Secluded Johor Bharu - Part 6

9 - 12 Dec 2012

Bujang Firefly – Dinner and River Cruise

From Desaru, we headed to Bujang Firely Floating Restaurant for a nice seafood dinner and to end the day on a boat watching fireflies. We went for a set package dinner (RM65) with some add-ons which came up to RM70. Not bad as we had 4 plates of rice,  steamed fish, fried squids, green vege baby kalian, tom yam soup, fried eggs and fruit drinks. Taste was average but service was fast and staff friendly. 

Lebam River - seen from the boat

At about this time it started to drizzle. I could see the disappointment on the boys' faces as they know that you cannot see fireflies on a rainy day but thank god it stopped. By 8pm we were seated in the river cruiser with life jackets on for our night cruise on Sungai Lebam (Lebam River). I can’t explain the experience but this trip is one I would strongly recommend as it was so beautiful. Lost for words. 

The restaurant - can you see the ferry ?

There were colonies of fireflies sitting on their favourite ‘berembang’ trees all along the river. Seems they live in the mangrove swamp feeding on the leaves.

Those are the 'berembang' tress

The guide cleverly threw small amounts of water scooped from the river on some branches especially the low lying ones and out flew the fireflies flickering their lights for all to see. The boat was maneuvered quite to the edge to give us a closer look and at one time the boat hit a branch mildly and many flew so near to us. Some children caught some and were ever so mindful not to squash them. Harish held one in his closed palm and gently let it go later. The firefly has a lifespan of only 15 days.

At the entrance

Really everyone, this MUST be experienced. We couldn’t take pictures as it could scare the fireflies away and all of us were silent except when they emerged people went 'oohh' and 'aahh' and 'wow'. It was a great way to end our Johor trip.

The tickets are RM20 for adults and RM15 for children below 12. The cruise lasts for about 30-45 minutes. Life jackets are provided. The roads leading up to this place is rather hidden so please do some research before heading there. If you are planning to go to Desaru, include this in your itenirary.

All photos are copyrighted. Do tell if you need to use them. I can be reached at sivakay2009@gmail.com.