Pasir Gudang Kite Museum

Pasir Gudang is a port and industrial town east of Johor Bahru, and its improbable claim to attention is kites: the town runs an international kite festival, drawing fliers from dozens of countries to a hill field each year, usually in February, and the museum on the same hill, opened in February 2002 during the seventh festival, holds the collection that grew out of it - Malaysian wau in their regional forms, especially the wau bulan moon kite of Kelantan with its crescent tail, alongside kites from China, Japan, Indonesia, Europe and the Americas, some enormous. There are displays on construction, on the bamboo framing and paper cutting, and on the sound-producing bows fitted to traditional wau. Outside festival week the museum is quiet and the hill is a viewpoint over the port and the strait.

History

The museum was established in February 2002, during the seventh Pasir Gudang International Kite Festival (Wikipedia, Kite Museum (Johor)).

What you'll find

• Malaysian wau - regional forms including the crescent-tailed wau bulan.
• An international collection - kites from across Asia, Europe and the Americas.
• Construction displays - bamboo framing, paper cutting and humming bows.
• The festival hill - the flying field with a view over the port.

When to go

February for the festival; any time for the museum. An hour or two.

What to expect

The museum is small and captions are limited in English. Outside the festival there is nothing flying. Pasir Gudang is an industrial town with little else for visitors.

Nearby

Johor Bahru is west; Kota Johor Lama and Kota Tinggi are east.

Key facts