One year ago I joined Paul and Fahmi on a trip to Kota Bharu. This year they invited me again, a 3D2N trip to Muar. I had visited Muar more than 10 years ago, see my report Penarikan Recce. Here are two maps of Muar, one from ~1940, the other one a Google Earth screenshot. I have marked a few POI’s and the location of our homestay. A bridge across the Muar river has replaced the ferry.

When we arrived in Muar it was still too early to check in, therefore we first drove to Tanjung Emas, a public park near the mouth of the Muar River. It was a bit too hot to explore, we decided to come back in the evening.

Driving back to the town, we passed the impressive Sultan Ibrahim Jamek Mosque, constructed bewteen 1925 and 1930. This royal mosque looks more like a palace.

We passed the former High Court Buildings.

Before we had lunch, we visited some of the murals of Muar. In recent years there has been a proliferation of mural paintings in Malaysia, starting with the iconic ones of Zacharevic in Penang. Sometimes (often?) of mediocre quality. Muar is teeming with murals, and although there are enough of the simple ones, often depicting cartoon characters, there are also many that have artistic value. Commissioned by the town council? They show aspects of traditional culture, heritage and nature. Here are a few.

This huge one shows, in the form of a a mural, many of the heritage buildings of Muar.

For reasons unknown to me, Muar has been officially named (since 2012 only!) the RoyalTown of Johor (that should be Johor Bahru, right?). Muar, the town of Murals, would be more appropriate. Murals are really everywhere.

Time for lunch. We went to a famous Mee Bandung restaurant in the town center.

The food was nice. There was a photo collage of illustrious visitors on the wall, for example the Sultan of Johor 😉 .

Of course we had also our pictures taken. Maybe we will end up on the wall as well?

After our lunch we continued looking for more murals. I was surprised to find this collection of art works in one of the lorongs (back alleys). Not graffiti-based, but almost like in an art museum, complete with description tags!

I was pleasantly surprised by the general atmosphere of Muar. There are lots of nice facades, often painted in bright colors. Looking at the dates on several gables, the city must have had its heyday in the 1920s .

It is a very clean city, some lorongs are decorated with ornamental plants, the five-foot ways are well-kept, and everywhere you find rubbish bins.

Our homestay was modern and comfortable, three bedrooms with aircon and fans. In a nearby supermarket we bought some groceries and we took a rest.

In the evening we went out again to an open-air food court in the center of town, near the Muar river. Muar is the fourth-largest town of Johor, but it still has aspects of a fishing village. The food court had a very relaxed atmosphere. We had otak-otak, sata(r) and satay.

After our dinner we drove back to Tanjung Emas, where we walked around and took pictures. There were more people now, but not as many as I expected.

The next morning we went for breakfast to the cafe of Pak Inchik. I had Roti Pool, one of their specialities.

Starting our walk, we first had a look at the Muar High School. The building dates back to 1915.

We continued visiting more murals.

Of course there is more than only murals. Left the Old Dutch Houses, right the Nattukkottai Chettiars Temple, dedicated to Lord Murugan.

And I found one ruined colonial building. As my followers know, I have a fascination for those remains of past glory. I would have liked to explore inside (like I did and do in Taiping), but the building was thoroughly fenced.

We had coffee in a famous Muar cafe, named Kopi 434.

Finally a last round of murals. I always like the 3D-ones. The last one is also a bit 3D, a relief created against the wall. Beautiful

Asam Pedas (Sour and Spicy Fish) is a speciality of the region, there are many eateries serving it, but not for dinner. We found one for lunch, Pak Ndak, again beside the Muar river. They also served fresh oysters and we could not resist the temptation 😉 .

We had seen enough murals. Fahmi and Paul had found on Google that Muar had an Art Gallery. We decided to have a look and found that it was not an art gallery but, according to their FB, a “new community concept”, There was a cafe and a shop where they sold objects made of rubber tree wood. I was intrigued by a wooden phone holder, shaped as a resonator, to amplify the sound of the phone. I bought one 😉

Back to our homestay for a rest. Dinner later at a Malay restaurant, not far from our homestay, as we were lazy to drive again into town. We had nasi goreng, fried squid and Thai salad.

The next morning we checked out and went to Pak Inchik again for breakfast. This time I had Lontong, delicious.

One last POI during this trip, outside Muar, the Beca Gergasi Muar, a giant tricycle. You may wonder who decided to create this object here, in the middle of nowhere.

Halfway on our way back, we stopped for lunch in Tampin (Negeri Sembilan). The Lomak Salai restaurant is really an experience, a kind of Malay style IKEA restaurant.

You just take a trolley, and collect the dishes you want. A place to keep in mind for a next visit.

It was an interesting trip, well organised by Fahmi and Paul. Fahmi is a vlogger with his own YouTube Channel . He created a vlog about this trip, have a look.