Idyllic seaside village

Two things are firmly lodged in my mind from the visit of Tanjung Sepat: steamed buns.... and mudskippers!

Well, if you have not yet been to (or heard of!) Tanjung Sepat, it is one of the many rustic village-towns in Malaysia often associated with a relaxed lifestyle and lush green sceneries. But is it all kampung?

The ultimate nightmare of urbanites. Gasp! All foliage and nothing else?

Hold your horses I say, for this town has a few X-factors that you wouldn't want to miss.

The villagers/townfolks are the most skillful in their trade, in fact each manning their forte and running their own business as entrepreneurs and contributors in the agriculture sectors.

Although they might not have a glamorous lifestyle, these hardworking people are responsible for the bountiful harvest of our local food produce- fresh seafood, fresh fruits and veggies!

En route to Gold Coast beach (which had nothing much to offer due to low-tide), we stopped by a mushroom manufacturer located side-by-side with a longan orchard.

Unfortunately, the longan orchard was sold out but we had fun harvesting/plucking the fresh oyster mushrooms, sold at RM9 per kg. We noticed that both owners kept dogs, minimum 5-6 dogs per land. It was surprising that the furry guardians did not bark at us although we were strangers.

The children and adolescents here are shockingly independent. A boy of about 13 years old rides a motorcycle with his much younger sister riding pillion. The two kids then run around playing care freely on the grounds of the factory, which doubles up as their home, while the older teenagers are all pro on how to handle customers and support their parents in the business.

Our (short-lived) grumbles of the grimy, squalid conditions (smell, flies, dirt, etc.) we had to endure for that instant was no match for them who had accustomed their lives to it. The obvious just dawned on me, that, unless you are one in a million, one's fate is pretty much sealed by the livelihood of one's family. It's up to fate whether one is born rich or poor. Perhaps that is the reason why the public is still fascinated by pairings of opposites- royalty and commoner, rich and poor, etc. The metamorphosis usually only kicks in much later on when we have discovered ourselves within the upbringing.

Fascinating as it is the lifestyles of dwellers here, the main attraction is firstly, the Lover's Bridge and secondly the Hai Yew Heng steamed buns.

The Lover's Bridge is actually an ordinary fishermen's bridge with a nice view and a seafood restaurant beside it. If you have an eye for detail, mudskippers can be found under the bridge. On the other hand, the Hai Yew Heng steamed buns are indeed delicious paus (typically served with coffee) in its own kopitiam with the same name, conveniently located across its shop where one can view the process of pau-making live.

The ones mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg and there's certainly more to discover if you take your time to explore Tanjung Sepat!

It is just the right place for a refreshing one-day getaway trip, and its seafood, delicacies and homeliness certainly did not disappoint!