Tanjong Sepat...

Grandma, SYuen, Ryan, Ashley and SLing....

"The Tanjong Sepat's mui choy pau is calling me, Ivan," said SLing excitedly as we traveled to Tanjong Sepat on Wesak Day holidays.  Tailing my BIL & SIL, Wei & Jade plus the two children, we made our way to Tanjong Sepat indefinitely. It was about a 2 1/2 hours journey from Seremban and while roads are sometimes narrow and dusty, it was a great journey of fun and fellowship, I guess. Mind you, this was after a sumptuous breakfast and most people would have difficulty in moving after a good meal and the comfort of the lush & fluffy sofa calling your name on a holiday period could be very hard to resist. Nevertheless, we braved our souls and belly while we headed out to Tanjong Sepat.

Jade,Wei and the children, Ashley and Ryan

With Waze in tow, our destination was Lover's Bridge at Tanjong Sepat. Sure enough after 2 1/2 hours of travel, we arrived or rather crawled to Lover's Bridge in Tanjong Sepat. I could never imagine that I would see a sea of people at that place. ( I was thinking, didn't these people go for prayers on Wesak Day? ) But then again, keep my gab shut and move on ,baby! After parking the car, we alighted to be met by a toothless uncle who was manning the car park ( RM 3.00 per car per entry - reasonable, really.) and he collected the parking fees while assuring us that there is no problem parking at this enclosure. We headed towards the town square and headed towards Lover's Bridge with the sun's ray spitting balls of heated fire to burn our asses, actually. 

SLing with the kueh baulu acuan....

My heart sank when I saw the so-called Lover's Bridge....what bridge? All I saw was a partly collapsed bridge and it is really insane that people ( Including me!!!! Yes, can you imagine? ) would drive all the way just to see the collapsed bridge!!!! To me, the people of Tanjong Sepat or at least, the community or local authorities should have made an effort to repair the bloody bridge and not let everyone to be misled of such condition of the bridge. I believe, if it is repaired and adorned with street lights, the bridge would definitely be the Lover's Bridge it is well-known for as it does go quite far out. Anyway, the old things and antiques kept at shops selling souvenirs were quite impressive but kinda needed more attractions. 

Collapsed Lover's Bridge.....

I believe more could be done to actually spruce up this place and there has got to be a concerted effort to get this place going to be a good spot for tourism or rather a place that people would stop by to sample local delicacies or goods. Just like most coastal small towns, seafood restaurants had mushroomed along the coast line  and near the bridge. It isn't a nice sight when one sees the coastline where the restaurants are. Yup, the cost of development - some would say but I think, it is just poor management of resources. I believe that with good management, small boat trips could be arranged to estuaries nearby or even to local kelong farms or even a visit to the local Tg.Sepat Community Museum ( Gopeng Museum is one very good example of marvelously rich history and culture ) which would definitely made the trip a little bit more worthwhile.

Visit to boat docking area or get to see how fish caught are traded off or even building an old Chinese village and equip the houses with things from the past at the bridge would definitely bring in the crowd as people love the old feel of things. In that way, the community would be able to supplement their income and at the same time preserve an important culture of the community in Tanjong Sepat. These are just my silly old man thoughts, though.

It is not a historical site but it is rich in culture which is essentially what people are looking for these days. I believe many of us "missed" that cultural part of our lives. There is so much to offer when we put our cultural part on display or make it an interactive one where people could participate. Food is another example where definitely one place could grow. We did sample the sea food fare in Tanjong Sepat. I must say, it is not expensive yet it wasn't cheap either. For a coastal town and sea going people, seafood should be reasonable to attract the people to the place. Exorbitant prices are going to scare the people away while freshness of the food plays a truly important part too.

Pan fried with eggs and baby oysters...yummy....

Our fare of steamed Red Snapper fish, fried mantis prawns, chicken pieces with oyster sauce, steamed lala with ginger & scallions and pan-friend baby oysters were delightfully superb especially the pan friend baby oyster, As we drove past the town en route back home, we stopped at the famous pau shop for our mui choy pau. However, the queue was exceptionally long and it definitely was going to be a long long wait. We did not get to taste the pau but I got to taste the Vietnamese coffee prepared by a Vietnamese woman who runs a coffee shop with husband. The coffee was really good though. The aroma and the taste is truly exceptional even for a small wooden coffee shop in Tg.Sepat.

Couldn't help but realised that Sekinchan was better off than Tg.Sepat while food at Pantai Redang would be cheaper too. But like I said, each to its own uniqueness.......