Johor Coastal Trip 3 (JB)

Tg. Piai Resort, Johor from the road.

On 20 Jan 2009 we bid goodbye to Tg. Piai Resort staff, particularly, Pn. Julia, for being such a gracious host. I felt at home there, so much that I helped to water the hundred of potted plants that seemed wilting for want of water. I just couln't stand the sight of beatiful plants wilting away. The staff watered them once a day and by evening, they became almost lifeless. Anyway, Tg. Piai Resort, you will see me again some day, insyallah.

Watering the potted plants at Tg. Piai Resort.

I drove bac k to Pontian to take the secondary road to Johor Bharu where Najidah and I stayed for 2 days at my niece's home where my oldest sister, Zawiyah lives. Chom's (Umi Kalthum Samsu) house always become our port of landing evertime my siblings and I go visiting my sister there. Along the way, we followed the brown signage indicating Muzeum Nenas and wished to see what's in store there. Unfortunately, there was no sign informing visitors that the muzeum was closed or something like that. We couln't find the entrance and guessed that it was under renovation. So, don't waste your time. We moved on to Pekan Nenas and stopped to buy the renowned Pekan Nenas pineapples for my sister in JB. But I can tell you here, the sweetness of the pineapples there cannot beat Nenas Sarikei! I miss Nenas Sarikei!! I must go and buy some when I go to Kuching again.

The road is good and I enjoyed driving. At JB we decided to visit the interesting places first before we stopped for the night at Chom's house at Jalan Mariamah. Our first stop was Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque, perched majestically on the hill facing the Straits of Tebrau and Singapore.

Sultan Abu Bakar Mosques from the back entrance.

One of the minerets of Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque, Johor.

The walkaway towards the main building of the mosque.

There, we bought 2 pieces of water colour paintings from the senior citizen artists. What attracted us most was talking to En. Ariffin Abdul Ghani, 69, a former lawyer who suffered Larynx cancer or cancer of the throat, the result of his smoking habit, and was operated on. He was not able to speak but used sign language and wrote it on paper when we couldn't understand what he was saying. He specialised in painting birds on silk. Najidah bought one piece at RM10.00 and I bought a bigger piece of Sulatan Abu Bakar Mosque at RM 20.00. To me, the price is so low but he is doing it to occupy his time and to meet and interact with people. I admire his ability to paint, an ability which I don't have. Another retired artist that we met was Hj. Zakaria, who specialised in water colour scenery. I watched him painting his piece from memory with ease without even a thought and wallah! one piece of scenery is ready for you - beautiful and real. How lucky they are for having such talent. According to him, his art keeps him going. He speaks fluent Korean too and conversed with Korean tourists with ease. Visit Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque in JB and you will not miss them. They are stationed there everyday.

This is another learning for young people. Be prepared for your old age. Whatever talent you have, nurture it so that you can use it when you are retired - to get you out of being bored, lonely and depressed.

Our next visit was the Grand Palace and the Royal Abu Bakar Muzeum. The entry to the Royal mUzeun, including the Muzeum Cina, is RM5.00. We spent quite a while inside admiring the royal rooms and the exhibits. Of course it was in a much smaller scale compared to the Hermitage Muzeum in St. Petersburg, Russia and in other countries I have visited. But the difference is, the modest grandeur didn't go to the expense of the people as in Russia, France etc. The Royal Muzeum is one of the oldest buildings and has commanding view in JB. Sultan Abu Bakar laid the foundation stone in 1864 and it was completed in 1866. It has been enlarged and renovated a few times. Today the Palace is till used but only for State ceremonies. Unfortunately, photographing is not allowed as in many other muzeums throughout the world.

In front of the main building of the Palace.

The Muzeum Cina, next to the main Palace, exhibiting the Chinese collections.

Najidah at the entrance of the Grand Palace Muzeum, overlooking Selat Tebrau and Singapore.

Danga Bay is something new, which formerly known as Pantai Lido. I lived in JB in 1970 for over a year and JB has changed tremendously. The JB I knew was more friendly, laidback and simple but now it is so complicated, busy with traffic jams and empty spaces before, now taken over by tall buldings. I dislike the new JB! Anyway, at Danga Bay we were pleased to see the traditional Johor Malay houses there though they are actually restaurants. The design of these houses couldn't be found anymore, not like the traditional Malacca houses which we can see still intact as personal houses. Top pic is Rumah Muar.

Rumah Kota Tinggi

Rumah Keluang

Rumah Pontian.

The Royal burial ground is another attraction - modest but clean, serene and well-portioned.

In front of the Royal Mousoleum, JB.

Royal burial ground in JB. Systematically portioned, clean and green.

The Royal Mousoleum in JB.

Najidah having breakfast with my sister, Zawiyah (at the background).

Zarif, Chom's youngest son, a college student, getting ready to go with his father to his stationeray shop in town. Learning the skills of managing a shop.

Jaafar, Chom's husband, retired. Runs his own stationery shop to occupy his time and training his son for business skills.

Johor Coastal Trip 2 (Tg. Piai)

Tanjung Piai Resort.

The wooden bridge entrance to Tg. Piai Resort.

With Najidah at Tg. Piai Resort for breakfast.

At Tanjung Piai Resort, Johor.

The welcoming bridge outside Tanjung Piai Resort, Johor.

On 18 january 2009, we drove straight to Tanjung Piai Resort in Tanjung Piai about 25 km from Kukup at 4.00 pm for hunger pang has begun to bother us.Before we settled in our room, we ordered simple lunch to fill in our gassy stomachs. Tanjung Piai Resort is a beaut and entirely enchanting, jutting out to the Straits of Malacca, with panoramic view of the sea and the anchored seafreighters at Singapore harbour. The Resort is situated at the southernmost tip of Peninsular Malaysia. It has been my dream to go the southernmost tip of the Asia continent and I did it by visiting the resort and the Tg. Piai National Park. It was just as exciting as I have stood on Cape Point of Cape of Good Hope in South Africa - the sounthernmost tip of the African Continent in 2004. I am totally humbled by the Grace of Allah for allowing me to see his great creation.

We paid RM120.00 for a room with breakfast with spectacular view of the sea. Tired after a long drive, we decided to stay put and explore the resort. Since it was not on weekened, guests have left the resort and it was rather quiet. We slept early. To go to Tg. Piai Resort from KL, you can take the highway and exit at Simpang Renggam and follow the road to Pontian, Benut and then you will find a signboard along the road. You won't miss it. You can also call or fax for enquiries and booking at 07-6969000/07-6960011. You may talk to Pn. Julia or other receptionist on duty. At night the view is glittering with lights from the freighters lining the horizan. You can be fooled into thinking that the light was from a housing estate. We slept early that night.

In the morning of 19 Jan 2009, after breakfast we took a drive towards Tg. Piai National Park which is about 10 minute from the resort. I was excited to see the park, particularly to stand on the point of the southernmost tip of Asia continent. We paid RM 5.00 for adult but for being a senior citizen I paid RM3.00 only - too cheap to maintain the park! We were delighted to see the park which is so well-kept and information was attractively presented. It took quite a long reading to get all the information digested.

Najidah and I were quite disappointed when told that the we couldn't go to the southernmost point, the Globe, because the platform was under repair after being broken by the waves. It was not safe. We were stunt because our main reason was to stand on that particular point and now we were told we couldn't go there. What a waste!!

Anyway we requested to go up to the section where the platform was still OK. The platforms were built leading to different points of interest above the mangrove swamps. The walk enable visitors to enjoy the different mangrove habitats. We walked the platform towards the southernmost point. We came across a group of monkeys and didn't know what to do - to move forward or to retreat. I snapped some photos and while we were debating how to go forward, a male monkey barred his teeth, and hissing, began moving towards us fast. Panicked, we ran for our lives. Those rascals must be laughing looking at the two stupid ladies turned tails.

The platform on the mangrove swamps in Tg. Piai National Park.

I called the office and explained that we were blocked by those hostile monkeys. The officer advised us not to have eye contact and just walked pass pretending not to see them. Noway I was going there again. I didn't have the confidence, so I pleaded to send somebody to accompany us across just for awhile. They were kind (not many visitors at that time) and Abu came to our rescue. Abu Salleh bin Abu Bakar is a delightful young guy who knew the park like the back of his hand. He has been working there for 8 years and helped in research conducted by universities.

Since we were accompanied by a staff, we were able to go to the southernmost point, the Globe, much to our delight. Abu took pains to explain the process, the condition, the habitats and flaura and fauna of the park. I marvelled at his wealth of knowledge and we became novice learners. Thank you Abu and we will not forget your helpfullness. I guess, it is good to have a young pretty girl with me because I suspected, Najidah is the motivation!

Najidah and I at the Globe, the southernmost tip of Asia continent at Tg. Piai.

At 2.00 pm we decided to drive to Kukup which is about 25 km from Tg. Piai. Najidah has found out about Kukup National Park which is on Kukup island. It's similar to Tg. Piai - a wetland mangrove park. We took a boat from Kukup across. Apollo, the boatman charged RM5.00 for a return trip. The entrance fee is the same as in Tg.Piai. This is another national park that delighted us. It is well-maintained, clean and information was plentiful. The park is so beautiful with clean, clear river. We saw 3 otters catching fish and 4 fat wild boars. We paid RM3.00 each for a short boat ride up the river - so peaceful and so serene.

Crusing the river at Kukup National Park, Johor.

Najidah at Kukup National Park.








View of Kukup National Park entry point.

The hanging bridge at Kukup National Park. Johor.

At Kukup National Park hanging bridge.

Before we left Tg. Piai National Park, Abu invited us to see fireflies that night at 8 pm. We agreed. He refused any tips but we insisted. The drive to the park at night was pitch dark, quiet and awfully eerie. I bet if my friend, Sharipah, was with me, she would for sure, freaked out. Unfortunately there weren't many fireflies to see and Abu took us to the jetty to see his friends fishing. The night was cool and silent. For the first time in my life, I saw a fishing rod attached with a bell. Everytime when the bait was caught, the bell would ring indicating a fish is pulling the rod. How interesting. The night view was something else. We didn't feel like going home, it was bliss being there. Abu's friends treated us with fresh boiled crabs. We left with much gratitude for meeting wonderful and honest people around there. Thank you again, Abu. May Allah bless you with a good life. If you need a guide in Tg. Piai National Park, please ask for Abu Salleh. You will not be diappointed.

Abu Salleh Abu Bakar.

We left Kukup Natipnal Park at closing time, 5.00 pm and Apollo took us to see his fish traps with no extra charge

Fishing culture at Kukup - belongs to Apollo.

The Piai fern found in Tg. Piai National Park and Kukup National Park from which Tanjung Piai was named.

It was an enjoyable and rewarding trip. We went back to the resort, tired and happy.

Johor Coastal Trip 1

Map of penisnsular Malaysia. The black trace is the route we took to travel coastal road Johor for 11 days for 2,000 km.

It was quite a long break from my blogging. Today I am trying to regain my enthusiasm writing this blog. I have so much to write about my interesting and enchanting trip around Johor through coastal road with Najidah. I enjoyed her company as she is a good navigator and remembered things that I forgot. After an 11 day driving around Johor and immediately continued with supervising internship students, really sapped my energy. I need to just lepak but I need to write my experience and observation before things go out of my memory box. You see, this memory box is getting smaller by the day, ha, ha.

It has been my wish for quite a while to see what my country has to offer. I have visited many local places and enjoyed them but it was done in bits and pieces. My retirement from Unimas gave me the opportunity to plan my exploration of each state with company like Najidah and Sharipah Rohani. Only those who are really keen to tavel will enjoy these missions. So far, I have cleared road trip from KL to Perlis with Najidah but will do it again exploring state by state in detail. The second trip was to Kelantan through Gua Musang with Sharipah Rohani and I have the intention to go into visiting specific state such as Kelantan again. This third trip is Johor.

How do I feel about my country, Malaysia? I am proud of my spectacular country but sad and angry at the same time. Sad and angry that the people do not fully realize how lucky they are living in this rich, peaceful country and they try so very hard to destroy the peace and harmony by being ungrateful, rude and greedy. I am disgusted at the political scene and the kurang ajar behaviour of so called concerned citizens who are bent at destroying the country's harmony. For the Malays, we are weak because we are divided and the Chinese and the Indians use this to exploit the situation. Now is the time for all of us to rally together putting aside our political differences. Together is strength. To my young Malay students, please be aware of this because you are going to be the leaders of tomorrow.

I am so sad and angry at the selfish attitude of irresponsible peole who blatantly littered, damaged and defaced facilities provided for the public. Malaysians are educated people but their behaviour is like savages. I have talked about this in my blog about Paradise Lagoon. The selfishness, the arrogance and the attitude are beyond words. When will all Malaysians appreciate what God has given them? I am also sad and angry at the local councils who seemed to turn blind eyes on the destruction of public properties and rampant littering. One scene that disgusted me most was the state of the beaches along Johor. Beaches in Mersing are mostly so dirty with rubbish piling up and uncollected. The beach in Kg. Sri Lalang for example, was so poluted and smelly with waste that I almost puked. Go there if you don't belive me! So, what is there to be proud of? What's there for us to pull tourists over. I see parents littered and allowed their children to litter too. What kind of citizens are we raising? I hope my students who have children and will have children start thinking about this and really educate their children with good examples in behaviour and attitude so that the future generation will enjoy what God has created for us. The Member of Parliment of Mersing and Pengerang should do their work to make sure that their constituencies are tourist-attractive.

I can go on lamenting about the sad state of Malaysian attitude but let me start with my journey. On 18 January 2009, Najidah and I started our trip through the highway to Malacca. We followed the exit at Ayer Keroh, the drive took us through kampung road to Muar, Batu Pahat, Pontian and to Tanjung Piai. The road is good and driving was easy with the help of a map. I was interested to take photographs of traditional Johor Malay houses but many houses along the way have become so modern and have lost the flavour of traditionality. I also noticed that Johor traditional house owners are not so particular about their garden. The few traditional Johor houses that I photographed seemed to neglect this. Maybe the houses are not lived in and owners are somewhere in the cities. Nevertheless, we managed to get some interesting photos of Malay houses but wondered whether they were of the original design.

There were many interesting sights that made us diagress from our journey to Tg. Piai. I was surprised that we didn't have to go through Muar town for Batu Pahat for there is a new road bypassing it. In some way, I missed the town as it was a town I was familiar with when I stayed with my oldest sister, Zawiyah in 1965. I was working as a research assistant in Kg. Sg. Raya. Muar. Muar was just a little town then. My nephew, Said, owns a seafood restaurant by the Muar river at the bridge and I made many promises to come over and visit. The time hasn't come yet but I hope to make it a reality one day soon. He has quite a well-known spread of menu to offer and many has sung praises for his delicious cooking.

The Batu Pahat I knew a few years ago was placid and slow with a few rows of shops. But now the town has grown so much that I hardly recognised it. I was fascinated by the roundabout of Simpang Rantai. The old tree stood so proudly as if daring anybody to cut it down. It has a charm of it s own. The branches were coated with creepers whick looked hairy from far. To me, it is so unique and it would be a pitry if it has to be taken down. Please old tree of Simpang Rantai, stay strong. You are a symbol of graceful aging!!!!

We moved on to Senggarang, Rengit, Benut to Pontian Besar and Pontian Kecil. Somewhere around that area I stopped many times to photograph traditional Malay houses. I felt quite disappointed to see some really traditional houses were so neglected and run down. Most Malay houses are modern brick houses and somehow has lost its charm.

In Pontian we were attracted by the brown signboard indicating Museum Bugis. I didn't have much knowledge about the Bugis who originated from Celebes. We decided to stop and see. The charming cute house is an attraction by itself . We met the owner, En. Abdullah, an interesting personality. He shared a lot of his experience collecting old relics which people threw away. As he said, once people jeered at him and labeled him as mad. His passion in collecting old forgotten traditional crafts, clothes, money, ceremics, pots and pans etc. etc have earned him a recognition by the State Government and honour his collection as a personal muzeum. He wentt to the extend of marrying a Bugis lady in Celebes in his search for Bugis traditions. For young people who like to know first hand experience of Malay history, go and meet him and have a conversation with him. Your Malay spirit will revive and soar high and you will have an understanding of who you are in your own country. Just like Hj. Nordin in Rumahku Muziumku in Malacca, I do question the kind-heartedness of the Malays. Had this belong to a Chinese, he would have turned it into money and earn an income from it. Hj. Nordin and En. Abdullah don't even collect fee but leave it to visitors to donate but very few do. Some even go to the extend of stealing the exhibits as has happened in Hj. Nordin's case. Call En. Abdullah at 017-76332441 or 016-7275697. On your way, you will not miss the brown signage.

The Bugis Muzeum belongs to En. Abdullah. It's also his personal house.

The collection of traditional Bugis baju.

The precious over 100 years old Quran written on goat skin.

Najidah at the pelamin for Bugis wedding.

En. Abdullah in his beautiful garden.

Before reaching Tg. Piai, we stopped for a while at Kukup for lunch. Unfortunately, it was Sunday the restaurant has stopped taking orders. So we had no choice but to proceed to Tg. Piai Resort for lunch.

Tanjung Piai, a destination I have been wanting to see.