Chinese New Year is not an official bank holiday in Myanmar but Chinese people normally take leave from school or work to celebrate the 2-day cerebration – the New Year Eve and the New Year Day.
There are a few different types of Chinese in Myanmar – mainly Hokkien and Cantonese. But we also have some Hakka and Yunnan Chinese. We all celebrate Chinese New Year in slightly different ways – for example, the ritual of worship, the temple that we visit, etc. Since majority of the people in Myanmar is Buddhist, the ritual includes mostly worshiping different god and visiting different temples.
I will share with you how my parents celebrate Chinese New Year in Hakka way.
On the New Year Eve morning, we worship to the heavenly god (拜天神). For this ritual, we have to prepare 1 cup of wine, 3 cups of tea, 3 types of meat
Today is Chinese New Year eve, the second most important day of Chinese New Year (CNY).
CNY eve dinner is an important time for family to gather together, eat good food and be nagged by elders. [Note to YQ: Do not be a patronizing aunt when you grow up.]
Enough bitterness, I want to share a two-part series of collaborative posts to mark CNY.
Early this week, I asked on Facebook for information on how different people celebrate Chinese New Year in different countries. For the feature, I was planning to have many Chinese folks in different countries to talk about their traditions.
Unfortunately, not many random strangers on the internet took up the challenge. I guess this might also be a good thing since it makes the post more cosy.
How Malaysians overseas celebrate CNY
First up is Max Yam from maxayam.blogspot.sg. Max is a fellow Sabahan who lives just a 5 minute car ride away from my house.
On Facebook, he commented
To wanderers like us, Chinese New Year is about travelling, travelling home, and leaving home again… again and again… we seem to appreciate ‘home’ when we are away, but we are getting blur about the meaning of ‘home’ eventually…
His note struck a chord with me since I felt homeless for a period of time even though I had a permanent place to lay my head both in Malaysia and Singapore.
How my family celebrates CNY
Since CNY is about the family, I will share what my parents, my sister and I do during CNY.
On CNY eve, it’s the obligatory CNY reunion dinner. I am thankfully seated at the children table where there is less drama.
After our meals, my uncle will give his words of wisdom to anyone who’s listening, interjecting his sentences with, “You understand what I’m saying?”.
Other relatives will politely ask me what my job is even though we’ve been through this for many years. At the end, everyone gathers for a group photo.
On CNY proper, my family heads to the Buddhist temple to pray. Based on the traffic jam and the madness of looking for parking, I think it’s really auspicious to visit the temple on the first day.
Next stop is the KK branch of Tzu Chi. My other uncle and his family are devoted members of the charity/group. My family hangs around, eating some noodles and peeling oranges.
I then spend the rest of the CNY period visiting other family friends or relatives. Oh, we also receive angpow (red packets) from married people. Hurray for the singles!
Chinese New Year is supposed to last until the 15th day. However, in the modern world, we only get two days of public holiday.
Ya Kun Kaya Toast is a famous chain for traditional toast and coffee in Singapore.
The food and drink there is alright but there are other places where you can get a cheaper deal.
One day D told me about the Ya Kun Kaya Toast branch at China Square. It’s supposed to be really retro (even more retro than the fake-retro which they have in other branches).
Another selling point for the China Square branch is that it’s run by the descendants of Ya Kun the man himself! OK, I’m sold.
The shop is rather difficult to find because China Square is in the middle of the CBD. Google Map’s not really that helpful because the buildings are too tall.
It was raining when we went in search of Ya Kun Kaya Toast. We managed to find it in the end without getting soaked.
Ya Kun Kaya Toast China Square branch deco
OK, the shop was quaint but only because we’re in Singapore.
The floors looked like they were scratched from chairs and tables.
The kitchen was sort of an open kitchen concept.
We ordered the usual Kaya Toast set which comes with two pieces of toast, coffee and two soft boiled eggs.
When our food arrived, the lady who served us brought the soy sauce and pepper shakers to us. She ordered us to put the condiments onto the eggs and eat.
I think this is the first time I’m mistaken for a tourist in Singapore. I’ve been here 7 year already, lady!
We ate our food in peace. (Almost, we were instructed how to eat again.)
Later, I saw that the shop was selling petit cups as souvenirs. I took photos of them.
Then the lady swooped down with the TOURIST SET.
She looked at us expectantly before leaving us. I took a photo of the set before it was too late.
Have you been to the China Square branch of Ya Kun?
Do you know that Genting Theme Park’s outdoor facilities close at 10pm on certain days? (Saturday, Malaysia School Holiday* & Eve of Public Holiday to be precise.)
I was staying at the First World Hotel next to the Outdoor Theme Park and took advantage of the late closing hour.
At around 7.30pm, my sister, L and I went back to the theme park after eating our instant noodles.
Genting that night was cold and foggy. Not all of the facilities were open.
L wanted to have a go on the Go Kart but the queue was closed off. It might have been a good thing because by the time the queue ended, it was too foggy to drive on the little motor-powered vehicle.
Instead, my sister and I went on the Corkscrew ride twice in a row. With the sky gray and foggy, it was less scary.
We tumbled around the tracks in the safety of our harness. Throughout the ride, I was shouting incomprehensible things such as “Maaaaaa! Maaaaaaaaa!”
Our next stop of the pirate ship. When we were queuing, a boy was in front of us. We plotted to sit at the very end, even if the boy was going to sit there.
However, when the time came, the boy stood his ground and said: “This row is for family.”
Fine! You assertive little boy!
We sat at the second last row. When the ride ended, we waited for them to leave before going to the last row.
Bumper boats go bump!
We also went on the bumper boats. I couldn’t steer my ship and ended up floating around.
It was very foggy when we were paddling around. I could only see hazy lights coming from the spotlight. Even the final alarm ring sounded far away.
We ended up on more kiddie rides. At the swing ride that spins, the operator made the ride longer and faster. We sat on it twice until we felt dizzy and slightly nauseous.
The children spaceship rides were mild and quite good for photo opportunities.
When I was back home for my 10-day holiday in Sabah, the only tourist attraction I visited was the Tip of Borneo. It is publicized as the most Northern point of the Borneo island.
Getting there was no easy even with our own car. The road signs were very lacking.
3G connection was bad and we had to rely on our inner GPS to guess which road to take when at a junction.
Along the way, we saw a lot of oil palm tree plantations. The plantations were thick with oil palm trees with their evil-looking pointy leaves.
There were also coconut trees which looked like they were beheaded and left with pointy tree stumps.
On our way, we passed by several homestay houses that didn’t look as comfortable as a city person wants. But if you want to be able to see the beautiful sea during evey waking moment (only that and not much else), I suppose staying at the Tip of Borneo area is good.
After several turns and windy roads, we reached the seaside. The weather that day was great. The sun was bright but not too hot and the sky was clear with only some clouds.
The Tip was at the very end of the road and we had to park our car. There was an uphill slope that we needed to climb before we were at the edge.
Visitors of the Tip of Borneo
We reached the Tip of Borneo at around 10am. I was surprised to see that many people were already there and some just about to go back. What time did they leave their house/hotel to come here so early?
We also saw a TV production team with a TV host in a red T-shirt, a couple taking wedding photos (stunning view) and a few lovebirds.
As usual, there was a large globe-thing with words like “YOU ARE AT THE TIP OF BORNEO. NOW GET A COOKIE” so people can remember where they actually were when they look back at the photos. “Hmmm…this stone looks like the one in Sandakan, or was it Kudat?”
The actual Tip of Borneo is a protruding rock surface which is half-heartedly fenced off with a small wooden road block that said: “DANGER” in Malay.
Mom and I played it safe and didn’t walk down, although I would have if I were with friends.
We listened to the waves crash and the cicada sing as we stared at the very end (or beginning) of the Borneo island.
The weekend trip to Pontian was short and sweet. My sister and I did not do much, which also meant that we did not eat much.
There’s not much formal travel information on Pontian (zero at the time of writing on Wikitravel) so we did a lot of Google searching about food and things to do.
Pontian Wanton Noodles
Pontian Wanton Noodles
Since Pontian Wanton Noodles is famous in Singapore, I decided that we must eat wanton noodles in Pontian.
Unlike its name suggest, the wanton noodles is not promiscuous or cruel. Instead, it is a noodle dish served with little dumplings (wanton) which are fried or boiled.
We headed to Kedai Mee Heng Heng, a 15-minute walk away from the hotel. I was so hungry that I brought us into the coffeeshop next door.
I was rather puzzled why there was no wanton noodle. We were told that the dish was served next door. We thanked the people and sheepishly left the place.
Our noodles came really really slowly. We found out later that serving food at a slow pace is typical of Pontian town.
We ordered the black sauce noodles (instead of the sweet red sauce–ketchup–which feels urgh). The noodles were alright and the wantons too but nothing to shout about.
Football Field Restaurant seafood
Football Field Restaurant seafood
Another highly-raved about place was the Football Field Restaurant which seemed like a long distance from our hotel on Google Maps. In reality, the route was quite quick.
We didn’t order crabs because they were priced at a crazy RM70 per kilo. I could have RM18/kg crabs in Sabah so I refused to order crabs.
We did have grilled flounder which was amazing, as usual. The chilli paste that came along didn’t spoil the sweet taste of its flesh. (I sound like a cannibal.)
yucky noodles
Mediocre noodle at mediocre Pontian noodle stall
We wanted to try food at the Market. However, we found outthat the market only opens in the evening and at nights. In the end, we headed to a row of shophouses and tried our luck at one of the coffeeshops.
We stood in the shop waiting for tables to clear. No one was leaving and food was served at the usual snail pace.
We switched to a roadside eatery instead. The food was very bland.
Tropical fruits
Tropical fruits: Mangosteen and guava
Not counting the fish, this was probably the highlight of Glutton in Pontian.
Our taxi driver stopped at a roadside fruitstall where we bought a bag of mangosteens and two humongous guavas. I finished my guava only on the second day, biting through it like a beaver with my front teeth.
As for the mangosteens, they were sweet and delicious. I had fun making a video about how to peel a mangosteen, check it out if you haven’t seen it.
I haven’t talked much about my trip to Kudat with mom (except about food) so I’ll start with the hotel we stayed at during our 1 night in Kudat.
While we were planning the trip, mom said we could stay at Kudat Golf & Marina Resort since we’ve not stayed there the last time we were in Kudat. (Summary of the trip 10+ years ago: The whole family was in the north of Sabah to catch the eclipse. We stayed at a hall of a Taoist Temple because all hotels were full.)
I made the booking online and picked the Standard Garden Terrace (Twin-Sharing) room which was RM180.00 nett
While driving, the hotel is not the easiest to find as the sign only pops up once in a while. Our car drove past the golf area on the windy road before we reached the main building.
Kudat Golf & Marina Resort facade
I didn’t have much expectations for the hotel, even though it has “Resort” in its name.
Sure enough, it was a small resort with only 3 stories (4 floors of room if you count the ground floor).
Other half wing of Kudat Golf & Marina Resort
Standard Garden Terrace (Twin-Sharing)
Twin room of Kudat Golf & Marina Resort
Our room was located on the ground floor. The glass doors opened to a small pavement and a shrub which covered some of the view of the golf fields.
It wasn’t the most fantastic view but we were either sleeping or watching TV anyway.
Of course, there was no bathtub. (I adore bathtubs even if it uses too much water.)
Unfortunately, there wasn’t Wi-Fi in the room. I had to bring my laptop out to the lobby so I could surf the Net. (Why are you online when you are on vacation?!)
View from the lobby
View from lobby, overlooking swimming pool at Kudat Golf & Marina ResortView from lobby at Kudat Golf & Marina Resort (again)Lobby and veranda of Kudat Golf & Marina Resort
Luckily, the view from the lobby was quite gorgeous.
I even woke up at 5.30 am, hoping I could catch the sunrise.
Unfortunately, a bunch of trees faraway blocked my view of the sun. It was too cloudy for sunrise anyway.
You probably cannot tell from my stomach that I like to eat because many kind Samaritans have offered me their seats on the train, thinking my food baby is a real foetus.
I digress.
D’Conutt
Our room came with free breakfast at the D’Conutt Coffee House at the other end of our corridor.
I have not figured why many Malaysian establishments LOVE to add a “de” or “d'” to their restaurants. Is it to give it a French flair? Why would they need a French sounding–but obviously not French because “d'” comes before a vowel–name?
Anyway, the breakfast was so-so local food although I quite enjoyed the drinks–orange syrup with water and coffee.
Not so yummy breakfast
In a nut shell
Kudat Golf & Marina Resort is a nice pretty place with what you need for more than minimum comfort. You will need a vehicle to get in and out as the public transport to town is not developed.
There are other hotels right inside Kudat town if you wish something more central. (Shops all close really early so it’s not really that convenient anyway.)
It’s Tuesday and almost mid-week. This week, I will be sharing a post each on Tuesday and Wednesday because they are hotel reviews. I feel it’s kind of cheating when I post hotel reviews so I line two at a go. Enjoy!
Today’s post is about a charming hotel in Pontian, Johor.
If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you might not know that my sister and I had to cancel our plans to Gunung Ledang two weekends before. We missed the train to Sematan Segamat and took a bus to the long distance bus terminal but managed to missed the bus by 2 minutes! (TWO MINUTES!)
It felt like something in the universe was telling us not to go to Gunung Ledang so I cancelled our room reservation with the resort. (Yes, I’m superstitious) We sat in the busy bus terminal with our backpacks and googled the places nearby.
In the end, we decided to go to Pontian because it’s relatively near Johor Bahru. Also because I’ve actually heard of the place. (It’s food famous!)
Since we did not do any research about Pontian, we had to frantically read up links from Google.
While searching for a place to stay, I discovered Pontian Garden Hotel on Google Maps. I fell in love immediately because it looked like it overlooks the sea.
Pontian Garden Hotel on Google Maps
Pontian Garden Hotel’s strategic location
When we reached the bus terminal, I was delighted to find out from my Google Map app that the hotel is walking distance.
There’s even a Marrybrown under the hotel. I love fried chicken. Too bad we didn’t have any fried chicken during the trip. (Such a tragedy.)
Pointian Garden Hotel
When we checked in, the concierge told us that they only had standard rooms which were RM 118 per night. Good enough!
There was also FREE WI-FI! Password: jiayuanpg1001
Our room was on the second floor and there was no elevator. Thank goodness we have very light backpack.
Pontian Garden Hotel Standard Room
The room was very comfortable as the air-conditioning worked very well.
Coffee & Tea set at Pontian Garden Hotel
I also like the coffee and tea set. Free coffee and tea!
Pontian Garden Hotel shower
The only problem with the room is the shower: The water sprayed almost everywhere. Eeek.
Best about Pontian Garden Hotel
Good points about the hotel include the helpful concierge. They helped us call up a taxi to bring us to Tanjung Piai to see the southern tip of the continent of Asia.
But, the best thing about the hotel is not the room, the people or the breakfast (I love food!).
It was the view of the breakfast place. Look!
View of the sea from terrace of Pontian Garden Hotel
Imagine having breakfast while looking at the deep blue sea. (OK, it was gray the day I was there.) The sea breeze is great in helping with invigorating the appetite!
In a nut shell
Pontian Garden Hotel is a fantastic place to stay if you are in Pontian. The price, view, room, people are all fantastic.
YQtravelling 