An old town on the move

My last visit to Pontian Kechil must have been in 2002 where I cycled back from Malacca and spend my last night here. Things have changed a lot with the obvious development of the reclaimed land area. Our Hotel Pontian is situated there with many new shop houses, a new bus terminal and even an upcoming harbour for boats.

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People too seemed more affluent especially when we had our hotel breakfast - more than half of the guests there were "plus" size. Fortunately, we noticed the culture of cycling around town is still alive and vibrant. We took the opportunity to shop at one of the many traditional bike shops. I was tickled pink to find that in a baby rocker, the "baby" put there by the shop owner was that of a bike seat. That speaks volumes of where his passion is.

CW and I bought old fashion bicycle bells - and I fitted mine immediately on the BF Expedition. The sound was really very loud and rich as you can hear from the video here. Was also fun to ride around and chat with the local bikers. One of them had a 20" Durian coloured cream bike with a modern dynamo hub plastered proudly with badges of Johor. He purported that his unique colour really glowed at night and we were happy to take him at his word.

I also visited the 40 year old crumbling Princess Hotel (stayed there 2002) and its still in operation. US$10 for a room but be warned, very basic with aircon. Maybe.


It was great to walk around the old part of town and explore the rickerty fishing jetties.

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As dark clouds loomed, we decided to take a bus back to Johor Bahru. Somehow, cycling in a monsoon was not so appealing. Upon seeing our bikes, the bus cowboys got all excited as this was their chance to earn some pocket money.


Although the bus fare was a mere US$1.80, we paid US$10 for 2 of our bikes after some serious haggling. What clinched the deal was the bikes could fit into the huge cargo bay without any dismantling. If I brought my foldie bag, my Expedition would probably have travelled free.

All in, a most interesting cycling weekend destination. I just hope in the midst of modern development, they will somehow allow the charm of the old town of Pontian Kechil to linger on.
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