Alor Setar was my next destination as my journey continues to the North. After a good breakfast, we headed northbound to another day of fun and adventure. I must say that the sun did not let up on us and shone brightly emitting a tremendous stroke of heatwave too. Anyway, it did not seemed to damper our spirit to experience the cultural rich rice land of the North.
Using Waze ( thanks to Wave, actually, for being the most used apps in our handphones ) , we moved along off beaten track roads, kampungs and mountainous views to arrive at Muzium Padi or Paddy Museum in Alor Setar. Adorning the front of the museum is the intriguing Gunung Keriang.
With lush greenery and new rest houses and restaurant, Gunung Keriang looked set to be the next place of interest though the back section of the mountain is where a bustling pasar pagi was on-going that morning. I was informed that there was also a row of crystal shops along the back section and a trail around the mountain which would interest the mountain climbing enthusiast buffs.
Coming back to the Paddy Museum , that morning, two bus load of kindergarten children were at the museum. You can imagine the ruckus and the amount of noise in the museum. You see a handful of teachers ( a mixture of young and old ) running around ; chasing the children and goading them move around from exhibits to exhibits. It was fun seeing the little children enjoying the trip and tripping one another in the process of moving along. The teachers looked exhausted, man. The museum on the whole was just a normal one.
The spectacular of the museum is actually dome paintings of the surrounding area of the museum at the mezzanine floor. The colours, the precise details and even delicate shades were vibrant and good. We posed pictures there while standing at the rotating round stand. It is like you are on a turntable and the "music" of painting move slowly for you to enjoy the scenes. It was great. As for the items and relics in the museum, there are a lot of tools and equipment associated with paddy planting , cultivation and side activities. For one, assorted fish traps were aplenty on showcase while bird trappings were a familiar sight for me in those younger days of mine.
By this time our stomach were rumblings signalling the need to fill up the tummy with some goodies. Somehow, we traveled by faith heading towards Alor Setar town and we noted that there was one particular food joint where the queue was long. Equipped with the common sense that a packed crowd means good food, we stopped by at the Jawi written food restaurant by the road and decided to sample their food fare. We chose ikan goreng chili, begedil daging, kari ikan pari, telur dadar and sambal belacan. The food was quite tasty and with sitting place facing the cut paddy fields, it would have been nice if there were green paddy stalks growing in the fields. That would have been perfect,actually. Though we do get some curious smiles and stares from the people as though we "sesat" to this place,
I have only one principle when eating in a local place - don't ever stop a hungry man or his family from having their meal!! Hahahhaaaaaaaaaaaa..... To be honest, the Malay lady proprietor was courteous and accommodating to us while many customers gave us warm smiles especially when I used my fingers to have lunch. I guess, I love the taste of spices, chili and taste while eating with the fingers. Yummmmmyyy!!!!
From here , we proceeded further down and tasted "Laksa Sekoq" which simply means laksa Kedah with a whole Ikan Kembung or Indian Mackerel ( Yes folks, I did not make this up! ) in your plate. Tasty is my verdict and this is agreeable with SYuen and SLing. I must admit, I hardly eat fish at home as I am generally a meat eater but I could not resist having Laksa Kedah as it is really nice and to my taste bud liking. So, I walloped my plate of Laksa Kedah in record minutes and never felt so full n my life!!!
We then proceeded toward Alor Setar town and knowing my passion for paintings, we headed towards Balai Seni. We were greeted with disappointment as Balai Seni had rented out their building to Petrosains to hold their Dinosaur Exhibition and charged an exorbitantly for entrance. Bah! We just got our asses off the property and headed towards Dr.M birthplace in town. As I passed through the town , it was great to reminiscence the days I was here to do some flood work way back then.
Dr.M birthplace and the old house looked great. Typical Malay home with a nice bottom side place when things gets hot up on the upper floor. Things from Dr.M era were intact in that house and what like most was the kitchen area with the old Malay window openings.
You don't see those type of windows no more and it is such a delight to see the simple construction of it. Yeah, I am amazed with old construction, architecture and even wood carvings. These are memories that I grew up with as I roamed the streets at Jonker Street, Jalan Tukang Besi, Heeren Street and all the other old buildings in Melaka when I was younger. It was fun then and always will be for me, I guess.
Coming to Dr.M birthplace, there were two exhibition hall and an auditorium erected which held his doctor days medical kits, tools, regalia , certificates and all other things. Nothing fancy but a history of Dr.M nevertheless. Interestingly, looking into the family tree, there weren't any hint of Indian heritage..... that seemed strange enough.... though it seemed otherwise, right? Well, history being altered,perhaps? You will never know , right? Or what will they do next? Hmmmmmnnn.....more mysterious that Kellie's Castle, I guess!!!!
With still time to spare, we headed toward the district of Yan to catch the cool air of Gunung Jerai. Thanks to Waze , we made it to the foothill of Gunung Jerai and were transported up there after hiring a van as it would strenuous for our car to go up. It wasn't that cold up there mainly because of the hot weather that had battered Kedah state as a whole. It would have been a great sight had the clouds cleared and a spectre of town outline could be seen clearly. The resort looked good and the occasional cold breeze brought me back to the days when I was up here with my college mates in the early years. It was so different then and presently, with better resort like room facilities and nice individual units, it would have been fun to stay for the night. However, I must say that one night would have been enough because you wouldn't know what to do being up here unless you are here to just eat, sleep and rest with no activities in your mind.
By this time, SLing and SYuen were really exhausted as the sun had zapped their energy level. We spent about 40 minutes up at Gunung Jerai and soon, it was time for us to travel down and head home. As I was driving them home to Penang after a day of fun in Kedah, I told my two women that I hoped that someday, my children would bring their children for an adventure like this. It would have been fun and memorable even though it isn't the popular thing to do these days, Guess, the younger ones are more interested in air-conditioned malls, shopping centres and hip & trendy places rather than culturally rich museum, places of interest and even art pieces. Before I could even get any reply, I could hear the soft snores and the quietness of my two women. Both were slumped and propped nicely in their seats and sleeping away. I just smiled to myself as I drove from Yan to Penang that evening savoring every moment I had spent that day.
I guess, these places of interest and museums are no more an attraction to the younger generation. I would be thrilled to bits if I were to walked into an old rustic cafe or an old place and just enjoy the memorabilia on the walls. They are so rich culturally and in heritage value but I guess, the euphoria of shopping, reliance on the comfort of modern things and living in the fast lane of modernisation has taken out all the joys of simple things in life we once used to treasure. Guess, there still some hardcore old school bumpkins like me who will still enjoy these things no matter what happens as the memories and things are part of my growing up years.
Maybe I am an old fool romantic or even an old sentimental fool, you may say but those memories are just so priceless to me. How about you? Could you remember something great or even a poignant moment when you were growing up? First love, perhaps? First guppy fish or fighting fish caught in the longkang? First trip to the bucket toilet? Did it cracked a smile on your face or made you chuckled at your silliness? That, my friend , is priceless and what I hope to achieve everyday in my life while making new memories to last a lifetime!
No comments:
Post a Comment