A quaint look at Sungai Siput...

Dear readers, in the article Sungai Siput as base camp... Where a giant face looks out from on top a hill... written 10 days ago, I have mentioned how the town of Sungai Siput in Perak became some sort of base camp for me to explore certain locations in the state. Well, let us now have a look at the town itself, as quaint as it can be at least for the sake of posterity...

These pictures were taken after my 2nd night in Sungai Siput... Only now, after making some rounds in other parts of Perak do I feel like walking around the town of Sungai Siput itself to savour the daily mood (or rather the weekend mood) there.

In the background of this picture is the rather strange-looking hill featured in the article Sungai Siput as base camp... Where a giant face looks out from on top a hill... Oh... You could also say the pictures here were taken the next day after those featured in the article The ancient kingdom of Beruas and its ties with the more ancient kingdom of Gangganegara! (the last posting in this blogspot...)

I first came upon the name Sungai Siput more than 30 years ago. I remember reading a story book about ghosts and such and the name of this town was featured as having its own scary share of the unknown. But I only walked around it just over a month ago, in this particular trip, the latest in Perak... Previously, I only passed this town from Kuala Kangsar en-route to Ipoh or vice versa and never actually stopped by...

I had spent a night around here once in 2006 when I missed the entourage I was following then... The entourage from Lumut to Kuala Kangsar in a ceremony for the reburial of the long-deceased royal admiral Laksamana Raja Mahkota Muhammad Amin at the Perak royal mausoleum in Bukit Chandan. The entourage then headed for Matang and that's when I missed it as I was busy entertaining a girlfriend who came by.

Anyway, I ended up joining a friend at his kampung in Lenggong before returning to his home at the outskirts of Sungai Siput, at night the next day. The following morning, I followed him straight to Ipoh before taking a bus to Teluk Intan and thus during that period I never actually spend time in the town of Sungai Siput...

A pasar minggu, Malaysia's weekly version of a flea market. The day was a Satuday...

Hmm... Now I remember... I did stop once in mid-town Sungai Siput sometime in 1989 or so... I was then in college following a cycling group of 20 plus students making a round trip pass the states of Selangor, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. But it was short stop for something to fill in the stomach. So you could still say, in my almost 38 years of living so far, the visit made over a month ago is still the first and only visit so far where I actually walked around to see what's available in Sungai Siput...

The railway tracks heading to Ipoh over 30km to the south-east or so...

Perhaps there's nothing special at all about Sungai Siput... Perhaps it is just like the toher hundreds of towns its size, medium size that is all around Malaysia. Still it has a certain quaint atmosphere around it. Apart from that, most Malaysians know Sungai Siput as the area of MIC (the political party Malaysian Indian Congress) president Datuk Samy Vellu, the famous (or rather infamous to some) Malaysian Minister of Works...

A look towards town from the railway tracks...

Now however the tables have been turned. Sungai Siput might still be the area of Samy Vellu as he is has after all its Member of Parliament for eight consecutive terms or so but following the results of Malaysia's 12th general elections finalised on Sunday morning, his days as a head honcho is numbered. His lost in the latest election to an opposition candidate signalled that the ethnic Indian population he is supposed to have represented have lost total faith in his leadership.

The recent Hindraf (Hindu Rights something... Sorry can't remember off-hand) demonstration which caught the nation's attention late last year aside, he should have taken the cue from the senior leaders of the same generation years before... If Tun Dr Mahathir had passed the baton to Pak Lah (never mind that many has also questioned his leadership for its perceived weakness) for the UMNO (United Malay National Organisation)'s presidency, so did Dr Ling Liong Sik who handed the leadership of MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) to Ong Ka Ting, then why couldn't Samy do likewise?

OK... Sorry to have digressed into politics. Back to the little walk in Sungai Siput. Actually after the Perak-round trip made with a new friend Syahir as mentioned in the article The ancient kingdom of Beruas and its ties with the more ancient kingdom of Gangganegara! , it was time to join another friend, an old one by the name of Asri.

So Syahir dropped me in mid-town Sungai Siput and that's when I took these pictures. Later, Asri who had just finished work picked me up and that's when I took this picture headed east from inside his car...

As it is almost time for the Zuhur (afternoon) prayers, he took me to Sungai Siput's main mosque which is situated on top of hill just outside town. Althought the mosque might look just like any other common mosque, somehow I felt there's something special about it. Thus I spent some time to write the article Masjid jamek (main mosque of) Sungai Siput, Perak in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) .

Afterwards, it's time to join Asri to go his kampung (rural village) in Lenggong some 70km away. God willing, I will write something on this here soon. Good night! :]