Heritage experience with my family

 

When my sister, Pearly, shared her family’s epic Asian Adventure itinerary with me, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a downtown heritage walk with me was clearly marked for one of their weekends in Johor Bahru.

 

Pearly and her family at the Tan Hiok Nee
Heritage Walk, Johor Bahru

She read all about my heritage walks in downtown Johor Bahru, documented in My Johor Stories and wanted her family from the UK to have a similar walk experience to explore familiar streets that had developed into popular tourist destinations.

 

Closer to that date in August 2024, my sister confirmed that our downtown walk was definitely on but the route need not be long and should be tailored to the tastes of her grandkids, Jamieson and Thea.

 

Mindful of these requirements, I decided that our heritage walk experience should kick off with a drive through Johor Bahru’s Street of Harmony to enjoy views of the city’s landmarks and end with another drive to Iskandar Puteri to see the new state administrative center at Kota Iskandar.

 

Jamieson and Thea with the sketches of Johor
landmarks while their parents look on

I also explained that the city may appear rather cluttered because construction of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) was in progress. I also took them to a nearby spot on the Johor Bahru coast for a panoramic view of the work-in-progress happening across the Straits that would eventually link the Johor and Singapore.

 

That Saturday morning for our outing was cloudy with intermittent light drizzle but it did not deter us from stepping out, well-armed with caps and umbrellas.

 

On the drive downtown, I talked about the warm relationship that our Johor sultans had with the English royal family since the 1800s and that Sultan Abu Bakar adopted many English ways including his choice to wear a bejeweled crown, similar to the crown worn by Queen Victoria.

 

Pearly and her daughter, Melanie, enjoying 
samples before buying a choice of kombucha

The strong relationship between the Johor sultans and the Chinese community here was established when the Johor ruler invited Chinese planters in Singapore and the Indonesian islands to come to open up land in Johor for the cultivation of pepper and gambier in the kangchu system.

 

I then pointed out the iconic motif on the lamp-posts’ design to share with them about Johor’s pepper and gambier heritage, how these plants put Johor on the world map and earned its place of honour in this state.

 

As we walked along Jalan Duke to the front entrance of the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum at Jalan Ibrahim, I talked about the Chinese practice of filial piety, how the Chinese worked hard in their adopted country to earn enough money to send back to their families in China.

 

Thea and her mum enjoying 
samples of layered cake
 

To do this, a banking system was put in place to safely transfer hard-earned funds overseas, back to their loved ones.

 

Two banks established in the heart of Johor Bahru for this purpose – HSBC and OCBC – still proudly stand at the opposite ends of the Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk.

 

As we discussed this, it was indeed a fun exercise to stretch their minds in an attempt to spell out the abbreviations for the full names of these banks.

 

In the lobby of the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum, the wall poster that charted the chronology of the Chinese contribution to the development of Johor, was a helpful guide to share the highlights in Johor history, all in a nutshell.

 

The series of portraits of the Johor sultans along with visuals of present-day Sultan Ibrahim captured with the rakyat during His Highness’s coronation, the annual Johor Chingay parade and with Chinese community leaders in front of the Dewan Cina, helped me share further details about the strong relationship established between the Johor sultans and the Chinese community in Johor, which continues to this day.

 

Jamieson and his grandmother moving
to feet-tapping live music

Meanwhile, the wall close to the rear entrance of the museum was adorned by large posters that feature sketches of familiar Johor landmark buildings drawn by Johorean savant artist, Yap Hanzhen.

 

It was my pleasure to present his drawings to my family and remind them that I had the privilege to feature this gifted young man along with other Johor people who have impacted other lives, in my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.

 

We emerged from the museum by its rear entrance for a slow walk to explore the street market set up along the car-free Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk that morning. 

 

Thea holding her painted hand-
fan with the lady paint-master

Among the merchandise in the stalls that made us pause and admire, were lovely handicrafts and to sample a range of kombucha by Wexiuhous and a choice of traditional layered cake by The Lapisterie.

 

After browsing around the stalls, Jamie, my nephew asked if they could return to the stall manned by a young lady dressed in traditional Chinese costume, for his kids to try their hand in a fan-painting activity. My reply was, “Certainly!”

 

Earlier on, the youngsters had stopped to observe the fan-painting demonstration by this young lady and expressed their interest to have a go at it…

 

So we backtracked to this young lady who graciously helped the kids to pick their choice of colours to paint the hand-fan that they each picked for themselves.

 

Jamieson with his painted
hand-fan and lady paint-master

Gradually, a small crowd gathered to watch as my grand-nephew and grand-niece took turns to get their fans painted. Their dad was taking photographs to capture as holiday mementoes but someone else was furiously clicking away too.

 

It turned out that he was from the Johor Bahru Tiong Hua Association and when I asked about the photos, Chairman of the Heritage Walk, Jackie Lee, assured me that they will send copies to me. [And they did!]

 

Lee, who was also Vice-President of the Teochew Eight Districts Association, was familiar with me and aware that I have been supporting the Chinese community in Johor by publishing stories about Chinese cultural events in the English language.

[I was then wearing a mask, yet he recognized me!]

 

Satisfied after their fan-painting activity, the kids happily held on to their freshly painted fans as we trekked along Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk.

 

Jamie and family with the lady paint-master
[Photo courtesy of JB Tiong Hua Association]

And when live music was heard close to the queue lined up in front of the Hiap Joo traditional bakery, Jamieson and his grandmother could not resist moving to the rhythm of the feet-tapping music…

 

From Jalan Trus, we walked along Jalan Dhoby and made a stop at the Salahuddin traditional bakery to take a peek into their woodfire oven and buy some snacks. [By then, they were very ready for something to nibble on… ]

 

While my sister chose a packet of baked sugee (semolina) biscuits for a taste of nostalgia, the others picked their choices of samosa and savoury snacks.

 

Jamieson AKA the food Hoover, eating a sugee
biscuit as soon as they stepped out of the bakery

As they were paying for their buys, I asked the young merchant behind the counter, a question – just for the benefit of my visiting family, “Are you from the third or fourth generation?” – so that our visitors were aware that this baking tradition had been passed down for generations.

 

He not only spontaneously replied with a friendly smile but even said my name (blush!) declaring that he was also familiar with me. [I was still wearing a mask, yet he recognized me! Well done!]

 

The moment we stepped out from the bakery, my sister and her family opened the irresistible snacks for a quick bite.

 

A range of hair designs offered by barber shop

On a slow walk back to the car – to deposit the painted hand-fans – we passed the corner Indian barber shop where a large poster displayed head-shots of a range of hair designs they offered.

 

While my grand-nephew was seriously considering getting his hair styled by this barber, his mother did not encourage it because his hair may not grow out before his school term started again. So it was then clearly a, “No.”

 

After leaving the hand-fans in the car, we headed down Bukit Timbalan to Jalan Ungku Puan to visit the Indian Heritage Centre located within the grounds of the Arulmigu Raja Mariamman Devasthanam Hindu Temple.

 

Flowers and flower garlands along the route

While waiting for the lights to change at the road crossing, I had the privilege to share about why the word, Raja was included in the name of the Hindu temple, just as how the word, Johor, was in the name of the Johor Old Temple for the Chinese community here.

 

Inside the Heritage Centre, my family learnt more about the important Milestones of Life and some of the traditional trades in the Indian community.

 

Then I observed that my grand-niece, Thea, was quietly absorbed with watching a video that showcased the utensils and methods used in a traditional Indian kitchen to make roti…

 

Two cheeky faces in the Indian Heritage Centre

As we appreciated more about the culture and traditions in another community, we also had fun posing for photos to capture special mementoes of our time together exploring the rich heritage in Johor Bahru.

 

On our way out of the Heritage Centre, the general consensus was “lunch” so we agreed on what they wished to eat and headed off to enjoy a light lunch together.

 

With our stomachs comfortably filled, I took the family on a drive to Iskandar Puteri to see the majestic buildings at Kota Iskandar, the city’s state administrative center.

 

Thea's attention was riveted to this video

While my sister and her children saw many changes in the city since their previous visits here, I reminded them that there will be even more changes in the coming years as the RTS is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

 

As for me, I am already looking forward to their next time in Johor for another opportunity to show them more from the wealth of heritage here as well as the many changes anticipated in the next few years.

Welcome back to Johor again!