Kukup
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For a long
time we had targetted to check out this favorite haunts
of the Singaporeans. There was little change to this one
street "Cowboy" town. |
Except-
that the original restaurant and the immigration office were
crowded by many buildings that came up beside them.
| The
crowded street with uncanny parking problems, the shanty
town type buildings these facts confirmed that it was the
same Kukup! |
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Villages of
houses [Mainly wooden] on stilt
 |
Here is a
good view of those restaurants built on stilts over the
sea. For a change the rear portion of a building was a
better looking part! |
| While
Kukup was still a shanty town on stilt, the novelty from
this same attraction stayed on! For a change, city
dwellers were thrown back a couple of decades. Wooden
houses, boardwalk and no cars! This township appeared
more widespread than Pulau Ketam of Selangor. |
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 |
We did not
miss the fun of having breakfast inside this tiny
township. For a change, the breakfast served was
"Hock Chiew" style curry rice with soya sauce
duck meat. |
| There was
this family carrying on a cottage industry. Making fillet
out of small fishes and drying up the fillets as salted
fish meat. The todlers at least one of them was assisting
the mother to spread the fillets on the wire mesh for
drying in the sun later on. |
 |
Fish Farming
Fish farming that
started as a tourist attraction appeared to be a core bussiness
overtaking the restaurants.
| Sampansload
of live fishes queued up at this special jetty for the
products to be heaved up to the platform! |
 |
 |
Fishes of
a few varieties each weighing above 2 kilograms are then
weighed. They were then allowed into waiting tanks on a
truck to be despatched to the Singapore market. Live fishes are
intended for the restaurants who could serve their
clients with really fresh farm produce!
|
| Finally a
view of the farms! Front, right, and left of the picture.
Then futher back as far as the eyes could make out. |
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Tourist Industry
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The
immigration department was started to cater for the large
number of Indonesian workers who shuttled through this
entry point. Today, the situation had changed
dramatically. Tour boats or ferry were transporting
visitors to Singapore and Indonesia. The regular ferry
service to Singapore at its heyday were having daily
schedule. Now the slow down had reduced them to weekends
service. |
| On the
contary, the flow of traffic was shifted to flow from
Malaysia to Tanjong Balai in the Rhio Archepelago. The
time table here indicates the travelling time and
frequency. The cost incidentally was RM50 for two ways
ticket. |
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 |
To put
your mind at ease, these were not converted fishing
"tongkangs" but streamlined, air-conditioned,
sea going high speed transporters. To get you there and
then back to Malaysia on time. |
| Inhabitants
or migrants did not miss out the potential tourist trade.
Fishing enthusiats could hired "Matress" for
overnight stay at the "Kelong". This group
could have a room in the shanty town for RM60 a night. |
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Or
RM 60 per head for a package of board and lodging, with 3 meals
at Kukup Seafood restaurants.
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We Wander |
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