Sentosa Boardwalk links island with mainland

So I made a quick visit to Singapore on Monday, taking a 6-hour bus from Kuantan before returning the next day. From 4-8pm I rode the MRT, visited the nex shopping mall in the North-east of Singapore, and strolled the Sentosa Boardwalk, the newest in a long line of attractions.

It all started at the Kranji MRT

I sat quietly on the train, looking at the people sitting opposite me, everyone civilised, no shouting or disturbing other passengers. An older woman nodded off, dropped her water bottle on the floor and immediately woke up with a shock! Two young men entered the train and immediately whipped out their hand-held computer devices. One was sitting next to me, intensely tapping buttons on a fighting game. A young girl checked herself in a small mirror, putting her hair into place and applying a little make-up here and there. A few policemen boarded the train and alighted a few stops later. 

Eventually we reached Bishan Interchange

This is part of the new Circle Line which has been partially completed, so I had to try it out.

A waterfall scene outside the Serangoon MRT

The nex shopping mall in Serangoon area:

The nex mall is too big to take in in one day, let alone the hour or so I spent there. I did stop for a KFC and was delighted to order these fantastic 'cheese fries'

And if you couldn't be occupied with the several floors of shops, there is a terrific sky roof garden on the roof. Check it out:

This water playground is popular with the children!

There is even a place to take your pet dog for a run around in a secluded spot

Here's an image from the water playground:

nex mall is beautifully decorated

Soon I continued my journey on the Circle line where I got off at Dhoby Ghaut Interchange, hopped on the North-east line and travelled down to Harbour Front.

I was lucky enough to catch the sunset at Harbour Front:

Here I am outside Vivo City mall:

I made a journey through Vivo City where I came out the other side straight onto the Boardwalk

The Sentosa Boardwalk is made up of beautifully lined wooden planks, where it gets its name from. Here is a view of the Boardwalk from outside Vivo City mall:

You'll have to be careful where you walk in some places which contain water...

Warm lighting fills the Sentosa Boardwalk

Grabbed another picture of the sky at sunset from the Boardwalk:

A view of one of the restaurants on the Sentosa Boardwalk:

I enjoyed observing these wire structures of people playing some kind of sports:

Any ideas what sports they're playing, or what they're doing???

Here, two visitors check their pictures of this lighted stairway on Sentosa Boardwalk:

A view of Sentosa Boardwalk as it stretches into the distance towards Resorts World Sentosa:

At this section, some wooden panels on the Boardwalk come alight at night:

These obelisk-like towers emitted the colours of the rainbow to light up the far end of Sentosa Boardwalk:

With a quick swipe of my ezlink card which deducted one dollar, I was permitted to continue my journey on the Boardwalk a little further into an area surrounding Resorts World Sentosa.

An artificial cave was the next thing to greet me:

Saw this little light box on the floor, and took this picture of it. It looks magical!

Here are those wire structures, as seen at night:

Again, who can tell me what they're doing?

I love the night scenes in Singapore

I managed to capture the purple glow of the lightning strike in this picture of the Sentosa Boardwalk:

A final image of Sentosa Boardwalk looking back towards the mainland with all the illuminated buildings along the banks of Harbour Front, reflecting beautifully in the water.

The Eve of Hari Raya in Kuantan

This was a night to be celebrated in the Muslim world. On 9th September 2010, the one-month fast, known as Ramadan, came to an end. Muslims had been faithfully arising at all sorts of early hours while most of the rest of us were still in dreamland, to prepare and eat a very early breakfast. Because as soon as the Sun comes up, fasting begins!

It was a nightmare eating out during the month of Ramadan. Around 7:20pm, when prayers sounded out from mosques around Kuantan, marking the end of the day's fast, droves of people filled KFC, McDonalds and most eateries in town to appease the building hunger in their stomachs. Even ordering fast food on the phone proves to be difficult, as the lines are all busy.

On the eve of Hari Raya there were hoards of people down near the Kuantan town field pouring through the night market there in search of any food or other items to buy. Others filtered into the Pahang State Mosque to offer up their devotions to Allah after a month of denying themselves the physical pleasures of food during daylight hours.

The one-month celebration of Hari Raya is now mid-way through. We have been to a couple of homes of our friends to join them in their feasts. Such open houses are popular in Malaysia where all are invited to enter and eat food with the hosts. (Thank you to Karimah and Syarina for serving us such delicious food!)

The Pahang State Mosque

A water feature on Jalan Mahkota, Kuantan

A busy Jalan Mahkota in Kuantan

The Kuantan skyline from the Tanjong Lumpur bridge. The Kuantan waterfront glows in orange lights on the left, the Pahang State Mosque is partly visible behind buildings on the right, while three old boats lie at dock on the Pahang River in the foreground.

Cars zoom towards Kuantan town from the Tanjong Lumpur bridge

A forced visit to KFC

I must admit it's been a while since we ate at KFC, seeing as we've tried to cut down on the cost and fat of fast food. However, yesterday was an exception. At 11.30am, as I was happily watching the tennis from the U.S. Open, the electricity was cut, which has become a kind of regular thing over these last four years in Kuantan. By 'regular' I mean a few times per year. But this one lasted for five hours until 4.30pm.

So I took Lauren out of the hot house to the cool East Coast Mall where we wandered around until my wife came back from work. We felt the familiar pull towards KFC and so we dined there, in a desolate restaurant. (Muslims are fasting for a month during Ramadan).

I had a strange conversation with a Malay man who approached me whilst I was sitting on the 2nd floor. After barely a minute of conversation with this stranger, he was asking me how much money I earn per month! I was a little surprised, although I shouldn't be because it seems that revealing ones financial details is all the rage in Malaysia. That's extremely weird. I told him that I earned "enough" but he didn't quite get it. He persisted in asking me "how much" and I persisted in initially replying "enough" and then telling him it was "none of your business". So he asked me how much I charge for tuition and how many students I have. I could tell he was striving to calculate roughly how much I was earning. It's a good job I only gave him rough figures!! I don't know why people are so bent on knowing each other's salary.

We had a pleasant meal at KFC although I'm sure the Malay workers there were giving us a few stares because they perhaps thought my wife was a Muslim. (She has been questioned about that a couple of times in the past, most notably when we were sitting together at the bus-stop at her university after we were just married. A female teacher behind us began telling Fie to not sit so closely to "that man", as she called me. "That man", Fie replied, "is my husband!!!" Is a husband not permitted to sit beside his wife anymore??? The woman obviously thought Fie was a Malay girl and had absolutely no idea that we were married!)

Lauren devoured her usual mashed potato, I ate my way through a light colonel burger meal and Fie munched on her chicken and rice meal. We all opted for orange juice in favour of the gassy pepsi. That felt good.

Home Dining

It is better eating in than eating out.

So long as one can overcome the pulsating urge to splash the cash on fast food, eating in has so many more benefits. The temptation with dining out is the easiness of the way. No preparing ingredients, no frantically scrambling around the fridge, no sweating over the wok in preparation. Just walk in, sit down and eat.

Yesterday we resisted the temptation in East Coast Mall, and instead came home to prepare a lovely lunch.

We started by smothering some fish fillet which cost RM3, in flour, and throwing it into the wok to fry until golden brown.

We then used the remaining oil to fry my favourite 'ikan masin' or salted fish.

We then proceeded to cook some sausage chunks in tomato sauce soup whilst whipping out yesterday's leftover 'sambal belacan' from the fridge.

It was a delicious meal, more satisfying than a McDonalds or KFC, and at a significantly lower cost as well.

It was well worth the extra effort in preparing. Home Dining is definitely the best recipe for success!