Secluded Johor Bharu - Part 5

9 - 12 Dec 2012

All the Way to Desaru

We scouted for Desaru Beach in the road-map of JB provided by the hotel and bingo, we decided to head there. This was a last minute plan as we ran out of things to do in JB. Do you know that Johor is the only state in Malaysia which has 400 km of beach stretching on both its east and the west coast? So how can we NOT do one of its beaches, right?.

After a good breakfast at Restaurant Nila, we started for Desaru which is 98km from JB. Not very near. So,we took the Senai-Desaru Expressway hoping to reach there fast. 

The touch-n-go card ; u need this to pay toll - just get it at the rest stop

This expressway was completed in 2011 and connects Senai in western Johor to Desaru in eastern Johor and it measures a total length of 77 km. Massive expressway.

Nearing the bridge

The best part is it shortened our travel time from Senai to Desaru from 2.5 hours to just 1 hour. Toll charge is  RM8 one way.

The short stop - hardly any vehicles

The drive was smooth as there were not many cars and we stopped at the River Bridge to soak in the scenery. Actually stopping at the bridge is forbidden. But the view and photo shoot of the Johor River was worth it. And guess what, it seems that this is the longest river bridge in Malaysia.

Isolated Desaru

I am not sure why I describe Desaru as isolated but that’s the best word to explain it. I just didn’t see or feel the hype as explained in all the tourism brochures. Is it because we went to the public section of the beach? I am not sure. After all, it is the school holidays.

Entrance to Desaru

The moment we entered the archway welcoming us to Desaru Beach, we saw rows of private hotels and beach resorts. But all was quiet and just buildings. We couldn’t see any activities taking place along the stretch of road.

My foot path - soft white sandy beach

I was the only one at this part of the beach

Alas when we entered the public beach area, we found easy parking and soon the boys and N disappeared into the water. I looked around the whole place and noticed that there was a public bath and toilet facility, one food stall and many barbecue pits. 

Finally some fun time

The beach was indeed sandy. The water was not crystal clear but still so much better than Port Dickson or Penang. 

Some dead wood on the beach (or was it alive?)

Some sea creatures stuck on the wood 

The beach stretched till your eyes can’t see where it ends and as there weren’t many people we felt like we had the entire beach to ourselves.

Pretty, right?

Sand spa

For lunch, we had the best ‘nasi goreng kampong’ (village fried rice) ever. We spotted a few horn bills while having lunch too. By the way, this was the only food outlet that was open.

Unexpected guest during luncheon - a hornbill

At about 4pm, we left Desaru Beach.

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