Batu Pahat is a working market town rather than a sightseeing destination, and the pleasure of a visit is in the day-to-day texture: kopitiams, shophouse rows, night markets. Two specific reasons to come are the Lesser Adjutant storks at Taman Parit Labis — one of the few reliable places in Malaysia to see these endangered birds — and the Telaga Batu Pahat, the ancient well that gave the town its name. Add a half-day climb up Mount Banang for the view, and a wander down Jalan Penggaram for the pre-war shophouses.