TWO "COW's" ON THEIR SECOND MALAYSIAN ROAD TRIP

Why two "cows"? These are endearing terms used by Nik Zainin, my companion on the road trip, from 1984/85 when we did a course in Birmingham, UK. In our discussion on the Product Life Cycle, I had introduced the terms "Cash Cow" and "Mature Cow" to denote two phases of that cycle. Nik then proudly identified himself as the "Mature Cow", "Lau Goo" in the Hokkien dialect and likened me to the "Cash Cow", "Lui Goo" in the same dialect. This road trip is the second we did, having taken one to the Malaysian East Coast last year. After picking me in KL, we undertook a slow drive to Perlis, which both of us have not visited before. On the way, we deviated from the highway to the Old Trunk Road for lunch and down memory lane. Yik Mun is the place to go for very good "Pao" or steamed meat dumplings.  

Since opening in 1926, the shop has received many accolades from the media, foodies and other patrons. Here is a sampling of some of them.

 

As many other towns go, Tg Malim is mostly unchanged, except that it has crept outwards as the population increased.Yik Mun is located at this major intersection in Tg Malim. We also drove thru Slim River in memory of the Malayan Campaign from WWII.

Arau, capital of Perlis, on a sleepy morning. Perlis is the smallest state in Malaysia with a land area similar to Singapore's. Perlis is a rice-producing state and padi fields made many of their roads straight and long. Oh, btw, the white car, a 10-year old Perodua Viva 850 cc, (manual) took us around for this and the earlier trip to the East Coast.

Arau breakfast.

The Sultan's Palace (Istana).

Lau Goo preparing to enter Yala Province, Thailand, via Padang Besar, the name given for the towns on both sides of the border.

A Gaharu distillery. Gaharu is an oil extracted from the tree called Agarwood, much sought after for the making of perfume. Wood chips are boiled to extract Gaharu from the steam. Agarwood is endemic to the  the former Indochinese countries and Thailand.

Slicing off a piece of Agarwood trunk to extract Gaharu. The whole process was a learning one for me.

Southern Thai cuisine is quite similar to Malaysian East Coast's. They serve Nasi Dagang, Nasi Minyak and Nasi Kerabu. This breakfast was Nasi Kerabu with fried chicken and fish. Plenty of fresh vegetables, which are gratis, to be had with sambal belacan too.

This Yala Sharma provided music as we ate.

Lui Goo and Lau Goo are on the left with Melayu Pattani on the right. Many Southern Thais, especially in the four southernmost provinces are Malays. They refer to themselves as " Melayu Pattani" and speak a language very similar to Kelantanese. The guy with the chequered shirt is the boss of the shop. 

"Pulot Pauh" as the Yala name goes, meaning "Mango Sticky Rice", a favourite Thai dessert. This one is ostensibly the best in Yala.

Our lunch in the house of Pak Chu, our host in Yala. On the left is Thai Mongthong Durian which goes with the rice as a dish. No one is complaining except those who may be suffering from Diabetes!

Dinner at a cafe in Cenang Beach in P Langkawi. On the main street are found the restaurants but cafes aplenty at the beachfront. Dinner was accompanied by music from a life band. Cenang Beach is also where many foreigners are found partying away at the many cafes.

Cenang Beach is a long stretch of beach with fine sand, cafes, music, booze and party goers from abroad.

TWO "COW's" ON THEIR SECOND MALAYSIAN ROAD TRIP (Continued)

Some people may credit Tun Dr Mahathir for turning P Langkawi into the dynamic and vibrant island it is now. There is a legend of a pretty woman, Princess Mahsuri, who was accused of adultery with another man while her husband was away fighting the country of Siam (now Thailand). Even though she pleaded her innocence, she was stabbed to death using her family's "keris". White blood flowed out which signified her innocence. Upon her death, she supposedly cast a spell on the island to be desolate for seven generations.That happened more than 200 years ago. Even though the seven generations had not come to pass, Dr M declared it a duty-free zone and it has prospered to be a vibrant island beaming with tourism and  economic success. These photographs at the Mahsuri Mausoleum show members of her family.

This is Mahsuri's tomb.

The town of Kuah in Langkawi taken from Gunung Raya. In the mornings and evenings, many Horn bills can be seen on this mountain.

Pantai Pasir Hitam (Black Sand Beach) is a stretch of beach on the island where black sand can be seen.

Beach umbrellas on hire on a stretch of beach popular with tourists.

A hole of the Ernie Els-designed Teluk Datai-Rainforest Golf Course of Langkawi with Gunung Mat Cincang in the background.

On the way out from Langkawi to Alor Setar, we stopped at this place in Kuala Perlis for fresh and reasonably priced seafood.

Masjid Zahir is the Kedah State Mosque. Its architecture is Moorish and it has soaring minarets.

The "Main Hall" of the old palace complex where many important activities like investitures of Sultans took place. Today, it's a prominent landmark.

Alor Setar Railway Station with a contemporary look.

Restoran Top D'Gurun is a popular restaurant in Gurun serving tasty and reasonably priced food. The place is usually so crowded the management employ two security guards to direct traffic during lunch. It boasts of a favourite dish named "Bihun Meletup" - beehoon which "explodes".

Our lunch cost 42 MYR, being 26 MYR for the sotong panggang alone. In N Malaysia and Southern Thailand, fresh veggies, as shown, are not charged. They taste so nice with sambal belacan paste. Anyway, I feel that the sotong is not so nice because it was tough to chew.

The crowd at the Penang Road Chendol stalls. There are two, one with long queues and another without queues. We went for the no-queue stall.

This bowl cost 1.50 MYR, reasonable for me but I feel not so for the locals.

As young Chinese couples from the Mainland like to go overseas for their bridal photo shoots, I am fond of "stealing" their pix. This couple is fixing their thirst with a couple of fresh coconuts during their photo shoot..