We are temporarily closed for renovation.

Dear guests,

We are taking this time at the moment to temporarily close for renovations.  We value all your support and patronage, and look forward to having you back later this year.

Yours,
Kamariah & Ibrahim

Teluk Iskandar Inn

These photos taken at various times showing some of the the facilities available at the inn and the scenic views.

Mango season at the Inn

The inn is home to two large and beautiful mango trees. They are estimated to be about 80-100 years old and provide a bounty of fruit every year. Looking at them, they are the sort of tree, Totoro might want to play the flute in at night.

Ibrahim and Kamariah kept the trees when they were constructing the inn, and had to painstakingly monitor the contractors,  to ensure that they didn't damage the trees on the land.

Every day brings a bag or two of mangoes to the inn, which Kamariah transforms through culinary magic into mango chutney,  sambal, jams and mango fruit tart !

Hornbill sighting

It has been a week of Hornbills. They have come to visit Teluk Iskandar Inn in pairs and even larger groups all week. They can be recognized by their distinctive calls and are lovely to see.

This pair was spotted on the wood shed, about 50m away from the inn.

Grainy pictures taken with a 3X zoom camera. Had to resort to digital zoom.

Selamat Hari Raya

To all our guests and friends

We wish you wonderful Selamat Hari Raya !

Local kids coming to visit Iskandar Inn for raya sweet and goodies!

Busy summer

We would like to thank our guests for making it a wonderful summer at Iskandar Inn.
It has been a lot of fun sharing Mersing with them.

J&S sent us these nice pics from their visit

Iskandar Inn by night

Thanks J&S

Happy Chinese New Year 2010

We wish you all a wonderful holiday weekend and
Gong Xi Fa Chai.

Happy year of the Tiger. May it bring peace and prosperity to all.

Apologies

It appears that someone had gotten into my account and spam was posted onto this website. Our apologies for all those that had to deal with the spam.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.
We wish a peaceful and wonderful holiday season to our guests and patrons.

Come visit us during the Monsoon, Dec, Jan and Feb are wonderful months
to enjoy Mersing town, feel the power of the monsoon wind and waves.
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't rain that often and to top it off, there
are no bugs -)

Image courtesy of Sea Life gifts.

Reopening

Hi Guests and friends

We'll reopen on 15 Nov.'09. Looking forward to see you all again.

Temporarily Under Renovation

Teluk Iskandar Inn is temporarily under renovation and will open again in November. Happy Hari Raya! Thanks!

Partial Solar Eclipse

In addition to the moths, we also were able to witness a partial solar eclipse this morning at 7:55AM. The day started out cloudy, and we noticed that we hadn't heard the usual chirping of the birds early in the morning. Could it be because of the eclipse? Shahril and Teresa went down to the beach and tried an indirect method of viewing the eclipse by pointing a binoculars towards the sun, and aiming the captured light onto a piece of white paper. We observed the eclipse this way.

As an aside, the birds eventually came out, and we heard/saw two hornbills up on the coconut tree!

Unidentified Flying Objects

It has been a very interesting last couple of days. We have had several moth-like visitors come to the house, fly about the kitchen and the patio, and then leave. Shahril got one of them to land on his rambutan.

Wildboar Sighting -)

Its a good sign of biodiversity.

When Ibrahim and Kamariah first set up Iskandar Inn about 12 years ago there were hardly any street lights and most of the area was still somewhat wild.

Today, its a vibrant community dotted with nice houses, inns and places to eat.

Its a good sign to see hornbills and wildboars still among us ! Nature is still with us !

Happy New Year and a Prosperous 2009 to all !

(contrary to popular belief wildboar don't charge people at random. They are quite shy and stay away from people)

Late Monsoon

It is almost the end of monsoon season in Mersing and one of the nicest times of year to visit. Travel to the islands can be a bit tricky, although I find it pleasant to just hang out in town without the summer tourist crowds. At this time of year, East Malaysia can feel like Cameron Highlands, with cool windy breezes; a break from the heat of Singapore or Kuala Lumpur city.

The weather is generally cool and windy with occasional storms. At the Inn you can see the strong waves pounding the shore and by night the sounds of the crashing waves will lull you into a deep restful sleep.

Featured in NST!

We are proud to say we were featured in the weekly travel section of the New Straits Times. Written by Peggy Loh.


We've quoted the article down below:

Short Break: English touch in kampung homestay

PEGGY LOH

There are only seven rooms but it’s the cosy size and the two friendly owners that attract PEGGY LOH to the Teluk Iskandar Inn.
GRAVEL crunched under my feet as I walked up the garden path from the gate. In a garden fringed by shady trees, bougainvillea blossoms ran a riot of bright colours in stark contrast to green tropical ferns. The gleaming green VW bug in the garage was a clue to how much the owners cared for this little inn.

With my mind set on relaxing and recharging my tired batteries, I welcomed the attentive yet unobtrusive attention from my hosts, Kamariah and Ibrahim. Their greeting in flawless English made me feel very welcomed.

The Teluk Iskandar Inn is a modern kampung house built with a clever combination of brick and wood sprawled across a grassy knoll. There is a panoramic view of a matured garden against the backdrop of the South China Sea. It is designed with seven guest rooms with garden and sea views and are linked to their tropical kampung home in an interesting split-level sprawl.

With their sons grown-up and living abroad, the husband and wife have chosen to stay in Mersing and to open their home to guests for a very special homestay experience.

Dressed in baju kurung, the petite Kamariah explained that they enjoyed managing the inn, taking on multiple roles as manager, housekeeper, waiter, gardener, cook, driver and even tour guide.

What To Do

The balmy sea breeze through the open verandah was a pleasant change even though there was air-conditioning in the room. Lazing in the privacy of my shady verandah, I was soothed by the symphony serenade courtesy of beetles and crickets. And it was absolutely refreshing to wake up to after an afternoon snooze!

My room was clean and cosy, with woven mats on the wooden floors and a bedside lamp for late-night reading. But I was totally charmed by the mosquito net over the double bed. Cocooned within its gauzy drapes, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep!

Blades of sunlight sneaking through the wooden slats told me it was morning. Sinking deeper into the snug bed, I recalled how Kamariah and Ibrahim assured me there was no wake-up call – so I could sleep in until I was ready to get up.

Meals were served in a little sunken dining nook, surrounded by greenery. The Bed & Breakfast package included fragrant nasi lemak and yummy Malay kuih. I was glad there was a choice of a full board package because I was loathe to leave the confines of this comfortable inn!

Lingering over a second cup of local coffee, I soaked in the laid-back pace of life here, delighting in the interesting and amusing anecdotes shared by Kamariah and Ibrahim.

Then I was invited to write in their Guest Book. Flipping through the pages scrawled with all manner of handwriting, I noticed that their guests, many of them repeats, were a host of nationalities that made up a veritable United Nations!

After a slow start to the day, I took my time to think about what I wanted to do. Should I take a stroll to the nearby sandy cove for an invigorating swim or chill out in the cool alcove under the raised rooms? Perhaps I would accompany Kamariah to the market or go island-hopping as Ibrahim suggested. Whatever I would pick, I was already starting to feel more like myself.

How To Get There

Teluk Iskandar Inn is located at 1456, Jalan Sekakap in Kampung Teluk Iskandar, Mersing. Visitors from the North should exit the North-South Highway at the Air Hitam toll and head towards Kluang. Just before the town, take a three o’clock turn off the roundabout to drive towards Mersing. It is about five hours from Kuala Lumpur.

Or enjoy a two-hour scenic drive from Johor Baru to Mersing via Kota Tinggi. About 4 kms before Mersing town, turn right off the trunk road in the direction of Camp Iskandar and then turn left at the T-junction. Directions to Teluk Iskandar Inn are clearly signposted.

For reservations, call 07-799 6037 or 019-7048 624. Email: mersing_duo@yahoo.com. For more info, visit webpage: www.iskandarinn.com

http://www.nst.com.my/Weekly/Travel/article/
Destinations/20070716105743/Article/

Monsoon

It's monsoon season in Mersing at the moment. Most visitors don't experience monsoon weather in Mersing because the sea is too rough for transportation to the smaller islands. However, monsoon is a great time to experience East Malaysia in an entirely different context. The weather is cool and windy, and the sea is strong and rough from the North East currents. There are few insects because most of them are blown away by the winds! Its a wonderful time to visit, snoozing to the sounds of the waves and a chance to experience the power of some of the occasional storms. The weather makes you want to make a hot pot of tea and read.

Luckily the new roof is on the inn and the rooms are dry and cosy. We're now in the process of finishing the remaining rooms.

Two of the rooms are ready for visitors and look forward to seeing you soon!

Renovations

We've been upgrading, doing renovations and been a bit busy getting a new roof up. The old roof, UAC shingles had become brittle and developed leaks after just 11 years. The new roof is done with clay tiles from Batu Pahat and they guarantee them for life; so it should last a while and keep the place cool during the day. As a result of these renovations we had to close the Inn temporarily. We expect to reopen in time for Christmas Holidays and are looking forward to having our regulars once again. All our rooms are now air-conditioned except the one with large deck facing the sea.

Sea Kayak

Teluk Iskandar Inn has a fiberglass row boat, but its always been a bit heavy to maneuver. Being heavy, its quite a chore to lift to the beach for exploring the beautiful coves around the inn. Although a few of the more adventurous guests have tried it out.

So when Shahril heard about an inflatable kayak, he jumped at it. It can be found at Corezone in Kuala Lumpur or at Amazon. Pump and paddles were not included but can be bought at either store or any other kayaking outlet. The Sevylor kayak is inflatable, fits in the trunk of a car and can be set up in about 30 minutes. It's quite easy to maneuver and handles the waves rather well. The kayak is not for guests but may give you an idea of possible activities to do in Mersing.

The kayak has been taken out by Shahril and Teresa a few times, the longest trip so far has been about 4km's along the coast. From the sea, in a kayak you get a whole new perspective on this wonderful place, its interesting coastline and a chance to view sea otters, flying fish and all types of water birds.

Butter making at Teluk Iskandar Inn

Gucharan delivers a quart of fresh milk to Teluk Iskandar Inn on a daily basis. A few times a week we also get yogurt. The milk is non pasteurized, and is wonderful tasting. Teresa decided to make butter from a simple butter recipe she found off the Internet. The recipe involves skimming cream after it floats to the top of the raw milk. This process of skimming cream took about a week because you can only get a few teaspoons of cream from each quart of milk. The cream was collected in a jar, and the jar was shaken until butter formed. The butter was washed and salted. Here is a picture of Teresa with Kamariah and the finished product. Kal assisted with washing the butter and shaking the cream. Shahril made toast so we could all enjoy the butter.

Next project - paneer!