1st January 2014 Nibong Tebal ExploRide Part 2

Here are more pictures from our first ride of the new year.

We went to a nearby coffeeshop for our lunch. The owner had this on display. It's a 250cc Suzuki but I have no idea what model it is.

The coffeeshop owner preparing to steam half the fish.

Here we are getting ready for lunch. Which basically means we're all looking a little sweaty and a lot hungry.

The boss' kids. Cheeky and a handful.

Here's the steamed front half of the fish, teochew style.

The back half of the fish was fried. We also had some slightly curried prawns. I'm no foodie so you figure out what the dishes were, but be assured they were very yummy indeed.

We later continued riding, enjoying the seaside scenery.

At one point we encountered cows. Many of them. This, after we'd cycled about a kilometre or two avoiding cow pats. Many of them.

The owner of the cows said he had about 50. From the number of cow pats we'd had t avoid, I would have thought the actual number of cows to be closer to 500...

We came to a mangrove area and I marvelled at how many tiny crabs there were. Stare at this picture and you can count quite a few

David explaining mangrove ecoology to Terrie.

I think this one is a Fiddler Crab with one huge claw.

Can you spot the little mudskippers?

Here's a claw of another Fiddler Crab.

This is a new house for a Malay fishing village nearby.

We spied some curious very black chickens and a rooster. According to a local, these are a breed form Thailand and even their skin and tongue are black. He claims their flesh and blood are dark too but we dared not verify this, even though I do carry around a little pocketknife...

These will be bananas one day.

David holding up a Kapok pod. 

The Kapok tree can be quite large. Kapok used to be used as stuffing for mattresses and pillows.

You like see-hum (cockles)? This is how they're cleaned and sorted.

They're placed in one end. The lighter half-shells fall through the first section of the sorter while the heavier ones continue. Empty one fall through too and heavier, full cockles go right through to the end where they're hand sorted. Some fall through at the third section and are run through the sorter again.

In the next part: Pictures of padi and padi harvesting.

1st January 2014 Nibong Tebal ExploRide Part 1

Happy New Year everyone!

As mentioned previously, I've been busy in Penang with Senyum Sajalah which wrapped up on 31 December. With some free time for the first time in some weeks, we celebrated the new year with a ride in nearby Nibong Tebal. You remember my good friend David Munusamy? Well, I, together with him and Pedal Inn Penang organised a simple ride for half-a-dozen people around some of the places I so enjoyed visiting in 2007 when I cycled through Malaysia.

Here are some pictures of a very enjoyable first day of the new year.

Here we are setting off from Nibong Tebal town.

Terrie, our English friend who turned out to be super fit, even if she was not so used to cycling.

Crossing a narrow bridge - and looking a little worried apparently

Kampung kids.

We cycled along parits (canals) in the bright morning sun.

Sugar cane on the left.

It was a flat ride, sometimes through town areas which were easy to navigate.

We passed a lot of fish farms. These machines aerate the water to ensure sufficient levels of oxygen.

The aerator are simple machines driven by a motor. Here's one with a scarecrow keeping an eye on it.

We got to a jetty where some fishing boats were coming in.

Mei, looking interested in the goings on... 

The motorbike/sidecar combinations scurry about, transporting catch from jetty to wherever.

Very fresh fish.

Some huge fellas.

Trading begins.

Just some people at one of the jetties.

Boats zoom in and out, quickly and expertly piloted.

David choosing a fish for our lunch.

And striking a deal.

Some rays.

The two gentlemen record details of each batch of fish being transacted. The one with the book records everything while the one on the left writes the official weight on a piece of paper which then goes with the batch.

The real boss is the man controlling the scale. He calls out each weight in a loud booking voice.

Mei pointing at a huge ray.

More to come in the next post, including our huge lunch of fish and prawns.