Monday, September 30, 2013

Tanjung Piai, Johor

So, this was one of the visits we had back in January 2013.  This trip was strictly to Tanjung Piai, Johor - the southern-most tip of mainland Asia!  This trip was one of the reasons we stopped in Pantai Hiburan, mentioned in my previous post.

Since Papa likes all things unexpected, we didn't book any hotels or homestays beforehand.  We were between Mersing and Kota Tinggi when he started calling up all kinds of lodgings.  In the end we managed to secure a homestay near UTM Skudai - Papa's alma mater.  And boy! Was he happy to be back after some 20-odd years!

We arrived there quite late but the owners were there, waiting for us.  We took some wrong turns but managed to arrive there safely.  Nasib baik boleh tidoq jugak.  The house was small but very comfortable.

Very early the next morning, we started on our way to Tanjung Piai.  It was actually quite far - about a few hours' drive.  However, the view along the way was priceless.  The signboards were also tourist-friendly until we were almost near Tanjung Piai itself.  The signboard stops right at Tanjung Piai's fishing village and we were bewildered!  There's no sign of the big globe built right on the Malacca Straits.

However, Papa decided that we should drive on.  And true enough, after a few minutes we arrived at our destination.  There were lots of macaques and I don't like macaques.  Anyway, since it was almost 11am, we were famished! So before we actually entered the forest reserve, we bought some keropok lekor, fruits and drinks.  The makcik (she's around my age actually, hahaha) adviced us to eat there so that we won't be swarmed by the hungry macaques.

Then we bought the tickets - a few ringgit per person, very cheap to enjoy nature!  On our way in I saw some bushes and approached the signboard there and that's how I got to know that Piai is a name of a species of fern.  And it seems that the fern is all over the place.

So here are the pictures...

Borong hampir semua keropok lekor tu sebab lapaaaaaaag!
Good thing Meen did not notice the beroks. Hehehe..


Posing dulu sebelum beli tiket


Nature all around us.  You have to be there to appreciate it.


The 3 teenagers again!


These people were not part of our rombongan.  I just wanted to snap the signboard but they didn't budge.


That's the globe but it's in a deteriorating state.


The tide was in and we couldn't get to the globe.


So, ambik gambag dari jauh ja la...


At one of the few spots penetrated by sunlight


At one of the platforms ON the Malacca Straits!  We were actually not on land.


Then, we climbed the viewing tower but we couldn't see anything as there were too many mangrove overgrowths


So, one from the family - sans Papa - sebab dia gayat.


Ketaq okay nak turun tu!  Lembut lutut. Patut la Papa tak mau naik.


Two eksyen teenagers - sebab depa tak gayat.


As usual, Meen will always be by my side.
So, behind us was a giant replica of the Piai fern.




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