Johor Coastal Trip 4 ( Pasir Gudang & Kota Tinggi)

The Pasir Gudang Kite Muzeum, Johor.









On 21 Jan 2009, we were still in JB. Early in the morning, we said goodbye to my sister and promised to come back in th evening. Our aim was to explore the surrounding areas of Johor Bharu. First I drove around JB looking for old landmarks that I could still remember and later headed for Pasir Gudang. The road offered us a bit of potholes, the result of constant bumping of lorries ferrying goods to the port. Chom and Jaafar reminded us to go after 9.00am and and to come back before 5.00pm to avoid the massive traffic jams.

At Pasir Gudang we wanted to look for Tg. Putri Resort as shown on the green signboard. Faithfully we followed the signage but what surprised us was Tg. Putri Resort is not a resort but a name of the place. We drove right to the end of the road signage and found ourselves at Sekolah Rendah Tg. Putri Resort. Then only it hit me that it is just the name of a place, not a resort - rather confusing.

The unexpected thing that happened after that was we chose to stop at the Muzeum Layang-Layang and what a pleasant surprise it was. I never realized that kite flying is such a passionate international event in Johor. I bet it's fun watching the sky covered with colourful kites from different countries with different designs. Pasir Guang Kite Muzeum was opened to the public in 2002 during the 7th Pasir Gudang International Kite Festival. The Muzeum Houses 3 levels of fascinating kites which some took part in the international shows. Some of the kites are so amazingly huge!




The huge Japanese kite on display in the muzeum.














Najidah is shadowed by the huge kites hanging at the muzeum roof.
















Taken at the 3 official Malaysian kites in the muzeum.







Do you know that each state in Malaysia has its own distinctive kite. Layang-Layang Kikik was being played in Malacca since the 16th century during the Malacca Sultanate. The story goes that Raja Ahmad, the Sultan's son played Layang-Layang Kikik with the people. It is squarish with a tail and in Europe, it seems, it is known as the 'Malay Kite'. The followings are the names of kites from every state:

Johor - Wau Merak
Kelantan - Wau Puyuh/Wau Kebayak
Melaka - Wau Kikik
Pahang - Wau Cenderawasih
Perak - Wau Seri Bulan
Pulau Pinang - Wau Kotak
Selangor - Wau Kapal
Terengganu - Wau Dodo Helang

Kedah - Wau Kangkang

Negeri Sembilan - Wau Seri Negeri

Perlis - Wau Helang

Sarawak - Wau Kenyalang

Sabah - Wau Udang

Do you know that Malaysia has 3 official kites? This is an information I didn't know and didn't care to know before, but visiting the Kite Muzeum opened my eyes of the beauty of kite flying and I wish more women get themselves involved in this game. Our official kites are called Wau Bulan, Wau Kucing and Wau Jala Budi. If you have the opportunity, go there for the festival which will be held on 16 Feb 2009 for this year. I may find myself there again one day.

This is Wau Jala Budi, one of the official kites in Malaysia. It seems, the kite is like the back of a woman, with her arms spread out with sexy buttock and 2 legs. Can you see the image?

The Muzeum was formerly a windmill (kincir angin) facing an open field. I can imagine the number of kites and people from all over the world gathered at this event.

We left JB the next morning for our next destination, Kota Tinggi and Pengerang. Kota Tinggi Waterfall was beckoning me as I have been there a long time ago. Now it is under the Wet World management and we had to pay RM10.00 for entry. It's OK as long as the place is kept clean. Since there were a few people around, the place was clean. Najidah and I were not prepared to go into the cool water since we have to move on to Pengerang before the sun was down.

From there we drove towards Kota Tinggi town on the way to Teluk Sengat where the Old Johor Fort is and to Kuala Rengit. At the Kota Tinggi Muzeum, we saw the replicas of different designs of Muslim Achenese tombstones which are different from our usual ones. I was trying to rake my childhood memory about the story of Badang. It seems this old legendary story has faded from out memory and needs to be revived again. I am very interested to hear it again and to get the books that told this story. As many of us Malaysian, we didn't bother to know and pay tribute to our own historical writers like Tun Sri Lanang but learned and remembered the work of foreign writers.

Time for us especially the young people to know and be proud of our heritage. This museum is a good place to learn about your country's own history. Make an effort and go there. It's a shame if people from JB don't visit it, it's about 35 km only from JB.

The next destination is to Teluk Sengat for Johor Old Fort.