Honey4Boyz

There was not even a single signboard leading us to the Kinta Nature Park in Batu Gajah, Perak. The only landmark is Kampung Pisang, and from there the local directed us to the bird sanctuary. After that point, it was a dirt road riddled with potholes for another 5 kms like the picture below. On our right was the yellow and muddy Kinta River. The place was serene except for the sounds of birds singing and chirping.  Bumped into these two white-breasted waterhens, surely it was a dangerous attempt to cross the road with their barely walking chick (photo inset). After a long time, we came to a T-junction. There was not a single sign, but we decided to turn left. We immediately could tell that it was the right place. It was such a magnificent, striking beauty, with birds on the trees and those that were flying everywhere around us. We could not believe this was actually right at our doorstep. What a sight and music to our ears! We reached Lake Pucung, and directly oppos...

We went to Matang on our next leg of the journey from Penang to Ipoh. Matang is a swampy coastal land with many fishing villages near the coast.  One of the main attractions is the Kuala Sepetang Wetlands (Matang Mangrove Eco-Educational Centre) , which is part of the over 40,000-hectare Matang Mangrove Forest. Kuala Sepetang was previously known as Port Weld, and this was the place of the first railway line in the Peninsular, from here to Taiping. It's dismantled, and it's now a Chinese coffee shop but the shopowner still maintains the railway signboard and the ticketing booth. Today, the mangrove forest is recognised as the best-managed sustainable mangrove ecosystem in the world. The best part about the place is that you can stroll along the wooden boardwalk to see the inside of the mangrove forest.  These roots act as natural barrier against tsunamis! So cool under the shade of trees in the forest.... The young plant actually grows within the seed wh...

Nibong Tebal is a small town beside the Kerian River, which is about 40km from Penang. Most people will bypass this town and head straight to Penang island. We spent a day in this small town because we had heard much about the firefly cruise along the Kerian River. The best time to watch is between 8 to 11 pm. Before the firefly watching, we left at about 5pm for a cruise to a fish farm at the sea.  Nipah palms and their fruits (photo inset) were common sight along the Kerian River. The fruits made very refreshing drink in this hot weather. Mangrove trees of the species Berembang lined the riverbank of Kerian River. Fireflies are attracted to these Berembang trees. They are found in clumps between the Nipah palms. A pleasant journey with cool breeze. White egrets - friends of the river Finally we saw the  cage fish breeding   farms dotting the sea, about 3km from shore.  According to our guide, Nibong Tebal has the largest fish farms i...

During our recent trip to Penang, we spotted a soya sauce home-based factory in Nibong Tebal, about 40km from Penang. This was one of the few remaining soya sauce factories making the soya sauce in a traditional way.  The soya sauce factory was run by Mr Loh, the trade which was started by his father. Unfortunately, this is a dying and fast disappearing trade...  This factory produces the "Flower" brand soya sauce. But there's hardly any information of the brand in the internet. The Loh family does not distribute their products to the wholesalers but depend on their long-time and regular customers, who are familiar with their products, to purchase them directly from their factory. Besides soya sauce, they also produce chilli and tomato sauce, thick soya sauce and alkaline water for commercial use. Jin walking by vats of fermenting soya made in a traditional method in the large courtyard. The soya beans were fermented in large vats under the sun and covere...

We planned a last minute trip to Penang during the school holidays. I guessed every other family was planning to go somewhere, that's why traffic was very heavy. We started the journey at 12.30pm and arrived at our destination at 8.30pm, with about 2-hour stopover.  Stopover for the local delicacy - fresh steamed baby octopus at Nibong Tebal. It was chewy and could be quite addictive after the first bite. The boys were wary at first but thumbs up to them for giving it a try!! Weather in Malaysia has been extremely hot - intense heat especially in the afternoon. It's much better to enjoy the beach in the evening when the weather is cooler.  Football siesta at the beach! More local people streaming in to the Tanjung Bunga beach after sunset to enjoy the breeze. Beach acrobat Looking for crabs and clams on a moonlit beach The boys have so much fun on the beach with their cousin. Highlight for the night - a beach campfire!! This was really a...

The KL National Planetarium is one of the best places to get to know about astronomy. They organise events from time to time and you can visit the gallery and dome theatre for free during such events. In addition, they normally  set up many telescopes for public viewing.  We have been to their events for a few times, and from there we met many passionate and regular stargazers who were generous to share their knowledge and telescopes with us too. We also learnt about "astrophotography" ie taking pictures of celestial objects in the sky. Amazing you can take pictures of the Milky Way just outside your doorstep, no need to go overseas, as long as the place is dark and sky is clear.  Half-moon taken outside of National Planetarium (through a telescope) during Earth Hour on 31 Mar 2012. An orangy moon taken during a time when the moon was closest to earth on 9 May 2012. The moon looked orange when it's low and the light had to pass by dust and pollution...