OK. The reason I wrote that piece about the lake near my house is one, I'm excited after seeing it for the first time up close just about 4 hours ago. Two, I could somehow relate it to a vast freswater lake which is said to have existed near Sungkai in Perak.
You see, on Saturday I went to Perak to complete a certain mission and made a stop at Sungkai to get some information about its olden history. Thus I was shown, among others, the site which used to be the said vast lake.
According to the stories it was called Laut Tawar (the freshwater sea) because of its vastness.
The name reminds me of the Danau Laut Tawar present on the mountains in middle Aceh. Look at the articles Enter Takengon and the highland fresh water lake Danau Laut Tawar and Morning views of Takengon and Danau Laut Tawar.
Anyway while the Laut Tawar of Sungkai was situated on low ground it should cover a similar vast area.
Just imagine the areas shown here all inundated by water except some higher ground, that is the Laut Sungkai which is said to have existed as late as the end of 1920s. The water level then went down turning it into a vast swamp and later the swamp was reclaimed to make way for a modern plantation...
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