Oh!pEnions: 06/20/10

Trip to Tanjung Sepat

We woke up at about 7AM or so. Which is considered very early for a Sunday. By the time we got ready, it was already ten past eight. So, while I dropped wife off at MacDonalds, I drove on to fetch my 2nd SIL. And after that, it was fun all the way!

Fun did you say?

Yes! Fun! Fun all the way!

Well, it was fun until I missed the exit for KLIA from the Seremban Highway. This was partly my fault because my Wife and her sister were conversing in Mandarin which forced my brain to work overtime trying to make sense of what they're talking about. But eventually, we still made it and rendezvous with the rest of the in-laws outside the Police Station. They commented we were quite fast since they 'just' arrived as well (and no, I did not speed). The original plan was to meet up at the KLIA Toll exit and proceed to the final rendezvous. Since we missed that, we used the GPS to guide us straight to the final point instead.

And where is that place? Tanjung sepat.

This is a small fishing place just southwesst of Selangor. A lot of tourists came not just for the fishes but also for the Longan, Dragon Fruits, the Ganoderma and mushrooms. Oh, and also the wonderful seaside restaurants too.

As you can see, the girls were very excited with the

early morning trip.

But it wasn't until one of their favourite Aunt came

everyone shared their MacDonalds (except me)

Tanjung Sepat Market

After finding the tour guide, we were led to the first stop, which is the Tanjung Sepat market. Here, you can get the freshest catch as they were brought in straight from the boat.

By the time we got our act together, we reached

the market about 11, which in terms of marketing

etiquette, we're very late.

Still, most of the stalls are still open

Someone was interested in a very

weird fish caught by someone else

Can you see all the fish in this basket?

Aha, but you cannot just buy the yet.

Not yet, anyway, until I explain why.

When the boat docks, the catch are then collected

and sent to the market. Here, you can see how it

is being delivered by those slightly irritated motor

cyclists who have obviously experienced too many

tourists blocking their way as they keep horning

us when we were standing near the ramp. I was so

tempted to just rush over and kick his bike over.

Then slap him with some fish.They prefer to horn

at open mouthed gawking tourists rather than just

tell since to move aside as this is already routine

for them. Why waste time?

Anyway, once inside, they will unload the crates

and no, its not over yet.

There is one more step to go before you

can see these fish displayed on the counter

Yes, they have to sell their fish to the middleman

before customers can get their hands on the fish.

Here, you can see the tour guide slapping her

forehead because she missed out on the 12Kg

puffball and the white albino octopi in the auction.

As eager customer looked on, the slave was

being kicked for not sanitizing his hands

before tipping all the fish onto the floor.

In the meantime, out of boredom,

a beauty contest was being held

outside where the winner gets to

have my MacDonalds burger

While the temperature slowly rose, I got everyone

into the car and turned the aircon on. It was alright

until I placed an undergraduate at the driving wheel

Joo Fa Trading's Coffee Powder

Who would have thought that right in the middle of a narrow street full of houses, there is a shop making and selling coffee powder? Well, this is one of them and the aroma coming from it was heaven. Forget CoffeeBean and Starbucks, this is the real thing. One whiff of the aroma and you'd instantly regret spending so much on those pussy drinks.

Since everyone is using Mandarin, which is a challenge to me, I will do my best to translate the process that took place.

If it wasn't for the sign, we would have missed

the place. And this is how it looked outside

The process start with that every normal person

would do; pick up the coffee berry and pretend to

be an expert by looking at it intensely

After realising its not going to get them any chicks, they

chuck the berries into this machine where it separates

men from...er, the beans. Its a stripper machine.

As a last ditch attempt to get chicks for the night,

one would just spread the beans onto a table and

let it lie there until bus loads of unsuspecting

tourists come through the door.

Thats when you heat up the big wok and

splash it about with lots of water to create

those mysterious mists as seen in movies.

And when its clean, you dump in the coffee

beans into it.

And it is roasted over charcoal fire.

Due to severe manpower shortage,

it is now OK to use machines to stir

the beans as authorised by the local

Coffee Bean Association International

Once roasted, the beans would have to be

grinded into powder before putting into

bags for sale. Since a steamroller is too

big to fit into the house, a small grinder

will suffice.

And there you have it. Free coffee all round.

Truthfully, once you take a sip, you're hooked.

And everyone rejoiced

Since the kids are already high on sugar, its

actually a very bad idea to give them coffee.

Coffee beans being dried in the sun.

The Longan Place

Next on the list is the Longan place. I am not going to name this place nor mention it too much as there is a story here.

The place is not easy to spot as it is very deep into the

land, and with no visible markings its easy to miss. Oh,

with so much 'traffic' the road is quite bad and sometimes,

you have to give way to other cars, unless yours is bigger

or you have a long convoy to back you up. But all bets are

off when you drive a bus.

Everyone knows that they grow on trees

(except me)

Although the place feels large, I have the feeling

that its not very big

However, once I looked at the other side, the place

just goes on forever.

Bus loads of tourists came and went without buying much

which is a bit funny. Later on, I found out that some of the

crab apples I bought were not that tasty.

Still, what attracted me to this big 'shed' was the platform

as I imagine this would be how I would do up my house if

I do get the chance to buy a warehouse or a studio building

Before going off, there were some longans on the

ground which Kristine and her cousin played

Never knew we were being watched and so, someone

went and picked some longans across the fence even

though there were some notices telling everyone not

to do so. what came next was unexpected. The owner

scolded him for being "takda moral" and promptly

snapped the whole branch of longans clean off to let

it fall off the ground, as though it was tainted. Most

surprisingly, the guilty fellow held his temper. My

told me about this later and I thought they were

talking to the owner since I know jack about Mandarin.

I told my Wife, "Thank goodness I did not understand

Mandarin or else." They he scolded was very uncouth

bordering on being an uneducated lout.

Road side Pineapples

One more stop before lunch. A roadside stall selling pineapples. And this is not just any stall too. They have pineapple chili sauce (or was it just pineapple sauce?) and even pineapple jam. I was more interested with the mangoes until the man came overe and invited me to have a chunk. Wow. it is sweet! There is no sigh of sourness or any reaction to my tongue. So, I wanted to have some. As they're selling Rm5.00 for one, it took me quite some time before Wife agreed. Since she predicted she would be the one doing all the peeling which she hates. (Well, she was right about that. Ha ha ha!)

Sadly, I forgot what species these pineapples were and

so, its not going to be easy to look for them outside here

Lunch at Ocen Seafood

Finally, it was time to have lunch and the tour guide brought us to Ocen, which I think, is again, hidden away in the residential area but its actually a seaside. What is so nice about this place is that it has a jetty.

A lot of customers came to this place.

While the rest of the family took care of the food, some

of us decided to explore the jetty.

And before you know it, the food is ready. Sometimes,

food arriving on time can be bothersome. Ha ha ha ha!

Our very own appetizers; longan and durian

The food kept coming non-stop and they're

delicious. If you're there, do order the ohjen

which is basically oyster with fried egg. If

you have eaten the ones in Penang and other

places, this one is really different. Very very

different as its basically full of fresh oysters

and bits of eggs (usually, its the other way round)

After the meal, the girls wanted to continue exploring

the jetty which I gladly took them.

The jetty is made of two parts; the cement walkway

and then toward the end, wooden planks. While we

were walking towards the boats, Kaelynn looked down

at the planks, saw the deep water between the cracks

and got frightened. So I distracted her with getting her

to sing some songs and random "la's".

While we were there, I decided to take some actual

photos. As the girls were in a very good mood, I got

some very good ones.

And now, I am going to show you how much I

sucked at Photography. Yeah, I tried my very

best to take bad photos all the time. And with

years of practice, I think I have become an

expert. You could even say, I am a pro.

Damn. I still can't remove the UV lens that

got stuck with the circular polariser. So, you

can see them on the four corners.

I was supposed to take multiple shots with

different WB to try some HDR but I forgot

about it since it was time to get back to the

restaurant.

Impossible Life

The Lone Rider

Ganoderma (Ling zhi)

Here, at the mushroom farm, we get to see how mushrooms are cultivated and then harvested. The most important is that I finally get to touch a ganoderma. It was all very interesting and informative but after we left, I realised I did not buy any ganoderma powder.

Ganoderma mushrooms on display

Here., in the dark and damp area, we can see how the

mushrooms are being grown.

Unfortunately, the kids were more interested

in the bikes. They charged Rm30 for 30 mins

and Rm50 fo one hour. Where to bring these

bikes, I have no idea.

They have a jetty too. But once you've seen one,

you've seen them all and so, with the lunch in my

stomach, I was too lazy to go out there again and

not only that, I am starting to notice the sun-burn

on my neck from the first jetty.

They also have a stage where the children used it

to full effect, staging their own shows. Later on, it

was swamped with other children who also loved

the idea, same as when we were with the bikes.

Like every tourist tra... er, place, they have their

own shops as well. Here, we bought a lot of weird

ganoderma drinks.

Tanjung Chips

This is a very interesting place as this where they make those potato chips. Tapioca plants have their skin removed and then thinly sliced before being processed. I did not take any pictures here as I don't think its appropriate to do so as its very easy to 'steal' their technology. Anyway, we bought a lot of chips and it has nothing to do with the World Cup. Its actually meant for my colleagues. While we were there, we got the opportunity to eat fresh crispy chips.

Dragon Fruit Farm

Another farm by Arowana Malaysian Food just like the Tanjung Chips above. By now, the kids are sleepy and so, I stayed put to look after them and this is the last stop anyway.