Kukup

How many years since the last time I visited Malaysia?

No idea, must be donkey years ago. Based on OUR current situation, going Malaysia is like a dream. What's more, Malaysia is just beside Singapore. I only remember the most recent epic plan of going Genting was cancelled due to some stupid issue. *WTF*

Never mind, I'm glad my Ah Ma and her gang formed a tour group to visit...

KUKUP!

It's a rare opportunity for me because basically for one reason, I've never been there before. :O

Which means, I can broaden my knowledge! And train my photography skills as well.

I woke up at about 5.30am, took a bus and headed to a destination whereby one 14-SEATER MINI BUS was waiting for us! How cool is that?

Trust me, it's comfortable. As though you are relaxing in your own room.

Finally we reached the customs, and here I met a problem. Checking into the customs had become so high-tech and convenient that you just need to scan your passport and thumbprint, the gate will open and you're good to go! Now the problem is, I'm new to this system! The gate doesn't open when it's supposed to, embarrassed myself and behind my back was my Ah Ma being a kancheong spider, making my start of the day unpleasant.

They all want "speed", forsaking the true meaning behind 'travelling'. What's the point then? Running away from one country to the other? Come on, relax!

Sad moments aside, I‘ve reached Malaysia! Had our breakfast at a roadside coffee shop, the wonton mee there was super nice!

Then we move on to a roadside durian booth, freshly picked King of the Fruits for enjoyment!

Next we stopped at a distant relative's shop cum house. Yes, shop cum house. We don't usually see that in Singapore! A shop at the front house, and directly at the back will be where you sleep!

Before heading to our B&B (Bed & Breakfast), we had a sumptuous lunch at an outdoor seafood restaurant with a decent sea view.

At Kukup Fishing Village, how could you miss out kelong? A fishing trap built on stilts, taking a boat trip there is fast and easy.

Crouching Humans, Hidden Fishes...

The Archerfish, known for their ability to literally shoot their food down with water droplets from their specialised mouths.

After a rather long walk through the narrow concrete bridge with swamps and mud at the sides, we've reached our Kampung-style B&B!

Over there you can see people riding their motorbikes along the stretches of B&Bs, please be careful and keep your eyes and ears opened, if not you may find yourself accompanying the mudskippers in the mud!

Some of the motorcyclists travelled from one place to the other, while the rest were selling fruits, dried food and...FIREWORKS.

Will talk about that later on, let's take a look at our B&B.

Thank goodness it's air-conditioned. But don't think that I always stayed in the room, I went out to explore!

Cost-saving toilet. I don't think it's even fit to be called a toilet, it's just a rectangular hole. Everything goes down the muddy area (which is connected to the sea). Hmm...what about the environment?!

It's hard being a photographer when the photographer himself don't take nice photos, but he doesn't seem to have a choice when almost everyone is expecting him to do so, telling him what to shoot AND how to shoot. Under pressure help one's growth?

A view right outside our B&B.

Highlight of the day : Mudskippers. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.

We went to Kampung Air Masin too, right next to Kukup. It's much closer to the sea, which simply meant windy areas. If we're coming back again, it's likely we're gonna come here instead.

Soon, the night falls. An uncle from Kukup brought us to a location that offers a splendid view of the sea to teach us how to set up our Sky Lanterns. Apparently we failed, that particular night was too windy! It seems like our wishes were far from coming true...

We still have 5 more lanterns left, and decided to "fly" them tomorrow morning.

In my opinion that location was the best so far in Kukup, I saw a forest becoming a 'Fantasy Land' in the night, glowing with a faint red of 'aura'.