Johor Old Chinese Temple 9 Aug 2013

We woke up a bit late this morning as we were so tiring after yesterday trip to Legoland Malaysia, where we almost spent a day at there. We had our ‘morning walk’ around the Jalan Wong Ah Fook area, find our way to Jalan Trus. For a convenient shortcut, you can take the steps and walkway next to Public Bank Tower. We came to this Johor Old Chinese Temple.

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Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple known as Old Temple by the locals, is a Chinese temple located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Located at downtown Johor Bahru of Jalan Trus, the temple is flanked by modern skyscrapers. It is in the middle of The Puteri Pacific Johor Bahru Hotel and Pasar Seni.

This temple is one of the oldest structures in Johor Bahru. This 130 year old Chinese temple is the symbol of unity among the five different Chinese dialect groups (Teochow, Hakka, Hainanese, Hokkien and Cantonese), each of whom favour a different deity with is own statue in the temple. The temple also has Kwan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) and Weather God statues.

The temple was built during the 19th Century by then Head of Ngee Heng Company led by Tan Hiok Nee and various Chinese community leaders. Although there are no actual records regarding the completion of the temple, the plaque and the century-old bronze bell located in the temple shows that the temple is around 130 years old.

In 1995 / 1996, it underwent a major renovation at a cost of MYR1.5 million. Much of its cultural aura was preserved, and important relics such as the century-old bronze bell, joss stick pot and wooden tablet remain.

It organise annually Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple Chingay – Parade of the Deities. Thousands of people in Johor Bharu from all walks of life, young and old alike, are lined up in the streets to watch and participate in this event, which starts in the evening and ends after midnight. They are going for about 15km parade around the city.

The Chingay Parade has grown in recent years to become a massive street parade, boasting a stunning array of dancers, street floats, jugglers, percussionists, lion and dragon dancers, clowns and acrobats, among others.

Roads will be closed and traffic will be at a virtual standstill. Public transport will be rerouted and many businesses will close early. Schools will dismiss afternoon sessions early for students to get home quickly, so that they can join the throng who will converge in the heart of the city.

During our visit, it was quite quiet inside the temple, may be it was too early. Anyway, hopefully next round, would take more photos of this historical temple.

Legoland Malaysia 8 Aug 2013

Legoland Malaysia is a family holiday destination with more than 70 hands-on rides, slides, shows and attractions and designed for families with children aged 2-12. It is the first of its kind in Asia and offers adventure, education and fun for action-packed day trips or as a short break destination.

The children were excited and finally came to this Legoland ever since it opened last year here at Johor Bahru Malaysia. The colourful entrance is where all our fun begins!

 

1. Lego Technic

We decided and plan our adventure to start at the Lego Technic first, where everything is action-packed.

We started our first ride is Project X. It is a racy, crazy and 18m high roller coaster with steep inclines and sharp bends. We were surprised that Annabelle also would like to have a ride.

Initially we were planning as 1 adult accompanied 1 child, but Annabelle insisted she sat in front with Issac. In the end, when the ride started, she got scared and wanted to change the seat. She was crying and shouting all way long. After we had our ride, she just cried all the way.

Annabelle stopped crying after she saw the “spinning big cup”, and laughing. Technic Twister is a fairly standard spinning fairground attraction. Spin the wheel to control how crazy we want our ride will be. It was really fun!

Aquazone Wave Racers is a fast spin round in a skimming above water. Moderate splashing expected. We did not play this as we were afraid that all of us would get wet and the fast spinning would make us feel dizzy.

Further up we can find Lego Academy and Lego Mindstorms. These are rooms with plenty of Lego bricks and Technic pieces for kids to get their hands on and build stuff, and are in fully air-conditioned rooms. Outside of the are some robots which made by small pieces of Lego bricks and pieces.

 

2. Lego Kingdom

The highlights in this zone are the two roller coasters, The Dragon designed as a fire-breathing dragon through the Middle Ages, but get ready for the twists and turns along the way, and, a milder version, the Dragon's Apprentice for the park’s younger guests.

Due to earlier experience, Annabelle refused to ride and the rest of us just get along with her decision and do not ride on the thrills roller coaster. Other attractions include Merlin's Challenge is a high speed up and down carousel which put parents and children into a spin, we did not go also.

Royal Joust (a tame simulated horse ride for younger kids), this Annabelle and Issac got line up for their rides. It is so beautifully done on the greenery landscape, as the parents were waiting and can see their children riding on the horse, coming to their ways through the beautiful nicely field of flowers.

Forestman's Hideout is a kid's playground with slides, bridges and so on. Basically, a playground for the younger children. We did not go there either.

 

3. Imagination

Here we watched a 4D Movie in the Lego Studio called Spell Breaker and Legends of Chima which is one of 4 films that are shown in rotation. It was enjoyable and a chance to rest in air-conditioned comfort for a while. The shows were really fun and excited, there were water splashing or sprinkling, the wind blowing till your bones shivering, our seats were shaking all the while, etc.

Also in this zone is the Observatory Tower which provides a revolving 360 degree view of the entire theme park from a height of 50 metres. We were having fun too to see the view of the entire Medina.

Other attractions here include the Kids' Power Tower to prove your strength to gain a beautiful view over the park, Daddy and Issac had went to try. It really test their arm strength just to pull yourself up to the top.

Duplo Playtown is an interactive playground with farm, hospital, slides, and more!  A child size city for the youngest to explore. Duplo Express is a mini train ride which are aimed at toddlers and younger kids, and ride around the Duplo Playtown. Both Issac and Annabelle are too big for these playgrounds. They are not toddlers anymore!

There is a Built & Test air-conditioned creativity corner room for the kids to create their LEGO Models.

 

4. Land of Adventures

Fun activities here include the Lost Kingdom, which is an indoor ride journey into the forgotten worlds of Pharaohs.

But watch out! You never know what lies ahead…

On which you get to test your shooting skills using laser blasters. We did bought the photos from the Lego shots here.

Beetle Bounce bouncing of the life of the kids!!! It is a tower which bouncing up and down. Issac was very brave and immediately he said to us that, he wanted to have a try on this big ‘hammer’!

Dino Island, a log flume ride which you should only go on if you don't mind getting soaked. Annabelle and Mummy did not go for the ride as she did not want. Only Daddy and Issac go for the ride. They were having fun on this splashing ride!

 

5. Miniland

This is probably my favourite part of the park. It is a number of beautifully made scale models of famous Asian landmarks, all built from Lego bricks.

The buildings replicated in Lego include Petronas Towers and KL Tower, KLIA, Sultan Ibrahim Building, Johor Majestic Palace and Tanjung Pelepas (Johor), Fullerton Hotel and Clarke Quay (Singapore), Taj Mahal (India), The Forbidden City and The Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat (Combodia), Purah Tanah Lot (Indonesia), Patuxai (Laos), Karaweik Hall (Myanmar), Bolinao (Philippines), Wat Arun (Thailand), Hoi An (Vietnam) and many more.

 

6. Lego City

This popular zone includes Rescue Academy where families race each other to put out 'fires' in a burning building.

Boating School (battery powered boats), Legoland Express (train ride around the park) and the Driving School where children can acquire and road safety skills while driving battery powered cars around a road layout complete with traffic lights, road markings and traffic signs. On completion of the driving lesson children can obtain a driving license with photo for an additional charge of RM25.

We just skipped this section, as at that point of time, there were too many children and adults to queue for the games.

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There are plenty of shops scattered around the park selling Lego sets, gift items, snacks and drinks.

Dining outlets include Pizza Mania, Market Restaurant and Jungle Café.

It was almost raining when we were finishing our tour or visit. We felt that the timing were just nice.

The children were having fun, but us as an adult as well ^^

Galleria@Kotaraya Johor Bahru 7 Aug 2013

As we walked from our hotel towards the Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, just behind the Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Temple, there is a big shopping mall. Well, it is located in the heart of Johor Bahru, Plaza Kotaraya, a five- storey podium shopping complex with a gross area of approximately 546,530 square feet.

The re-branding exercise involved a name change from Plaza Kotaraya to Galleria @ Kotaraya. Post its refurbishment, it will emerge as an iconic as well as a new destination of shopping in Johor Bahru City. Well, it is now.

Galleria @ Kotaraya has become a Lifestyle Mall targeting the middle market, suitable for since its rebranding in July 2012. It includes a Food Hall, Fashion for Ladies and Gizmo for men as well as IT and Gadgets. The retail mix consist as local as well as popular brands complimenting its new image.

Not only does the mall provide vibrant shopping experiences and pleasurable services, there is more Galleria@Kotaraya could offer with its feast for mouth- watering range of treats , it’s also imbues this experience with choice of events, performance and exhibits showcasing one of the best in Johor’s culture and arts.

We had our lunch there during we visited there. In the evening, we had an evening walk around the mall area. It is during Hari Raya Aidilfitri seasons, thus all the decorations are related to the joyful festivals.

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Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman 7 Aug 2013

Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman is the first glass Hindu temple in the world and the only one in Malaysia. Temple called “Glass” because it’s decorated with glass inside and outside. The temple looks really beautiful, especially on a sunny day with blue skies, when glass shines. I do not take much photos as during that time, there was an ongoing prayers going on, and a lot of Hindus flooded to the temple.

It had been told that it was started in 1922 as a humble shelter. 74 years later, in 1996, the temple was rebuilt and reopened. Few years later a chairman of this temple Guru Bhagawan Sittar got the inspiration to decorate temple with glass. Transformation of the Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman temple with glass fittings started in 2008 and was completed on January 3, 2009. Since 2009, it has become one of the major attractions in Johor Bahru.

Outside the temple, there was one row of small shops selling prayers items, fresh flowers, etc. We do not go into the temple, we shall go in next time if we come back in the future.

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Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum 7 Aug 2013

Next on our Johor Bahru Heritage Trail, housed in a four story shophouse on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, is the Chinese Heritage Museum. The Museum is housed at a 4 storey building previously occupied by the JB Tiong-Hua Association since 1948, along Jalan Ibrahim, facing JB’s popular water front.

Visitors could also enter the museum via the rear entrance at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. The museum charges a RM5 entrance fee; as for students and senior citizens, it is only RM2 per person per entry.

The well-renovated 4 storey building adopts the state-of-the-art modern technology for its effort in saving energy bills, using sensors to turn on and off the lightings at every floor.

The first, second and third floor showcase the history of Chinese immigrants into Malaya in the 1800s and 1900s, the founding of the triads, clans and eventually associations of the ethnic Chinese area groups, (Hokkien, TeoChew, Cantonese, Hainanese, and Hakka). Records of the well-known Chinese Clan heads, and their beneficial, philanthropic deeds (Like building the Foon Yew Chinese schools, temples and clan houses etc.) were documented well to brief visitors of the tough founding years.

The museum also displays photos of the then livelihood when early Chinese immigrants by the ship loads arrived at the peninsula to find jobs waiting for them in tin mines, rubber plantations, and other agricultural fields ( cash crops like pepper and gambir), as well as other minor industries. As years went by, some of them and their descendants became big time traders and large land owners, and eventual tycoons.

The pictorial displays showed that Ngee Heng triad leader Tan Kee Soon had helped Temenggong Abu Bakar (1833-1895) to quash some disturbance in the Muar district, thus enabling the latter to become effectively the ruler (The Sultan) of the state. Abu Bakar was challenging Tengku Alam (son of his uncle Sultan Ali) for the throne after the death of Sultan Ali in 1877. He was not satisfied with the title of Temenggong or Maharajah. Eventually The British Empire accepted him as the sultan. And, how was the structure of the Ngee Heng Kong Si were like in the old days, including some of their customs, traditions, etc.

The museum also recorded the invasion of the Japanese Imperial Army into Singapore during the Second World War, as Johor Bahru stood strategically close to Singapore, separated by the Johor Straits and was linked by the causeway. The Japanese Occupation of Malaya (Including Singapore) inflicted unprecedented, massive misery, suffering and devastation to the people during those turbulent, desolate warring years (3 years 8 months). A pictorial poster features the contribution of the Chinese in Johor in fighting the Japanese by raising funds and taking up the arms.

The top floor of the 4 storey museum devotes its exhibiting space totally for the chronicle of Dr Sun Yat Sen, (1866-1925) the father of republican China. This great man of modern China was known to have visited Johor Baru during his many travels overseas to appeal for support and funds to overthrow the despicable, rotting Empire of Qing Dynasty and its draconian Manchu ruler.

There was some doubt about the actual occurrence of his visit; but since Dr Sun was confirmed to have visited Singapore (Penang too) and Johor Bahru was just a causeway away, it was likely to be a true event. Dr Sun probably had a hard time to convince the then Johor Chinese chieftain (Known as Kapitan during those years) Wong Ah Fook to join him fighting for a republican Chinese nation, as Wong was a conservative loyalist to the Qing Empire.

Upon Dr Sun’s earnest appeal followed by his numerous visits, many brave, eager Malayan Chinese were inspired to leave for China to become revolutionaries to fight the corrupted, diminishing Qing Empire. In their endeavor to pursue a just democratic nation, many of them lost their lives while in action.

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The JB Chinese Heritage Museum has a detailed pictorial display of the martyrdom of revolutionaries from various parts of Malaya (and Singapore) before 1911 (This was the year when the Manchurian regime was overthrown).

I enjoyed this museum which showcases the early days of Chinese settlement in JB - the history, culture, traditions and occupations of the various Chinese communities who have made Johor their home. The children too, enjoying the visits as they were learning through the displays.

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.