Lomography

Kukup
written by jhunnie on October 28th, 2008 (1 vote)

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Now how does one get to Kukup? And why Kukup you might wonder? Kukup is the village nearest to Tanjung Piai – geographically the southernmost tip of mainland Asia (more on Tj Piai later). Since we’ve “road-tripped” our way to all other Peninsula states, it was about time we made it to Johor.

To get to Kukup, you don’t have to go all the way down to JB. Exit the North-South Highway at Pontian. From Pontian,
look out for the signboards to Kukup. Or just head right to the end of Pontian town and turn left. None of my maps show the way in detail, but there’s only one road so you won’t get lost.

About 200km south of Melaka and almost right at the tip of the Peninsula, the small fishing community of KUKUP is a little-known exit point from Malaysia to Tanjung Balai in Indonesia, a 45-minute ferry ride leaving from the jetty (daily 10.30am, 11am, 12.30pm & 2pm; info and tickets from Ocean Ferry tel 07/696 9098).

You don’t need to arrange a visa in advance for this trip. The problem with arriving in Kukup from Indonesia is that onward travel connections are sketchy you’ll have to catch a ferry or taxi ($6) to Pontian Kecil, 19km away, which has regular buses to Johor Bahru (the whole journey by taxi costs around RM15 per person). Kukup’s main attraction is its seafood. The town’s single tumbledown street is packed with restaurants, from the enormous Makanan Laut, closest to the jetty, where you can see the food being prepared in a vast array of woks, to the more modest Restoran Zaiton Hussin immediately opposite. Expect to pay RM13 for fish, RM12 for prawns.

Visitors can also take a trip to the nearby aquaculture center to see many types of fish and other seafood that are bred in captivity, including the king crab. The aquaculture center is housed on sea kelongs, which are farms built on raft-like structures floating in the middle of the ocean. Visitors can tour nearby Pulau Kukup or Kukup Island by hiring boat operators to take them to the mangrove island which is as a significant ecological site.

It’s quite relaxing place,enjoy your holiday at Kukup Johor.