LEon の话: Travel

My First Visit to Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS)

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 03:30:01 GMT

This was my first visit to Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary (NANAS) which moved to Johor Baru due to limited land space in Singapore. It is an overwhelming experiences and it really kinda lived up to it’s name.

My wife organized a road trip and NANAS was good enough to cater a mini bus to bring us in from Singapore. It was a positive experience as the driver is friendly and the mini bus was clean and neat. On the bus, I learned the malay word of NANAS means Pineapples.

NANAS host a great number of animals ranging monkeys, horses, dogs and cats which mostly were rescued from animal abuse or about to put down due to their old age (horses). As we enter the gates, a hundred of medium size dogs come welcoming us. All are friendly, unleashed and not caged yet they are gentle and not aggressive as some people thought they would be.

One of the volunteer, Lyndia bought us for a tour around NANAS. I was overwhelmed to see 600 dogs running around freely and staying in packs yet in harmony. It was an amazing sight. I spotted some old injury of some dogs which were 3 legged living happly and being accepted by other dogs.

We went to see the 6 horses at the stable and they too were unleashed. They were in the stable as the foods were there. We fed them apples and carrots and they loved it. The horses there are wonderful and warm animals. With trust and love, they allow me to get near to them. I was surprised to see some dogs stay in the stable with the horses as to guard or to share their food I do not know. Hehehe

The cats and monkeys were in their big enclosed areas too. The local workers are hard working round the clock cleaning up the place, feeding the animals and some even play with the animals. Indeed Malaysia is a better place for them as the land was really big.

I was impressed the amount of effort these volunteers who stay in Singapore and over the weekend drove down to JB just to take care of the animals. One of the volunteer said to us that they spend a total of S$24k a month to keep the shelter going and they are in need of dogs canned food as the dogs are getting older and need medication.

If you are interested to pay them a visit on Sunday or to help by donation, you can visit their website at http://www.noahsarklodge.com.

PS: Personally I do not advice same children to go along as the sight of 600 hundreds free roaming dogs maybe too overwhelmed to them.

On our way back, the driver and I notice a Tortoise was crossing the highway. We immediately pull over and bring him to another side of the road. It was a miracle that it can crawl itself in the middle of the busy road unharmed. Thankful many drivers evade it but none rescue it….

Buddha Tooth Temple @ SG

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 15:04:13 GMT

I was around that area waiting for my fiancée and since it had a grand opening just on vesak day, I decided to join in as a tourist to go and take a look on the “Uniquely Singapore” Buddha Tooth Temple. Below are 2-cent worth personal reviews.

All I can say is that the temple is an art. Yes an art. From the floor to the ceiling. Many are art pieces displaying the skilled craftsmanship. There is a guilded tour that brings people around and introducing every piece of the art pieces. Still remembering it is a temple, they sell flowers and candles for worshiping but trust me many are taking photo of the Buddhas and look around the temple. Sorry I did not take any photo of the buddha out of respect of the religion. I personally do not find it is proper taught by buddhist parent.

Did you know that the temple is air-conditioned? The question you may raise will be what about the incenses since it is air-conditioned? No. No incenses are allowed and they are no need to take off your shoe. Hm…

Continuing in the guided tour, the main hall is call 100-dragon hall. It is because they are 100 dragons carving. As much as I know about Buddhism, I do not remember the link of dragons and Buddha. The tour guild keep saying how precious is the “art pieces” and even they put a 20 karat Diamond on the forehead of the Buddha. It really make me wonder is this a museum or it is a Buddhist temple.

As much as I know Buddhism do not place emphasis on wealth and grandness but thru out the tour, all I hear is how great is the temple. What happen to the Buddhist saying “本来无一物,何来惹尘埃” and the “修心养性、四大借空，修成神佛 ”? Is it a diffrence sector of buddhism? I do not know...

However, I still can see some sincere believers chanting inside. After the tour, goodies bags were given out. That is the end of guilded tour.

In conclusion, the temple is an art. Singapore tourism board did a good job in helping to launch this Temple. If you are a buddhist, you have to see it for yourself and come to your conclusion. As for tourist, it will sure impress you in some ways.

Back from Tioman

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 08:43:35 GMT

Spending my 4 days and 3 nights at Tioman was indeed relaxing with my fiancee. It is indeed a place to spend quality time. We enjoy the slow pace of life and the friendly services. I still remember when we step out of the boat and step on the jetty, the clear waters and the scenery really took our breathe away.

We woke up about 6am to have our breakfast while enjoying the sunrise. We caught up with our sleep as we went to bed at 8pm since there was nothing much to do. We went snookering and slow strolling by the beach. Feeding the fishes at the jetty was another event that we enjoy doing. Those fishes sure are hungry. The water is so cleared that not one of them can hind from your sight. Due to all the under the sun activities, we are tanned.

Here are some of the food we had.

Grilled Lobster since we are near the sea. It was great!

At noon time, we had ice Kajang. I specially order a long lost ice Ball as it can never be found in Singapore now...

Overall the experience was great! Recommend to all who want to Rest and Relax.

PS: If you are those shopping kind, Tioman is not for you.

Here is a video clip of the scenery from the Jetty when we are heading back. Please OFF your speakers because while taking the video some SG parent was behind scolding the kids...:(

if you cannot see the video, you have to install this to see. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflash

Visit Singapore Zoo

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 01:42:23 GMT

Yesterday went to the zoo with my gf and her family. It was a outing plan for my gf youngest sister as she just finish her examination. It was also another good reason for me to try out my new 4 Mega pixel camera. However I didnt manage to take good photograph as it was raining that day.

We had a good time despite of the rain, which was not heavy. Armed with umbrella, we continue our sightseeing to see how the animal reacts to the rain. My gf was amused by how the orangutans cover themselves with leaves as they played in the rain. Overall it was a good trip to get to see many animals reacting to the rain.

Below are just some pictures of the animals that I took before the rain started. Oh the tigers which is close to white in colors are my favourite!