kukup

phoebe went to kukup last weekend. it was really fun. it was my second trip there - since a really really long time ago! to those who are not familiar with where and what kukup is... its a fishing village at one corner of johor bahru is (where all the mats relec at...ok bad joke!) yea and there are lots of mangroves and houses are all on stilts. really good seafood too. yum!

it started with a bus ride up to johor bahru.

then we stopped by a very old school coffeeshop for breakfast.

fishball noodles.

really good coffee, old school style.

after that, we took a 1 and a half hour cab ride up to kukup.

as soon as we arrived, lunch at a one of their popular seafood restaurants.

fish, prawns, crab, you name it, they serve it!

then after we were done, we walked out to the balcony at the restaurant to enjoy the sea-breeze and view.

everything was on stilts.

we got amused at passing boats and imagined what it was like to fish.

then we took a walk outside, along the row of shops and foodstalls.

goreng pisang.

we stopped by for some young coconut.

and then we realised that it wasn't even local.

finally we made our way into the village where everyone lived.

so sad, i see that woman sitting there alone all day. but that's what most of their houses looked like.

don't worry, no one lives in that wooded thing. its actually a bathroom. why is it isolated? no the family living there doesn't hop over, they actually abandoned it cos modernisation has introduced tiled bathrooms to most of them. so they kinda left that old bathroom hanging there like that. how 'nice'. but come to think of it. what can you do with it? hmm.

most of these houses had gardens like this. ok no, they're actually mangroves. yea those mangroves were like weeds growing everywhere! and just a point to add. kukup is the island with the most mangroves in the world! wow.

after about 5mins or so, we reached our chalet. a really clean and nice place. oh yea and this time they've got concrete walkways, before it was all wooden. imagine walking on a shaky, unstable path and the chances of you falling into the water is extremely high. hmm.

i looked over to the neighbour's house, curiously(cos everything is so amusing), and i realised that the pipes didn't lead to anywhere! everything just poured out into the water!!!

nature call. and i went in and didnt know what to do. ok it wasnt the first time i was using it, but it was like what - 12 years ago! so this is like a new experience. trust me, it really is an experience!

the corridor of the house. it has about 5 rooms if i remember correctly. no, maybe 4. oh nevermind. yea and everything's so clean, unlike the last time.

mudskippers. really really interesting creatures i tell you. i stood by the balcony observing them all day. just so amusing! and my mom thinks that this pic of the mudskippers looks like eyebrows. no comments.

then we took a boat ride to the kelong, a fish farm.

i like this pic of that dog on the boat. oh i love dogs. but i really dont understand what the dogs are suppose to do on the kelong anyway. guard the fishes? hmm.

interesting creatures living on the pillars. hmm some kinda shellfish i suppose.

at the kelong. all sorts of fishes and funny creatures.

this is a very amusing fish i tell you. it'll squirt water at insects so that they will lose balance and fall off and become prey to the fishes.

and uncle phillip decided to try it out. it worked! really, no kidding!

another dog at the kelong. oh i love dogs!

this kid was showing us all the different kinds of creatures living in the sea. and here he's holding up a 200 year old oyster. is it even alive? i really havent got an answer for you!

this is a horse-shoe crab. no, i dont know if its edible.

more interesting creatues, including sea urchins, thunder crab, baby sharks... oh many many!

they even have jelly fishes here.

when we got back from the kelong, the tide receded. low tide. in fact, its no tide! haha. ok fine, not funny.

rats! oh rats, they were all around. they can actually swim!

sunset. time for dinner.

BBQ!

more seafood!

and after that, we played fireworks and firecrackers. oh so fun!!! couldnt take pictures cos my camera was too slow. but its soooo fun!!!

mahjong, mahjong and mahjong all night. i still dont understand the game. oh well.

sunrise. i jumped out of bed at 6.30am and ran to the corner of the village to get a clear view. oh it was lovely. looking at how the village lit up and people started getting going with their day. so fun.

mr crabs. i wonder if he knows spongebob. ok not funny again. but eh its interesting right?

really good breakfast, prepared by the lady who owned the chalet house. linus likes this pic. i know, i like it too.

then we walked around the village to the fishermen area. and this is a fisherman in his boat.

this is a fisherman's boat.

this area is only made up of wooded planks. oh so scary walking on them. and i saw this lady working on her fish, drying them in the sun.

kampong chicken. really, they are kampong chickens!

squids laid out to dry in the sun.

this grandpa was teaching his grandson how to swim. but in that water.. EW!

this couple was fishing. in that water again! EW!

freak! this stingray is so freaking BIG!

and time really flew by. bye kukup!

this uncle's cab is so retro! okay out of point.

took the train back to singapore. it was a really bad experience. waiting for like 2 hours for the train. horrid!

but you know what? i enjoyed myself a lot. looking at the people and all the funny creatures all over. oh i can't wait to go back again!