Perlis is the smallest state in Malaysia, perched high up between Kedah and Thailand. We decided to make a day trip from Alor Setar (Kedah) on this Day 12 of our Malaysian Road Trip 2020. It had rained heavily all night and was very cloudy; weather which adversely affected our plans for the day.
Our first destination was a 1.5 hour drive north to Gua Kelam, to explore one of the reknowned cave systems in Perlis. We, and many other visitors, arrived at the location to find the barriers down as everything was closed, accept for a stall in the carpark. The reason for the closure was obvious; clearly both visible and audible. The river running through the cave system was very full and flowing very fast and it simply was not safe to go inside. While we were disappointed, we were pleased that the park officials were looking after our safety at the expense of lost revenue.
So we drove a little further north to the Wang Kelian viewpoint, close to the Malaysia-Thailand border. This is on the left side of the road from Gua Kelam, and there is a small road to take you up to the viewing point, no need to park at the bottom of the hill. Because we were so high, and the clouds were so low, we could see very little of the view!
As we drove back down the hill, the clouds started to lift and we found somewhere to pull over and take some photos. I think you can see from this images that the scenery here in Perlis is striking, with the flat pains dotted with very large rock outcrops. The double-humped rock in the bottom photo is called Bukit Keteri, which is a popular rock climbing destination.
Back in the lowlands, we drove trhough paddy fields, lush with green-yellow rice plants, and for much of the time we had the roads to ourselves.
While we were on our travels, we had been told that Perlis was the cobra capital of the world! Apparently, cobra smuggling across the Malaysia-Thailand border is a very profitable business. With extra time available to us today, we decided to visit a snake farm, but chose the wrong snake farm! We should have asked Google Maps to take us to the Snake Park. Anyway, we were directed down tiny lanes off the main road until we had no option but to stop as the remaining road was not wide enough for the car.
This unexpected stop did allow Lawrence the opportunity to put his drone up to get some shots of the paddy fields. This was the first time we had found somewhere without too many trees and other vertical hazards. So Lawrence sheltered from the drizzling rain while sending his drone out over the fields.
By now we were very hungry, so stopped in Kangar, the capital city of Perlis, at a KFC for lunch. We had also been advised to look out for a street full of murals in Kangar, and fortunately I spotted the street as I was returning to the car after lunch. (Kangar Artstreet 2.0 at Pusat Bandar Kangar) Malaysia has quite a few mural artists and it is a great way to brighten up drab buildings, and present something of a talking point for visitors.
Our next destination was further southwest at the Kota Kayang Museum. This was an excellent museum, only lacking a few extra working lightbulbs! The museum is on the site of an old palace, and the location of the Indera Kayangan Fort of the 17th century. At this time, Perlis was already building irrigation canals to improve the rice yield, and had connected this fort with a waterway to the River Perlis.
The museum is full of historical information plus some interesting opinions. For example, the turmoil between Perlis, Kedah, and the Siamese government over land was an ongoing conflict in the past. According to an information board, “The cruelty of the Siamese government towards war victims without displaying any consideration evoked the feelings of hatred among the locals.” This is given as the justification for the Malay’s fight for independence and for the King of Siam insisting on having pro-Siam Malay governers in the region. The other interesting point in the same information panel is this statement, “… the arrival of thousands of army from Bangkok along with the assistance of two-faced British enabled the Siamese government to endure the attacks.” The history of the relationship between the northern states of Malaysia and the colonial British in the 19th century is indeed fascinating, but here is not the place to discuss this further.
All the museums we visited on this trip had a display of keris/kris. I love looking at the handles of these weapons and learnt today that the maker of a keris was considered in high esteem by the ruler as his ability to produce a ‘special’ keris would ensure that the ruler is able to continue his legacy. To do this, the maker of the keris, the ‘empu’, must be a person of good character, both spiritually and physically. These weapons are endowed with unique power and wonders. Apparently this is not the case today, so presumably the current ‘empu’ are not of such good character!
Behind the museum was a lovely garden with a large muddy fish pond. So we bought some fish food, but the fish were too fast for me to photograph.
Around one side of the museum houses a mausoleum to Al-Marhum Kayang the First (1661-1687), the 15th Sultan of Kedah. He seems to have been significant in introducing specific laws for Kedah, along with some major developments in bureaucracy and structural engineering.
We continued driving south towards the coast and Kuala Perlis to be faced by the masses disembarking from a ferry from Langkawi. The intense heat today and the crowded roads made us want to head straight back to the carpark.
It was chaos so we struggled along the road to the Masjid Al Hussain at the end to have some purpose. This is another ‘floating’ mosque, probably best photographed at night when it is lit up.
So we drove back to Alor Setar and decided to treat ourselves again to dinner at the Hoya Japanese Cuisine. Another delicious meal with sake to help end our stay in Alor Setar.
Both Kedah and Perlis had turned out to be surprisingly interesting to tour around. Both are full of natural beauty and well-presented museums, so there is something for everyone here.
Here is a slide show of the photos taken on Day 12:
Click here to return to The Great Malaysian Road Trip.
Click here to read Lawrence Gray’s account of The treacherous British!.
Click here to return to Travels in Malaysia 2020.
Click here to return to Helen Gray’s homepage.