a fishermen's village.

I was in Kuala Besut for 3 days.



Woke up early in the morning to go to the fish market. I think I woke up around the range of 5.30 am, which is very early for my standard.




I love the sea breeze during this hour.




A fishing boat by the harbor. Frankly I arrived late, as most of the fishes are already inside the complex. I was hoping to take pictures of fishermen carrying the fishes into the complex, but alas luck is not on my side. Maybe next time.




This is an LKIM complex, the place where fishes and other seafood are collected before being distributed elsewhere.




You can buy fishes here at a price cheaper than the market. But don't expect it to be too cheap though, seafood are expensive everywhere.




A nice display of teamwork by the locals.




I'm ashamed to say that I don't know the name and types of many of these fishes.




Fresh squids for sale.



Barramundi, or as we call it, ikan siakap. But this is no normal siakap, it is of the sea variance, which according to my cousin quite hard to get nowadays. It is a lot tastier too.




I wonder how it feels to be in the sea for several days.




The sun is up and shining now though the watch only shows 7.30 o'clock in the morning.




But the surrounding is still cold and breezy which is very nice.


 
I'm sure most of us are still sleeping right now, or for those who are working - are just getting into the office. These guys are already awoke by 3.00AM to start their work.




Simply fascinating to see.




They use those things at the top of the boat to catch fishes in a large amount. Normally they will leave it down the sea for several hours, up to half a day and scoop it back in into the boat. The boat is not static during this time, it will circle around to maximise the catch.



I will surely be coming back , I'm sure there's many new knowledge that I can learn here.




Stopped by Bukit Keluang next.




I was really, really surprised at how much of a mess this place looks right now. It wasn't like this the last time I was here. Look at the wooden bridge, there are gaps everywhere. One wrong step and you'll fall down under.




I think lack of funding is one of the main factor for this.




It was amazing to see this little thing fly, and believe me, getting it to hover and fly is harder than it looks.




Frankly this is just embarassing, since this quite a popular tourist spot. Infact there's a resort just near this.




Sat down near the beach for a few minutes before going home to have breakfast.




A local warung. The porridge here is nice.




Ordered ABC and Nasi Air for lunch.




Got brain freeze eating this.




What a nice little village.




The sun starts to set. Let's try to catch the sunset shall we?




Seeing this man fishing by the beach really caught my eye.




Seeing this man fishing by the beach really caught my eye. I was wondering the whole time, is is possible to fish here, and what kind of fish can they catch?




These are some of the fishes they caught. They are quite small but it is better than nothing I guess. I forgot the name of the fish here.




Let us leave this two man alone. Don't want to make them fell uncomfortable for too long.




What a nice looking sea of trees.


 
Unfortunately the area is not that clean. We are quick to blame the state council for not being serious in keeping the place clean, but take a look at this. There's a rubbish bin just next to this, but alas, people are too lazy too follow a simple moral code.

I guess it is a matter of our mentality towards cleanliness.




Some people are playing small motorcars here. Looks fun.




These are for the little kids.



Let's move on.




Arrived at the jetty at last. It's same place where I took the very first picture in this blog post.




You know it's funny, I have always been travelling around the village for more than 20 years and this is the very first time I've known of this spot.




Not quite sure if the bridge is intentionally built that way or not.




Again, people here really love to fish.




I strayed to the pack of trees nearby.




Looks like a scene from the soon to be released Hobbit movie.

Wish the place was bigger.




A shame how this picture is ruined by a plastic bag. Seems like rubbish is a re-occuring theme around here.




Went back to the jetty and the sky is now golden yellow- perfect for a sunset photograph. This man must have been here for hours already judging by his empty foodpack and drinks. They say fishing is a game of patience and I couldn't agree more.

From a photography stand point, this is not a very good photograph due to the not-so-straight horizon line. But due to lack of any editing software, I'll just post this the way it is.




Maybe one day I'll invest in Aperture. Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop is out of the question though, they are too expensive for me. I'll never use GIMP even though it's free, the learning curve is too much for me.





One thing of note is I can't help but notice just how much tourists here in Besut. Realize that we live in a very beautiful country, it is a huge waste for us if we were to not travel around and see the best our country has to offer.





I hope people enjoy reading and looking at the pictures as much as I enjoy taking them. It is a priceless experience, and one that makes me thing how unique our country really is.

johor bharu part 1: a stroll around town.

I had a walk around Johor Bharu just recently. I went out to town with my little sister and as expected, she wanted to stroll around a nearby shopping complex. So I was left alone to walk and shoot.


The weather's a bit cloudy though, so the sky is a bit dark. But it is perfect for a walk around town.




There's Singapore on the other side. The immigration checkpoint is bustling with activity on weekends.




Went to a very famous shopping complex here named City Square. Normally there are more people at these hour but since there is a renovation going on, there's noticably less people. Some shops were also closed temporarily due to the ongoing renovation.

It is scheduled to be finished in early 2013. This is also were I left my sister before going out to shoot.




Passing by this coffee shop makes me yearn for a nice cup of black coffee.  I'm sure abah would agree to go here if I asked him too, he loves coffee very very much.




Cotton On, a very famous clothing shop here.




I had a look around the shop and design in here is very nice. Quiet affordable as well.



I decided to go outdoor and shoot. This is a nice looking tower isn't it? Not too noisy nor seeking for attention.




I walked towards a nearby connector to go to the other side of the road. Lots of buses and taxis here today.




Even then, a major rehaul is needed in this city's transport system. Just good is not enough, a public transport system should be perfect.




The man is selling ruby stones by the walkway. I have no problem with whatever people are selling as long as it is from a halal source.




I have only started walking, but I'm starting to get dehydrated already.




Notice the construction on the left side, all of JB are like that now, some are undergoing renovations, while others are being rebuilt into something new.




It is quite dangerous to be crossing the road like this.




An old hardware shop. It pleases my heart to see shops like this still survive even with shopping complexes and megamalls sprouting everywhere. It shows that customer interaction is still an important part of trading.




Muruku and some fried delicacies.




A shoe stall. The shop owner I reckon is busy repairing shoes by the roadside.




A Hindu temple, lots of people are in here today with security guards guarding the roads.




Right after the temple is a shopping complex named Plaza Kotaraya. Personally I have never entered the place but mom said this is the place to go if you are looking for our traditional types of clothing.




Fresh coconuts are sold here. This is of the Kelapa Pandan variety I reckon, going by the sweet aroma.




Took a stroll around this quiet looking road next.




Stopped by this mini park to catch my breath. There are many banks around this area; Maybank, HSBC, OCBC, United Overseas - you name it.




There's Vios everywhere in this city If we were to look at statistics, Vios were sold so much that even if the car is a brand on its own, it would still be on top of the best selling car in this country.




Here's the bay where I snapped a picture of Singapore earlier. It's eerily quite and empty here. I think should come here again early in the morning for some landscape photography.

It is recommended to do landscape in the morning preferably around 7-8 AM so that the sky appears blue in our photo. Maybe I should also invest in a camera filter or two.




I think it's time for me to go back to my sister.




On my way back I noticed some rows of closed shops. Not sure if no one is doing business before or they are simply taking time off, it is Saturday after all.




The design and color of these shops reminds me of Muar, a town which I am very familiar with. The color also reminds me of our National flag.
Quite ironic really.




These trees provide a nice protection against the sun.




Passed by lots of street stall on my way back.




It is full with people even early in the afternoon, I must imagine the place must be packed at night.




I imagine these people just love the outdoor atmosphere of these stalls.




But of course some shops are not that lucky to have many customers at this kind of hour.



I'm close to City Square now.




I am not well versed on what they are doing, may somebody fill me in?




I wish I could go closer and shoot more photos but the smoke makes it quite uncomfortable for me to breath. Not to mention I don't want to be considered rude and disrespectful of their ceremony. Respecting other religions is a must.




We stopped by a shop called the Sizzling Stonegrill for lunch. It was my choice for lunch since I've been satiating of steak for quite a while now.

Here's some of the menu.



But I chose a Rib Eye Steak for lunch, the ostrich can wait. As you can see, the restaurant is quite full.




I ordered a nice glass of Cola Float. The orang juice in the background is my sister's.




A rib-eye steak is what I ordered. The attraction here is you need to cook your own food on the provided stonegrill. I'm targeting for a medium rare steak. My sister meanwhile ordered chopped chicken.




One disadvantage with it was, so long as the steak is still on the stonegrill it will keep on cooking. At first the steak was nice and tender, but the meat becomes well done at the end so it decreases my enjoyment on it considerably.

But cooking your own meal yourself is a great gimmick to attract customers. Other people look as if they are enjoying themselves.




Took another small walk before going home. I love the colorful look of buses here.




As you can see there are constructions everywhere.




Hope that it will not be as congested as KL.




Looking back at these pictures, the city is not all that modern, it's a weird amalgam of old and new things.




Seems like Ultrabook are the craze among laptop developers nowadays. I am personally fond of Asus's offering and also Vizio's. The ultra-thin design makes for a very versatile machine.




Here's the station connecting people from JB and Singapore.




I'm pretty sure parking by the walkway like this is not legal.




People are waiting for taxis I reckon. I think it's time for me to go home too.


 
But there's one more thing I wanted to eat before going home for good.




Stopped by a cendol stall which is quite near to my house. It has been a while since I last had cendol. I was in Muar last week and all the famous cendol stalls were closed.




At last a bowl of cendol. The picture might not look flattering or mouth watering, but believe me it is anything but. A perfect drink to have on a sunny day, anyday of the week.




Took this while enjoying my cendol. The reflection in here is very nice. You can barely see the edge of the table.

Finished my meal and went straight back home.




It has been quite a day today.



Of course when it is all said and done, I prefer a bowl of Kuew Teow Tomyam at a local warung anyday of the week.