Tag: johor

The Ghost Of Old Malaya

A semi-rusted town bus in what could be a bus graveyard in tiny Renggam town. Inspired by the earlier post about urban sketchers, I decided to run this small town image through some art and paint filters.

I am disturbed by the appearance of the face of a woman wearing a white tudung on the wet asphalt on the bottom of pic. Do you see it?

Curiously, the Renggam Bus Company spelled it as Rengam (with one R) on the bus body. The company was registered in 1959 and its buses were adorned with the the colour splash of its era. See my earlier posts on my visit to #renggam and #simpangrenggam.

#renggam #simpangrenggam #kluang #johor #bus #busyard #smalltown #history

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Bei Boutique Hotel Muar

Sorry, Babe.

Beiby, I found another Muar Boutique Hotel. Somehow the Bei Boutique Hotel escaped the radar of search engines and hotel searches when I was compiling a list of hotels in Muar, headed by the new Muo Boutique Hotel.

If you are looking for a room for the upcoming Raya balik kampung holidays. you have another option. I was introduced to the hotel by my Fb friend Dr Yia Hua Jern, the consultant nephrologist whose workplace, Hospital Pakar KPJ Bandar Maharani is located near the hotel. Thanks, doc. Nothing beats local knowledge like how another thoughtful Muarian Yusof Noi who pointed me to the Muo Boutique Hotel.

You know the Bei Boutique Hotel is a boutique or hipster hotel when they have a bathroom with flat tray washbasins, honeymoon suites and a lobby with sit down office table arrangement as check in counter AND violins on the wall. I must say the decor is quite classy and modern. I have added it to the list of booking links of Muar hotels at:

http://www.mycen.my/muo-boutique-hotel/

You can also book the Bei Boutique Hotel directly from here

Address: 8-3, Jalan Abdul Rahman, 84000, Muar, Johor.

Check it out.

Muo Boutique Hotel

Time to introduce another local hotel. Muar has an exciting new boutique hotel in town. Muo Boutique Hotel is a new hotel that opened a few days ago. Tastefully refurbished from an old shop house, it appears classy, painted in white.

I was introduced to the new hotel in Muar, Johor by my long time Muar friend Yusof Noi or Ms Noraini, the former headmistress of Muar Convent. She spent a night there and had only good things to say. Guests can go the rooftop which will be an alfresco cafe when ready. One can view Muar River from up there. Norani is seen here in a selfie on the roof with the Muar River behind.

The hotel has a mamak restaurant downstairs serving local fare. The famous Muar breakfast satay shop and famous 434 coffee outlet is not far if you venture out on foot.

I first thought MUO is an abbreviation but it is not. According to Noraini, Muo is how Murians say Muar. Haha. I like Muar as it is charming small town with nice food, people and many places of attraction. Noraini was one of my local guides when I visited the last time. The other guide being Christine Yeow Cher Yuin. I stayed at the Elite Hotel, opposite Sam Kee. Happy to know there is now another accommodation option in Muar.

Check price, room availability and book Muo Boutique Hotel and other hotels in Muar here:

http://www.mycen.my/muo-boutique-hotel

Chinese Lontong

Since I mentioned the shop next to SR Inn in Simpang Renggam serving lontong, let’s look at it. It was fascinating and interesting to see such a cute crossover food served by a few Chinese coffee shops.

The popular Johor Malay (originally Indonesian) dish is rebooted as Chinese food. It is a testimony of the cordial and harmonious interracial relationships in Johor.

The dish here cannot be halal as this coffee shop also serves pork and loads of beers. The kopitiam is a common watering hole in small towns, where pubs are few and rare.

The lontong here is good and satisfying food for breakfast. I liked slicing the included half boiled egg and mixing it up with the sambal, the rice cubes and cabbage.

Got too much sambal around your mouth? I chuckled at the many toilet paper rolls hanging from the walls of the kopitiam, supposedly for customers to use as serviettes. Which is kind of practical and handy as Chinese coffee shops never provide free serviettes, unlike Mamak and Malay shops.

#lontong #johor #crossoverfood #breakfast #simpangrenggam

Renggam: The Time Travel Town

I like exploring small towns. From Simpang Renggam town where I was staying, I drove to Renggam town which was even smaller. It is located between Kluang and Layang Layang on the secondary inner back roads of Southern Johor.

Many parts of the tiny town are preserved in its original form, untouched by development. The facade of the Hainanese Association is pristine and beautiful. It was like stepping into a time travel machine.

Simpang Renggam was on the busy trunk road to Singapore but it was eventually bypassed by the North South Highway. Renggam is still a railway town. See my earlier post on SR Inn as a decent accommodation option.

#renggam #johor #simpangrenggam #architecture #history #hainanese #smalltown