I am currently in Kampung Bekok alone and should be staying here at least until this coming Sunday 4th Sept 2011. If the skies are really promising, I may stay until next Friday.
If you are keen to come and join me to check out this place, please sms or email me at gary@astro.sg. I will be checking my email in the late mid afternoon for the next few days at the nearby internet shop. As it is expensive for me to send sms from here to you in Singapore (SGD$0.60 per sms I think), I am not able to answer your questions regarding this trip via sms back and forth several times.
As such, in the following paragraphs, I will provide a FAQ to minimise such sms exchanges.
Q1. Who can I look for in Singapore to find the best info about Kampung Bekok?
A1. Singastro member Zong. He has been here before taking the train alone, feasted on the nice tse char food, doze off on a comfortable reclinable sofa chair, soaked in the Milky Way skies for a consecutive 2.5 hour session. PM, sms, email him for more info.
If anyone still doesnt feel safe to come here, you can ask Zong to bring you here but you will have to pay for all his expenses. Q2. Where is Kampung Bekok?
A2. It is a Chinese Kampung in the district of Segamat in the state of Johor in Malaysia. You may search for "Kampung Bekok" in maps.google.com.my or Google Earth for more info. Please remember to search using both words "Kampung" AND "Bekok". If you search using Bekok alone, you may end up at the wrong place. For ease of typing from this point onwards, I will refer to Kampung Bekok as just Bekok.
Q3. How do you pronounce Bekok?
A3. It is pronounced as Ber-coke (Ber as in bermudas). You may want to learn to pronounce it correctly if you want to buy a ticket from the ticket counter to prevent potential misunderstanding. In Chinese, it is known as Ma3 Ge2 or Bi3 Ge2.
Q4. How do I take a train to Bekok?
A4. Check the website of the malaysian railways (i.e. KTMB) for availability --> www.ktmb.com.my . There are 4 trips to Bekok daily at different timing from Woodlands CIQ (Singapore). I prefer the 13:45hr timing. Else, you may find the 1900hr timing suitable. The train duration is 2.5 hours assuming no unexpected delays. The train station before Bekok is Kluang. Prepare yourself and stand next the train door 10 minutes before arrival. Alight at the left side of the train. Left with reference to the direction of movement of the train. I will then pick you up from the train station to the house which is about a leisurely 6 mins walk.
Q5. How much is the train ticket and how to buy it?
A5. I suggest you buy the Superior Class (i.e. ASC) ticket at SGD$19. This will guarantee you a seat instead of the SGD$6/$8 ticket which is free seating and you may end up standing for 2.5 hours.
You may register a free account at the ktmb website and book online. Advance booking can be done only 2 days ahead. For this weekend trip, I suggest you go to the KTMB counter at Woodlands CIQ which is located right at the entrance at ground level and buy the ticket hours ahead or better still, the day before. On the return trip, if you want to safe a bit of money, you can buy the same ticket when you arrive in Bekok which will be $19 but in Malaysian Ringgit. But if you do not want to take the risk (due to important work/family commitments), you may buy the return ticket at the same time at KTMB counter in Singapore in Singapore Dollars. Please fill up the white embarkation card before you enter the Woodlands CIQ Q6. Could there be a massive jam at the causeway?
A6. Highly unlikely. Once you pass through the Singapore Customs and then the Malaysian Customs which are both in the Woodlands CIQ building, the train will cross the causeway smoothly. There is no other train infront to honk and no train behind to honk it.
Q7. How is the quality of the train ride?
A7. Good enough for me. Aircon, reclinable seats, plenty of leg room. You can stretch yourselves by strolling inside the train and mingling with the passengers there. In fact, I am typing the draft of this post in the train with the scenic views zipping by the window. The majority of the KTMB officers I have encountered so far are nice and friendly.
Q8. How do I drive up to Bekok?
A8. Take the North South expressway in Johor from Singapore to Yong Peng. You may want to take a break at the Yong Peng which is famous for their noodles and pasteries. Else, continue to drive up towards Chaah and then to Bekok. Ask the Bekok locals there where is the train station and I will meet you and guide you from there. The journey by car is just slighly under 2 hours depending on your driving speed. You may get the GPS co-ordinates from google map/earth beforehand for your car GPS system (if any).
Q9. What is there to do at Bekok?
A9. Stargazing, stargazing and more stargazing.
The skies there are dark and *IF* clear, can see the Milky Way clearly with naked eyes which also means you can see many stars, constellations, meteors, ...etc. The main stargazing observation spot will be at the car porch. If we have access to a car, we can drive up to even darker spots in Bekok.Other than star-gazing, there is nearby public waterfall (need car to drive up). For photography enthusiasts, there are many kampung-related targets of interest. For cloudy nights contingency planning, there is TV, mahjong set and several food stores nearby for supper, e.g. Beer Garden restuarants.
There is a nearby internet shop to surf the net and check your emails at RM$2 per hour. You also can bring your laptop and connect to the internet cables here.
Bekok is a self sufficient mini-town. There are minimarts, provision stores, stationery shops, food stalls, bicycle shops, bank, hardware stores, chinese medicine shops ..etc. Even if you forget to bring some personal belongings, chances are, you should be able to buy it there.
Q10. What telescope and related equipment are available?
A10. 8-inch Celestron C8 SCT telescope, 80mm Celestron F/5 refractor, Vixen PORTA Mount, CG5 equatorial tracking mount with pier and dual-axis hand controller and modified to accomodate zero lattitude (Bekok is about 2 degrees), 8x42 Binoculars, William Optics Binoviewer + pair of 20mm 66 afov eyepieces, Baader 24mm, Celestron 2x Barlow, 2 inch SCT diagonal which can accept both 1.25" and 2" eyepiece accesories, 1.25" diagonal, Telrad and Quikfinder.
Thus, you can travel light by just bringing some clothes and towel for your stay and enjoy the astro equipment here. Or you can just bring a medium to small size telescope OTA and/or your eyepieces and just mount them on the vixen dovetail compatible mounts and telescopes here.
Q11. How is the accomodation?
A11. The accomodation is at a well maintained private one-story house. There are 3 rooms equiped with mattresses, pillows and blankets (no bed). One of them is equiped with aircon, the others with fans. There a big ceiling fan in the living room and a fully-equiped kitchen with fridge. One toilet (seating type, not squatting). One bathroom with heater and powerful shower head. No internet connection available in the house.
Q12. How much do I have to pay?
A12. For singastro members who have at least 50 posts in this forum coming here for the first time or with their immediate family members, accomodation will be free. You just need to pay for your own transport and food. For non-singastro members, please email me in private for more info.
Q13. Where to see some videos and photos of Bekok?
A13. Youtube --> www.youtube.com/bekokboleh . You can search for "bekok" in this forum for some photos and brief reports.
Clear Skies!! Hope to catch the supernova and the comet drifting pass the coathanger.
***IMPORTANT NOTICE***
(1) Please get my email or sms confirmation for you to come *before* you come. Just in case I run out of rooms for you to stay.
(2) Stargazing is 100% dependent on weather. I cannot make any guarantee the sky will be clear during your stay.
Nah just kidding.
So in need of a nebula filter now after all the poison I have visually consumed over the past couple of weeks.
