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Chinese New Year – Moon Traveler (Personal Note from Editor)

January 20th, 2009 lawrence.gan

As a Singaporean who used to stay in Johor Bahru, one of the things that never fail to bring back of sense of nostalgia is the Moon Traveler. A cheap variant of the firecracker, you poke the Traveler into the mouth of a glass bottle, light up the tip of the fuse and run away. A few seconds later, you hear the whistle (wwsshhhhh) and up goes the Moon Traveler.

In the dark of the night, the Moon Traveler explodes into a singular crack, combining with those set off by your neighbours to herald the arrival of the Chinese New Year.

As I grew older (and bolder), different techniques of setting off the Moon Traveler are used. You can set off multiple Travelers that fire off sequentially. You can hold the Traveler in your hand and fire it off horizontally. Or you buy those super big Travelers that scream into the sky.

We can no longer play these in Singapore (it is actually not legal in Malaysia as well). But whenever I go visiting in Malaysia during CNY, some childhood memories are brought back when neighbour’s kids sets the Moon Travelers off. There are more interesting combinations now… 大地开花, which spins wildly on the floor or the flares – mini-fireworks which explodes beautifully over the sky like an unfolding flower.

This coming CNY, I may have a go at it again. And maybe fire one in the direction of the causeway towards Singapore. The traveler itself will not make it across the bridge but the sound will… well, at least to those staying in Woodlands.

Limsimi.com - Moon Traveler

Note: The article is purely from the author’s point of view and is not an inducement/ support for anyone to play with fireworks/pyrotechnics. There are risks and dangers from playing with such fireworks/flammable objects.

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Entry Filed under: Blog

11 Comments Add your own

1. QuaChee | January 20th, 2009 at 11:41 PM

im surprised there are singaporeans living in johor – was it for work? btw, i thought this moon traveler is also banned in malaysia

[Reply]
2. admin | January 20th, 2009 at 11:46 PM

Hi Qua, your comment came within minutes of my posting. That’s fast!

No, it is more for personal reason than for work. Moon Traveler is banned in Malaysia but.. during Chinese New Year, Johoreans are blatantly flouting the rules.. If you look up the sky, there will be fireworks all over.

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3. frequentjb traveller | January 20th, 2009 at 11:53 PM

what happens if u hold a bunch of these and fire it off all at one go?

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4. admin | January 21st, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Never tried it. But as kids, we did try tying them up in a bunch and setting it off from the ground, hoping that the whole bunch will travel higher and higher as each individual traveler sets off. The projectile never seems to work though.

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5. frequentjb traveller | January 21st, 2009 at 1:10 AM

could be very nice when all go off together. more sparks.

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6. Toto | January 21st, 2009 at 9:30 AM

Nice article. I used to play these moon travelers too when young. Cannot hold too tightly when firing off from the hand.

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7. Eng Choy | January 29th, 2009 at 3:37 PM

did anyone notice frequent police patrols during the CNY eve and CNY day itself?? See less crackers and travellers released this year.

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8. bobby | February 1st, 2009 at 9:19 AM

this is a good site. if you could build out hte things to do section more that would be great. Everyone says JB is dangerous and what is there to do anyway?

i want to ride my bike up there to check out the city and such. Will the cops hassle me? if they do, do I give them money like the old days – so they wont ticket me? if so what is the going rate? can i take the bike through immigration and customs should i take the train?

bobby

[Reply]
admin Reply:
February 1st, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Thanks for your comments Bobby.

Cops do pay a special lookout for SG vehicles but there is nothing to worry if you follow the traffic rules.
In addition, u need to be sensitive to the cops if they stop you for a traffic offence that you committed. By offering them a bribe, they can actually slap you with a double offence for bribery. There were also incidents that despite paying a bribe, motorist still got the traffic notice sent to their home.

Finally, it depends on where you are going before you decide to ride up the JB. If you are going to less accessible places like Bukit Indah, Perling and even Tampoi, might make sense to ride up. Else, a train/bus/taxi.. will be sufficient and more convenient in fact for you to tour about the City area like City Square, Plaza Pelangi and Holiday Plaza.

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9. Malcolm Ooi | April 25th, 2009 at 4:50 PM

The best bet to let off fireworks is in private estate. Last CNY we were able to buy loads of fireworks from the local shops (ask around). And we had a marvelous time.

Come visit us at leisuredestination.net

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10. lee 96 | January 17th, 2011 at 7:35 PM

where you bought it? i want to buy for my children to play as they never played before?

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