Down Memory Lane - Mersing

The idea of making a visit to Mersing was mooted after Lucy proposed to have a get-together in that little town. Both Lucy and my then GF got to know each other because both were posted to teach in the schools in Mersing in the late 70's.

Lucy and my then GF were house mates in Mersing.

Soon after my wife moved to KK in 1979, Lucy too applied to teach in a school (All Saints) in KK. She later met an Australian who came to work in Sabah and they fell in love and finally got married. Not long after, they decided to move back and settled down in Australia.

It has been such a very long time since we last met.

My daughter, Serene was the flower girl for 
Lucy's wedding in Christ Church KK.

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It was late afternoon by the time we arrived at Mersing on 11 August 2018. We had earlier picked up our rented car at Senai Airport immediately upon landing at 12.30pm. Along the way from Johor Bharu to Mersing, we stopped at Kluang to pick up my MIL. Before continuing to Mersing, we dropped by at the Cendol Kadir outlet at Jalan Kaptain Ahmad to savour the so called Kluang's acclaimed Cendol.

I remember the very first time visiting Mersing, this Johor little outback way back in 1977.  Almost all the short uni-holiday breaks were spent visiting my GF who was posted to teach in one of the secondary schools there, SMK Sri Mersing. In those days some forty years ago, making a trip from KL to Mersing was laborious and time consuming. First, I needed to take a public bus from Petaling Jaya to KL Central Train Station to catch a train from KL to Kluang covering 270Km. From Kluang Train Station, I had to walk to the Bus Station to catch another public bus to Mersing (105Km). It would be late afternoon or early evening by the time I reached Mersing.

After forty years, Mersing has undergone significant changes. I was told that much of the new commercial area in the town center is on reclaimed seafront land.

The beach which I could remember most has undergone extensive upgrading work. This is one place where I had both amusing as well as embarrassing moments. One late afternoon after school in 1977, I and my then GF put on our swimming trunks and walked all the way from the rented house to the beach for a swim. Just before the dip, we left our shirts, shorts and slippers on the beach within sighting distance. Just before sunset, we decided it was time to go and we walked back to pick up our belongings. The stuff was nowhere to be seen. We failed to realize that the tide had come in at the time of our swim and dragged them into the sea. To avoid curious eyes looking at a bare-chest man walking in public view, we decided to move only when the evening was totally dark! It is hilarious now that I think about it!

 

A prominent landmark at the beach.

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It was exactly forty years since she taught in this school.

With some of the students.

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The highlight of the reunion with friends who settled down in Mersing was a sumptuous lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. The host was Siew Lan, a former student of my wife who later on became an administrative staff of the school. She has also since retired.