Location: Yong Peng, Johor, Malaysia
If one was a frequent traveler going back and forth from Singapore to Malaysia, it would not be hard to notice that there is no major town between Johor's northern town of Muar and the suburbs of Johor Bahru.
 |
| Vehicles of all sorts lined the area, patiently awaiting the tired drivers and bored passengers before continuing forth to their various destinations. |
And it is thus that the quaint expanse of land, known as Lucky Garden, and its habitat that is the idyllic town of Yong Peng (永平) became acquainted with these frequent travelers. What charm did this place hold to the traveler? None, I dare say. This is just a hiatus of the journey ahead, nothing more. Yet it is for this same reason that the quaint little place persists, instead of being lost in the flow of history.
 |
| Most of Lucky Garden is open aired, but the place is nicely kept, that is until you walked into the food court. Still, what choice does the hungry traveler has for lunch when buses rest here and will not stop further? |
Not much could be said about the place - it sells food but that definitely requires much improvement. Most people would have totally missed this place if they were taking the night bus to and from Singapore, with only hazy memories of the place lingering in their dreaming minds. What really captivated me was not things sold in the area but the area itself.
Imagine how a little place like this would fare, were not for transports which lingered here for rest. Most probably it will be folded into history itself, left a ghost town. Its stubborn fate somehow allowed it to survive to this day, persevering against the ravages of time. And somehow, it gave me an inspiration to persevere as well.
 |
| The fountain of fish is the major landmark of Lucky Garden. Although both has no relation to the other, they sustained each other - the garden provided the foundation and water to operate while the fountain provided the symbol which people recognized as landmark of the area. |
 |
| The fountain of fishes - each fish a different color and hue from the other, with streams of water sprouting from their mouths. |
It may invoke luck in its name, but Lucky Garden is more of a garden of fish - the fountain of fishes showed as much. The only restaurant in Lucky Garden may not attract much visitors, but the pond of fishes that surrounds the restaurant like a moat definitely is getting the attention of bored travelers.
 |
| The pond surrounds the restaurant like a moat, and grabs more attention than the restaurant itself. The water is clear, and gives this restaurant an image of a floating water village although it lies on solid ground. |
 |
| Coins could be seen through the clear water - some visitors may had treated it as a wishing pond as well. Did you notice something else lurking in the water? The 2 submarine like entity right above my titles? |
 |
| These are the monsters lurking in the depth of those waters. I am unfamiliar with fishes, and seeing them in such sizes do terrify me a little. |
 |
| They swam through the water lazily, uncaring of the world surrounding them until the moment they are scooped out to be feasted upon, ending their position on the top of the food hierarchy. |
 |
| Standing stoically in the garden is this restaurant. Its architecture reflects local designs, but its surrounding pond definitely grabbed the most attention. |
 |
| "The fish here take meat only" - what an assuring information to visitors... |
 |
| Swimming joyfully in the other pond are smaller fishes. Again I have no name for these fishes, save for the fact that they happily tender to their own business. |
 |
| Any idea what these fishes are? |
Drivers signaled passengers for departure through the blaring announcement system, and everyone left the place without a second thought. To everyone, Lucky Garden of Yong Peng is just a temporary stop in the long journey ahead. To the author of this blog though, this place is a reminder that perseverance could make a small town into a transport hub that everyone stopped for. A reminder that life may not be perfect but a little persistence could go a long way to make something out of one's life.
Environment: Transport hub
Suitable for: A major rest area off the highway for the tired transiting buses and cars. A good area to relax and unwind those bunched up limbs before continuing forward.
View Johor in a larger map
I have a hazy memory of this place from more than 15 years ago. In fact the only thing I remembered clearly was the fish fountain. I lived in Singapore and the few times my family and me travelled to Malaysia, I remember stopping at this place. Being vegetarian and unused to Malay food, by family would never eat anything at the food courts, though my mouth would water seeing the other tourists eat. I wonder if it is still operational. If so, I would love to stop by some day and have a taste of the food that enticed me all those years ago.
ReplyDelete