Lumut (posted May 9, 2010)

19 years ago Sari Timur pulled into Lumut for an overnight stop and left 4 weeks later.  We had fallen in love with this sleepy town so much that we returned on the trip back to Singapore for a similar amount of time and again the next season warranted a four week stop in Lumut.  I always told people it was my favourite place in West Malaysia.  When we told others about this the questions always came back Why? What’s There?  I would answer, absolutely nothing except a very friendly small town atmosphere.  There also was a pleasant yacht club, an idyllic setting for a town, the nicest Pasar Malam (Night Market) I had ever been to and it was the one place we were never treated different as foreigners, the prices we were quoted and charged were exactly what anyone else was and everyone treated us like neighbors.

I had heard Lumut had grown but much of its charm was still there.  During the Raja Mudu we didn’t have time to head for Lumut so we had to wait until our return trip down the Malacca Straits.  I was a little worried as I didn’t want to shatter the images I had from nearly two decades ago.  We were also running very late trying to get back to Singapore.  We were almost thinking maybe we might give it a miss and weighing the pros and cons of going all the way up river to Lumut.  In the end we decided to go in for a two day stop.  Though we couldn’t afford the four weeks, we were very glad we stopped.

Firstly the town has become much more touristy since we were here before, not losing any of the old charms it had, though the Pasar Malam no longer exists but now it is a booming community.  And so are the surrounding outside villages.  It was a real eye opener on just how well Malaysia is doing.  The growth in this area was phenomenal.  But unlike other places where growth is huge, here they maintained a sense of good taste.  Yes, I think Lumut is still my favourite stop in West Malaysia.  And no, I still cannot say exactly why but it still has a small town atmosphere and at the same time, maintains a thriving community.

Some photos below.