My first impression of Alor Star was that the
train station is more
ulu than the one in Rawang. I know, I know, but it
really was the first of Alor Star I'd seen in person, apart from the glimpses
of paddy field through the KTM window. We'd travelled by night train, and I
fell asleep to the sounds of
clickety click from
Shern Ren’s laptop in
the bunk below.
First stop wasn't
Soo Tian’s home, but his former school, Kolej Sultan Abdul
Hamid, which has a gallery displaying pictures (and even birth certificates) of
her famous alumni, including Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Dr. Mahathir. We walked
to breakfast at a
mamak by the roadside of Jalan Langgar, and yes, there
have been accidents along that road.
After some rest and fetching
Joan who'd just arrived from Penang by bus, we
went for lunch of nasi kandar (such generous portions at not so generous
prices), before paying a visit to Rumah Merdeka, which is Tunku Abdul Rahman's
birthplace. Much of the furniture and belongings are left as is, to preserve
for us what Tunku's home was like. There is a quiet corner of the house
apparently used for reading, and being book loving dNAers, we spent quite some
time craning our necks over the barrier to see what books the Tunku had in his
possession. Among others, there were plenty about thoroughbreds (testimony to
his passion for horses), Islam, politics, and to our amazement, horror stories.
On the table I spotted an old copy of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the exact same
version (Arden) I used for STPM! The place is well maintained, with air
conditioning and two plasma screen televisions (not originally there, of
course). Outside the Tunku’s beautiful house was a beautiful garden, with a
stone walk, lampposts (Narnia!), trees, ponds, benches, a mini jetty, and some
unique outdoor tables and stools made directly from tree trunks and branches.
Later we went for the evening service at Alor Star Wesley
Methodist Church, and only then did some of us discover that another dNAer, Sze
Yao, is actually the pastor’s son. We also met the siblings of
Tzee Seong, yet
another dNAer from Alor Star.
The next morning we took a walk to the paddy fields,
and
Ben subjected his camera to miraculous balancing acts in precarious places,
just to get shots of us amongst what Kedah is best known for. It was hot out
there, but that didn’t stop us from taking silly videos, nor the suspiciously charged (energetic)
Tee Ming from running all the way home.
At the paddy museum, admission fees are not only
per person, but per camera too. The building is circularly shaped, and inside
everything is paddy, from the exhibits to the railings to the motifs on the
carpet. The middle floor (just beyond the entrance) had a few large murals, all
related to paddy of course, while the large pillars recounted the history of
local paddy cultivation. The bottom floor was everything you expect to see in a
paddy museum (the processes, different grades of paddy, related tools and
such). From the bottom floor we took the spiral staircase, which was made up to
resemble a dark cave, up to the top, where we found ourselves stepping onto a
revolving floor with chairs all round. The purpose was to facilitate
appreciation of a massive painting depicting Alor Star paddy fields, which occupied
the never ending length of the circular wall. Joan caught Shern Ren taking a nap, supposedly caused
by Ben who unwittingly locked him out of the guy’s room the night before.
Outside the premises Ben filmed a documentary on the water
buffalo. ‘Professor’ Shern Ren told us all about the fascinating movements of
its lower mandibles as well as the insect repellent qualities of the motor
mechanism in its ears.
Next stop was Dr. Mahathir’s birthplace, where we signed the
guestbook as “
Rombongan Lawat Soo Tian 2005”. Built from wood, the house
is on stilts and modestly furnished. Opposite the house are an auditorium and
two exhibition halls chronicling the life and career of the former prime
minister. Since photographs are strictly prohibited inside the buildings, we
only took pictures out of doors, including one at the (huge) replica of a paddy
harvest drum.
The afternoon was spent bumming and hanging out in Soo
Tian’s room, before we gobbled through a rushed KFC dinner, thanks to a certain
master of dalliance who was taking forever to pack. As day turned to night we
bade farewell and climbed onto the night train home.
For Joan's account and more pictures, click here.
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