North Peninsular Day 1 - Sitiawan, Kuala Kangsar, Perak Museum, Taiping Lake Garden

August 2019 I traveled to Malaysia Northern States and South Thailand. This was my first time driving in a foreign country. It was also my first time visiting Thailand. I felt a bit nervous but as the time goes by I enjoyed the journey.

Departed from KL around 7 a.m. and reached Sitiawan for brunch and short break. Since Sitiawan is the hometown of Foochew people, I had some Foochew noodle (福州滷麵). The taste was a bit bland tho. Also bought some Foochew bagel (福州光餅) from Cheong Cia Kong Pian (曾記光餅). The traditional bagel is still baked with charcoal. It's very crispy at the outside, the onion and and pork (fat) aroma is very strong. Remember to have it while it's freshly baked. It might be chewy and greasy after it's cold.

My first visit stop is the Royal Town Kuala Kangsar. Unlike Kota Bharu, the (old) royal residence is located in the middle of the town and surrounded by peasant living quarters, (old) royal residence in Kuala Kangsar takes up south-eastern part of the town and bordered by Perak river.
   
State mosque Ubudiah Mosque. Opposite the mosque is Baitol Anor, mansion owned by Tukang Sofian (master craftsman who built a lot of royal buildings) which is now left in disrepair.

Next I went to Istana Kenangan. I have read on online review dated more than one year saying this royal museum was under maintenance. I was rather disappointed when it was still under maintenance during my visit and even during the time of writing (October 2019). 

You can see through the scaffold the building is actually quite elegant.

Next I went to Gallery Sultan Azlan Shah, which is also under maintenance... I took a photo and hopped on my car.

Do you know the oldest Rubber tree in Malaysia is planted in Kuala Kangsar? It's actually planted in front of Kuala Kangsar Land and District Office.

At the end of the road is the Pavillion Tower. It is said that the royalties used to watch horse racing from the tower. But as the time passes, the race course is no more; the tower was surrounded by traffic web, its existence is out-of-the-way.

I left Kuala Kangsar around 1 p.m. for Taiping.

First stop in Taiping is Perak Museum. Touted as the first museum in Malaysia, it was built in year 1883. The building is in English style.

Meriam at the entrance. What is the origin of Malay "meriam" anyway?

Perak Museum have not actually in my humble opinion live up to its name, unfortunately. There are not much interesting collections that Perak Museum can offer to local and foreign visitor. One of the few alluring artifacts is this Avalokitesvara statue they found accidentally at Bidor, Perak. It has been dated to 7th to 12th century. I have found some info about the statue on this website.

Another impressive selling point is the Orang Asli exhibition hall. They exhibit some intriguing Orang Asli artifacts, totems, statues and masks. This reminds me of Lévi-Strauss's Totemism and The Way of the Masks.

Around 5 p.m. I went to Taiping Lake Garden. I spent some time looking for parking as the park is crowded even on weekday. Most of the visitors were locals bringing their kids to the playground or jogging around.

The environment is serene and relaxing. Bukit Larut is in the sight. Sitting there idling and watching the clear reflection is just very satisfying.