Recently, i went over to Malaysia for a short trip to meet my fiance's grandmother during her birthday. The small village/town is located about 3 hours train ride from Singapore if there are no delays during the transition. Train tickets cost the in the general vicinity of $6- $10 depending on the class of train you take and usually, its not that big of a difference.
The small town is called "Layang Layang" and unlike another location with the same name, its a close knit village with the majority of the Chinese inhabitants sharing a common dialect, hakka. Its located much inland with no view of the sea and definitely no diving activities can be had here.
The small town is called "Layang Layang" and unlike another location with the same name, its a close knit village with the majority of the Chinese inhabitants sharing a common dialect, hakka. Its located much inland with no view of the sea and definitely no diving activities can be had here.
"Fu" (Prosperity)
Guard Dogs
Raw Pepper
Stone triceratops
Duck or Goose?
Bountiful Harvest
View
View
Indoor Fountain
The 3 Little Kids
Breakfast, Lunch, Tea Break, Dinner, Supper
View
Indoor Fountain
The 3 Little Kids
Breakfast, Lunch, Tea Break, Dinner, Supper
Truth be told, this is not one of the places you'll visit for a holiday. If you have no relatives of family here, there's little reason to visit it. There are no activities or excitment to be had, its a laid back, rustic and quiet town with nice people as far as i know.
For the most part, we had 6 meals a day, breakfast, tea, lunch, tea break, dinner and supper in one day. And each meal was like the one you see above. Filled with meat, traditional hakka food such as "Lei Cha" (literally thunder tea) and home made yong tau foo. The best item i had over here was her grandmother's fried pork. Its a little like shrimp paste chicken except that its pork and certainly tastes better. I could have it all day and never get sick of it.
The "Lei Cha" (thunder tea rice) is a rather acquired taste and its safe to say that if its your first try, prepare to cringe at the taste. There's no meat in that concoction and everything is made from vegetables including the greenish tea thats supposed to be had with the rice. The tea has a strong taste reminiscent of basil so you should be well prepared before pouring it all into the rice.
We also had a fun time watching the elder generation gather rambutans grown in their very own plantation. Unlike the packed and pre prepared rambutans you see in the market, these were crawling with red ants and commando mosquitoes which are only afraid of burning cardboard smoke. Overall, its interesting but equally irritating with all the insects.
Everything else was food and sleeping and television programs. There's a beauty to that though. Time slows down. Life is simple and happy and generally, i forgot the hustle and bustle of daily life back in old Singapore.
The last interesting bit i experienced here was the darn train. It was terribly packed, late by 3 hours and filled with inconsiderate people. There were good people too but the inconsiderate ones took precedence.
Otherwise, this trip was wonderful for me cause it let me forget my daily struggles and just put me back on track. I had a pretty good rest there.
For the most part, we had 6 meals a day, breakfast, tea, lunch, tea break, dinner and supper in one day. And each meal was like the one you see above. Filled with meat, traditional hakka food such as "Lei Cha" (literally thunder tea) and home made yong tau foo. The best item i had over here was her grandmother's fried pork. Its a little like shrimp paste chicken except that its pork and certainly tastes better. I could have it all day and never get sick of it.
The "Lei Cha" (thunder tea rice) is a rather acquired taste and its safe to say that if its your first try, prepare to cringe at the taste. There's no meat in that concoction and everything is made from vegetables including the greenish tea thats supposed to be had with the rice. The tea has a strong taste reminiscent of basil so you should be well prepared before pouring it all into the rice.
We also had a fun time watching the elder generation gather rambutans grown in their very own plantation. Unlike the packed and pre prepared rambutans you see in the market, these were crawling with red ants and commando mosquitoes which are only afraid of burning cardboard smoke. Overall, its interesting but equally irritating with all the insects.
Everything else was food and sleeping and television programs. There's a beauty to that though. Time slows down. Life is simple and happy and generally, i forgot the hustle and bustle of daily life back in old Singapore.
The last interesting bit i experienced here was the darn train. It was terribly packed, late by 3 hours and filled with inconsiderate people. There were good people too but the inconsiderate ones took precedence.
Otherwise, this trip was wonderful for me cause it let me forget my daily struggles and just put me back on track. I had a pretty good rest there.
