Johor 2025 Day 3: Kota Tinggi to Mersing (丰盛港)
- Rick
- May 29
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 2
Thursday, 29th May 2025
I started the day at 7:35am and noted the cloudy sky but no dark clouds. Weather forecast had predicted some rain around 8am with a 20% chance. I was armed with my flimsy umbrella as I headed out for breakfast.
I headed to Okid Kopitiam (胡姬茶餐室) again, which supposedly opened at 6am. Nearly all the shops were still closed with less traffic on the roads in the early morning. I reached the coffee shop in less than 10 minutes and it was quite vacant with couple of tables taken. I took the table nearest to the door as it felt cooler. After browsing through the menu, I decided on Mee Sedap Ayam Kering (mee sedap + laksa ingredients + shredded chicken), a roti bakar with kaya butter and Kopi-O. I liked their toasts with outside grilled till crispy and retained some softness inside. The mee sedap was tasty, spicy and delicious — of course.

When I finished my breakfast, the coffee shop was nearly full. I left and headed back to Hotel Cascada to get ready for check-out. I walked past Ming Xiang Bak Kut Teh (明香肉骨茶) again and it was preparing to open for business despite Google Maps claiming it would be closed on both Wednesday and Thursday. Anyway, I had no more space in my stomach to go for it when it opened at 9am. Another time, perhaps.
My pre-booked bus to Mersing was at 11am. I got bored staying in the room and decided to check-out at 9:45am to wait at Kota Tinggi Bus Terminal. 3 minutes after leaving the hotel, it started raining just as I was crossing the main road. I took out my umbrella, opened it and it was instantly blown out of shape. I managed to get under shelter along a row of shops before the rain became heavier. I stood in the corridor until the rain subsided 30 minutes later and continued to the bus terminal. No one could predict the weather, so I could not say I should have left the hotel earlier or later.
The Transnasional bus to Mersing arrived at 11:04am and it was nearly full. It started at Larkin Sentral, stopped briefly in Kota Tinggi to pick up passengers only, then to Mersing and Rompin before its final stop at Kuantan. This meant that it would be better to pre-book tickets. However, in-app seat selection was irrelevant — my pre-selected seat was already taken — and I had to take one of the seats that were unoccupied. So, instead of a single seat, I got a double seat all to myself and my backpack.
The bus departed at 11:08am and cruised through palm plantations up the eastern coast of Johor under a cloudy sky that had yet to be done with dumping its load of rainwater. It rained again about an hour into the journey.
The bus arrived at Mersing Bus Terminal at 12:30pm — taking about 1.5 hours (approx. 2.5 hours from Larkin Sentral). At S&S International’s ticketing counter, I noted that their bus services from Mersing to Kluang is actually bounded for Malacca, stopping at Kluang mid-way. So, there were long-distance buses between Kluang and Malacca.

It was still raining, but not too heavy. I left the terminal and followed a sheltered walkway along the river to a weird bridge that had no steps. I made it a point to check it out later. From the bridge, I could see a structure across the road which houses several eateries — that would be my lunch destination.
I crossed the road in the rain to Ah Jie Noodle House (早市阿街面店) that fronted the road. The noodle house usually opened in the morning and closed in the afternoon or earlier when sold out. I had Fried Lou Shu Fen (炒老鼠粉) that was cooked with egg, fishcake slices and bean sprouts in dark sauce with some chilli. It had a nice wok aroma and tasted very similar to Singapore-style char kway teow. This was delicious.
After serving me my noodle, the stall began cleaning and preparing to close for the day. They had served me their last dish of the day.

After lunch, I walked to MG Hotel just round a corner. It was only 1:30pm, but I was checked-in since my room was ready. I had booked a Single Room as it was the only room available. The single room was right next to the lobby and it was a "fan" room using an air-conditioner in fan mode with temperature settings disabled. It was fine with me since I usually would not set air-con temperature below 24°C.
The hotel seemed new, or newly modified from an old residential house, and lacked sound-proofing. I could hear every conversations in the lobby. Rooms on the ground floor were installed with jalousie windows that could not block out engine noises and the gaps allowed mosquitoes and other insects to enter the room. Several motorcycles were parked right outside my room's windows. Sigh...

With only one night in Mersing, I could afford to waste the afternoon, I hit the streets just after 2pm. It was still raining. Using my umbrella, I explored the town, starting at the area around Mersing Bus Terminal and followed the Mersing River, through the old town of Mersing Kechil, towards Mersing Jetty.

After 30 minutes' leisure stroll, the rain had stopped and I entered the compound of Mersing Jetty and came to the Mersing Harbour Centre. One piece of information I knew was that for anyone going to Pulau Tioman, after getting their ferry tickets, all passengers must proceed to Counter R23 in the Harbour Centre to pay the Marine Park Conservation Fee. For Malaysians, it was RM5/adult or RM2/children or senior citizen. For non-Malaysians, the fee was RM30 per person.

Opposite the Harbour Centre was the ferry terminal, which had no ferry activities at that time. There was a Plaza D'Jetti with shops too. Further down Jalan Abu Bakar, I came to Taman Rekreasi Pantai Mersing (Mersing Beach Recreation Park). I could see Pulau Tioman in the far distance from the beach.
Most of the islands around Mersing were under the state of Johor but Pulau Tioman was actually part of Pahang. I spent about 15 minutes on the beach before using a different path to return to town (see map below).

4pm, I came across Sri Mersing Cafe (丽丰西果饮冰室) and decided to take a rest after 2 hours' walk and have a light tea-break. The bakery cum coffee shop was not crowded and I took up a table. I ordered a hot Milo-O kosong with the lady and picked a banana cake and egg tart from the self-service table at the entrance. There were curry puffs at a "hot snacks" counter too. The pastries were not too sweet and the Milo-O tasted pretty thick too.

5pm, I was back in MG Hotel, charged my phone and showered. 1.5 hours later, I left the hotel again for dinner.
I came to Xiang Guo Bakery & Cake House (香果屋), a bakery-cafe. I had Chicken Chop with Rice & Black Pepper Sauce and a hot cup of Choc Supreme with Peppermint. After finishing the dish, I was quite full but knowing that I would not be back in Mersing anytime soon after this trip, I decided to try one cake. Most of the cakes were relatively big in sizes and I picked one of the few smaller-size cakes, a Non-baked Green Tea with Red Beans Cake. It was an amazingly flavourful cake.

After leaving the cafe, I took a short walk but did not go far as most shops were already closed, streets were getting darker and fewer people were walking about but there were still many cars. It took me nearly 20 minutes to walk the short distance back to the hotel — there was no pedestrian crossings in Mersing and I had to wait for wide gaps between vehicles just to cross the busy trunk road.
Back at the hotel, I browsed Google Maps for what to eat the next day. Most "reviews" were unbelievable, claiming that most of the food in Mersing Town, even a bowl of simple noodle soup, were the best "after coming back from Pulau Tioman" as though the food on the resort island were very horrible. Food might be expensive on the island but I did not know they tasted horrible to such an extent. I always felt that many people who wrote "reviews" did not understand fully what they were "implying" and the negativism they contributed to the Internet, especially the reviews in Google Maps.
One more thing, most holiday-makers to Pulau Tioman stayed in Mersing Town for just one night due to gaps in connection between bus schedules and ferry departure timings that changed with the sea tide. This was why Friday nights would see many of them staying in Mersing Kechil and would empty the hotels the next day to catch the ferries — or ferry during low tide. During off-peak periods, there would probably be just one ferry a day.
Also, there would be no ferries during the year-end monsoon season from November to March. I wondered if that would be a good time to travel here and idle in the town — just to eat and watch the rain.
Day 4: Mersing to Kluang (居銮)
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