All About Your Child

Previous Post was on Ostrich Farm in Desaru, a place I had the most fun in. Today, it is my Fruit Prince, Binbin’s paradise : Fruit Farm in Desaru!

You can see his eyes all bright and glittering when we landed on this Fruit Paradise. In my opinion, probably because Fruit Farm in Desaru is more well-known than the other 4 places that we went, therefore, locating it, without any guide, was the easiest.

Thus after waving goodbye to the ostriches, we set off to meet the fruits of the world immediately in Desaru Fruit Farm and reached there after 3pm.

As we were without any guide, we started to roam around aimlessly like a headless chicken. Then we heard a tour guide signalling a group of tourist to go inside an air-conditioned room to listen to a short talk on how honey is made.

We thought it might be a good way to begin with, since all of us wanted a break from the hot sun.

Keatkeat and Binbin learned alot from this simple talk about bees and honey. As for me, I finally understand that you do not just get honey from bees. You get royal jelly, bee pollen and propolis too. Different things to benefit different parts of our body.

Did you know that there is such a thing called Young Honey and Matured Honey too? Well, it was something new to me again. And did you know that you CANNOT USE HOT WATER on honey or store honey in the fridge? By doing so, you actually destroyed all the nutrients in the honey. You should store at a cool dry place. Honey that has no ‘extra ingredients’ added, will dissolve in room temperature water easily.

We liked what we heard and so after the talk, Allan and I walked forward to the counter and bought 150gm of Royal Jelly, a small bottle of Propolis and a bottle of Young Honey.

The nice lady chatted with us and gave us instructions on how to get to our next destination : Crocodile World in Desaru! Allan was so happy! But among so many places that we explored on our own, I must say that the route to get to Crocodile World was one of the TRICKIEST!!! Well, I will talk about that in a separate post altogether. Wait for it!

On top of that she also told us that we should purchase our Desaru Fruit Farm tour ticket from the counter at the main entrance. We actually missed that counter after we parked because this counter is the SAME CASHIER COUNTER AS their souvenir shop. I never expected that. *faint*

When we backtracked our steps, indeed there was a small faded piece of paper at the side of the counter that mentioned it. If anyone stood at the counter for payment, this piece of paper would be totally blocked by the thighs of the person. Now THAT explains why we missed it. *eyes rolled*

The ticket was actually a sticker! That’s pretty cool, I thought. We are supposed to keep this sticker until the end of the Fruit Farm tour to exchange for a FREE fruit box containing pieces/slices of different fruits. Nice! *smile*

Keatkeat: “I hope they put apple or banana in the fruit box. If not I jialat already.” (because he does not like any other fruits)

Binbin (the Fruit Prince): “Nevermind, you can give me, I can help you eat.”

*laugh*

Almost immediately after sticking the stickers onto our shirts, another staff led us to THIS:~

We sat on it and head off to our 1 hour tour…

SOME of the fruits/plants we saw: ~

Suddenly a passion fruit dropped to the ground the moment we reached the passion fruit trail. My Fruit Magnet ran over to pick it up IMMEDIATELY! Binbin: “Mummy, Mummy, I got it.”

The following second, every other kid in the same tour as us started searching the ground. *giggle*

They saw the fruit, held the fruit, smelled the fruit, and it would be complete if they had tasted the fruit as well. And they did! My boys drank fresh passion fruit juice for the very first time during a mini-break at a beautiful fish pond inside the Fruit Farm.

It is here that the children can purchase a pretty big packet of fish food for only RM2 and the loving Papa bought two packets. *smile*

After the break, we saw more fruits/plants and were surprised to know that a mini zoo trip was part of this fruit farm tour!

The kids and I went crazy snapping photos and buying food to feed the animals! *laugh* We REALLY like to be in such places. Though many hates the smell, we have no issues with that at all. *wink*
Oh no! Not going to talk about the mini-zoo today. It will be in the NEXT POST.

At the end of the tour by foot, we were led to that well decorated lorry once again and it brought us back to where we parked our car. The others who were with us on that lorry were told to go into that same air-con room as the one we went before we purchased the tour ticket/sticker, thus we did not follow suit.

Instead, we went to exchange for our 4 boxes of fruits. The moment Binbin had been waiting for!

There were Papaya, Watermelon, Mango, Banana, Jackfruit, Guava and Honeydew. They tasted so good that Allan decided to make a trip here once again the next day just before we head back to Singapore to buy some fruits home. Nice! *Thumbs Up*

Next Post : Mini Zoo in Desaru Fruit Farm

Fruit Farm in Desaru

For me, among the 5 places I visited during my stay in Desaru, THIS IS THE PLACE I HAD THE MOST FUN!!!

Warning: I Had So Much Fun in The Ostrich Farm in Desaru, thus I have PLENTY To Talk About!!! *laugh* So you have been warned, its a Looooooooooong Post!

We were all ready for the Real Adventure when we woke up on 9th August 2012, our 2nd day in Desaru. We checked Google map and found out that Ostrich Farm was on the southern part of our resort. We thought, so long as we keep heading in that direction, it should bring us to the big birds. With that, we set off! Real Dare Devils! *eyes widen*

Once again, there were many moments during the drive we would ask ourselves, “We did not miss any ‘Ostrich Farm’ signs, did we?” *laugh*

Nope! We did not miss any indeed and after traveling at 90-100km/h for about 30mins, we finally saw ‘Ostrich Farm’ signs, they were too big to miss!

The moment we got out of the car, an EXTREMELY vocal lady started to signal us over and started to talk about the Ostrich Egg, before she suggested that we should buy admission tickets to enter the Ostrich Farm itself.

She called for the cashier and while waiting for the cashier to appear, the kids were totally mesmerized by the Cute ONE DAY OLD baby ostrich at the cashier counter.

In my view, Desaru is a great place to visit IF YOU DRIVE to these places of attractions on your own. Once again I want to show you the BIG difference in price between using the transport provided by the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort and when you drive yourself there.

Resort Transportation to Ostrich Farm : RM70/hr (Adult) and RM40/hr (Child)

Note, the charge is by ‘per hour‘. If your child is as crazy over the Ostriches as mine, then, one hour is definitely NOT enough!

So how much did we pay, since we drove there on our own?
Only RM15/hr (Adult) and RM10/hr (Child) and you can stay at the farm as long as you wish!

Can you see how MUCH you can SAVE??!!!

In short, now that I know the vast difference in price, I would NEVER go Desaru, unless we drive on our own.

In fact, we do not like to follow guided tour because if the tour guide says “C’mon we have to leave now.” You cannot say “No”.

When we go on a vacation, we like to take our own sweet time to fully enjoy every moment instead of having someone around to keep reminding us of the time, “We will meet here after 30mins.”, “We will spend only 15mins here.” etc…etc… *bleh* Not the kind of holiday experience for us for sure.

Of ‘cos without any doubt, there are also the pros for having a tour guide = you will never get lost! *wink* But we still prefer to go for Free and Easy type of holiday trips.

Alright, enough said, take a look at the whole Ostrich Farm in the video below :

This is one other bird not captured in the video above:

When we entered, there was already a tour group there feeding the Ostriches and kids were taking turns to ride on an Ostrich for RM30 with a professional photoshot. Keatkeat and Binbin were afraid that it might be too ticklish, so they were not interested to ride at all. What a waste!

If they had allowed adults to ride on them, I WOULD!!! *laugh*

The moment we stepped inside the farm, the uncle who works there started to gather the four of us with the other tourists and demonstrated how they would open an ostrich egg. They NEED AN ELECTRIC DRILL!!! *jaws dropped*

The explanation was very detailed and I loved it. The kids had a little issue understanding what was going on though, ‘cos the uncle only speaks in Mandarin.

After pouring out the egg, the nice uncle started to share the goodness of the placenta. He tore up the placenta into different pieces and passed them to some of us. Allan got a piece and I touched it too. Felt a little like those sheets of facial mask. Smooth, rubbery and a little slimy.

In fact, one of the tourists asked if it can be used as a facial mask and the uncle actually said It is Good For The Skin! So the answer was Yes! *jaws dropped*

Suddenly, another HUGE tour group came into the Ostrich farm together with another staff. Immediately, the nice uncle passed the ‘job‘ over to this other staff instead and moved away. We thought the demonstration was over and thus went over to buy a bunch of vegetables, ready to feed the ostriches.

Little did we know that the demonstration was not completed, the nice uncle merely asked the staff to pick up where he left off.

So with a bunch of vegetables in my hand, we went back to hear the 2nd half of the ‘show and tell’. This time, it was in English. The kids enjoyed it more because they can understand what was said.

It was only then that my children understood that ostrich eggs must be kept away from the rain, or else the eggs will not be able to hatch into baby ostriches. The numbers written on the ostrich eggs is a way of recording how many eggs had been laid ever since this ostrich farm started.

Ostriches in this farm lay 2 eggs every 4 days on the average. Those eggs which had been showered by the rain will be used as delicacies in their mini restaurant, right beside the cashier counter. The empty shells are then used to create table lamps.

I wanted to try their ostrich egg omelette for RM8, and the ostrich meat too, but our breakfast from the resort have not been digested yet; so we were too full to eat anything. What a waste! I would want to try, if I ever get a chance to go there again.

The jovial staff talked about how their ostrich essence (yes, just like chicken essence) must be taken in the morning or else you will start roaming around like a tiger at night. *laugh*

So does ostriches hide their heads underground when they are being attacked? NOPE, its a myth. They either run away or attack the attacker.

The ostrich’s skin is used to make bags. This ostrich farm do sell their ostriches away as well. Different prices for different ages. Anyone wants an ostrich for a pet? *wink*

My fingers were aching from clenching the bunch of vegetables after many minutes and decided to put the bunch behind me, so that I can give my full attention to the staff. But it was a WRONG MOVE!!!

Two ostriches approached me from behind almost immediately and wanted to eat my bunch of vegetables behind my butt. I was so afraid they would peck my butt! *laugh* Binbin who was sitting beside me sprung to his feet like a coiled spring and that made Keatkeat and I jumped out of our chairs too!

It was scary and hilarious at the same time and the other tourists started clicking on their cameras for a nice close up while the three of us sweat under our socks. *laugh*

I took the bunch and hand it over to the staff who sold the vegetables to me earlier, who also promised to return it to me without charging me for the second time again. *phew* And I went back to my seat.

In the beginning, I find them intimidating. But after feeding them over and over again, they are really friendly birds. We became so ‘fearless‘ that we flipped their feathers, touched the skin under their feathers, stroke them on their neck and stood really close to them for awesome photo shoot.

We, especially the kids, just did not have enough fun! We just kept buying the bunches of vegetables for RM2 each time a bunch has gone down the long necks of the ostriches, AT LEAST 5 times or more! SORRY we lost count! *laugh*

We just kept on feeding and feeding and feeding……

Some of you may ask, “Is it dangerous? Won’t the ostriches peck your hand during feeding?”

Well, this was Keatkeat’s experience…..

There were too many people feeding the FEW (4, I think) freely roaming ostriches and my boys, just like Allan and I, do not like crowds, so they held on to their bunches of leaves and went to feed those that were fenced up.

And when you decide to do that, you must be prepared to hold as close to the end of the stem as possible, because there will be more than ONE ostrich coming at you AT THE SAME TIME!

With 4 ostriches aiming at Keatkeat’s bunch of leaves and him not holding close the the end of the stem after being told several times already, the ostriches aimed wrongly and mistook his hand for food!

“OUCH!” Keatkeat yelled and squeezed his hands between his thighs.

The ostriches’ beaks are not blades, so no blood shed. The above incident was witnessed by Allan. According to Papa, Keatkeat’s facial expression was hilarious! Damn! I missed it!

So what was I doing? I was busy chasing smaller birds : A mother Hen and her chicks. They were SOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!

Because we had planned to go to two other places of interest in Desaru, and remember? we had no clear idea how to get there, so we need to give ourselves ample time to explore. Therefore, reluctantly we had to end the fun here earlier than we wished to.

Thus we said goodbye to the ostriches’ strong legs,

rubbery skin

and super long feathers

Goodbye! Thank you for the truly an unforgettable experience for my family, especially me! *wave*

Ostrich Farm in Desaru