Mersing / Malaysia

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Mersing

Mersing is a small place at the east coast of peninsular Malaysia with a population roughly around 25,000 people. It lies in the federal state of Johor and is for travellers insofar interesting as it has a pier for boats out to the touristic Tioman Island.

'On the Bus from Johor Bahru to Mersing' by Asienreisender

On the bus from Johor Bahru to Mersing, along coastal highway 3. The forests are all widely degraded, rather secondary forest already. The patch right is a new palmoil plantation with still very young trees. Image by Asienreisender, 9/2010

The place has, unlike other small places as Marang, a small town center where the buildings and some infrastructure like a market and restaurants are concentrated. The ambience is modern, with small supermarkets and cafes to sit in. There are also some doctors here who run small medical clinics.

Due to the relatively few people living here, there is little traffic and it's easy to walk around the little place. The wide majority of the inhabitants are Muslim Malays, and a small Chinese minority gives the place more life and spirit. A few Indians live here as well, as the Hindu temple near the hill close to the town's center gives witness of.

Mersing is a good example for a sleepy place as it was so in verymost of Malaysia's places just a few years ago and reminds in that way to former times, before the hectical turbo-industrialization made urbanization exploding everywhere. I am afraid, it's a fate which will reach Mersing as well soon.

It's getting easlily boring here, though, since there is little to do or see. The surroundings are therefore attractive, that is mostly nature. The long sand beaches along the east coast of the Malay Peninsula are always nice to visit, and the Mersing section is perfectly fine. Mersing is placed at the banks of the Mersing River who drains into the sea here. Unfortunately, there has been little left of the virgin tropical rainforest; much of the nature has been fallen victim to destruction and implantation of palmoil plantations.

Mersing is connected to the outer world mainly by highway 3 which goes all along the eastern coast and joints Johor Bahru and Singapore southwards with Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu in the north. Another road connects Mersing with Malacca, and there are three buses running to and fro every day. Also direct buses to and fro Kuala Lumpur are running.

The South China Sea at Mersing
'The South China Sea at Mersing' by Asienreisender

Long, lonely sand beaches stretch over thousands of kilometers along the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. Here the section along Mersing. While the sea is now calm, in rainy season it's getting pretty rough. Image by Asienreisender, 9/2010

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