Tangkak: Textile Heaven
Am now back in my in-laws in Tangkak for the weekend and school holiday.
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 town and old shophouses.
Realising that Tangkak has the potential to boost the tourism sector, effort has been made by Ministry ofย 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.
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.
21 Comments
LadyJava
I ever lalu at Tangkak on the way to Gunung Ledang Ems… i did see plenty of shops.. but didnt stop coz we were convoying..hehe…
one of these day must make trip and see what they have to offer ๐
emila
hi lj! you should stop and shop for kain! I get my cushion and totebags punya kain from Tangkak.
Nurul
Aha.. no wonder la my mom and aunt pernah (or maybe always) pegi Tangkak just to buy kain untuk hari raya. And they bought a lot too!
norehan
Salam,
So glad to have found this site. Lukisan you cantiklah…..i sukaaaaa (wish I could draw…SIGH!!)
My in laws are in Pontian. Kdg2 on the way back to KL, we all ada jugak melintas bandar Tangkak ni. Nice little town. Everyone living one step at a time, tak mcm kat bandar-bandar besar, semua orang kalut-kalut.
tips-kurus
tak pernah p lagi; lagipon Jln TAR lagi dekat..hehe! ๐
emila
salam, thank you fo visiting, norehan. hehe, biasalah bandar besar tak pernah tidur.
emila
ya sebab harganya murah, nurul.
emila
i know jalan tar lagi dekat but dekat tangkak harganya jauh lebih murah.
darkstar
tempat sy membesar.. lama dah xbalik. boleh kite jumpe kat sana kan ..hehee =)
bain
luv d sky of Tangkak! ๐
emila
azah skrg ada kat tangkak ke? kak emila dah balik kl tengah malam semalam hehe
Qutil
saya dulu belajar di matric Johore at Tangkak, love that old town..
skang da menetap kat melaka, jarang dah singgah Tangkak, you remind me bout that old town.
darkstar
tak.. sekarang kt selangor. selalu raya mungkin balik.. kalo dulu2 tiap2 thun mndi air gunung ledang, sekarang dh duduk selangor, jarang sangat nak balik. kalo balik, dorang pun dh xcam sy sgt.. muke dh berubah kot.. =)
emila
ooo takpe, kalau ada masa baliklah selalu. dah besar, mesti ramai yg dah tak kenal hehe
emila
melaka tak jauh dari tangkak. kalau ada masa, pay tangkak a visit. cari mee bandung muar kat stesen bas.
hana
Kalau lalu situ, mau demam kain jawabnya :p
Fara
tangkak glemer before jakel bukak the first store kat segamat.. kat tangkak yg glemer masa tu was Bunga Raya kot? saya baru sekali ke tangkak (bandar) walaupun org johor… ๐
bandar tangkakk jadik cantik plak kat gambo2 ni.. bila nk datang batu pahat and review pasal BP plak? ๐
emila
Banyak yang glamour di Tangkak. Jakel saya tak pernah masuk.
Hazural
Thanks for the info ๐ nanti kalau jalan2 ke Johor, bleh singgah di Tangkak..
emila
Singgah ya. ๐
imaisha
my mom pun dulu selalu paksa my dad singgah Tangkak everytime blk kampung kat Muar since nak borong kain punya pasal ๐