Glimpses of Nibong Tebal

I went back to Nibong Tebal recently.
The small town still retains its rural and rustic charms after all these years. The rows of shop houses lining the main road remain essentially the same, somehow untouched by the new developments in the vicinity over the years.

Hustle bustle at lunch time

Driving into the main road

I cycled around the town in mid-morning - the streets were quite quite, and I was surprised to note that I was the only rare breed cycling along the main street; until I saw one elderly gentleman cycling near a hawker centre later. People commute by motorbikes or motorized bicycles nowadays, it seems. And the children who cycle are still attending schools in the morning.

When I returned for a short walk to snap some photos during lunch time, the streets were bustling with cars and motorbikes, but still not many bicycles.

Here are some photos of the overhead bridge bypassing the rail track running parallel to Nibong Tebal and the view from the bridge:

The road leads to Sungai Bakap (north bound)

Welcome to Nibong Tebal

North bound rail track on the left and the road leading to Butterworth on the right 

View of houses from the overhead flyover

cycling against the traffic

Methodist Primary & Secondary Schools on the right

Additional photos of Nibong Tebal:

Iconic bridge/flyover at night

The main road at Nibong Tebal, with rows of old shop houses lining both side of the road; in the early 70s, cars were park along the median road divider.

Old houses - my mother stayed in one of them in early days

Old residential houses

Fishing jetty

The bridge across Sungai Krian 

Ecotourism : firefly

Beating traffic light

I pride myself as a cautions driver. I am always at a lookout for potential problems when driving - never tail gate the vehicle in front, always keep on the same lane while driving and avoid filtering to other lanes unnecessarily, and of course avoid driving through red traffic lights!
However, for some unknown reason, I have driven pass a red traffic light  along Mandai Rd (at the T-junction of Mandai Rd and exit route to SLE) 2 nights ago. I was on my way home after work. It was drizzling then. There was no reason for me to speed at all on that night. But somehow, while approaching the T junction, I saw the traffic light turned red; instead of stopping, I stepped on the accelerator and sped on... looking through the reverse mirror, I thought I saw a sudden flash of bright light reminiscent of flashes of red light camera! I was totally devastated - thinking of the demerit points and fine that I have chalked up!
I browsed through the internet - there was no information on location of red light cameras in Singapore.
Finally, I had the opportunity to drive along the same stretch of road this afternoon. To my great relief, there was no red light camera at the T-junction where I had beat the red traffic light.

NEVER, NEVER speed pass red traffic light again!

MacDonald Kiosk with turtle pond

The one and only place in Singapore where you can savour your Mac Donald meals in the midst of zen-like atmosphere surrounded by greenery and a serene turtle pond.
The MacDonald Kiosk is located along Farrer Road (towards Queenstown). My wife and I used to frequent the place when the children were young (i.e. over 5-6 years ago).
We decided to walk down memory lane and visit the place on Day 2 of Chinese New Year.

The photos below say it all...

Reminiscent of old time @ Fullerton Hotel and Esplanade

It has been a while since I last visited Esplanade @ Singapore with the children.
The last time we were there was probably more than 5-6 years ago. We used to park our car along the narrow road beside the Victoria Concert Hall, then walked towards Fullerton Hotel, visiting the Koi pond at basement one level, walked along the underground corridor that links Fullerton Hotel to One Fullerton that faces the mouth of Singapore River.
The night scenery has changed dramatically over the past years. Marina Bay Sands (that resembles the ancestor altars), and many high rise buildings have sprouted out along the mouth of Singapore River. It is quite a spectacular sight, quite inspiring (though still pale in comparison to the "wow" factor of Shanghai Bund).

Steps leading to basement one @ Fullerton Hotel

View from basement 

Are they the descendants of the fish we saw many years ago?

Cheng Kai and Cheng Jie used to like Koi pond very much! They would dip their fingers into the water and let the Koi fish licked their fingers!

Souvenir shot with the Koi fishes

Seeing double @ link-way to One Fullerton

Marina Bay Sands - skateboard on top of the three altars

Merlion - the Singapore Icon

Esplanade Theatre alias Durian House

Fullerton Hotel in the background