There are plenty of things to do and see in the charming coastal town of Kuala Selangor, which is located close to the sea. Aside from river activities such as boating and fishing, you can also enjoy great seafood here. Kuala Selangor is also popular for firefly watching.

After playing with the monkeys on Bukit Malawati, we drove about 10 minutes away to Kampung Bagan Penampang for dinner. Located just next to the mouth of the Selangor River, this quaint fishing village has two temples and charming wooden houses on stilts built to prevent the high tide from flooding their homes.

The restaurant we had dinner at was called Bagan Seafood Restaurant. The shop is an open air structure built out to sea on wood and concrete. Typical of Chinese restaurants, the tables are red with simple plastic chairs. There is a tank of live fish at the front where guests can choose their prefered seafood cooked to order. The restaurant serves pork-free dishes.

Scenery from the restaurant, which was picturesque. We saw some mudskippers in the shallow water.

Several fishing and commercial boats were docked by the river.

I was feeling ravenous from all that walking; couldn’t wait to chow down on the food!

First on the menu was  stir-fried vegetables, with lotus root, button mushrooms, carrots, water cressnuts and beans.

Curry bamboo clams. I like these clams but they are quite hard to find in KL (regular seafood restos often don’t carry them). I could really taste the fragrance of the curry, but I felt that it was not flavourful enough. Still, quite yummy.

Salted egg ‘squid’ on the menu turned out to be tiny little octopi. They were crunchy and fried whole, while the salted egg had a hint of sweetness to it. By far my favourite item on our list of dishes.

We also had ojian (oyster omelette). The version in seafood restos are real omelettes, very eggy, with chunks of oyster. I actually prefer the ones cooked with starch.

Last but not least, tofu broth. This tasted like sharks fin soup, minus the sharks fin, and had Shiitake mushroom slices, soft sillky tofu and crab meat chunks in it.

All in all, I think the food here is pretty tasty and it’s nice to dine by the river in an idyllic village setting.

BAGAN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 

No 285, Jalan Feri Lama, Kampong Pasir Penambang, 45 000 Kuala Selangor, Selangor, Malaysia.

• 603-3281 1261

After dinner, we explored the nearby fishing village. It is very authentic, with many of the houses still retaining their traditional wooden architecture. There were a few that were dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, but most were maintained well.

The immediate vicinity of the river around the village was dirty and strewn with rubbish. Idk what it is with river villages, but they’re all too often in a filthy condition. Maybe it’s coz they don’t have a proper garbage disposal system.

Simple wooden homes with paved concrete roads. Cars can’t come in. Villagers either walk in and out or drive motorbikes/bicycles.

Another smaller temple within the village.

By the time we left it was growing dark. Time for the highlight of our visit – theFirefly Park! We went to the one in Bukit Belimbing, about 15 mins drive away. There’s nothing to do here except look at fireflies, but if you’re lazy to drive around you can opt to stay overnight here in chalets.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures because pix of the fireflies using flash are not allowed as it will kill the fireflies.

Our boat arrived at 7.45pm and we donned vests. The boat is motor powered but silent, and we sliced through the water like a knife through butter. On both sides of the river are mangrove trees where the firefly colony live. It was worth feeding the mozzies because watching the trees light up with small, blinking lights like a Christmas tree was pretty magical.

The ride took us close to the leaves where the fireflies were dancing – they were so tiny!

The boat ride took about 30-40 mins, and I was covered in mozzie bites by the time we got back to shore, but I think it was worth it.

Firefly Park Resort (Kuala Selangor) Sdn Bhd

Jalan Haji Omar, Kampung Bukit Belimbing, 45000 Kuala Selangor,Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.

Tel: 603-3260 1208

Tickets: RM15 per pax

Overall a fun day being a tourist in my own country! I think I should visit more of these charming places outside of the city instead of heading to the mall everytime.