then and now in melbourne
































we made the trip at end of 1995, slightly more than 12 years ago. for the drive from sydney to melbourne, we had a 8-seater mitsubishi spacewagon which we rented for aus$224. the exchange rate then was aus$1 = s$1.059. today, the rate is aus$1 = s$1.31.

in 1995, ivy had just completed her primary school leaving education (psle) and awaiting her posting to a secondary school while ida had just completed her first year in pei chun public school. today, ivy is working at franskston hospital in melbourne while ida is completing her first year of study for a bachelor of commerce degree at monah university in melbourne.

those days, when we went to australia, we were usually booked on qantas or british airways. the airfare then was s$1079, inclusive of airport tax. as ida was considered a child, her airfare was s$823. today, with new fuel surcharge and airport tax, the airfare on sia is s$1720.

then, when we visited melbourne with the soons (boon eng & millie), we would stay with the gongs at kew, a choice suburbia in melbourne. dr gong, his wife, who is boon eng's sister, and two children lived in a 9-room 2-storey house. these days, when i go to melbourne, i will squeeze in with my two daughters at their rented 4-room townhouse in clayton.

going to johor via tanjong pengelih

today, we went to johor via its third entry point - the immigration and customs at tanjong pengelih. it is apparently not a popular entry point, especially on weekdays, because at changi creek the other passengers had to wait for more than an hour before the requisite 12 passengers was met for the bumboat to start the one-hour trip. when the 5 of us joined the queue, the number was exceeded by 1, so my friend kwan had to sacrifice his going. the fare is s$8 per person, one way.

our sole purpose of going to laid-back sungei rengit in south-eastern johor was to enjoy the seafood that has been attracting weekend crowds from singapore. still, there are other attractions like the mango farms and the ostrich farm. the taxi-driver quoted rm$18 for the trip from the jetty to sungei rengit. we decided to charter the taxi so that he could take us to all the places we wanted to visit and to drive us back to tanjong pengelih after our lunch.

there are two mango farms about 5km from sungei rengit. if you are travelling from the jetty to the town, it is on your left. the one outside, nearer the road, is a smaller farm. the bigger farm, whose owner came from sitiawan, is about 1 km further in along the same track. huge honey mangoes can be had for rm$5 a kilo.

the ostrich farm is about 2km past sungei rengit. there is an admission charge of rm$10 if you want to get up close to these big birds.

i had tried to promote this place among my former colleagues when i was still working but there were no takers. i would rave about the cheap and delicious food served at the many seafood restaurants. we found out that a meal there would still cost less than half s'pore's price.

while most singaporeans flock to the well-rated jade garden restaurant, we decided to try out the one across the road. it is called the sin kong seafood restaurant. we had chilli crabs - about 2 kg, steamed fish, sambal kangkong, hot plate tofu, mantou and chinese tea. the bill was rm$107 (s$45.30). i have eaten at both restaurants and i find the food at the less well-known restaurant just as good.

the ostrich farm @ sungei rengit

the ostrich farm, located about 2km outside sungei rengit, has about 300 ostriches ranging from one-day old chick, still encased in its shell, to 30-year old adults. the original ostriches were bought from africa at the cost of rm$20k each. an ostrich can live up to 75 years although 50 years is the norm.

most of the ostriches are kept in enclosures but there are a few free-roaming ones. they are so used to having people around them that they will gamely pose for pictures. they will also allow visitors to touch them and stroke their leathery neck.

the diet of the ostriches consists mainly of seeds and plant matter. they are fed three meals a day. the adult male is easily distinguishable from the female by its red beak, black feathers and bigger size.

the female ostrich lays egg on alternate days and after laying twelve eggs, it takes a break. each ostrich egg weighs about 1.5kg and its content is equivalent to 25 ordinary eggs. there are many more female ostriches (hens) than male ostriches (cocks) on the farm. each male will mate with about five females.

on the farm, apart from ostriches, there are a few cassowaries and a cage of polish chicken. the crested polish chicken has long, sharp spurs meant for fighting. but those kept on this farm do not fight. they are good at playing 'dead'.

admission charge is rm$10 for an adult and rm$5 for a child. they have part-time guides to show you around and give a commentary on what you see on the farm.

it is only a number, lah

overheard a conversation between a visitor to singapore and a local

visitor: i notice that trucks, lorries and buses travel quite fast on the expressways. by the way, what is the signifance of this number that is displayed at the rear left side of these vehicles? 60km/h, 70km/h and even 90km/h on some (malaysian) buses.

local: i hardly drive these days, so i am not too sure. what with petrol prices at such heights, i rather take public transport. but i think the number e.g. 60km/h, means that once the truck hits the expressway, it has to travel faster than 60km/h.

visitor: oh, i see. that's why all of them speed. but what is the rationale behind this ruling?

local: i am not sure. i suppose if every vehicle moves fast, the road can carry move traffic. there used to be a ruling which required the slower moving vehicles to keep left but i think that does not apply nowadays.

visitor: oh, so now it's okay for the trucks and buses to travel in the right lanes.

local: it seems to be the case from what i see happening on the expressways.

visitor: you all seem to have grand prix drivers among your truck, bus and lorry drivers? they seem to be such skilful drivers. i have seen lorries ferrying a full load of passengers travelling at more than 90km/h. i don't think lewis hamilton can do that. any serious accident involving such lorries so far?

local: i am not sure. maybe, there have been but anyway in an accident, the lorry driver usually escaped with slight injuries; it is the passengers who get seriously injured.

visitor: have there been more accidents on the roads?

local: i am not sure.

visitor: you don't seem to be sure of anything.

local: well, things keep changing and they change so fast, it is difficult for me to keep up.

one of the best australian resorts (for us)





















one of the best resorts we have had the opportunity to stay in is the novotel lake crackenback resort in the snowy mountains of new south wales. it is one of the most beautiful resorts.

nestled in the magnificent snowy mountains high country and on the tranquil shores of lake crackenback, the resort allowed us to relax in style. the chalet that we stayed in was a 2-storey unit with 3 bedrooms and 3 toilets. it was truly self-contained with a washing machine, a drier, a microwave oven, a toaster, a dish-washing machine, a fire-place, heaters and a jacuzzi, among other things.

the place was cold, even in summer. a pair of kangaroos came right up to our unit in the evening. although, we stayed one night only, it was enough to fill us with wonderful memories and to leave a lasting impression on us.

it happened in 1995 when we were on a 19-day self-drive trip from sydney to melbourne. we started on the princes highway, stopping overnight at the tugalong outback station. the next day, we hit the hume higway to head for a one-day stay in canberra. from canberra, we travelled on the monaro highway to cooma. after cooma, it was the alpine highway to lake crackenback.

most australians go the snowy mountains in winter, to the nearby ski resort at thredbo. so, without the crowds, we really got to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the place.