Tan Hiok Nee Walk 7 Aug 2013

Our hotel is just few streets away from Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. After we had checked-in to our hotel, Daddy just drove us around the city centre so that we can find a place to have our brunch. He parked somewhere near the parking lot, we just walked about to find some Chinese food.

The Tan Hiok Nee Walk was conceptualized and designed to be a pedestrian mall that is user friendly, in conjunction with the Johor Bahru City Council’s mission to make Johor Bahru a “Garden City” by the year of 2005.

The idea is to remind us the history of Tan Hiok Nee who was a cloth merchant in Singapore, and became a very successful pepper and clove trader in Johor Bahru. He became a wealthy leader of the Chinese community in the Johor.

Another important reason for this eye-pleasing pedestrian mall is to provide comfortable, clean and organized network of walkways linking the business district at Jalan Wong Ah Fook to Jalan Dato' Onn in front of the MBJB Building and Post Office.

This will revive business activities in the area as the Tan Hiok Nee Walk becomes a focus point for Johor Bahru citizens as well as visitors. Beside that, the street has been given a makeover with neat pavements, trees and painted shop houses.

We had our brunch at this very crowded restaurant – Triple K, which sells beef noodles. It looks so yummy and we were amazed by the crowds whom turned out.

We were thinking of, we should have a try in this restaurant, the food must be nice and delicious! And, it was so true, that we never regret of coming here!

Even though, we were sweat all way in and out, the shop was warm even with the air-conditioners were on.

In the afternoon, after our visit from the Chinese Heritage Museum, we visited one of the kopitiam – Kedai Makan Old Street Corner.

The kopitiam had enough ceiling fans to keep us cool in the middle of the day, and served several traditional Chinese delicacies which is really good. And, the drinks too ^^.

Daddy had been chit-chatting with the fruit stall uncle during we were there. We can see the shop just next to us caught our attention with a lot of people gathered outside the shop.

According to the uncle, the bakery is unique with the baking done by a big brick-made oven heated by firewood. As the bakery shop only bake the bread once in a day, so we will see the queue only when the bread is almost done during this hour.

In the evening, we came back around here to have our bites here. There are a lot of characteristic cafe, bar or bistro here during the night time, comparing to the day time, whereby most of the food stalls or restaurant are traditional and passed through generations.

If there is next time, we can have a slow walk and enjoy the trails…

 

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Annabelle’s School Concert Costume

Here is a photo Annabelle together with Issac in her concert costume at her school concert.

Lembing Riverview Resort 26 – 28 Jul 2013

Lembing Riverview Resort located in the Sungai Lembing Chinese Village.

A small matter need to highlight is that, you have to pass by a Chinese cemetery if you have to reach the resort, and the cemetery is so near just next to the road at the side.

Lembing Riverview Resort just situated next to the Sungai Lembing, all the chalets are made in mixture of timber and concrete just steps away from the river, it gives all the guests a comfort homestay feel.

There are 13 chalets rooms available in Lembing Riverview Resort, each with individual air-conditioned as well as attached bathroom with hot shower.

They provided the camping area too for budget travellers or camping lovers. Tents and shared bathrooms are available for gusts comfortably stay with nature too.

Issac, Annabelle and I took a double bed garden room. The chalets are overlook the garden and natural green lush forest.

Rooms are built with wood gives the feeling of returning to age-old time, equipped with queen size or single bed depends on the type of rooms, whereby the triple or quad rooms will be at a bigger house facing the garden and a pond as well.

Mostly, all of rooms had been occupied by our families members these 2 nights here ^^.

All of us love the resort very much! The resort have facilities such as sharing kitchen if the guests would like to prepare own meals, snacks or supper. An open dining area just next to the chalet where the guests can savour tasty local cuisine while enjoying the relaxing ambiance with spectacular view of river, pond, rainforest and garden.

Barbeque facilities are available too by the garden or the riverside. A Karaoke room with movies DVD and sound system for the guests to use.

There are bicycle rental service available too. And, a 25m reflexology path is designed for those that enjoy foot massage not forgetting a beach volleyball court is available for those that would like to have a sporting time too.

Something I would like to talk about is the BBQ dinner provided by the resort. They do serve BBQ or steamboat dinner and charges is RM28.00 per person. Initially I was planning for steamboat dinner for the night of 26th and BBQ dinner for the night of 27th, but the resort owner Mr. Hoh mentioned the steamboat dinner is not available at that point of time.

Thus, I just booked for BBQ dinner for all of us on the 27th night. Our BBQ dinner is really nice and delicious. Besides our family members, there are other dinners as well. There were Australian lamb, chicken wings, fish, prawns, squid, chicken Frankfurt sausages, sweet potatoes, sweet corn, fried mee and fresh fruits as well.

They served cordial drinks but all our uncles went out and bought their beers and stouts for the dinner too. Esiang, Esuang and Sia Chin went back to town to buy the famous charcoal burn roasted pork. It taste nice too. All of us had an enjoyable dinner at the garden except for the mosquitoes that stings.

Both Issac and Annabelle had a great time staying here as every morning they woke up, they will rushing to their playground - netting swing or the tyre swing! When I asked both of them, will they like to come here again if next time got opportunity? Both answered me, “Yes! Of coarse!”

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Relaxing Morning at Sungai Lembing 28 Jul 2013

Wake up in the morning is the most relax, because today all of us do not need to wake up as early as 5.30am like yesterday because of the Panorama Hill.

Still, need to wake up early as 6.30am as we want to eat the famous ‘San Sui Tau Foo’ due to yesterday we did not manage to taste.

All of us really enjoyed the Yong Tau Foo and the noodles as well, the Tau Foo really smooth and silky, it is different from the normal tau foo we eat because according to the local, they are using the mountain springs to do the tau foo - that is the different.

More and more people coming to the food court when the sky is getting brighter, by the time we finish our breakfast, I took a look at the stall, the famous tau foo also sold out. Lucky us ^^

After the breakfast, we took a morning walk at the town again. Looking at the shops it does really old and can be tell by its conditions. Once a busy town, left nothing much now.

So happened, every Sunday there have their morning market at the secondary main street. Not much things to buy as most of the things are toys for kiddos.

I guess the hawkers get their supplies from Kuantan. I took a few photos then we went back to our hotel.

After reaching the hotel, both Issac and Annabelle were asking me about going to the river behind the hotel, they wanted to play there.

I told them, cannot swim there but I do let them play the water and sand, because I do not bring extra clothing for them to change as I did not expect ‘we would play sand and water’ at this hilly area, and I totally forgot about the river!

Exuan just accompanied us to the river side. Both Issac and Annabelle were playing so happily, which afterwards we packed our luggage and left Sungai Lembing.

What a wonderful short trip our whole families members spent here at Sungai Lembing.

Hope we can come again next time ^^

 

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Sungai Lembing Museum 27 Jul 2013

After the breakfast and a quiet walk at the Sungai Lembing town, we decided to visit the Sungai Lembing Museum.

The Sungai Lembing Museum serves to disseminate information as well as display evidence of the celebrated history of tin mining in Sungai Lembing, in line with its one-time status as the world’s largest subterranean mine, as well as the richest town and the major producer of tin ore in the state of Pahang, Malaysia.

The Museum was officially opened on 23 April 2005. The museum building, which is two floors high, is located on top of a hill. It was formerly the residence of managers of tin mining companies in Sungai Lembing, from the Pahang Corporation Limited (1887-1906) through to the glorious heyday of the Pahang Consolidated Company Limited (PCCL), from the years 1906-1986.

The building, designed in the vernacular-colonial style, is known as European Bungalow 1 (or EB1 for short) to differentiate it from the residence of other senior British officers.

Permanent collections: Sungai Lembing Museum showcases a collection of the original mining equipment used for subterranean tin mining in Sungai Lembing.

Amongst the interesting pieces of this collection are the wooden moulds used for making spare parts for the machines that operated in the factories.

There is also a kiew wheel and a winch, which are part of the equipment used to raise or lower mining workers, goods, wood, or iron in the tunnel, as well as for hauling the ore.

The mini mox vehicle used to transport the General Manager to the mine or factory is also on display.

We went inside the museum and as the ground floor mainly is displaying the information of the history of Sungai Lembing, the Pahang Corporation Limited and Pahang Consolidated Company Limited.

After, we just follow the flows and went up to the first floor gallery to see the collection. The gallery is divided into 7 segments; Tin Mining History, Geology and Geomorphology, Mining Arcade, Mining Memoir, Mining Economy and Tin Mining Method and Tools/Clothing.

The arrangement of this museum is according to historical chronology so that visitor will understand the history better.

After back to ground floor, we have been leaded to a dark room where let the visitor understand how is the Underground Mining Operation was like.

And, the how the extracted tin ores been processed and delivered to the international market and what are the final products been used in our daily items, etc.

It is kind of informative visit even to the children ^^

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Quiet Morning at Sungai Lembing Town 27 Jul 2013

After we came down from the Panorama Hill, we reached the food court to have our breakfast. Unfortunately for us the famous ‘San Sui Tofu’ all finished, and we just managed to eat normal noodle soup with some ‘Yong Tau Foo’ only.

The crowds were huge and the queuing is long and have to wait for the noodles. I asked Ika to accompany both Issac & Annabelle find a seating place, while I and Esiang help to order and take the food. We were so rushing until all of us did not take any photo of our breakfast at all.

After our rushing breakfast, then we have a walk in the Sungai Lembing town. The town is so simple, it is actually just like cowboy town – one main street and have one more secondary street.

In the centre of the street, there is a giant old tree standing in the centre of the road. You can’t miss this tree as it is old and huge. It can be considered as a land mark of Sungai Lembing.

During its heyday, Sungai Lembing had the largest, longest and deepest subterranean tin mine in the world and was once the richest town and producer of tin in Pahang.

It was considered as the El-Dorado of the East in the then Malaya, as it contained a large community of white British people at Lembah Sungai Kenau ("Kenau River Valley").

When the British came to Pahang in the late 1800s, the mining concession area at Sungai Lembing was taken over by the British owned Pahang Corporation.

In its heyday, Sungai Lembing is equipped with some amenities such as schools, hospitals, shops, police stations, homes, good transport system and others. Sungai Lembing estimated population at that time was of 10,000 residents.

The fall of Sungai Lembing from 1984 by PCCL mining operations ceased as a result of the collapse of tin prices in the world market.

Furthermore, the global economic crisis in 1986 has caused many companies suffered losses. In 1987, this mine remained closed by PCCL following the expiry of the lease for 21 years, and the area was handed back to the State Government of Pahang.

Closure of the tin mines had many negative impacts on the Town of Sungai Lembing. It has changed the face of this city who had previously been silent noise. The population began to decline, and many migrate to other places to earn a living.

Sungai Lembing at this time the city became like dead because the atmosphere is so gloomy. After a long closed state government has taken over and handed over to local authorities, the Kuantan Municipal Council (MPK) as a tourist attraction.

We walked on the town, still can see the ages of the buildings, especially all the shop houses is made by timber planks and wood. Some of them have converted into the lodge or homestay. There are ATV to be rental too parking in front of the shops.

We re-visited the hanging bridges again this morning after our Sungai Lembing Museum trip. It is so serene and quiet place to live, of coarse for leisure.

During we were driving to the hanging bridges, at the road side, we did come across some places with a big hole at the side of the rocky mountain.

Esiang told us that, it were the mining tunnels previously where they used for mining the tin ores. It looks dark inside and big enough for a man to walk in. We just don’t dare to walk in.

Took a few pictures for Issac. I know they were having fun time too.

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Panorama Hill Sungai Lembing 27 Jul 2013

I woke up very early as at 5.30am because we wanted to see the sun rise at Panorama Hill. Surprisingly for me, when I called both Issac and Annabelle wake up, both of them too quickly took their jacket and wake up.

We drove out to the town and parked our car at the road side. Then, Esiang started to lead us walked till the staircase leading to the hill.

I asked him to look after Issac, as I need to climb up the stairs together with Annabelle.

It was really a steep staircase but of coarse with hand rail. The sky was still dark and we have to use our hand phones lights lighted up the staircase as it was really totally darkness.

Other than us, there were many people climbing the hill too.

Issac was fast and he did rest awhile at some of the small rest areas at the side. Annabelle really cannot take it, she kept on saying she cannot climb the hill.

She kept on asking me to carry her up. I just held her hand and told her that, “Annabelle, we are almost there. We just keep walking,ok?”

Actually, I really afraid that if I am going to carry her up to the hill, I might be leave no more energy to come down from the hill.

Further more, there were too many people were climbing also, I just do not want to be the obstruction of another hiker whom wants to go up to the hill top.

That was how, for almost 60 minutes I keep on telling her that, and lastly we reached at the top of the hill.

There is a small resting pagoda for the hill hikers to take a rest. We just finally sit there and took our sweet time to rest. Issac was there earlier than us, because he followed Esiang.

Later, Esiang brought us to a place where we can see ‘the sea of clouds’. It was really amaze to see the clouds before the sun rise, and it just like we are on top of heaven.

We see the sun slowly ‘pop up’ from the cloud. This was really our first time to see the sun rise together – Issac, Annabelle & Mummy.

It was a tiring but fun experience. When the sun rise, the sea of clouds just disappeared and we are able to see the small town of Sungai Lembing down the hill. Just gave us a feeling that we never thought that an hour of hiking can took us so high up at the hill top.

We were going down back from the hill, and both Issac and Annabelle were walking so fast till I have to chase at the back.

Some of the areas, the staircase really steeply. Both of them especially Annabelle was never ask me to carry her anymore.

What a good hike for all of us!

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