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Tombs and Travels
Entry 13 of 47 | show all | print this entry |
In the morning, we drive over to the airport to book our flight on the 737-400 shuttle to Penang tomorrow. It costs about the same for either a 12-hour bus trip or a 20-minute flight to the same place. Sarah informs me that the ticket is in fact a two way one even though we won't be using it. Not bad for £10 each!
Drive out to Pantai Kok - beautiful white beach and on to the cultural and craft centre where a wide range of local crafts and arts are displayed in an air-conditioned gallery.
We make our way up the winding road to the highest point in Langawi, Gunung Raya where the air is considerably brisker than 2900ft below at sea level. You can see most of the island from up here and is also an ideal location for the main telecommunication towers that dominate the peak. There are breathtaking views to start with but as usual in this highly volatile climate, rain clouds are never very far away.
Our next stop is the book village where several buildings house many thousands of books on most subjects. The grounds are designed for tranquillity so that books can be read, thinking can be done and enlightening meditation achieved with minimal disturbance. Winding pathways, lush vegetation and babbling brooks help to make this pseudo-paradise what it is.
Down by a stream running through the garden, I can't resist building a dam in the cold mountain water. From childhood I have always had the urge to build or dig wherever appropriate materials are available and several hours to kill. Consequently I am soon standing in several feet of water as I stem the flow of the stream and stand back to admire my handiwork. I reluctantly set everything straight before we leave just in case I flood the village.
Our next stop is the tomb of Mahsuri Mayah. She had become the victim of treachery and jealousy and in 1819 was executed for alleged witchcraft. Before this fateful day, she cast a spell on the whole of Malaysia declaring that there would be seven generations of poverty for their persecution of her. Coincidentally, and you can read into it what you will, there has been seven generations of poverty nationwide and things are just recently becoming more prosperous. Spooky eh!
Get back to Cenang Rest house and watch a monkey playing in the garden. We only notice him at first when our towels, which have been hung up to dry on the verandah, start twitching as if possessed. The little monkey is trying to steal them. He scampers across the balcony rail and is being both a pest and an amusement to a captive audience each group taking turns in being at the receiving end of the mirth. There is a small standpipe at the end of the building where some children are rinsing sand off their feet. The monkey takes great delight in spraying water at everyone by blocking the flowing water with his little hands.
Later on we take our final meal on the island at our usual place across the road - ginger chicken, rice and noodles this time. There is a mangy cat patrolling the tables for tidbits to feed a skinny bunch of new kittens that are scattered about the restaurant verandah and playing under the tables. Feed them some leftovers even though we know we shouldn't. Most cats and dogs here don't seem to have any permanent owners, they just latch on to whoever is prepared to feed them and are not at all fussy about what they eat. None of them looks unhealthy, just very scrawny
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