Kota Tinggi to Desaru...

Posted on June 19 2006: Redirected

Desaru trip was fun, but somehow not fun. We went there on 17-6-06 and returned the day after.
It made the best impression I ever had in Johor Baru. Situated at the eastern coast of Johor Baru, Desaru is a famous place for Singaporeans to holiday, and the prestigious place for group gatherings. Coming within a family is not really fun. But going there with a group of families and friends may heat up the atmosphere there.

CAUTION: DO NOT DRIVE THERE ALONE AT NIGHT. IT HAS NEITHER STREET LIGHTS NOR MORE THAN 2 LANE ROADS.

We made that final decision on Saturday, without having any plans of going there in the morning. Departing only at 1pm, we arrived at the checkpoint at 2, and managed to get through the Singapore checkpoint only 45 minutes later. Still in a dilemma of choosing whether we should go to Kota Tinggi or Desaru, we went to both places. Streets in Johor Baru is very different from the ones in Singapore. Their "highway"on the road to Kota Tinggi is full of shophouses, shopping marts, factories and people and cars. Only until you reach the outskirts of Johor Baru, you will see that the nature of plantations, low lying areas, blah blah blah. Sooner or later, after an hour drive, you reach Kota Tinggi main town. That place is small. Not a very crowded place. The water fall is not there. It is another 8 kilometres down the road. At a row of shophouses, we asked the people there if we travelled wrongly. No, it was correct, but you still need to travel lapan kilometres. Look at that row of shophouses, the food sold is full of houseflies flying flying flying.... Who DARES TO EAT THE FOOD THERE. They are not in the perfect condition. Ewww....

Then, we reached Kota Tinggi, a resort,the first hotel along the way, a poorly ventilated resort. Keeping lots of animals, the hotel, chalet, or somekind of building is full of crap....NOT NICE... But many Singaporean cars hang out there. No idea why. We took a rest there, take some photos, went to the toilets and looked around. Aiya...this place is not our choice. Go in deeper. WE went in deeper into the "mountains" of Kota Tinggi, and finally, we reached dead end. There is a toll over there and they require us to pay money. HEY! PAY MONEY only wad. But Mom and Dad did not want to waste too much of their time and money. Finally, MOm decided to go to Desaru, somewhere further. 41km away from Kota Tinggi. Travelling back to the roads we sped on, we needed to depend on our luck to find Desaru. My printout on my arms has the map to go there, not to reach there. Because I printed Kota Tinggi, not Desaru. And the arrow pointed ---> to Desaru.

The journey there was unbearable if you wore short pants. You will find that the heat from the sun is burning your thighs. Therefore, wear long pants, or have a pillow or something to cover your thighs. 41 km, one lane per direction, hills and slow moving cars, you try to overtake, quite impossible at certain places. Your fast moving car, or any other fast moving car, may ruin your day.

TIP: If you see other cars overtake you, let them and drive slower a little.

We missed the turn to Desaru.....