Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Melaka Trip Day Three
@9:28 PM
141209@9:28 PM
Melaka to Yong Peng
Distance: 110km, Time: 6:20 hrs
This day started with poor planning on my part. I planned to go from Melaka to Muar; tomorrow would be from Muar to Ayer Hitam; thereafter it would be from Ayer Hitam to Kota Tinggi, and finally from Kota Tinggi to Singapore. I am still not sure how I came to the conclusion that I will end on Wednesday afternoon, it must have been the combination of fatigue and the late-night planning that caused the miscalculation. Regardless, this error was only found when I was cycling to Muar, so I had to make a rapid decision to head to Yong Peng instead, transforming an easy day’s ride to a tough, tough ride.
Before I left Melaka, I took full opportunity to explore the history and sights of the town, visiting their History and Ethnography Museum at the Stadthuys, formerly the official residence of the Dutch Governor. I remain quite a history enthusiast, a remnant from my old Catholic High days, and it was this history lover in me that became completely absorbed into what the museum has had to offer.
This looks suspiciously like a Gunblade from FFVIII.
The bombed out St. Paul’s Church on the top of the hill, featuring a bunch of tombstones and a peaceful touristy atmosphere.
The only cam-whore shot in my entire trip.
These guys still use classical typewriters, hawking their typing prowess to locals and tourists alike along the busy river side, directly across Christ Church.
With that relatively brief exploratory period, I left Melaka at about 1pm. As you may have read above, nearing Muar, I decided to push for Yong Peng instead in order to cover as much ground as I could, making a Wednesday return to Singapore possible even with a Kota Tinggi detour. One of my main motivations was not to backtrack and see old sights, visiting towns which I had already bypassed, hence the desire to push inland. Since I was pushing inland, why not try for Kota Tinggi? I was actually aiming for Ayer Hitam, but practicality informed me that I would probably never make it. Yong Peng it shall be then, even if there is nothing in the Lonely Planet guide about the town.
Once in Johor, I felt much more comfortable on the road even if the shoulders aren’t quite as wide as the Melakan highways. I just felt better surrounded by Johor’s village clutter and bustle, rather than in Melaka’s empty and distant spaces.
This is an example of Chinese hillside graves. Melaka apparently has a whole lot more of these on Bukit China, but I spotted this entire hill worth of graves near Muar too. If memory serves me, there is also another haul near Kluang, which I wasn’t in the mood to take a photo of. The Chinese built these graves into the hill as a shield against evil spirits approaching from behind, but they really use a lot of space to do this. Hill graves are not done anymore these days.
A random temple off the road, there is only a dirt track leading to it.
Agricultural peculiarities can be spotted if you know what to look out for. God knows how they managed to produce abnormally dwarfish coconut trees and oil palms, but it really does make picking fruits a hell lot easier for the locals. This is especially so for an entire plantation worth of the oil palms. I suspect what they did is to grow the plant midway, before cutting it down and rooting it again in another spot. The energy that would have been committed to growing vertically is instead spent extending another network of roots, thus producing the stunted heights seen here. Strangely enough, this practice is not commonly seen throughout Malaysia, and is relatively rare in commercial oil palm plantations.
Due to the time I left Melaka, I only reached Yong Peng at quarter to 8pm; the sky was dark, and the relief in seeing the town lights was palpable. However, the dusty little town has little in the way of comfortable, or even reputable, hotels, featuring a grand total of two seedy looking hotels situated in a small corner. Without much choice, I picked one after sounding out recommendations from the townsfolk, and paid 27RM for a room with an unworkable air conditioning and a sluggish fan. The cleanliness was suspect and the room smelt strange and musty.
I slept restlessly due to the heat of the room and the poor ventilation. A warning to all aspiring backpackers: never, never, never even think of staying in Yong Peng; hotels in Ayer Hitam not 20km away are much better.
