It was 10 September 2010. I'd made a spontaneous trip to Kukup, a small fishing village in the state of Johor in Malaysia with Shoohong to have a look at rural living and to try some seafood.
Kukup is a popular day trip for Singaporeans via tourist agents. It is popular for its chalets and seafood, built on stilts over marshlands.
Kukup is a popular day trip for Singaporeans via tourist agents. It is popular for its chalets and seafood, built on stilts over marshlands.
I took the "hard" way of getting there by myself, taking the MRT from town to Kranji (35min), getting a bus through to Johor Bahru (45min, including customs clearance), followed by switching a bus at Larkin bus station to Pontian (1hr), and finally a cab from Pontian to Kukup (30min). 
It's in these parts of the world, where you really have to take things slow and easy, especially when it was a public holiday (Hari Raya Puasa). People don't give clear directions, and inform you that the bus service is unpredictable and does not follow its schedule. The taxi we took from Pontian to Kukup was a piece of machinery from the 80s... it was really nice to feel as though we stepped back in time - faux leather seats, spoilt speedometers, no air con, gear stick from the steering wheel, paper calendar with the classic mini fan sticking out of the dashboard!
Arriving in Kukup, we found out everything we needed to know in an hour, walking along the main street, and then hopping onto a fish farm tour (for MYR 5):
- Kukup is a small fish farming village along the coast of Johor, and is excellent for fish farming because of a small island which cuts out large waves
- around 75 fish farms around Kukup, and considered the 2nd largest fish farming area in the world (so the kid at the kelong said)
- the best seafood is located near the terminal (Causeway (Chang Di) and another which I cannot remember the name)
- many guest chalets available for rent - things to do include karaoke, fishing, barbecue, letting off fireworks, shopping at the few local produce stalls and eating.
We ended the evening with a seafood dinner by the sea. Unfortunately it was cloudy and no good sunset was available.
- Kukup is a small fish farming village along the coast of Johor, and is excellent for fish farming because of a small island which cuts out large waves
- around 75 fish farms around Kukup, and considered the 2nd largest fish farming area in the world (so the kid at the kelong said)
- the best seafood is located near the terminal (Causeway (Chang Di) and another which I cannot remember the name)
- many guest chalets available for rent - things to do include karaoke, fishing, barbecue, letting off fireworks, shopping at the few local produce stalls and eating.
We ended the evening with a seafood dinner by the sea. Unfortunately it was cloudy and no good sunset was available.
The next adventure actually began after dinner. The bus schedule in Pontian stated that the last bus from Pontian to Larkin was at 9pm. However, it was 8pm and and there were no cabs in sight to get ourselves back to Pontian. We hit the bus station to find it closed, and a shopkeeper had told us that we had missed the last bus for the day (at 730pm), and most tourists would spend the night in the town.We were looking out for cabs along the street to bring us back to Johor Bahru (hefty fee included) but instead found a bus which just arrived at the bus terminus, and it was to our great fortune that it was there to pick up 1 passenger before heading back to Singapore. We asked if we could join the ride for a fee, but the driver just told us that the bus was not full anyway, and told us to hop on. Lucky break of the day!
Not a big deal the way it turned out, but I think this does qualify as hitchhiking... worthy of being in the list of travel stories.
Travel summary (including waiting time):
Time taken to get to Kukup - 3.5hrs
Time spent at Kukup - 2.5hrs
Time taken to return to Singapore - 2.5hrs
Hi Ben, Your advanture is very insightful.
ReplyDeleteI'm going there soon :), just wondering, do you remember how frequent is the bus from Larkin to Pontian? From the photo, pontian bus station appears deserted, would you say it is safe for a lady to travel alone there?
Hi
ReplyDeleteApologies for the late response. I would need to fix up the comments notifications.
As for getting to Pontian from Larkin, it might be a bit tricky as there are number of bus companies that make the trip. Your best bet is to ask one of the many men hanging around the station for the next available time, and the cost of a ticket.
In my opinion, it would be best to have a travel companion.
Your name please?
ben