• Johor,  Malaysia,  TRAVEL/HOLIDAYS

    Tangkak: Textile Heaven

    Am now back in my in-laws in Tangkak for the weekend and school holiday.

    tangkak town

    Tangkak town. Straight ahead on the background is Gunung Ledang.

    Amongst things I love about Tangkak is its countless textile shops. Tangkak used to be a popular textile centre in the 70s and 80s but lost its popularity after places like Nilai in Negeri Sembilan, was developed.

    I’ve been to Nilai but to me Tangkak is the best because I get to see rows of old shophouses.

    textile shops

    old buildings

    more old buildings

    Textile town and old shophouses.

    Realising that Tangkak has the potential to boost the tourism sector, effort has been made by Ministry of  Tourism to promote Tangkak as a hub for local and imported textile, thus the launching of Textile Festival 2011 on 4th March 2011 by its minister, YB Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen. This festival will be made as annual tourism event.

    So how do you go to Tangkak? If you’re driving from Kuala Lumpur on the North South Expressway (NSE), take the Tangkak exit (Exit 23). After the toll, you’ll see a T-junction. Take the right turn (left turn will take you to Muar) and just follow the main road. You’ll see Tangkak town in about 10 minutes drive.

    You can also take a bus there–there are Cepat Ekspress buses departing from Puduraya Station. Jalan Pudu, KL and Terminal Bersepadu Selatan, Bandar Tasek Selatan, KL. But make sure you find the counter that says KL-Tangkak-Segamat.

    Alternatively you take any bus to Segamat (namely Transnasional) and let the driver knows that you want to go to Tangkak. The driver will drop you off at Tangkak Police Station or alongside the road where the textile shops are situated. But before you do that, please check with the counter at the terminal just to be sure. If not just take the Cepat Ekspress, it will drop you off safely at Tangkak Bus Station.

    windows! yay!

    And of course, I got to capture my subject of interest.

    For your information, Tangkak is a district capital of Ledang, in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies close to the neighbouring state of Melaka, especially to Jasin town and district of the state and about half an hour drive from Melaka city centre. The town is nicknamed “Fabric Town” or “Syurga Kain” in honor of its many cloth shops. It is also well-known as Gunung Ledang (Mount Ophir), which is the highest mountain in Johor, just 17 km away from the town centre of Tangkak. The mountain is clearly visible from any part of Tangkak.

    Do you want to know how Tangkak got its name?

    The name of Tangkak comes from ‘tang merangkak’. It happens when a settler, Long Mahmud with his seven siblings were said that they have to crawl up (merangkak) from the edge of Tangkak River to go to Tambak Hill at the area of Seri Makmur. The edge of the river is too soft and marshy as many brackens, ‘sendayan’, ferns and sago palm grow there. As the habitually of crawling (merangkak) at the edge of the river, locals calls it ‘tang Merangkak’ as a way to refer to that place. The word ‘tang’ is usually used by Malays in referring to a place.

    For more information about current activities around Tangkak, do visit Tangkak District Council‘s website. Don’t forget to choose your language preference at the top left corner before you surf the website.