A Short Driving Tour of Johor, Seremban & Malacca in May 24 - Segamat

The last time we did a driving tour in West Malaysia with my MIL was in October 2016. That was more than seven years ago (Read here). That trip covered specifically the States of Terengganu and Kelantan.

Earlier when it was known that my SIL in BP had plan to travel to China from 22.05.24 to 31.05.24, my wife decided to fly to Johor and spend a couple of days during that period with her mother and possibly to do a bit of travelling around BP. Since my MIL who is now 93 years old and is unlikely to go for a long journey, we opted for a 4D3N tour covering places around Johor, Seremban and Malacca. 

Just over a span of eight days spent in West Malaysia, I received news of the passing of the mom of my cousin, Ellen at the age 84 on 27.05.24. Two days later, I received news of the passing of the mom of one of my CG members. She died at a ripe old age of 104. With such news, we had this feeling that this trip with my MIL may be the very last time that she could join us for an overnight out-of-town tour!

Our destination at Day 1 on 26.05.2024 was Segamat. Along the route, we passed through Parit Sulong, Pagoh, Lenga and Bukit Kepong. My MIL was particularly happy to see some of these little yet old towns she has known long before.

Day 1 Route.

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A trip to Batu Pahat without eating some of their famous food would be unthinkable. Before starting our Day 1 trip, we had breakfast at the Local Aroma Cafe along Jalan Jelewat, BP.

Lontong at the Local Aroma Cafe.

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From Batu Pahat to Segamat, we had our first stop at Pagoh for an early lunch at a newly opened coffee shop, Ang Xiang Kopitiam.

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A short distance after passing through Lenga, I saw this rather picturesque little park next to the main road and by the riverbank of Muar River. It's called Taman Rekreasi Lim Pei Tiam. The creator of this leisure park, Lim Pei Tiam who originally came from Lenga later on went to KL to make his fortune. He was a banker and now a director of numerous companies. The plaque at the Park describes him as someone who has endless and deep affection for his hometown even after being successful in his career. He constantly devotes himself to his hometown. He contributed RM0.5 million to convert 500m length of the Muar Riverbank to become a leisure park equipped with footpaths and sports facilities, enabling residents to take a walk or exercise, helping them to enhance their health and well being.

It's rare to find someone who is proud of his humble origin even after reaching success in his life. His gesture to create this park for his hometown community and visitors is indeed commendable!

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Before checking into our hotel (VIP Hotel) in Segamat, we had our late lunch at  a well-known bak kut teh outlet called Teo's Bak Kut Teh at Jalan Sultan overlooking Segamat River. Though it's a bit pricy, the bowl of broth served contained much bigger chunks of tender meat and with a generous amount of taufupok, enoki mushrooms and fu chok. Unlike conventional bak kut teh outlets, they serve yam rice in addition to the normal white rice!

Even at closed to 2pm, customers were still substantial. I suspect many were non-locals but dropped by either in transit or were visitors to Segamat.