The river Babalan at Pengkalan Brandan

Continued from Walking at the market area of Pengkalan Brandan.

From the market area we approached a water front.

For the record Pengkalan Brandan is situated close to a river called Babalan.

Here's a look downriver.

A look across.

A look to the left or upriver.

But I actually wanted to have a look from a particular jetty which I've visited more than 7 years ago.

I soon found it located 100-200 metres upriver from the water front previously seen.

But the jetty itself has been dismantled. For a better view I have to pass through someone's hut and hop onto this boat.

Now I could see better. A look to the right or downriver.

A look across.

A look upriver...

Walking at the market area of Pengkalan Brandan

Returning to the Medan-Banda Aceh trip of November 2-13th, 2011. Continuing from Aidil Adha eve at the famed Al-Mashun mosque of Medan.

The trip then took us to Pengkalan Brandan, a town 75 km away north-west of Medan.

After having a good rest at the local rest house we decided to take a walk around town.

It was Wednesday 9th November 2011.

I wanted to show the wife the route I've taken once in this town more than 7 years ago as I walked following my heart without knowing where I was headed to. A look to the right as I crossed a small bridge.

A look ahead.

A look to the left. Pengkalan Brandan is predominantly a Muslim town but here you can still see two churces in the background.

Making a right turn further ahead we soon came into the market area.

Not far from here is an area which I consider as among the most interesting in town.

What area is that? I would continue in the next article. Meanwhile just have a look at this less busy part of the market area ya... :]

Boat trip to Riau from Johor

OK. For the past few days I've started a new series at my main blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU. It is based on my latest long trip, one that covered most of the state of Johor and included forays into the island republic of Singapura or Singapore on to the Riau archipelago in Indonesia made December 10-18. The main stories are posted in-between another series which is currently running, the one on the Medan to Banda Aceh trip of November 2-13. As usual supporting stories are made in my other blogspots and here is the first for this one.

The trip started when we left home for Melaka early Saturday morning 10th December 2011. Then we spent the night in Muar and left for Pontian in the afternoon entering Singapura in the evening. After spending a night in the island we reentered Malaysia via Woodlands to Johor Bahru. At 5 pm we took a boat or ferry to Riau and here's where this story starts.

A look to the east from the jetty at Stulang Laut.

That's the wife and our 2-year-old son inside the boat.

After a time I went up the rooftop.

By then we were passing the port of Pasir Gudang.

These are pictures taken as I turned around anti-clockwise.

To the left of the boat is what looks like an uninhabited part of Singapura, I don't know which.

Further on we passed Singapura's smaller island of Pulau Ubin.

I know this for sure after having studied the route taken by the boat in maps. And Pulau (island of) Ubin could be recognised by the presence of security fences all along its visible coast.

Here we were approaching what could be Pulau Tekong, another of Singapura's smaller island... much bigger than Pulau Ubin.

Oh. Forgot to tell you the waters between Singapura and Johor is called Selat (straits of) Tebrau. To our right is still part of Johor.

As I understand it at this juncture we were veering southeast to head south of Pulau Tekong, a part of water inside the borders of Singapura flanked by the main island. I could say for sure that to our right as seen here is the mouth of very wide Johor river. And the hills seen lie at a place called Belungkor.

Here we were already south of Pulau Tekong.

To the left could be seen the tower of Changi airport, on furthest east of Singapura's main island.

As we left the waters of Pulau Tekong we could see a hill which I know to be located at Tanjung Pengelih, within the Kota Tinggi district of Johor.

There seemed to be thriving port facilities off its coast.

Much later we were passing through the waters off the Indonesian island of Pulau Batam. See the sun about to set? That should clearly tell this picture to the left of the boat is taken facing the west.

Batam is one of the islands of the Riau archipelago.

But our target is the bigger Riau island called Pulau Bentan. And here we could see it to our left. But the port we would embark at was still more than an hour away...