Perlis | Kelam Cave or Gua Kelam

Proud of myself

I walked the whole 3.8km of Kelam Cave 2. It is said to be the 2nd longest cave in Peninsular Malaysia.

Background

This is a limestone caves of Nakawan Range and is located within the Mu Forest Reserve. Kelam Cave is estimated to be 100 million years old and is used to be an alluvial tin mining cave back in 1930s, alluvial tin is the purest tin ore. The cave is located at Kaki Bukit village, Perlis. Kelam means dark or darkness, and gua means cave (obviously). There are 3 entrance to Gua Kelam and I took Gua Kelam 2 and came out via Gua Kelam 1 as both caves will meet at a secret garden where there’s a clear pool for you to swim and enjoy a good picnic.

Gua Kelam 1, it is all boardwalk till the secret garden, no steps/climbing at all. Some areas in both caves has stream/river flowing underneath. As for Gua Kelam 2, it is cemented and with proper steps, so worry not. You will also get to see rails for ore trucks as well as paved cemented paths for tin miners back in those days. My biggest concern was on leeches, bats and etc. Errr… Didn’t bump into any. Not sure whether is it because I am lucky or maybe there isn’t one (mungkin ada kot but tak meriah jer and depa dok diam-diam tak kacau orang). And both caves are very very very clean tau.

We were told that some of the scratches or marks were due to the dynamite explosion. I personally finds it interesting interesting. You canview the video HERE on my Instagram.

Other interesting thing was on the so called ‘door’. Apparently at some section on intersection you can see rocks resembling door and when asked, I was told that its function is similar to current told gate, if one company was to go thru another company territory/land, then the tin miner (or their company) is required to pay the ‘toll’ or ‘tax’ to the territory/land owner.

We also learnt that huts with buckets were built and placed near the underground mining tunnel, this is for the ‘guard’ or ‘jaga’ to inform the miners (those covering deeper ground) if there might be a possibility of flood due to heavy rainfall outside (as they have no clue of day and night, nor rain and shine). If there’s water dripping into the bucket means it is raining outside, and if the drip gets faster and/or more, it means heavy downpour that might lead to flood, landslide and etc. Smart kan.

Other activities available at Gua Kelam are fying fox androck climbing manage by Perlis Climb Development (Instagram : @perlis_climb_development).

Gua Kelam is managed by the Perlis State Forestry Department since 1997.

Thank you to Jabatan Perhutanan and @perlis_climb_development foreducating and sharing valuable information. And also to @unicastanaholidays for bringing and introducing us to Perlis.

Operating Hours

Daily : 9:00am - 6:00pm

Entrance fee

Adult : RM1.00

Kids : RM0.50

Gua Kelam

Kaki Bukit

02200 Kaki Bukit

Perlis

Pesta Angin Timur 2020 Media Trip is in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia, Tourism Perlis and all its sponsors.

Perlis | Kipli Nipa Palm Farm

Little did I know Kampong Tanah Timbul in Kuala Sanglang, Perlis Indera Kayang is where the 'air nira (sap)* nipah (nipa palm sugar juice)' hide out is. This secret place is popular among the locals as THE makan-makan and lepak place, I was made to understand that not only nira nipah is sold here, laksa Perlis (similar to laksa Utara/Kedah but slight spicier – betul ke?), pulut ayam, bihun sup, mee rebus and many more. You can also get cuka nipah or nipa vinegar. Curious huh.

Tapping the stalk, and cutting it

Nipa palm sap will start sipping from the cut stalk

Put a plastic around it and let it stay overnight collect the nipa palm sap

Owner En. Kipli Sulaiman started with a mere 300 nipa palm trees, he now has 2,000 trees that produces sweet fresh nipa sap that is juiced and turned into nipa vinegar. Kipli’s Nipah Palm Farm is one of Perlis main attraction with the help of Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) in 2007. Later on Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority of Malaysia (FAMA) assisted in building food stalls for En. Kipli to start his restaurant business serving local delicacy.

Upon request, En. Kipli can demonstrate how the nipa sap being extracted. Basically one need to tap the stalk to stimulate sap, late cut the stalk diagonally and you begin seeing the sap coming out. put a plastic over it and leave it overnight, collect it the next day. Nipa palm sap is also turned into a vinegar.

*Note

Nira (sap) : Malay for fresh juice obtained from the blossom of the coconut, palm or sugar-palm, which can be made into sugar or the palm wine. From Wikipedia

Tuak : (i) Rice wine - An alcoholic beverage made of fermented rice, yeast and sugar, and (ii) Palm wine - An alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms.

Operating Time

Tuesday – Thursday, Saturday – Sunday : 1:00pm – 7:30pm

Friday : 2:30pm – 7:30pm

Close on Monday

Contact : +6017-430 6245

Kipli’s Nipah Palm Farm

No. 282, Kg Tanah Timbul Kuala Sanglang

02800 Sanglang

Perlis

Pesta Angin Timur 2020 Media Trip is in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia, Tourism Perlis and all its sponsors.

East Wind Festival 2020 (Pesta Angin Timur 2020)

Have you heard of Pesta Angin Timur? Or East Wind Festival?

I was telling Wahidah the other day, wondering what is it all about.

What she told me kinda make sense. She said that usual paddy is being harvest usually dry/hot season, and that during this dry season the wind might be strong in the east side. Hemmm…. I never thought of that, pandai jugak this friend of mine huh.

This year is the 8^th year Perlis held the Pesta Angin Timur was officiated by Raja Muda Perlis DYTM Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra ibni Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail dan Raja Puan Muda Perlis DYTM Tuanku Hajah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil. And this is the first time for me to attend such event, in fact it is my first trip ever to Perlis. The festival gets its name from the winter-to-summer cycle brought by the wind from the east to the state of Perlis. Organised by the National Department for Culture and Arts Perlis, in collaboration with government agencies, private sectors, NGOs and local community.

There were a few traditional activities/competition being held during this event and the below are the ones that I enjoyed the most.

Fishing competition

This is pretty standard, fishing competition was held at the water drainage (tali air). Categories are the first that catches a fish, the biggest fish as well as the most win a prize.

Bubu fishing competition (Mengagau ikan)

A rather unique activity and I have only seen it twice so far, yet to try it. Participants were give a plastic bag to keep the fish that they caught and how one catches a fish is by using a bubu; a traditional fish trap. Bubu is a cylindrically-shaped woven bamboo whose gate is narrowing inward. Participant that caught the most fish wins.

Duck catching competition

This is interesting too (no duck was harm during this activity, all ducks were released after the event), participants catch the duck using bare hand. Amazingly some were able to catch 3 ducks. Speechless.

Chili-fishing competition

The funniest of them all. Not much to describe here but I would like to emphasize that is was really hilarious. You guys should try this in teambuilding activities.

Kites-flying

Participants flying their beautiful unique kites. Public can try too.

Aside from competition, there are also product showcase near the main tent by Department of National Heritage, Tourism Malaysia, National Department for Culture and Arts, BERNAS, FAMA, Territorial Army Regiment showcasing tankers, bunkers, ration food artillery, animal traps and etc. And of course the popular activity was the Jerami Kingdom (haystack kingdom) lead by Lembaga Kemajuan Pertanian Muda (MADA) or Muda Agricultural Development Authority.

So guys, you know what to plan for next year, head to Perlis East Wind Festival and experience this for yourself.

This trip was made possible by Tourism Malaysia, Tourism Perlis, and Unic Astana Holidays as the trip planner/guide/coordinator

Perlis | Warung Tepi Sawah

Warung Tepi Sawah or Stall by the Paddy Field is one of the famous breakfast place in Perlis. Located in Bintong, #Perlis this restaurant rose to fame because of the scenic serene view plus the fact that the food selection is wide and delicious lah. Honestly speaking I was excited with the venue itself that I forgot to ask the story behind it but later I did ask the guide on its origin.

It started as a small warung and perhaps wanted it to be unique hence setting it up next to the paddy field. Little did the owner know it will be so popular. I personally believe that the reason behind the success not only due to its location but also the food. Me for instance I had the nasi lemak hijau, and between the 8 of us we ordered pulut ikan masin, apom lenggang, capati, roti telur bakar gedik and peknga. Habis semua we all nak try, kiasu!

Pulut Ikan Masin (sticky rice with fried salted fish)

Upon reading, I found out that not only this delicacy is famous in Kedah (awat I tak tau, my mom orang Kedah pun tak pernah cerita), it is also available in Terengganu. But you know what, since I first saw this in Perlis so I am calling it dibs. Perlis it is.

Pulut or sticky rice is eaten with fried salted fish (and I suppose fried dried fish will taste nice too) together with grated fresh coconut. No gravy accompanying this set. Some sprinkle fried shallot, this will overall enhance the aroma and taste.

Apom Lenggang (swing/swirl pancake)

I have tried apam balik (turnover pancake) and apom manis (sweet pancake) but ma yet to try apom lenggang, though I have heard it many times. I think I need to balik my mom’s kampong more often lah. Anyway, I learnt that apom lenggang is a northern delicacy and that it is eaten with sambal ikan bilih bawang (anchovies and onion sweet chili paste).

Apom or appam is a type of pancake originated from South India and Sri Lanka, it is made with rice flour, yeast and coconut milk, usually eaten during breakfast.

Peknga

Another form of pancake. Peknga is short for tempek belanga (tempek : stick, belanga : pot), and it is served with fish curry or sambal. It looks like capati and eaten like one too (the curry remember). The dough is made of flour, grated coconut, water and salt to taste. Peknga can be found in Kedah, Perlis and Kelantan (mebbe Terengganu too kot).

Roti Bakar Telur Gedik

Similar to Roti Telur Goyang in Penang, this is toasted bread with kaya spread and half boiled egg on top. As the half boiled egg wiggles… hence it is called toasted bread with wiggly egg. Yeah…. I just created it English name.

Kaya is basically coconut jam (coconut milk, eggs and sugar). A popular spread Southeast Asia, mainly in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

So yeah! If you are in Perlis, Warung Tepi Sawah is a must breakfast place and the local food mentioned is a must must try. Kalau tak try, nyesal nanti.

Warung Tepi Sawah

Jalan Wang Ulu

Bintong

Perlis

Pesta Angin Timur 2020 Media Trip is in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia, Tourism Perlis and all its sponsors.

Nat Pokok Getah in Perlis

Gosh! I am so ecstatic with my Perlis trip, I don’t even know where to start nor which place to write first.

All I know is I fell in love with this hot (not hot sexy kinda hot, more like hot sweaty yet windy kinda hot) country.

RYO cigarette like the good old days

After putting a lot of thoughts, battling with my inner self, mind fighting, I finally decided to write on Nat Pokok Getah for my first ever Perlis blog entry. Reason being, this excites me the most, triggered my curiosity and left my mind wondering.

The first time I saw the itinerary, this came to my mind ‘Nat? like Natalie? Nathirah? Nat apakebenda?’. My next was ‘Pokok Getah? Apa pulak ni? Nat Pokok Getah. Ladang Getah kepunyaan Natalie? But its Pokok Getah not Ladang Getah!?!?’. So I proceed with googling the place down, a little sleuthing before venturing into a new territory seems like a great idea huh. Being the good girl that I am (boleh percaya ke ni?!?), I googled every product (POI) in the itinerary. Nat Pokok Getah stood out…. Praying hard that I don’t need to visit ladang getah and start a toreh activity (I did it before and the tree injured badly, not my proudest moment I must say).

Pulut Ayam / Sticky rice with fried chicken (Thai style)

Malaysia kuih/dessert

I learnt that ‘Nat’ means pasar pagi/hari or morning market to the local. And Nat Pokok Getah or Rubber Tree Moring Market (weird huh, I know) has been in operation since 1998, from 7am till noon. Located in Pauh district, Nat Pokok Getah involves approximately 300 traders hence do come early as parking can get really tough. I would also advice one to puasa (fasting) before coming here as the local delicacies can make you go bonkers (or fat).

The Nat is split into 2 section one is next to the kubur melayu (malay cemetery) and the other on jerat cina side (Chinese cemetery) for this simple reason the Nat is in the morning cos if it is a pasar malam (night market), NO ONE (read : human) will be attending. Hahhahhahhaa….. this is a joke tau. It is split into 2 section, one (nearer to the small carpark area) is where the food is, and the other side (rubber tree and durian tree side) is more on clothing as well as vintage and antique stuff (similar to Pasar Lokan in Ipoh). Click HERE if you wanna view IG Story of the Nat…. meriah!

Pulut ikan masin / sticky rice with fried salted fish

Emping

I highly recommend those visiting Perlis to drop by at Nat Pokok Getah (every Sunday if not mistaken). The food is aplenty, and I managed to eat for the 2^nd time my all times favourite – pulat ayam (well, basically pulut with ayam goreng). Then I ate meehun sup (I have to right, after all it is a northern region delicacy), their paktongkol is sumpah sedap giler, I bought this beautiful kuih melayu just because it was so beautiful (no other reason) and so many many more. You have to check out my IG Story videoHERE lah, else you can imagine my excitement.

Leech ointment (I think)

Pesta Angin Timur 2020 Media Trip is in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia, Tourism Perlis and all its sponsors.