My former colleague Lim Soo Lian from Angkasa Jurutera Perunding S/B (1982-1986) invited me and my wife to join him on a 4D3N vacation (time-sharing from Leisure Holidays of which he has been a member since 1990) to Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa from Tuesday, 22/02/2022 to Friday, 25/02/2022.
He had booked a 3-bedroom suite (max. capacity of 6 persons, the normal room rate is approx. RM605 per night) and only his second elder brother Soo Yee was joining him. This is the second time I am joining him after our last trip to Cameron Highlands from 15/01/2022 to 17/01/2022 (See: https://taionn.blogspot.com/2022/01/3d2n-trip-to-cameron-highlands-15-18.html ).
Briefly, Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa is located at Jalan Desaru, Bandar Penawar, Pengerang PBT (Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan), Kota Tinggi District, Johor. It is said to be internationally known as "The resort for all reasons" surrounded with water and is the most popular beach along the east-coast in the district of Kota Tinggi. It has a stretch of about 26 km of pristine, sandy beach and fringed with palm trees. There are 22 kilometers of sand with glistening waves on one side and unspoiled jungle on the other.
“Desaru” means “Village Of Casuarinas” or palms. The Malay word "Desa" means village while the word “Ru” is the local name for Casuarinas. The colourful building of the resort resembles Castles from the Fairy Tales story line.
The resort Facilities include:
(1) Splash Park: An amusement park that features water play areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spray grounds (water playgrounds), lazy river, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and bare footing environments.
(2) Lagoon Pool: A shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or reefs. There is an overlap between bodies of water classified as coastal lagoons and bodies of water classified as estuaries.
(3) Grotto: A type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic, or prehistoric use by humans.
(4) Aqua Play: The Darling Quarter Kids Playground features an array of fun activities that promote learning and imagination for all ages. Water games, swings and slides.
(5) Lazy River: A water ride found in water parks, which usually consists of a shallow (2½ ft. to 3½ ft.) pool that flows similarly to a river. There is generally a slow current, usually just enough to allow all too gently ride along lying on rafts.
(6) Relaxing Gazebo: A structure, as an open or latticework pavilion or summerhouse, built on a site that provides an attractive view. A small roofed structure that is screened on all sides, used for outdoor entertaining and relaxing.
(7) Coconut Waterfall: Artificial huge falling coconut with small kampong slide for children.
Unit Amenities: Fully air-conditioned, part kitchen with microwave, fridge and kettle. Hair dryer/TV/iron and board. Internet access (Wifi).
DAY 1 (TUE., 22/02/2022) - KAJANG / SEREMBAN / DESARU
My wife Soh Ai and I left home in our Avanza car at 10.10am. We reached Taman Rahang, Seremban at 11.15am to pick up Soo Lian and Soo Yee.
From there, Soo Lian took the wheel all the way to Desaru, using North-South Highway, exit 253 Persimpangan Senai (U), enter Toll Booth, exit 304 then exit 301A, drive towards Plaza Toll Senai exit E22, pass Kawasan Rehat Layang, drive towards Plaza Toll Penawar.
At 2.40pm, we exited Ulu Tiram toll and stopped by a coffee shop to have a late lunch. Soh Ai and I took fried noodles (RM6.50 each) and ayam penyet without rice (RM8) while Soo Lian and Soo Yee shared a plate of fried rice. We also ‘tapau’ a packet of the fried rice for dinner at Desaru. Soo Yee settled the bill.
We left Ulu Tiram at 3.15pm. Distance via E22 Senai-Desaru Highway to Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa is about 60km (toll RM9.90). We finally reached our destination at 4.15pm.
We checked into our 3-bedroom apartment at Ground Floor (Block C102) complete with a spacious living and dining area. There is also a kitchenette but without any cooking facility.
After taking a simple dinner prepared by Soo Lian and his brother at 6.00pm, we walked to the beach and enjoyed watching the sea till 7.25pm.
There is an interesting Desaru Aviary i.e. an avian sanctuary featuring varieties of peacocks, parrots, geese, ducks and other avian creatures. Those birds made a lot of noise as people walked by.
Soo Lian and his brother slept very early as usual around 8.30pm, while I hit the sack at 10.00pm.
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| Entrance to Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa |
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| Reception lobby at the background |
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| Reception lobby entrance |
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| Just checked into the 3-bedroom apartment |
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| Master bedroom |
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| Toilet of the master bedroom |
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| Second bedroom |
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| Living and dining area |
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| Spacious living area |
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| Dining area with kitchenette |
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| Envelope containing door keys, pool cards and wrist bands |
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| Back of envelope |
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| Pool cards and wrist bands for 6 pax |
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| Map of Lotus Desaru |
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| "Splashtacular" Water Park |
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| Lagoon Pool |
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| Another swimming pool |
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| Desaru beach hut |
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| Beach |
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| Group photo (pic from right: Soo Lian, Soo Yee, Soh Ai and I) |
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| Beach |
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| Beach hut bar |
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| Notice of maintenance work ongoing on the beach |
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| Lotus Desaru Aviary |
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| Colourful apartments (Blocks A to H) |
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| We stayed at the white coloured Block C |
DAY 2 (WED. , 23/02/2022) - DESARU
I woke up at 6.15am and went out with Soo Lian at 7.00am to the beach in order to catch a look at the sunrise over South China Sea.
Unfortunately the sky was quite cloudy then and the sunrise was somewhat obscured.
After that, we went back to our apartment to get our swimming trunk. We went for a swim at the deeper pool and later played with water at the shallower Lagoon Pool and Water Park till 11.00am.
At 1.35pm, we went to Desaru Fruit Farm but only visited the “Desaru Fruit Farm Agro Tourism” shop selling various types of fruits and other products. It is understood a tour of the local tropical fruit trees and plants at the farm with provided transport is chargeable. I bought a packet of jack-fruits there for RM12 to be eaten later at our resort.
On the way back to our resort, we dropped by SKS City Mall Bandar Penawar at Taman Desaru Utama. It is a two-storey shopping mall offering a wide range of retail and F&B choices, with an adjoining wet market.
We had some refreshment (iced coffee RM2.90, coffee RM2.00, siew mai dim sum RM3.80 per 6 pcs) at Desaru Kopitiam 2 beside the entrance to SKS City Mall at 3.10pm.
We returned to our resort at 3.50pm for a rest.
At 5.30pm, we walked to the beach again and Soo Lian could not try snorkelling at the sea as the it was very wavy. We went to the Lagoon Pool instead to engage in the “water massage’ from the falling water as we enjoyed in the morning. This time around I found the pool not so clean as in the morning with many leaves inside the pool.
We had a simple dinner in our apartment at 7.00pm.
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| Sunrise at 7.07am, obscured by the clouds. |
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| The sun is rising |
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| A pose with Soo Lian who invited me to join this time-sharing vacation at Desaru |
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| A bigger and deeper swimming pool for adults (max. 1.5m deep) |
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| Me swimming in the morning (only once here throughout our trip) |
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| Back to our apartment |
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| Some foodstuff we brought for the trip (noodles and sardine were not utilized at all) |
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| Visiting Desaru Fruits Farm |
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| A view of the Fruits Farm |
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| The only packet of jackfruits or nanga (RM12) we bought |
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| Desaru Fruits Farm decoration |
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| SKS City Mall in Bandar Penawar, Taman Desaru Utama |
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| Back to Lotus Desaru Beach Resort |
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| On the beach |
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| Lotus Desaru Aviary |
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| Relaxing at our apartment |
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| Our self-prepared dinner |
DAY 3 (THU. , 24/02/2022) - DESARU / SUNGAI RENGIT / PENGERANG
Today we planned to travel to the southeastern tip of Johor, i.e. Pengerang and visit its vicinity. I googled last night to find a few interesting places to visit as well as recommended food to eat and prepared for the Waze in the mobile phone to lead us there. I did the driving for the whole day.
According to Google, the distance from Desaru to Pengerang via Jalan Kota Tinggi - Pengerang/Route 92 is 43.1km (42 min. drive).
After a simple breakfast of bread and peanut butter, salad and boiled eggs, Soo Lian and I went to the Lagoon Pool for “water massage” from 9.00am till 10.00am.
We left our resort at 10.30am for Pengerang.
The first stop was Sungai Rengit (四湾岛) which is the town centre of Pengerang, about 25km away from Desaru.
四湾岛是边佳兰的一个小市镇，名字叫岛却不是岛，因为边佳兰公路上有好几个大弯，从一弯到七弯，弯口邻近的小镇以此为名。往Tanjong Pengelih搭船可直抵新加坡。
It is noted that Sungai Rengit is essentially a collection of fishing villages and is very popular with seafood lovers. There are also regular Chinese opera performances during temple's celebration which liven up the atmosphere for the local population.
At 11.45am, we visited Temple Village at Taman Bayu Damai, Sg. Rengit about 25km from Desaru. This place is rather remote and difficult to find even with the help of the Waze.
There are 8 Chinese temples like Bao An Gong Temple, Fong San Kong Temple, Datuk Gong Temple and many others, all built side by side along a single road, very unique indeed!
全国首个神庙村！边佳兰六湾集合8间庙宇，打造柔州新旅游景点，除了吸引国内善信到神庙祈福，村内古色古香的彩色建筑物更成为拍照打卡新据点。
政府征地一起迁移
边佳兰综合石油中心（PIPC）计划约于2012年入驻该地发展，政府征用了边佳兰头湾至三湾的土地，导致8间神庙受影响须迁移，各庙也因此获当时州政府批准迁至现在的3.5英亩土地，各庙宇通过抽签方式，2014年开始陆续筑建，并排建立在这片土地上。
这8间庙宇包括：护福庙（头湾）、华山宫（头湾）、顺镇宫（大湾）、关帝庙（大湾）、天法威灵庙（大湾）、顺安宫（新湾）、福德宫（二湾）及观音亭（三湾）。
At 12.25pm, we patronized Ming Sao Dumpling Shop (铭嫂饺子馆）at Jalan Kerisi, Kampung Sg. Rengit. This shop is famous for dumplings (饺子). We ordered 12 pieces of dumplings (i.e. 6 pc. Chinese chives 韭菜 and 6 pc. Mushroom 香菇，total RM12), Hokkien mee, Singapore fried meehoon and fried rice to be shared among ourselves. Soo Yee settled the bill again.
After lunch, we drove on to Kedai Kek Lim Choo Eng (聚成中西饼店) at Jalan Besar, Sg. Rengit where I bought RM27 worth of cakes (老婆饼/加央角等) plus RM30 honey. I also went to the nearby万和土产店and bought a packet of Hainan coffee (RM15.50).
At 2.00pm, we visited Jeti Tanjung Pengelih and looked at the scenery of Tebrau Straits that separates Pengerang and Pulau Tekong and Singapore (Changi Airport) from afar. There is a Kompleks Jeti Penumpang & Marian Awam, Tg. Pengelih which was very quiet (no people sighted) as there were no more ferries coming from Singapore these days due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a pity that we didn’t venture to go inside the complex and take a look at the jetty. That was the furthest we went and the journey to Pengerang was ended like that to my disappointment.
My earlier plan was to spend some time in Pengerang till evening so that we can go for seafood dinner at a restaurant there. But there was nowhere else to visit and it was still early in the day. So we drove back to our resort at Lotus Desaru, reaching there at 3.05pm.
Soo Lian and I went to Lagoon Pool at 5.30pm and played in the Water Park till 6.15pm.
At 6.30pm, we went to Desaru Shi Wei Sin Seafood Restaurant (食为先海鲜楼) at Jalan Kempas 3, Taman Desaru Utama, Bandar Penawar (can be seen along the road leading to Desaru beach) for dinner.
We ordered 4 dishes comprising beef (RM49), signature bean curd (RM18), green dragon leaves with minced garlic (RM22), steamed trio egg (RM18). The total bill including rice (RM6) and Jasmine tea (RM15) came to RM128. That was the treat I promised to give Soo Lian for inviting me to come to Desaru (free accommodation for me and my wife).
After dinner, we returned to our resort at 7.50pm..
Later in the evening, we learned the news about Russia’s attack of Ukraine today (24/02/2022) via social media in our mobile phones and we also watched the TV’s broadcast and comments via Al Jazerra channel before adjourning to bed. What a historical day it was!
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| Simple morning breakfast |
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| Water Park |
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| Soo Lian is going for the free "body massage" from the falling water |
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| Temple Village at Taman Bayu Damai, Sg. Ringgit (四湾岛的神庙村) |
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| 头湾古庙 |
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| A total of 8 temples in one street (八个神庙一条街) |
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| The 8 temples on the right and food court on the left (closed on the day we visited) |
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| Ming Sao dumpling shop at Sg. Renggit (四湾岛铭嫂饺子馆) |
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| Hokkien mee and fried meehoon |
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| Fried rice |
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| Two types of dumplings (香菇和韭菜饺子 RM12) |
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| Kedai Kek Lim Choo Seng (聚成中西饼店) Jln. Besar, Sg. Renggit |
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| The various types of cakes I bought |
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| Tg. Pengelih Jetty, Pengerang |
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| Empty Kompleks Jeti Penumpang & Marina Awam, Tg. Pengelih |
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| Roadside restaurant near Jeti Tg. Pengelih - very few customers |
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| Pulau Tekong & Singapore at the far end, separated by Tebrau Straits |
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| Soo Lian and his brother Soo Yee |
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| Back to our apartment |
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| Towels and other toiletries replenished every afternoon |
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| Lagoon Pool cum Water Park |
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| Hardly any swimmers or children playing in the pool |
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| Dinner at Desaru Shi Wei Sin Seafood Restaurant (迪沙鲁食为先海鲜楼) |
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| Beef (姜葱炒牛肉 RM49) |
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| Signature Bean Curd (招牌豆腐 RM18) |
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| Green Dragon with minced garlic (蒜茸炒青龙菜 RM22) |
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| Steamed trio eggs (三皇蒸蛋 RM18) |
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| A night view of our resort |
DAY 4 (FRI., 25/02/2022) - DESARU / KOTA TINGGI / KLUANG / AYER HITAM / SEREMBAN / KAJANG
We had a simple breakfast of bread and eggs before bringing some of our luggage to the car, ready to check out from the resort later. Soo Lian, Soo Yee and I went to the beach for a last look at 8.45am.
We checked out of Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa at 9.45am (the check-out time is actually 12.00 noon) and proceeded to Kota Tinggi. This part of the journey was driven by me and Soo Lian would take the wheel from Kota Tinggi to Seremban.
According to Google, the distance from Desaru to Kota Tinggi via Jalan Kota Tinggi - Pengerang/Route 92 is 49.3km (47 min. drive).
The famous Kota Tinggi Waterfall is currently closed for renovation and hence we didn’t travel there to visit.
We reached Kota Tinggi town at 11.00am and with the help of the Waze, we patronized Yap Fong Noodle House (叶芳面家) at Jalan Besar, Pusat Perdagangan Kota Tinggi.
This noodle house is founded over 50 years ago and run by 3 generations of the Yap family. The special house-made Hakka noodle set comes with a bowl of soup containing yong tau foo, fish-bone ball (鱼骨丸) and fried meat ball, RM6.50 per set (small). The barley drink was RM1.50 per glass. I paid for the bill of RM32 in total.
叶芳面家是哥打丁宜的老字号，在此可吃到祖传三代的云吞面，以及特色鱼骨丸。
We left Kota Tinggi at 11.40am and proceeded to Kluang (83km away) where we patronized the famous Kluang Rail Coffee at Stesen Keretapi Kluang (the original outlet established in 1938 居銮火车站咖啡店) at 1.05pm.
We took 4 glasses of kopi (咖啡RM2.30 each), 3 pc. bun bakar (烧烤面包RM2.20 each) and 1 pc. nasi lemak (RM1.30). Both the coffee and slightly toasted bun with kaya and butter were tasty. I settled the bill of RM17.10.
The last stop In Johor was Ayer Hitam at 2.05pm where we stopped by a road-side local products shop. I bought a freshly cut pineapple for RM4 (eaten in the car), yam (keladi) and cassava (ubi kayu) for RM5, cincalok (fermented small shrimps) for RM7.50.
We reached Seremban (about 187km from Ayer Hitam) at 4.30pm. The toll from Ayer Hitam to Senawang Exit was RM19.93, paid by Soo Lian’s TnG card.
After bidding farewell to Soo Lian and Soo Yee at Taman Rahang, I drove amid heavy rain along the KL-Seremban Highway, reaching home at 5.45pm.
My total expenditure for this 4D3N trip to Desaru was RM 292 (excluding petrol cost of about RM120 and toll fares approx, RM35 one-way).
It was an enjoyable vacation to me visiting Desaru and other places in Johor for the first time in my life!
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| Friday morning view of Lotus Desaru |
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| Partial loading of our luggage prior to check-out |
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| Desaru beach showing the ongoing maintenance work (gravel gabion already buried by sand) |
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| A stroll to Desaru beach for the last time before check-out |
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| Last view of Lagoon Pool cum Water Park |
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| Getting ready to leave our apartment |
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| At Lotus Desaru Beach Resort's car park just before departure |
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| First stop at Kota Tinggi on the journey home |
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| Kota Tinggi street view |
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| Restoran Yap Fong (叶芳面家) famous for wantan noodles and special fish-bone balls (祖传三代的云吞面和特色鱼骨丸), Jalan Besar, Pusat Perdagangan Kota Tinggi) |
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| Noodles plus fish-bone and meat balls soap costing RM6.50 per bowl |
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| Kota Tinggi main road |
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| The Original Kluang Rail Coffee, Stesen Keretapi Kluang |
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| Bun bakar (RM1.20) and kopi (RM2.30) |
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| Nasi lemak bungkus (RM1.30) |
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| Reaching Ayer Hitam town |
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| Ayer Hitam shops |
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| Tapioca (ubi) |
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| Leaving Ayer Hitam for homeward bound journey |
