Showing posts with label Pontian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pontian. Show all posts

Tuesday 23 March 2021

A bridge connecting two Tanjungs

Tanjung is a Malay word that means the piece of coastal land that juts to the sea or any body of water. A cape. There are a number of well-known tanjungs or capes in Malaysia. Tanjung Rhu in Langkawi and Cape Rachado in Port Dickson are two that come to mind.

The title of today's post refers to two tanjungs in Johor that are not that well-known. This time last week, I had the opportunity to visit a project site where a new bridge is being built. The bridge (and its associated highway) is being constructed to connect the Port of Tanjung Pelepas on the east to the Tanjung Bin Petrochemical Hub on the west. The crossing spans Sungai Pulai, one of the significant rivers in the state. The river has its beginning at the foot of the similarly named Gunung Pulai and flows southward to the Johor Straits. The district of Johor Bahru is on the eastern bank while Pontian district is on the west. By the way, pulai is the name of a tree species and it has lent its name to many places throughout the country. But I digress.

The visit was made possible because the Chief Resident Engineer of the project is a friend. Furthermore, a joint-venture partner of the construction firm is a former employer. Since retiring from active project-related work plus further travel restrictions under MCO, I had gotten slightly bored being cooped up at home. When my CRE friend arranged for an unofficial tour of his worksite following the relaxation of inter-district travel, I jumped at the chance. It was a long-awaited opportunity to don construction safety gear, re-live the experience of spending a few hours under the hot sun and learn something new about bridge-building technology. Retirement does not mean a stop to the learning process.

The Sungai Pulai Bridge and its approach roads on either side have a total length of 7.5 kilometres. There are actually three bridges being built; the main bridge spanning Sg Pulai itself and two smaller bridges spanning Sg Boh and its tributary. Apart from linking two large developments on either side, the bridge would be open to the public and hence significantly cut the traveling time from Johor Bahru to the southern region of Pontian district. The bridge would carry a two-lane dual carriageway road that, as at the point of writing, would be toll-free. To allow for navigation, the central river channel has a clearance of 100 metres wide and 25 metres high.

At the time of our visit last week, the central span box girders of the main bridge were in progress of being cast. It would take another month or two before the central piers would be connected. Overall, I would expect the bridge to be fully open in under two-years time. Hopefully no further disruptions due to the covid-19 pandemic.

I am hoping to make another visit to the project towards the final stages of construction. Not to waste any opportunity to keep abreast of construction technology, especially with a project so close to home.

Thank you to CRE Ir. Shahrudin Muhayat and his team for a day well-spent.

Overall plan view of project displayed on a large signboard

View of central piers while crossing river by boat

Looking southwards from top of central pier. PTP quay cranes on the left

CRE on left hosting his two retired engineer friends



Sunday 28 August 2016

A very thorny issue

In Malay culture, there is this peculiar term known as `saudara durian'. It is a sarcastic phrase which literally translates to `durian relative'. To properly explain its meaning, allow me to provide you with an example.

Let's say that you are a city-dweller. You have a relative back at your hometown or village who owns a durian orchard. At the time of the fruiting season, you would visit this relative and partake in the copious consumption of this delicious fruit (absolutely free, of course) with the further chance of the kind relative packing some more of the fruits to take home. At other times of the year, it never crossed your mind to visit this relative or even ask about his/her well-being. You are then a `saudara durian'.

Nasty, isn't it?

Well, I hope I'm not placed into such a category. I am not much of a durian kaki anyway. I very seldom buy durians from the market and can hardly tell the difference in taste between a D24 grade and the Musang King variety. Nevertheless, if some kampung relatives do send me some of these fruits, I gladly accept them. It is very impolite to decline such gifts.

Two weeks ago, I texted a cousin of mine, asking him about the yield of his durian trees. The previous year, he had dropped by my house and gave us a sackful of the so-called king of fruits. This time around, I noted that the local markets are already teeming with the thorny fruits but yet no news from my cousin of his harvest. He texted back, saying that this year's yield is not as bountiful as last year, but there is still more that enough for personal consumption. He invited us to visit his dusun so that we can collect some for ourselves.

Yesterday, the missus and I made the trip to Pontian and met my cousin at his fruit orchard. The orchard has about 15 durian trees plus some mangosteen, duku, rambai and rambutan. By the time we arrived, there was already a large pile of durians that my cousin had gathered. He sliced opened a few for us to eat. I probably ate only 4 or 5 seeds. Really, there is only so much that you can eat. Otherwise you should be prepared to experience the rise in body heat if you consume too much. The fleshy pulp of the durian fruit has this unnerving exothermic property.

In addition to the freshly consumed ones at the orchard, my cousin gave us a sackful to take home. The sack contained 9 fruits of various sizes. This morning the missus used 3 to make serawa durian and bubur kacang hijau. The remainder would cause that distinctive pungent smell to linger in our house for another few more days.

King of fruits, the kampung variety

Sunday 21 August 2011

Ada mee di sebalik udang...

If you happen to travel from Pontian town towards the fishing village of Kukup, you may notice a bridge crossing Sungai Rambah. Next to this bridge is a small fisherman's jetty and a simple foodstall. The look of the foodstall is nothing to write about... I've passed by this road countless times and had not noticed it until a friend suggested I try tasting the mee bandung udang. And when it comes to trying out tasty makan places, I'm always up for it...

A few days ago, I was on my way to look for a place to break my fast and noticed that the foodstall was open. I made a stop and had a look at the simple handwritten menu on a large card pasted on the wall. I ordered a nescafe tarik and mee bandung.

The stall owner asks if I want mee bandung biasa, mee bandung udang or mee bandung udang special. `Yang special tu macam mana bang?' I ask back.

`Oh, yang itu udang lebih,' was the simple reply. Of course I have to go for the special la kan?

Prawns and noodles are really meant for each other. Any dish involving the combination of these two ingredients normally cannot go wrong. When my plate of mee bandung udang special arrived at my table, the large prawns actually covered the noodles. The whole dish was delicious. The prawns were fresh and the gravy tasty too. Of course I had to sort of not think about the effects of increased cholesterol intake... if you know what I mean.

Makanlah selagi ada selera.... that's my motto.

At only RM8 a plate, this dish was worth it

Saturday 6 August 2011

Going back to my roots...

It has been quite a while since my last post. The new job I'm involved in now has really sapped up most of my time and energy. There have been times I have thought of giving up but that would've been the easy way out. Things have gotten a bit better the last few days and I guess it is fair for me to follow the sort of advice I normally give to others when facing similar situations. Going through tough times can only make you tougher... you won't learn much by doing things the easy way.

I am now working at a project located in the district where I was born. I can't actually say it is my hometown because I did not grow up here. I was born at my late maternal grandfather's house in Pontian, Johor but I grew up in Singapore when my father moved the family across the causeway the year after I was born. The only childhood memories I have of this small town are the times when my father took us back to visit our grandparents for Hari Raya.

My grandfather and grandmother of course, both have left us a long time ago but the old house is still there, now occupied by an uncle and his children. The story of this house was posted earlier here -> Day trip back to the kampung.

Now I find myself spending a bit more time at this small town, probably more often that I have ever done before.

After settling most of my work stuff earlier today, I had some time to kill and so decided to take a drive to Pontian and look for a place to break my fast. On the way, I stopped by a recreational park near Rambah to enjoy the beautiful sunset. There is this Bugis Museum nearby but it has already closed for the day. Maybe I'll drop by another time and have a look at what's on display.

Suspension bridge
The sky at sunset. The dark shape on the horizon is Pulau Pisang.
After snapping some photos of the sunset with a simple compact camera, I left the park and proceeded to Pontian town for some chow.

I'll end this post now with my first fasting month story. This incident actually happened last year and I am prompted to tell it after reading blogger-friend Kak Teh's status update in her Facebook yesterday...

The family and I were visiting a Ramadhan bazaar near our home in JB. We stopped by a stall selling nasi lemak ayam goreng berempah. While the seller was packing our order, I casually out of habit, picked up a kacang tanah goreng (fried groundnut) from the large plastic container in front of me and popped it into my mouth. I was happily munching away when I noticed the seller strangely staring at me. My first thought was... eh, tak kan kacang sebiji pun kau nak kira ke? Lokek sangat.

After paying for the purchase and walking away, I then realised he was staring at me for another reason! Orang tua ni tak puasa ke?! Hahaha....