On two weekend jaunts, Peggy Loh discovers charming sights and trading activities which date from days of old
IT all started with our Big Birthday Bash class reunion two years ago. After having left Convent Johor Baru for many years, we reconnected and made plans for day trips in and around the city.
The reunion sparked a nostalgic quest to explore sites in our own backyard and we had good weekend walkabouts.
Wearing good walking shoes, we set off in a car for our weekend walkabouts. Such leisurely trips give us a glimpse of how our forefathers used to shop and live.
Many businesses have moved into modern malls but markets and traditional family-run stores are fun to visit. We also discover charming sights. The following is an account of two walkabouts on two separate weekends.
KLUANG, THE TRADING POST
As soon as we exit the toll gates to turn into Kluang, we see new shops nearby that stock a wide range of ceramic pottery along with cane, fabric products and other souvenirs.
This may be the spillover of traders from the original market centre in Ayer Hitam. It also reminds us that Kluang is linked to Macap and Ayer Hitam where quality ceramic pottery and tiles are produced by renowned brands like Malaysian Mosaics, Guocera and Claytan.
In Kluang, we cross the railway tracks and turn left into Jalan Station, so named because it is parallel to the KTM railway line that links Kluang to Johor Baru in the south and Padang Besar, Perlis and beyond the Thai border.
In 1910, when central Johor was developed with rubber and oil palm plantations, Kluang was the administrative centre and the railway line was established in 1915 to transport fresh produce and labour to cities and ports.
The Kluang railway station remains virtually unchanged to this day and the Lim family, which runs the kopitiam here, continues with the business with its Kluang Rail Coffee brand.
From the railway station, we walk along Jalan Dato Syed Abdul Kadir to Taman Merdeka, the park where generations of Kluang folks must have enjoyed the playground.
Old-fashioned concrete benches line the edge of the park at intervals and the back rests are inscribed with the town council logo and the name of each bench’s sponsor or the Umno logo and words that commemorate the party’s Silver Jubilee.
In the adjacent Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim, we see a tall structure with a square space, believed to be designed for a clock but to this day, no clock was ever installed!
Most of the old shops in Kluang have the year of completion of construction painted on them, as per the trend in those days.
Along Jalan Ismail, the Eng Choon Association dated 1926 is distinguished by its well-maintained facade while other shops there and along Jalan Lambak not only sport the year but also a prancing lion figurine atop the buildings.
The presence of old hotels like Man Ten Hotel (1941), Mang Cheong Hotel (1952) and Hwa Lam Hotel (1956) suggests that Kluang was a former trading post where planters and traders came for business and needed a place to stay over before they returned to their plantations.
Shops in Jalan Station were built around the 1920s when the railway station started to transport goods to and from Kluang. But since the 1970s, businesses here turned predominantly Indian and that’s probably why the merchants find our presence in their shops amusing. This is Kluang’s Little India with garment, jewellery and provision shops, and stalls selling fruit, flower garlands, fresh meat and goat’s milk, restaurants and a toddy shop.
The bright colours of the variety of grains displayed in Letchumi Provision Store catch our eyes and draw us inside for a closer look.
The contrasting shades of beans, corn kernels, dark dhal, rice and other nuts and pulses are not only attractive but also give us an idea about the ingredients that go into a typical Indian diet.
Among the food products like spices and ghee, we discover an interesting range of beauty products including ayurvedic and herbal bath soaps, some created with milk and saffron.
The whir of grinding mills and fresh fragrance emanating from the basement hint at something going on downstairs.
With permission, I go for a peek and meet the father and son team who has been producing a range of spice blends for briyani as well as fish and meat curries since 1969. Their freshly ground spice business continues in the traditional step-by-step method - peel and cut, slice and chop fresh ingredients before grinding them into a powder blend of spices, ready to be packed and sold.
Another irresistible aroma that beckons is that of roasting coffee beans at Kluang Coffee Powder Factory, the producers of the renowned Cap Televisyen special coffee since 1966.
We stand mesmerised, soaking in the aroma of a toasted blend of Liberica, Robusta and Arabica beans as we watch the workers turn the beans over and over in a huge tray before moving them to the cooling area.
In the lobby, we sip cups of freshly brewed Television brand Kluang coffee and dip crispy cream crackers into them.
Before we leave Kluang, there is just one more stop, to look at street art in the lane behind one of the town’s main roads, Jalan Dato Teoh Siew Khor.
As we admire the wall murals, two themes that emerge are Kluang’s coffeeshop culture and the creative ways the bat is illustrated in various drawings. It is encouraging to see how local youth have expressed their creativity in the wall murals and captured the essence of Kluang and what is dear to them, in their art.
KUKUP, LAID-BACK PORT
There are usually more visitors in Kukup in the weekend. And we are prepared for the crowds.
Most come to shop for fresh or dried seafood and dine in the many waterfront seafood restaurants that are built into the sea. The town is uniquely situated at the edge of the coast and the road ends at a jetty which is now renovated into a ferry terminal.
From far we can see the traffic and pedestrian congestion that marks the heart of Kukup, so we wisely park near rows of new shops before going for our walkabout to Kukup Laut village.
The area around the terminal is the most congested as Kukup is also the hop-off point for visitors to nearby Kukup Island and the floating fish farms that form part of local tours.
The ferry terminal is also another reason why the town is full of travellers who are either going to or are coming from Singapore and nearby islands.
From the sign put up across a lane between two shops, it’s easy to find the entrance to the village. While most of the wooden walkways have been replaced with concrete paths, this is still an amazing network of paths in a village uniquely built entirely on stilts.
We remind each other to be careful on the narrow paths lest we accidentally slip and fall and it turns out that this is not a far-fetched idea because we soon discover that pedestrians share the paths with motorcycles and bicycles!
The pedestrians, of course, have the right of way but it is quite shocking to suddenly hear the non-stop ring of a bicycle bell and before we can dodge into a doorway, the impatient biker is screeching to a halt next to us.
This is an early warning for us to be aware of riders and stay out of the way of oncoming bikes. Many enterprising locals have set up stalls in front of their homes to sell souvenirs, snacks and drinks.
Cooled by salty sea breezes, we explore the 100-year old floating village to find that besides homes, there are schools, shops, restaurants and even a well-renovated temple in a typical Chinese village.
In the restaurants, some tables are occupied by groups of men, some of whom are tanned and topless, and chatting over bottles of beer. No, they are not beach bums but fishermen winding down with a drink after a day’s work.
Among the old wooden houses, we spot big double-storey buildings that are also on stilts but from the compressors installed outside, we can tell that they have air-conditioning facilities.
My friends are certain that these are holiday homes for hire and to satisfy our curiosity, we inspect the premises. The proprietor happily shows us around the property and informs us of homestay packages.
Before we leave, he makes sure that we each get a copy of his name card so that we can make our reservations!
This is really giving us ideas to organise a homestay trip soon. We can’t help feeling impressed at how a new generation of enterprising villagers in Kukup Laut is building on their tradition as fishermen, to serve diners the freshest home-cooked seafood as holiday home operators.
After discussing food choices for homestay catering, we are feeling rather hungry but before going for our seafood lunch, we pass a house with a sign for Kukup Pin Fen Crystal Jelly and see a refrigerator outside but nobody is around.
We call out “Hello! Hello!” while helping ourselves to boxes of pretty oval pieces of jelly in a variety of pastel colours, until someone comes out from the house.
We are charmed by the laid-back attitude of the villagers and are determined to return for a homestay.
How to get there
The 107km drive to Kluang from Skudai via the Plus Highway takes under an hour to the toll exit at Ayer Hitam (RM9.10). Then follow the sign to Kluang where most of the roads are dual carriageways.
The 66km route from Johor Baru to Kukup takes you past Skudai to Pekan Nanas before you bypass Pontian and follow the signs for another 20km to Kukup.
Tip: Do not park illegally in Kukup or you may end up with a hefty fine.