Amoi rides in the kampungs: DRC 17.0 - Parit Sulong Memorial and Sungai Gersik Hot Springs (March 9-10, 2024)

Day 1

DRC 17.0 was launched in order for us to cover the Parit Sulong Massacre. We drove to Batu Pahat and rode along village roads to Parit Sulong. Of course, along the way, we added some sugar and spice to the route to lift our moods from an otherwise dark past!

The Parit Sulong Massacre has a direct relation to the Battle of Muar. After the fall of Muar, the Australian 8th Division and the 45th Indian Battalion were held up in Bukit Bakri. The Japanese had swarmed Muar and they were in danger of being surrounded.

Led by Lt Anderson, the soldiers abandoned their stand and made an attempt to reach British lines in Yong Peng. Leaving Bakri, they had to break through a Japanese roadblock just outside the town and faced several ambush along the way. When they finally reached Parit Sulong, they realized to their horror, the British had abandoned the village only a day before! By then, they were low on ammunition with many dead or seriously injured.

The bridge that traversed Sungai Simpang Kiri was the only way forward but this was heavily guarded by Japanese troops. After the first attempt to take the bridge failed, Lt Anderson sent 2 ambulances packed with seriously wounded soldiers to the bridge, seeking a through passage on humanitarian grounds. The injured needed immediate medical attention.

Instead of allowing the ambulances through to Yong Peng, they were stopped at the bridge and used as armour against attacks. The injured were not allowed to disembark with no food or water offered, let alone medical attention.

On the morning of 22 January 1942, allied aircraft dropped ammunition and medical supplies for the soldiers before raining artillery on the bridge. Grabbing this opportunity, Lt Anderson organised another attempt to take the bridge but again failed.

Realizing there was little hope of escape, he ordered all ammunition, vehicles and equipment to be destroyed before directing all able men to escape through the jungle. Those critically injured or too weak to run were left to surrender to Japanese troops.

These poor men were herded together. Those unable to move were immediately shot dead. The rest were stripped naked and locked up in the JKR building by the river without food, water or medical treatment. They were later, taken behind the building, shot at, doused with petrol and burnt with some still alive!

Local eyewitnesses claimed some of the prisoners of war were tied together and made to stand at the edge of the bridge. One of them will be shot at causing him to fall into the river bringing the rest down with him.

An estimate of 150 Australian and Indian soldiers died at Parit Sulong. Only 2 of the wounded men managed to escape, pretending to be dead before crawling away into the jungle. One of them, Lt Ben Hackney's testimonies led to the guilty verdict of Lt-Gen Nishimura. He was hanged in 1951 for war crimes.

Click below link for full account of Parit Sulong Massacre :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parit_Sulong_Massacre

Pasir Sulong Memorial unveiled on 4 September 2007.

It was initiated by Lynette Silver in 1997 but only materialized 10 years later after receiving the necessary funding and approvals. Contributions came from Office of Australian War Graves and staff of Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur

We drove to Batu Pahat in the morning and parked at Selera Benteng @ Laman Peserai, a food court by the Batu Pahat River

Laman Peserai

Playground by Laman Peserai

After a heavy breakfast of nasi beriani and kacang pool, we began the ride

There's a duck farm to our left here @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/9oSaMLdjrcxPvKAZ9

Jalan Benteng Kanan's new tarmac

Jalan Benteng Kanan on 27 June 2020, photo taken from our Makanthon BPM expedition

Jalan Benteng Kanan's Google Streetview is still from November 2020 and yet updated

We turned left here to Jalan Kg Pedada Kuning.

The road ahead looks paved . It will be interesting to check out if it is paved all the way to Jalan Parit Mampan Laut but that will have to wait for another adventure

Jalan Kg Pedada Kuning's canal is filled with gorgeous water lillies. They come in white and purple shades

Sometime after this photo was taken, we saw an adult sized wild boar floating in the canal!

Right ahead is the crossroad to Route 5. We rode straight on to Lorong Kubur

Lorong Kubur.

We rode past countless cemeteries on today's route

Gravel road immediately began after Lorong Kubor but no one protested @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/C5obDPYVVZycWYq8A

Rickety bridge @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/ToXVCHkakWxBQSu66

Thankfully, the gravel route is less than 1 km. Here we are, coming back to tarmac road @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/EDLxWXXfJQHmFG8SA

Fresh laundry hanging from a wooden house on stilts at Parit Besar Laut @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/JB1nf9qtpyvv3ny46

Wooden houses with Chinese influences

More wooden houses @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/RBvoov4wsTYq52uN6

CNY mood is still present @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/HU7GsxFpLMBjQoGm9

There's a watergate by the river

Inside the Chinese village of Bagan Laut

Goddess Mazu facing the sea at Bagan Laut

She is revered as the Goddess of the Sea. Seafarers worshipped her for protection

There are many folktales related to her but the common story is that she was an ordinary human being who dedicated herself to helping others. She died while rescuing people from the sea. A temple was built in honour of her sacrifices and overtime she was venerated as a God

There are many dogs in this village

View of the village from the sea

One of the structures built by the riverside

Fishing boats moored by the riverside

A lady with her 2 grandsons told us these are edible snails. One of them is the familiar siput belitung aka siput sedut as you need to suck hard at it to get the flesh out

Turns out the men we were talking to by the sea front were waiting for this boat to come home from sea

Some of the catch. We were told the nets are cast at sea and the catch brought in after 2-3 days

The main catch is flower crab. The rest are just accidental casualties caught in the net

The octopus was very sticky to the touch

Mantis Shrimp

Horse shoe crab

After Bagan Laut, we headed for Parit Sulong. This is along Jalan Parit Bengkok

There were many bridges along this road and most leads to houses and plantations. Many of the kampung houses are built with out house toilets as well

Junction to Route 24's Jalan Muar. This route was used by the retreating army from the Battle of Muar

Riding along Simpang Kiri River

Perfect platform for anglers or picnics but would you come here at night if you knew 150 men lost their lives here?

Playground next to the memorial

Reading materials

The JKR buildings where the POW were locked up

Testimony by Ben Hackney was such that the prisoners were brought behind this building before they were shot at, doused with petrol and set on fire with some still alive

Following a dredging of the river, human bones were found in the area. This led to a joint archeological survey between Australia and Malaysia involving 30 archeologist. anthropologist, surveyors, geologists, labourers, etc . However, no mass graves were found. The team then concluded that the remains of the soldiers were washed away to sea by the movement of the tides and monsoonal rains.

Photo credit : Lynette Silver

Local eyewitnesses claimed some POW were tied together and made to stand at the edge of the bridge. One POW will be shot, falling into the river and bringing the rest down with him

A picture of serenity. Who would have thought grisly murders were committed in this sleepy town?

After an early lunch at Assam Pedas Ibu in Parit Sulong, we rode to Tua Pek Kong temple in Parit Yaani.

J126's Jalan Parit Jalil intersects with many kampungs named after canals in the area. Reading the many kampung names that pops up with parit helps to kill boredom. There was Kg Parit Yusof, Kg Parit Jawa, Kg Parit Penghulu just to name a few!

Above photo is a brand new road yet identified on Google Maps. At the far end is the construction of Jambatan Panglima Salam

Red line is the brand new road

Strava screenshot. The left line is the new road we took to the river while the right line is the old kampung road we took to exit

On Google Maps, the navigation kept redirecting us. Note the arrow which depicts us floating through the palm oil estate!

Turning off to Tua Pek Kong Temple

Approaching the temple's gateway

Tua Pek Kong Temple

The temple is located at the confluence of 2 rivers, namely Simpang Kiri River and Simpang Kanan River. Both these 2 rivers empty into the Batu Pahat River which eventually flows into the sea

Jetty next to the temple

The common kitchen in this temple is used by the kampung folk for hangout and fishing.

While chatting with them, Claudine spotted the crocodile

The crocodile in the Batu Pahat River

Baby Patin struggling in the waters.

The flow of the river changes throughout the day, governed by the tide

Riding back to Batu Pahat. Masjid Jamek Kampung Selulun is partially captured in this photo

Having old school styled cakes and toasts at Han Kee @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/1hcZ3rME9HBX8CUt7

This was right after a roadside coconut drink stop on J126 and a cendol stop at Tongkang Pechah @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/1myk5wyy7eqSQsS67

Dinner at Stone Restaurant, a stone throw away from Han Kee

Simple dinner spread because we were too full to eat

Desserts House which is a stone throw away from Stone Restaurant!

All the desserts here are super duper good. Pictured here is Beancurd in gula melaka

Happy hour

Our campsite.

Everyone has their preferred sleeping arrangements. Thankfully those who slept on the ground were not attacked by Mr Croc as we saw his glowing eyes in the waters that night

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DAY 2

Breaking of dawn

Packing up

Jambatan Panglima Salam

Simpang Kiri River which flows from Parit Sulong

Tua Pek Kong temple

According to the locals, the construction of this river is delayed due to technical issues. Boulders thrown into the river drifts away very quickly.

Perhaps the place is cursed by the dead soldiers?

The bridge to nowhere

Sungai Gersik Hotsprings is managed by the municipal council

Source of the hot spring is at the center

You can see bubbles escaping.

This spring was discovered in 1911 when Tuan Haji Abdul Rahman ventured into the forest in search of timbre. What he saw was a muddy surface with water and steam bubbling out from the ground. Not knowing what it was, he ran home abandoning the timbre that he had collected. It was only 3 months later that the kampung folk led by Tuan Haji, found the location of the spring again