Although we have traveled to Cameron Highlands back in October, I felt sorry for the kids who basically stayed at home for much of their school holiday. So in our typical last minute fashion, we booked two Airbnb rooms in Kedah and Perlis and planned our express excursion to the two northern states during the Christmas holidays.
Believe it or not, we have never properly visited Kedah before and never even set foot once in Perlis. Sure we visited Langkawi a few years ago and drove by Kulim on the way to Penang a few times but those doesn’t count. So it’s high time we give the two northern states a proper visit.
We departed quite late in the morning thanks to everybody waking up late. Traffic was alright, the road were surprisingly very clear driving up north. Maybe not many people returned home for the holidays yet or perhaps Christmas is not very big round here. My wife had been meaning to visit her old boarding school in Kulim for some time now so we took this opportunity to finally visit MRSM PDRM. It was easily two decades ago since she last set foot there so she’s quite delighted to be able to see the place again. Journey down memory lane and all that.
Anyway, we got to our Airbnb in Kuala Kedah rather late that afternoon. We only managed to catch the sunset by the Kuala Kedah seafront that day. It was a beautiful sunset though, pink and purple on the horizon. The Airbnb we stayed at was quite nice. Clean and spacious at the outskirts of Alor Setar. They had a working stove, fridge and washing machine so we can do our laundry. The only complaint I had was the air cond in the master bedroom not really working.
The next day we visited the state museum in Alor Setar. It’s the one thing we always do in new states that we visit. To be honest, this museum needs a major revamp or renovation with new, more exciting exhibits. Currently it’s just one big bungalow housing a meagre collection of the state’s rich history. I would be embarrassed to recommend this place to anybody especially foreign tourists. Sure the entrance is free but if the exhibit is really good, I’m sure people would willingly pay. And what’s with the no photography policy? You’re denying the place free marketing and publicity for goodness sake.
We had lunch at the popular Nasi Lan Peruda in downtown Alor Setar. To be honest, almost all these nasi kandar taste the same to me so I couldn’t really tell whether they’re good or not. Our next port of call is the renowned Pekan Rabu shopping arcade nearby. I didn’t get anything much but the lady of the house didn’t miss this opportunity to do some shopping.
After that we’re supposed to visit Padang Besar in Perlis but not before checking in to our second homestay of the tour. Sofikha Vacation Studio is located just outside Kangar. Like its namesake, it’s a small studio room delightfully decorated with all the amenities you usually find in a three star hotel or more. They have two queen-sized beds plus an extra mattress, Android TV with Netflix, Wi-Fi, a fridge, electric stove and also hot shower. It was such a pleasant place to stay that we decided to take an extended rest there before going to Padang Besar later. Besides, I’m already tired from all the driving and it is so hot outside that day.
Contrary to popular belief, Perlis is quite big and there's definitely more than 8 people living in the state. Kangar is not as bustling as the other state capitals but maybe it's better that way. We had a quick dinner at a tom yam restaurant in Kangar and then proceed straight to Padang Besar. Although just 31 kilometers away, the journey felt extra long. By the time we got there, it was already pitch black and much to our surprise, there was hardly any shops left open. After a quick chat with the locals, we learned that the shops close right around sundown so there goes our little shopping trip to Padang Besar. Remind me to check the operating hours of places we plan to visit next time.
Our first agenda the next morning was visiting Gua Kelam or Kelam Cave, another popular tourist attraction in the state. As usual, we woke up late and didn’t check out until 11:00 AM. We thanked our kind host profusely for her hospitality. I cannot recommend her homestay enough. I can’t recall her name but everybody calls her Bonda, a retired civil servant, probably a teacher from a school nearby.
Gua Kelam was once a tin mine back in colonial times and once they ran out of tin to mine, they turned the place into a tourist attraction. After paying a nominal entrance fee (RM2 for adults and one ringgit for children), we walked straight into the cave. They’ve built a proper wooden platform pathway right into the caves so there’s no hiking or climbing involved. It didn’t take long for us to reach one end from the other, shouldn’t be more than 15 minutes walking. There’s not much to see inside the well lit cave to be honest, no unique stalactites or stalagmites to look at, just plain old cave with running water below. Well at least the kids get to see something new instead of just shopping malls.
Coincidently while we’re leaving the cave, the solar eclipse was happening all around the world. We decided to stop a while next to a random paddy field while waiting for the eclipse to occur. We didn’t miss this chance to take some photos surrounded by the greenery. These city kids don’t often get to see these paddy fields back home. I thought the eclipse was happening so we used sunglasses and looked through the lens of our smartphone at the sky. Apparently we’re about a few minutes or perhaps an hour early. One thing for sure, even looking through dark sunglasses, my eyes hurt from looking directly at the sun. Remind me next time not to do that.
Since Perlis is so small and there’s practically nothing much else of note to do and see in the state, we head to the famous Al Hussain floating mosque near Kuala Perlis. It is situated just next to the Kuala Perlis jetty where people take boats and ferries to Langkawi. The mosque itself was quite alright. It was low tide at the time so we didn’t get to see the mosque actually float above the water. Were we tempted to go to Langkawi? Sure, but our budget were severely limited so perhaps another time.
Our original plan was a 3 days, 2 nights visit to Kedah and Perlis only. But we thought since the holidays are long and we’ve got plenty of time before going back to work the coming Monday, why not extend another day? That’s when we spontaneously booked another homestay in downtown Penang so we could visit that state as well. From Kuala Perlis, we drove straight to Batu Kawan to visit the brand new IKEA store there. From the outside, this IKEA branch looks slightly larger than the one in Cheras. The same can be said for the interior. And unlike those in KL and Selangor, this one is pretty much standalone with the exception of a few small shops and two floor of Harvey Norman store but that’s about it. Maybe it’s the weekday but the place was not so crowded compared to the other branches.
Our last Airbnb for the trip is a small flat at Desa Pinang 2 in Georgetown. From the outside, the place might look very crowded with cars double parked all around the flat. Walking up the second floor, it looked a lot like your typical low cast flat in KL but surprisingly the house itself is clean, cosy and comfortable. There’s the quintessential aircond in every room, stove (electric) and the bonus fast Wi-Fi. Linda don’t feel like cooking that night so we ordered pizza for dinner. Unlike the last time we were in Penang, I purposely didn’t visit my relatives in Gelugor. Sure we can save a few hundred by staying overnight there but I just don’t have the heart to bother them at such a short notice. Who knows they’re not at home or perhaps not free to host us.
After waking up to catch Liverpool on my tablet at 4:00 in the morning, we woke up understandably late the next morning. We had brunch at Taman Tun Sardon nearby on advice from friends. Unfortunately, it was almost midday on a Friday so most of the shops were closing or already closed in anticipation of Friday prayers so we had not much to choose from except for one solitary shop at the corner. I had a mediocre chicken rice and the rest had tomyam bihun and friend keuy teow.
Our last stop of the tour was Gunung Jerai (Jerai Hill) near Gurun in Kedah. It is located south of the state near the Perak border but only about an hour drive from Penang. One thing I noticed that there’s virtually no signboards informing visitors the direction to Gunung Jerai. The only signboard that I noticed was at the foot of the hill just before you start your ascend. 30 minutes up the narrow and winding road, we are already up near the hill top. We saw a few elderly people hiking and cyclist riding up the hill. It is after all a popular hiking trek in the state. There’s no charge for going up the hill but the parking fee at the top was 3 ringgit, unless you’re staying at the resort.
The hilltop is made up mostly of the Jerai Hill resort at 980 metres above sea level. I suspect there’s a hiking trek somewhere to the actual peak of the hill but I didn’t manage to find out. Perhaps we could come again when all the kids are grown up and we could hike to the peak together and find out. Much of the Jerai Hill is made up of the Jerai Hill Resort. Accommodation starts from RM288 per night so staying another night was out of the question. Apart from the resort and sightseeing around the hill top, there’s a few activities offered (for a price of course) to visitors like flying fox, wall climbing, archery amongst other. There’s also a little botany garden next to the resort but there’s an entry fee so we skipped that as well. The girls did try out the flying fox (8 ringgit) each.
So that concludes our inaugural northern tour to Kedah, Perlis and Penang. To be honest, we are time-pressed to cover all the places of interest that people normally go and 3 days is definitely not enough for the purpose. We had the time but not the budget to do it all. Still I hope this short visit would be memorable for the kids since this is their first time in some of these states. As for me, it’s a nice break from work and just going back to Kelantan again apart from enjoying those delicious nasi kandars. Yeah my legs and body in general are exhausted from all the driving. And have I told you I loathe driving at night because I easily get tired and sleepy? That’s the sacrifice you’ll have to make I guess.
That leaves us with Sarawak as the only state that we’ve never been to yet. Does Labuan count as a separate state? We do have plans to visit that state in the near future but now, time to save up. Those plane tickets and travelling in general are never cheap.
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