futile a situation might look like, don't give up without a fight. Persevere on. Chances are there are opportunities abound round the corner waiting for us to discover.

Get help, talk to people. Don't suffer alone in silence!

Monday, 16 June 2025

晴空万里 Clear blue sky

烟囱,炊烟


碰上晴空万里的好天气,只要不是太过于闷热,确实是出外溜达的好时刻。

Days with clear blue sky are indeed good time for outdoor activities, provided the weather is not too warm.

Unfortunately, tropical countries barely enjoy such opportunity - the weather will most likely be gloomy /cloudy without clear blue sky...


Tuesday, 10 June 2025

Bridges 桥

Bridges help to connect land separated by rivers or straits. And of course, there are some gigantic bridges that stretch across sea - but this remarkable engineering feat is hard to come by.


Areas under the bridge can offer shelter for the underprivileged, or shade someone from rain.


It is heartening to see some loving couple savoring quiet moment of peace, away from mundane chores, just like the birds below...

People walking on the bridge, or passing by under the bridge are usually happy and contented, free from the troubles of work lives...



桥, 把河边两岸的离情牵连起来。

不论是步行在桥上的行人,或划过桥下的运动健儿,每人都显得无忧无虑。

Sunday, 8 June 2025

I Night 2025 @ Marina Bay 滨海湾夜景

The annual I-Night festival is on again.

Went to take some snapshots of the light installations this year. Most of them are around Marina Bay.

This year, the light decors are not that impressive as last year.

Nevertheless, managed to take a few shots of the light decors and also the iconic structures of Singapore.

Colourful bulbs that light up with music as one steps on the piano-like keyboard below each pole

The White Man who climbs up the museum

The Man lying supine, resting on his forearm

The Campfire

Glittering flowers

The iconic buildings in Singapore...

The Helix Bridge and Marina Bay Sand Hotel

Helix Bridge and Marina Bay Sand Hotel

Fullerton Hotel

Merlion

Esplanade aka Durian House

昨晚,草草吃了晚餐及游完泳后,便整装出发到滨海湾去观赏刚粉墨登场的夜灯展。也趁机捕捉些镜头。

这次的灯饰缺少了令人叹为观止的惊叹感觉。除了那堆篝火,还有点震撼力之外!

不过能趁机拍到新加坡地标,也不虚此行。



Wednesday, 4 June 2025

Tuesday, 3 June 2025

滚滚红尘 The roaring tide

前天傍晚,牵着我家的毛孩到附近的草地小解时。在晚霞陪衬下,天空竟然呈现出滚滚红尘的现象,好比黄河壶口那翻江倒海汹涌的波涛。


Chance upon the sight of wonderful display of colorful evening clouds - it resembled that of cascading waves running through a gorge. A pity that this delightful sight can only last a few precious moments. Before long, darkness will shroud the whole sky.