MY MERSING GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE - LUNCH AT "KEDAI UCU SELERA KITA"

29th OCTOBER 2018 ~ I was back in Mersing again to attend a 3-day course. I decided to join the other friends of Johor Bahru senior assistants to take the bus there (a few others drove). As we arrived early in Mersing town, we went to get lunch first before checking in.

We were taken to this stall/restaurant near the beach named "Kedai Ucu Selera Kita". Lunch would be the usual rice with selection of dishes which usually consist of fish/chicken/meat and vegetables. This place offered a variety of dishes to choose from until I did not know what to get. In the end, I just picked a piece of fried chicken and gravy of "asam pedas" and boiled ladies fingers with "sambal air asam" + "budu".

The price of the food was still reasonable and with the variety of dishes for people to choose, this could be a good place to stop for lunch when in Mersing.

MEETING AN EX-STUDENT AGAIN - AFTER 5 YEARS

Once in a blue moon, I would get lucky when an ex-student contacted and asked me out for a meal outside. I was meeting Mr. Binosh, an alumni of SMK Taman Universiti SPM batch 2002, at KFC KOMTAR a.k.a JBCC now, after 5 long years. The last time we met was when he visited me at home during Eid celebration. I was really happy that he had no intention of asking me to join any MLM activity or buy any health insurance. 

It was just a short meeting as the restaurant staff were eagerly waiting to end their sales. We were their last customers of the day.

Thanks Mr. Binosh for your time and also for the treat, and your kind gesture is very much appreciated. We will have to find a better time slot so we could sit and chat longer.

THE URBAN TRANSFORMATION CENTRE REVISITED

I was back at Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) in Plaza Kotaraya to get my passport renewed today. I got there at about 4:00 p.m. after school but only managed to get my (real) number at 4.45 p.m. as I went to the mosque in the building itself and then had cake and coffee. And my brand new passport was ready for pick up by 6.45 p.m. Congratulations to the staff of the Immigration Department for a job well done.

World, here I come...

LOTUS DESARU BEACH RESORT AT A GLIMPSE

It was my first time at Lotus Desaru Beach Resort and I was there as the school was having its Family Day on the 15th of September 2018.

on the buggy

One of the attractions should be its swimming pool.

The place had a huge compound and the accommodation blocks could house many guests at one time.

A long stretch of beach is just behind the main building.

Some people just go here on weekends to get away from the hectic life. Hopefully I would have the chance to spend a night here one of these days.

VISITING THE MARINA BARRAGE IN SINGAPORE [PART 2]

[C O N T I N U A T I O N   O F   P A R T   O N E]

19th OCTOBER 2018 ~ After realizing that I had been separated from the big group, I decided to go to the rooftop which was on the third level of the building. There were four ladies who were busy admiring the view and taking photos, so that meant there were still other group members at the barrage.

A huge green field was constructed on the rooftop. Many people were busy snapping photos of the surroundings where a few prominent landmarks of Singapore could be seen, like the Singapore Flyers and Marina Bay Sands Hotel, the one with a skateboard on/as the roof.

There were also people playing football and frisbee, and flying kites. We were told by the guide, people use to picnic here in the evening when it is not that hot anymore.

A 360° video for you...

It would be best if you could visit the gallery as you will be briefed how does the reservoir work to produce clean water for the island. I would do that if I were to visit the Marina Barrage again.

That should wrap up the SMK Dato' Jaafar's benchmarking trip to Singapore this year. I hope there will be another trip next year. We went to Singapore last year also but I don't mind going again. I must say it was fun to get to go on a trip with my colleagues once a year even though it was just across the causeway.