I've been busy planning a route and if you take a look at the Google Map below, you'll see a few places in Johor and Melaka which I've marked out. I'm not certain of going through those towns yet - and I do intend to be quite flexible about my route - but they're places I've either been to or have some intention of visiting for practical or other reasons.
Johor, despite its size, seems to have a dearth of places I'd really like to visit. I've considered one or two other towns I have not marked yet, including Bukit Kepong, whose place in Malayan history was immortalised in a movie which used to be played on local TV on an annual basis. It may be just that little bit off my intended path though.
If you have any ideas of places you think would be worth a visit, for whatever reason, I'd like to hear from you.
Meanwhile, I'm reminded of a tiny town with a strange name, set in the mid-north of Johor, just west of the Endau Rompin National Park. Cha'ah shares its name with a type of tea, though just why that is so is not yet known to me - I promise I will research that, but if you can shed any light on the matter, please do tell.
I must have heard my father mention the name when I was very young. He roamed all around Malaysia, hunting and fishing in remote villages and forests and I owe a great part of interest in the smaller towns and villages of Malaysia to him.
The reason I mention possibly hearing the name is because the next time I heard the name in the early 90s, I instantly recognised it. The person who mentioned it was a Singaporean friend, Diana Heaslett. Diana is now resettled in Australia, but was born in Singapore to English parents. Her father, Dr Heaslett, had lived in Malaya and actually spent some time in Cha'ah during the emergency. He was very well liked by the locals supposedly because he would treat everyone who came to his clinic, regardless of that person's politics.
One evening, returning to his home on the fringe of the estates surrounding the town, his new car was ambushed by some communists. He was shot, but he and his driver survived.
The next day, lying in bed in hospital, he received a strange visitor - one of the communists who had ambushed him the day before. He sheepishly presented the popular doctor some flowers and fruits and then apologetically asked 'Why you don't tell us you got new car, Doctor? We didn't recognise your car... thought it was someone else and ambush you by mistake....'
As evidence of how well liked he was, a street in the town was named after him. If you visit Cha'ah, just off and parallel to the main road, not far from the police station, you'll find a short street running between a row of shophouses and a little football field. It used to be called Jalan Heaslett and you might still see that name in small letters on the road sign. Just below the current name, Jalan Tun Dr Ismail...
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Johor, despite its size, seems to have a dearth of places I'd really like to visit. I've considered one or two other towns I have not marked yet, including Bukit Kepong, whose place in Malayan history was immortalised in a movie which used to be played on local TV on an annual basis. It may be just that little bit off my intended path though.
If you have any ideas of places you think would be worth a visit, for whatever reason, I'd like to hear from you.
Meanwhile, I'm reminded of a tiny town with a strange name, set in the mid-north of Johor, just west of the Endau Rompin National Park. Cha'ah shares its name with a type of tea, though just why that is so is not yet known to me - I promise I will research that, but if you can shed any light on the matter, please do tell.
I must have heard my father mention the name when I was very young. He roamed all around Malaysia, hunting and fishing in remote villages and forests and I owe a great part of interest in the smaller towns and villages of Malaysia to him.
The reason I mention possibly hearing the name is because the next time I heard the name in the early 90s, I instantly recognised it. The person who mentioned it was a Singaporean friend, Diana Heaslett. Diana is now resettled in Australia, but was born in Singapore to English parents. Her father, Dr Heaslett, had lived in Malaya and actually spent some time in Cha'ah during the emergency. He was very well liked by the locals supposedly because he would treat everyone who came to his clinic, regardless of that person's politics.
One evening, returning to his home on the fringe of the estates surrounding the town, his new car was ambushed by some communists. He was shot, but he and his driver survived.
The next day, lying in bed in hospital, he received a strange visitor - one of the communists who had ambushed him the day before. He sheepishly presented the popular doctor some flowers and fruits and then apologetically asked 'Why you don't tell us you got new car, Doctor? We didn't recognise your car... thought it was someone else and ambush you by mistake....'
As evidence of how well liked he was, a street in the town was named after him. If you visit Cha'ah, just off and parallel to the main road, not far from the police station, you'll find a short street running between a row of shophouses and a little football field. It used to be called Jalan Heaslett and you might still see that name in small letters on the road sign. Just below the current name, Jalan Tun Dr Ismail...
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