Showing posts with label Pengerang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pengerang. Show all posts

Monday, August 19, 2013

Family Outing: Till the next time, Pengerang

 
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The final entry for the family day trip to Pengerang. Can't believe that we did so many activities within a single day :) Sense of achievement *beams with pride* We were all pretty famished after the ostrich farm visit, hence we headed back to "town" for late lunch.
Seafood is the main lure for people visiting this small town. With treats like lobsters & crabs (much cheaper in SG & JB), the restaurants were all packed during lunch from visitors. The most famous is Jade Garden Seafood, but we had our meal at Good Luck seafood restaurant.
 
Our tired faces, lol! 
 
Titbits to munch on. These were so addictive that I bought a large packet home to snack on. That pretty much explained my sore throat these few days. 
 
The highlight of the meal! While it was relatively cheap, the taste wasn't fantastic. BFF went to the one at Jade Garden & she was raving all about it. Now, I'm contemplating if I should make another trip back, lol!  
Good Luck Restoran
No.86 Jalan Telok Ramunia, Sungai Rengit
81620 Pengerang, Johor
Tel: 0207 826 3555
 
After lunch, we took a stroll to town center. Sungai Rengit, nicknamed the Lobster Town, is a small town that it can be covered by foot. 
 
This modern building stood out from a distance! We were joking that this could be owned by a Singaporean who shuffles b/w Pengerang and Singapore. Since it is extremely expensive to build something like this in Singapore, go to Pengerang and build it at perhaps, a fraction of the price.
 
Off to get some local products. 
 
Last round of feasting before we head home - ice kachang! 
 
Since we booked our return journey earlier, Uncle Captain waited for us at the dock. 
 
Thank you Uncle for steering the boat & bringing us to Pengerang. We had the whole boat to ourselves & paid the remaining fare before heading back to Singapore. 
Sea was rather choppy on the return journey. Waves crashed against the boat and water came through the windows. Thankfully, it was still bearable and before we know it, we arrived back in Singapore. That marked the end of our one-day trip to Pengerang :)

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Family Outing: Ostrich Farm

 
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Work has taken a different meaning for me this week, with countless client meetings. A new learning experience for me, since I was never involved in projects before. Kinda scary, yet exciting. I swear that I was drained of energy when I head home every day. Thankfully, Friday is drawing near & I'm soooo looking forward to the weekend to rest & relax. I'm definitely missing the long weekend that we had last week :( Here's a quick entry before I head off to lala-land.
After departing from Desaru Fruit Farm, we drove over to Desaru Ostrich Farm. I have visited Malaysia countless times when I was younger, but I didn't expect to find an ostrich farm in the middle of the country! It was definitely an eye-opener for us. The farm is managed by Citra Alam Ostrich & admission ticket costs RM$15 for adult. You will be transported into a different world upon entering the gates. 
 
A day old ostrich welcomes you into his home.
Ostriches roaming around the compound freely, just like their own home! How cool is that?  
We sat through an educational talk that highlights the treasures of an ostrich. In conclusion, every part of the ostrich is of use to human, starting from their eggs, feathers, fats (oil), skin, meat, bones etc. The shell makes an attractive lamp shade once the white & yolk is drained out of it. One of the customer bought the shell at RM$100 for decorative purpose.
 
There are 2 ostrich eggs placed on the ground, which you can step on. The egg shell is so hard that an adult human can stand on it and it will not break for the egg has to bear the weight of an ostrich when it sits on the egg to incubate it.
This is the membrane of the ostrich egg, highly stretchable.
 
Ostrich lays the largest eggs of all living birds, hence a single egg is equivalent to 24 hens' egg. The enormous egg yolk looked like a giant mango to me. Don't expect to crack open an ostrich egg with a spoon. They will have to be break using a hammer or power drill. 
 
Their skin, which I supposed is the most valuable of all. This piece can fetch up to RM$3000. Well, small price if you compare it to an Ostrich-leather Birkin bag, lol!
Like human, these little ostriches must be kept under shelter. If they are exposed to the rain, they will fall sick and could even die. These were around 2 weeks old.
After the talk, you are free to roam around the compound. The place is not that big, around the size of 1.5 soccer field based on my rough estimate. There must be more than 300 birds within the compound, with some fenced up while some were roaming around. We even had one ostrich gate-crushing the talk/demo earlier. He just walked in stood there momentarily, listening to the talk.     
 
These ostrich were busy pecking at the green wires that supposedly hold up the fence. I wondered if they were trying to open the gate or they thought that green means food? Well, I certainly didn't linger outside their compound for fear of them crashing me if they succeeded in "jail-breaking", haha!
 
In another enclosure, we saw a cassowary, which is the 3rd largest bird after ostrich and emu. They tend to be shy, but are capable of inflicting injuries when provoked. I certainly don't find this fierce-looking creature shy. In fact, he was walking around the enclosure as though the king was out on a parade even though he was the smallest in size.  
Our guide told us how to differentiate between a male & female ostrich, as well as a lady-boy ostrich. They can be differentiated by the colour of their beaks & feathers. The one above is a female, for it has brownish white feathers. As ostrich is a desert animal, their feathers will be discoloured or even drop off when exposed to the rain.
 
Ervin getting up close and personal with the ostrich. We were told to always hold its neck and do not touch the head.
 
These ostrich are curious creatures, staring at your face with a nosy expression. Leecher bought a bunch of vegetables (at RM$2) to lure them over, so we could take pictures. 
  
It sure worked! As soon they saw food from the corner of their eyes, they were intent on getting it, haha! Ostrich's diet mainly consisted of plant matters & each one can eat up to several kg of food each day.
Difficult to get its attention when the focus is on food, lol! Plan backfired.
 
I was clinging to Leecher, for I'm afraid to be close to them. Leecher then encouraged me to take the leap of faith. After much encouragement, 
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Ta-dah, my first encounter touching this large bird! The neck felt really soft and smooth, so much so that I was afraid that it would feel uncomfortable with my grip. 
Hello, meet my new friend! It wasn't so scary touching them after all.
We ended the visit with a plate of ostrich omelette & ostrich meat satay. At RM$10, you get a plate of ostrich omelette which looked no different from the usual omelette that we are used to. Ostrich meat is lower in calories, cholesterol and fats, as compared to chicken/pork/lamb/beef. It tasted just like beef to me though. Recommended to order some for tasting, but head somewhere else for a full meal.
Desaru Ostrich Farm
EMR 15, Teluk Ramunia
Kota Tinggi, Johor
Malaysia
Open daily from 10am till 6pm

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Family Outing: Mini Zoo at Desaru Fruit Farm

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Since I have yet to sort out the rest of the pictures for Paris, I'm switching back to update more on Pengerang :) Nested at a corner of the farm, there is a mini zoo which housed animals like rabbits, sheeps, chickens, ducks etc. They even have an ostrich!  
 
Even the ducks are taking shelter underneath the shady tree. They weren't afraid of us approaching & continued to laze in their position. I was close enough to touch them, but was afraid that they'll bite me.
Before entering the zoo, a lot of people were snapping pics with this. So I also follow the crowd #sheepmentality.
The rabbits will push their heads through the holes whenever they sensed our presence nearby. They must have thought any human who passed by the area will give them food.
 
Comparing the size of the various types of eggs laid by the animals. I wonder if some of the eggs got stolen, since it wasn't on display. 
Hello there! I think this is the first time that I'm seeing an ostrich so up close & personal.
Surprisingly, the ostrich was quite mild and even posed for pictures. We didn't linger long with this big fellow, as we'll be heading to an ostrich farm next where we'll get to see more of his kind.
Posing with the rooster! This is the first generation of alarm clock, lol! Well, roosters can & will crow at any time of the day. Crowing is a way of them proclaiming their territories. 
 
Mummy-in-law was way more daring than us! She reached out and stroked the rooster, as if it was her pet, haha!  
Goats can been found in the mini zoo too. Well, I didn't step foot into this area for the stretch was too overwhelming. Leecher happened to be suffering from his usual nose-block, so he was the ideal candidate to head in, haha!
Desaru Fruit Farm
No.1 Sungai Cemaran Desaru
81930 Kota Tinggi
Johor Darul Takzim
Tel: 607 8308017
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