Popular Hawker stall at Permas Jaya, Johor Bahru

Located just along Jalan Permas 7, Permas Jaya, Johor Bahru.
(N1°30.006' E103°49.202')

I had been noticed this stall quite sometimes ago.
Business is very good especially weekend afternoon. That's make me curious & wanna try out their foods.

One of the Saturday afternoon, me & my brother in-laws visited this stall. Basically they are selling nasi lemak & others light foods, and their coconut drinks are selling like a hot cakes!

We order the coconut each and pack of mee-siam. It was tasty. Jerry (my bro in-laws) noticed the sugar cane looks like those planted natural from village....and we decided to taste it. Hmm....Fresh & good! It's different from those chemist perfectly sweet selling in the cities. It's the original sugar cane!

We monitored the customers non-stop dropping by, some come for the fresh drink....some are attract by their light foods. Beside this stall, there's another stall selling all type of fried snacks. Like goreng pisang (fried banana) and others.....

If you like to have some light food during tea break, it's worth to try out this stall.

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Mount Everest -Dreaming With Open Eyes

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Maybe you are dreaming climbing the mount Everest as I do. Maybe you think the best in the world is to stay on the pick and to sleep there. But you know, it's unpossible. Even if I had so much money and could buy this event for me, it could not be real. In any case. It's not for everybody.

Wait! Maybe not everything is lost?... Before you disperate read this:

Here are some ufficial dates about the alpinist season on the highest mountains this year.

The oldest person this year was a man from Nepal that had 76 years, other from Japan 75.
There were 9 women from 9 different etnic groups from Nepal.
One alpinist family from Canada -father (57), mother (56) and their 3 children (20,23,25).

Maybe you don't know it, but there are 14 mountains that are higher than 8000 m.
One alpinist reached the 14-th of for him pick this year and there are now 14 persons in the world that climbed all 14 mountains. But this man was the 7-th that did it without the additionaly ossigen and he is the first from South America.
one alpinist, Juanito Oiarzabal, is the only man that did this climbing 22 times (8000 m).

The black side of this beautiful dream is that the men that climb mountains remain there sometimes.
This year 6 alpinists fall from their dream-mountains. One of them was a legend of the alpinism, from Spain (1967) that had 12 climbings on 8000 m picks in his life.

We will be more prudent. We will lookat the world around us from the top of the mount Everest directly from our PC. Visit this panoramic photo to do it.

Everest:


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Chinese Ghost Month at Johor Bahru

The Ghost Festival (中元節) is a traditional Chinese festival, which is celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month.

In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. During the Qingming Festival the living descendants pay homage to their ancestors and on Ghost Day, the deceased visit the living.
For more info, please click here.

There's no different at Johor Bahru here, same as every state in Malaysia.
Within the month, you can see there are many stages & tents been setup. The stages are for the show and the tents are for the ritualistic food and burning incense.
During night time, there'll be peoples in front of the stage watching the show...:) Even though the Chinese traditional show and singing performance is for the ghost but....haha! peoples love to watch it too! The show normally will live until midnight.

I did join one of the group during my teenage on the 80's. My purpose are : 1) Earn extra income, 2) Gains experience & explore, 3) Getting to know more friends & Fun!! Haha!

Most of the Chinese here will do praying in front of their house in day time or night time. There will be no Standard day within the whole month, everyone chose their own lucky day! :)

The business man over here have their praying too! Because they believe it will bring better luck & more business! Most them prepare in bigger scale (in everything) compare with those praying within houses.

They believe the more you burn...the more you will get in the coming year.....

Giant incense are everywhere

During the Seventh Ghost Month, many peoples also won't renovate or swifting anything in their house. They believe.....this will cause them bad luck!
I still remember, some seniors said.....babies and kids advise not to go out their house during night time....
There are many traditions or superstitious guide still exist today! Basically, they are more on restrictions.

Some said....if you take picture while it burns, sometimes you can see some 'shadows' .....hmm...can you see it? I see nothing.....

Another interesting situation that you be able to see it is....the live bidding during the Ghost Month dinner! Too bad that I don't have any photos to show.
They bid anything on the stage, all the successful bidders only pay back on the following year. Yes, that's mean you can use it or finish the foods & drinks, but pay it next year! The term is One Year.

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The restaurant you won't visit second time!

We visit this McD (N1°29.702' E103°48.924') at Permas Jaya few times back......
As usual this time, we having our weekend breakfast here....
And they surprise us by the 'toilet'! Shit was everywhere but the cleaner seems like nothing happens having her own sweet time sweeping the floor in front of the counter....where there's no customer.

Just imagine that, the restaurant is fully air-condition and customers are enjoy having their meals, but mixed with some special smell.....?!

Anyway, the peoples who serve at the counter are not polite even. From the moment we walked in until we left, there are no smiling face from the staffs over here!
Hmm....this is the worst McD I visited, and will not back again, will you?
Share your view, or tell us your experience.......

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A Day At McDonald's Skudai, Johor Bahru.

I drop by this McDonald's Restaurant (N1°31.384' E103°40.703') for a drink one day, what a coincidence that I meet a group children having party around the area......


Curiosity of me found out they are from Macroview Child Care Center at Taman Daya, Johor Bahru. This was one of stop for their yearly trip (The center will organize such trip for all the children annually). I was told by the friendly principles (Mr & Mrs Tan) that the Child Care Center is taking care children from 3 to 12 years old.

Hey! Wait for me!!

I felt rejuvinated while I mix with all these children, there were so happy playing around the area. Their voices & laughing were fill up the restaurant with full of happiness!!
Children will not feel hungry around there, because....once you feel wanna eat something, just ask the coupon from the principle! That's easy! But strictly no Toys!! Haha!


Once they filled up their stomach, the teachers will arrange them to visit the kitchen of McDonald's. (This was one of their program)

The manager patiently arrange the team to visit their kitchen

The area is big enough for the group of children and also other customer. As you can see the group were separate from the customer area to prevent any disturbances.

Who were there........
Pictures of the happy children & their teachers.....





After about 2 hours later, they are queuing up to leave and prepare for their next stop.....





I didn't follow them to the next stop, but.....thanks for the joyful moments!!

The address :
Lot No. PTD13309 & PTD52136
KM11 Jalan Skudai
Mukim Tebrau
81200 Johor Bahru
Tel : 07 - 2383 729
Fax : 07 - 2383 932
Free Wifi services provided

I did ask Mr Tan about the reason to chose this McD Restaurant than others.....he said that the air-condition here is cold enough and the staffs are friendly. I agree with him!

Related post :-
* Macroview Care Centre, Taman Daya - Johor Bahru. (2008)
* Mid Autumn Moon Cake Festival at Macroview Care Centre (2009)

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What Do You Need For Your Vacation

I read today an article telling about the things a person has to take when preparing a vacation. There were necessairs, bottles, boxes, pillows... "A sensitive person has to think to create comfort when she/he is going for a trip." It is a publicity and education of us to buy more and more, to create more and more comfortable life for us.

I like comfort too. Confess. The first thing I do when I reach this or that place is to create comfort around me. If I need a telephone I buy radio telephone to feel free from the wire. If I need igienic paper I prefere something soft and resistent. And I have a recipient with 40 pieces of it an arm far from the sit. I want to feel cleen hands (and not only them) in any potentially dirty place, so I have all sorts (for every part of the body) of wet cleaning napkins in my bag. Etc etc.

But...
Tell me pls, when you were more happy and the travel was more memorable: in the place with all comodities or when you were a "wild tourist"?


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"Norman" Towers Of Salerno

One of the romantic and very attractive things of this region were for me "Norman" Towers. I think you will agree with me if you look at this photo. This is the tower of Vietri Sul Mare, the town situated about 3 km from Salerno. The part of earth that you see on the right is Amalfi Coast.

Once I read about the next on the right tower, the tower of Cetara: the owner wanted to sell it and wanted 2 millions for it. Maybe it was not too much for a building like this.

Interesting is that these towers have nothing common with Normans. They were built after 1537 to protect the coasts from the Saracens and others. The joke of the fate was that they were never more useful.

In these towers lived a corporal and 4 soldiers. They had to guard the sea day and night. If they wanted to eat, thay had to go to the resident persons and ask them for food.
The ships navigated near the coast at that time and on the place in the top of th tower was a cannon to fire transgressors.

The tower over here is in Salerno today. But about 100 years ago the people lived only inside the town-walls. And this place was far from the town.

As you see, the latest owners of the towers use them for different aims. They build houses on the places for cannons. I've seen the plans of some of these towers, they have staircases inside and maybe 2-3 little rooms without windows. So, the only possibility to live there is to build a house on the top.

Incredible, but people in Salerno live in the houses built thousands of years ago.

JOTA - Asia Pacific Region 2008, Johor Bahru

JOTA APR (Jamboree on the air - Asia Pacific Region) for Johor Bahru was held on 2nd & 3rd AUG 2008 at S.K. Princess Elizabeth (School for Blind). This activity held annually on the first weekend in August.
On the first day, every Hams are helping to set up the systems & also the VHF & HF antenna at the JOTA base JB.

Yaesu FT-920 HF radio set and MD-200 Dynamic Microphone

Yaesu FT-225RD 2m All Mode Transceiver & Antenna Tuner

Scouts from different schools around Johor Bahru started to visit this JOTA event since nine o'clock morning. Once they registered, 9W2BUG - Jaya (Assistant Director of JOTA) will start to short briefing on the theory of the HAM Radio and what is about JOTA.

9W2BDX (Right) - Director of JOTA, Secretary Of Training for Federation Of Scouts Malaysia, Johor Bahru District

Then all of them are going to the area where all the Ham Radios are ready for them to make contact (through the air) with others scout in different country .

9W2BUG & 9W2DAL (Daniel) busy tuning on the radio....

9W2TSK - Kumar & 9W2DAL

The HF Frequency to transmit & receive

That's the time we - Ham's member start to assist them. Take turns to guide them slowly to make contact through the air by using the VHF & HF radio frequency. The VHF radio was link through the Echolink Gateway and communicates with other state or other country within the Asia Pacific Region.

9W2BUG explain about the ITU Region to the Junior & Senior Scouts

Final check on the VHF Radio

9W2BUG in action!

9W2DAL - Daniel in action!

9W2TSK - Kumar guide the Junior & Senior group of scouts


9W2JJR - Philip handling the Simplex session for the junior.

Every ham members were busy, and we wish there will be more ham to help us during that moment!

Every scout has to make at least one or two contact to anyway during the practice. There were around 60 scouts participated during the event.

Now, the Main Attraction of the Day!
A boy was very excited to touch on the radio.....join us chatting....tuning & listen to the radio signal! He like to experience the Base & handheld radio too!
His passion of learning is very much better than other kids I meet before......

Listen very carefully on the handheld set....

9W2TSK was kind enough to taught him how to listen to music from his mobile, and he was patiently touch the phone and told us that - It's a 3G phone!! (I cannot understand how he can touch the 3G....)

He took only about 5-10 minutes to master the step-by-step to switch on the music from the phone! Excellent! Isn't it? We are really admire his talent and passion!!

After he knows the step, he quietly walked to the area where not too noisy and enjoy the music of the phone.......

His name is "Meng Hong". He's blind......

The event end on Sunday 6pm, 3rd AUG 2008.

Related post :-
* The First School for Blind in Malaysia (1949), Johor Bahru

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