Weekend Trip To Kukup Village

I went on a trip to Kukup with some friends of mine last weekend. There were eight of us. It was a three days, two nights package. The package included transportation from Singapore and back, accommodations and five meals a day.

I enjoyed the trip. It was very relaxing - literally meal after meal and in between, you play mahjong, sing karaoke, explore the surroundings, or you go for a message, or pedicure. It’s the good life.

Kukup is a small fishing village in the southernmost state of Johor, Malaysia. They are famous for their open-air seafood restaurants built on stilts over the water.

What is unique about this fishing village is that the houses were built on stilts. It is a simple housing structure for the fishermen and their families, whose livelihood depends on their catches from the sea. But that was back then, in the early days of the village.

Now, the houses are built on concrete columns, and the once simple lifestyle and accommodation have opened up a market for people who want to experience the lifestyle in a fishing village. Holiday makers look for homestays, hotels and chalets in the fishing village. The once sleepy fishing village is now a holiday resort with modern day facilities like proper sanitation, air conditioning and karaoke sets.

Holiday makers book weekend packages - usually, two nights and three days, or two days and one night. Included in the packages are three meals, afternoon tea and supper per day. During the day, you are free to wander around and look at the fishing village and its surroundings. At night, you can play mahjong, sing karaoke, or for a fee, you can launch sky lanterns, fire crackers, or fireworks - if they are your thing. Otherwise, you sit around with your mates and exchange tales, or bond over drinks. If all else fails, there is your smartphone, iPad and laptop to keep you entertained.

Activities like launching the sky lantern, firing crackers and fireworks are banned in Singapore. So, Singaporeans like to relive the nostalgia of these activities, and to let the young ones have an experience of these activities. So, they are very popular at the resort. You hear fireworks and firecrackers intermittently throughout the evening.

A sky lantern (traditional Chinese: 天燈; simplified Chinese: 天灯; pinyin: tiāndēng), also known as Kǒngmíng lantern (traditional Chinese: 孔明燈; simplified Chinese: 孔明灯), or Chinese lantern, is a small hot air balloon made of paper, with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is suspended. - Wikipedia

In Asia and elsewhere around the world, sky lanterns have been traditionally made for centuries, to be launched for play or as part of long-established festivities. The name sky lantern is a translation of the Chinese name but they have also been referred to as sky candles or fire balloons. - Wikipedia

So, vacations in Kukup are primarily to rest and relax, and to enjoy the fresh seafood. There is really not a lot to see or do. That is why some Singaporeans take day trips to Kukup, have a seafood meal and came back. It took about three hours by car, if there were no jams at the immigration checkpoint. So, one could easily go up there in the morning, have lunch and a look around, maybe buy some locally produced food products, and then come back to Singapore in time for dinner.

One little known fact about Kukup is that it is the largest mangrove island in Malaysia, and second in the world.

This is a brief introduction to Kukup. I will be posting more about my trip. Stay tuned if you are interested. Here are some photos from the weekend.

Arriving in Kukup. The yellow building right at the end is the ferry terminal. On both sides of the road are residents and the chalets and holiday resorts.

A Hotel. I think it is the only one in the village.

Road leading to the residences and chalets.

Accommodations – the hall.

One of five bedrooms. So, the whole place could pack in quite a few people.

Enough toilets, so you don’t have to fight for them.

The karaoke room

Fishing boats and the surrounding residences. Some are newer, and some have seen better years.

Low tide

Meals - five meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper.

One of their local product – salted dried fish, and some other dried seafood stuff

Launching of sky lantern, and fireworks.

There are many temples. It almost seemed that every time we turned a corner, we saw a temple.

Our neighbouring chalet. It looked rather classy in the evening with the lights on.

A kelong - it is an offshore wooden platform built by the fisherman for fishing or fish farming.

Beautiful sunset

I had a couple of thoughts in mind when I was in Kukup. I wondered how the younger generation of residents in Kukup felt about life in the fishing village. I assumed that they would be like most young people in villages in other parts of the world – longing for the city life. It would be interesting to hear what they have to say.

However, judging by the accounts from the video below – courtesy of my friend Sylvia, it looks like I am not too far off in my assumption. Apart from fishing and farming, both of which are tough work, there are not many other job opportunities in the village. The young ones therefore, pack their bags and go in search of better jobs and a brighter future in the city.

The video is in Mandarin, but there are subtitles. You have to click 'Watch on Youtube' to see the video.