Papan in peaceful slumber

One of the old houses that remind visitors of Papan's rich past.

Located about 17km from Ipoh off the Ipoh Lumut highway, about three kilometres from Pusing, Papan used to be a bustling town in the late 1800s. It is believed that the Chinese had named it “ka-pan”, which means wooden plank. Word has it that in the past, the “cengal” hardwood that were harvested from the neighbouring jungles had to be brought to the town to be sawn into planks. Incidentally, its new name, Papan, also meant plank in Malay.

However, Papan did not owe its fame to timber but rather tin, according to an elder who saw me painting this old house at the entrance to the town. He said Papan prospered during the glory years of tin mining and when the industry collapsed, the town’s relevance was reduced to only a soon-to-be-forgotten mention in the history books.

During the Japanese Occupation, when Ipoh was bombed, people from the town sought refuge in Papan and its population grew. It was also during this period that Papan earned its “black area” reputation for insurgent activities against the Japanese, and later for communist activities during the Emergency. In 1984, Papan was again thrown into the limelight when its residents staged protests against the storage of radioactive waste in the hills not far from the town.

On the right is the temple, behind which is the cemetary.

Today, Papan is a sleepy hollow that only comes to life only during the Qing Ming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day when families who used to live there come to the cemetery just outside town to pay their respects to their dearly departed. Many of the old buildings that lined the main street have been abandoned and are slowly inhabited by wild vegetation. There is very little visible economic activity here as most of the younger generation have moved to nearer towns in search of better prospects.

Many descendant families of the early settlers here have also moved to the new Kampung Papan Baru, located a kilometre just outside the old town where there are better facilities. If there was any sign of activity, it would be in the mornings and the area near the community hall or Balai Raya Papan, and at the two old coffeeshops along the main road. Locals meet here to have a cuppa, a meal or just to catch up.

The most modern structure must be the SJKC Papan Chinese primary school which has only 80 pupils comprising 45 boys and 35 girls. This school sits by the main road next to house No. 74, a prominent landmark which once housed the clinic of Sybil Kathigasu, the Malayan-Eurasian nurse who worked with her doctor husband to support the resistance during the Japanese Occupation. Sybil received the George Medal for Gallantry, instituted by King George VI in 1940. The GM was presented to those performing acts of bravery meriting recognition by the United Kingdom and Sybil is said to be the only Malayan woman to have awarded the medal. There is a Jalan Sybil Kathigasu in Ipoh, named after Independence, to commemorate Sybil’s bravery.

The historical edifice that was once Sybil Kathigasu's clinic,
left to the mercy of the weather and time. Newspaper cuttings
pasted on the doors tell a little about its history.

Another historical structure in Papan is the Istana Raja Billah, a stately mansion which is also the town’s largest building in its heydays. Slowly being swallowed by tall grass but still visible from the main road, this mansion belonged to Raja Billah, a Mendailing nobleman from West Sumatera who settled in Papan with his family in the late 1800s. A merchant and tin miner, Raja Billah was also the headman for Papan at the time.

Istana Raja Billah is a pale shade of itself today although it was once refurbished and turned into a museum. It was even used as location for the movie Anna and the King, according to a local who lived nearby. However, neglect in the recent years, he added, had reduced this stately edifice to its derelict self, with parts of the wooden panellings and tiles having been stolen or vandalised.

Just a stone’s throw away from the Istana is the Masjid Papan. Completed in 1888, the mosque sits on land donated by Raja Billah. The structure is made of local hardwood such as cengal, merbau and damar laut. It was designed with one pyramid-shaped zinc-sheet roof sitting on top of another, separated by air vents. The entire structure rests on brick-cement piers. The mosque also did not have a tower and calls to prayer those days were made by hitting a drum known as a taboh.

Contrasts of the old and the new in Langkawi

I was in Langkawi recently and after seeing so much development there, I began to wonder how building materials, scoefically cement and concrete, were brought to the island. Well, my curiosity was soon answered when I rented a car and drove all over this resort island.

Located on the northern side of Langkawi was a huge structure that looked like the space launch pad of Cape Canaveral. Rising over 10 stories high at least, this structure in green and grey turned out to be the Lafarge Kedah Cement Quarry. I decided to stop by and do a piece on it because I had not done one on a cement quarry/factory before.

Since there were no security outposts like most factories in Klang valley, I invited myself into the compound and parked my car along the drive way so that I could get a good view of the factory complex. I had to station myself quite far away to get this main complex into the piece and I had to also work fast because it was almost lunch hour and my presence could attract unnecessary attention.

The Kedah Cement Quarry/Factory owned by Lafarge, located north of the Langkawi Island.

Despite the wave of concreted buildings sweeping across this resort island, I am pleased to be able to find some very beautiful traditional houses in Langkawi.

One such house - there are many more as I have spotted, especially along the non-touristy areas of the island - is at Padang Matsirat, where the Padang Beras Terbakar or Field of Burnt Rice is located. This house (photo below, inset) belongs to Ku Halim Ku Hassan and is a fine looking timber structure built raised on stilts. It has a lovely concrete staircase.

This is a lovely timber house that is also well taken care of. I like the clean surroundings and
 the beautiful Malacca-style concrete staircase leading into the serambi (sitting area) of the house.

Morning's Glory in Kampung Hailam

MORNING GLORY - 304X458MM

This piece was inspired by my trip to a recent traditional village in Malacca that is facing demolition. The village is in Kampung Hailam, off the coastal road north of historic city Malacca. This was one of the houses built in the 1970s, I believe, which is reminiscent of many such houses in traditional villages that are now history. Living in such houses is an experience of few equals like waking up to the chirp of bird in the trees around one's home and listening to the patter of raindrops. Nights are also cooler here than in concrete homes.

Stopping over in Rantau

This is the only zinc-roofed timber-built shop along the main road of Rantau. How long it will be here, I do not know.
Occupied by a fledgling sundry shop business, it will not be long before development erases it to just a memory
 and that is whyI chose to record this in my visual journal.

CONTRARY to what I thought, the name Rantau, a small town not far from Seremban, in Negri Sembilan, did not come from the Malay word rantau (to travel).

Instead, I was told it was derived from the name of a village called Kampung Orang Rantau Panjang Kelang. The village was believed to have been set up by Bugis immigrants who fled the civil unrest in Rantau Panjang in Klang during the mid-1800s and what began as Kampung Orang Rantau Panjang Kelang, had over the years lost its mouthful of a name.

Today, it is known simply as Rantau. The main bustling area in this sleepy hollow is along the main road, Jalan Besar, which is also part of the trunk road linking Seremban, off the expressway, to Linggi and other smaller towns. With a population of 9,000, Rantau was once surrounded by rubber and oil palm plantations but these have made way for housing estates.

I painted this house because it appeared to be the only zinc-roofed timber building that had withstood the ravages of time and development. Known simply as 38 Jalan Besar, it is the premises of Tamilan Store, a small Indian sundry shop. It is two doors away from Sri Bala Thandayuthabani Temple along the main road.

According to a villager who saw me painting from across the street, a huge fire decades ago razed the upper reaches of Rantau town.

“Most of the buildings you see here today are modern ones,”she said. “Most of the shop operators here are Indians and Chinese, but as it’s a small town, many shops are barely surviving.”

This uncle at left was amused that
I chose to paint this small town. 

In the morning until late afternoon, the hawker centre on the main road is a hive of activity, Villagers gather here for a meal and to chat with each other. By evening, there is not much activity. Although the town itself does not have much to offer tourists except a chance to stretch their legs and have a drink, there are several back-to-nature holidays in the Rantau district. They include Rantau Ecopark in Kuala Sawah and Rantau Agro Park in Kampung Seri Lalang.

Anglers may want to check out Kampungstay Haji Sulaiman in Kuala Sawah which offers not only accommodation but also a chance to hook up a whopper at its freshwater lake.
Rantau has produced a few prominent Malaysians such as Maha Sinnathamby, the man behind Greater Springfield, Australia’s largest master-planned development, and the former soccer great, the late Ghani Minhat.

Kelly's unfinished labour of love

This piece was done on a larger sheet, an A3, when I ran out of pages on my sketchpad.

Kellie's Castle, also known as Kellie's Folly, is an incomplete castle located in the Batu Gajah district in Perak. This unfinished mansion, now a ruins, was built by a Scottish planter named William Kellie Smith. It was believed to be a gift for his wife, built beside the Sungai Raya, a tributary of the Kinta River. Some people say that it was for Kelly's son, however.

Today, this tourist attract has received another refurbishment in preparation for the Visit Perak Year 2017. This sketch was made during my recent walkabout up north the state of Perak.

Batu Arang's Coal-aful Past

One of the two mine entrances that lead into the tunnels but they have both been closed. 

BATU ARANG, about 50km north of Kuala Lumpur, derived its name from the Malay word for coal, which is arang batu. After coal was discovered here in the early 1900s, British coal miner John Archibald Russell set up Malayan Collieries Ltd (MCL) to start mining operations in 1913. 

Five thousand miners were employed and they worked around the clock in three shifts to meet the high demand for coal in the region. At the height of its prosperity in the 1930s, Batu Arang was believed to bethe most developed town in Selangor and locals even nicknamed it Mini Gold Hill. It had even its own airstrip which allowed salaries of miners to be air-dropped into the town. 

The Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) built a railway line to connect Batu Arang to Kuang and within the coal mining township, MCL built its own network of tracks linking the various gantry points of the open cast mines and other subsidiary industries, including its own brick factory. 

The decline in demand for coal began in the 1950s when industries and the railways switched to using diesel. The coal mining era in Batu Arang ended in 1960. In the span of 47 years, 15 million tonnes of coal were believed to have been mined from the deep earth and open cast mines. 

Today, all the entrances to the deep earth mines have been sealed. The open cast mines, located on the hillock behind the police station, are filled with water and turned into a huge lake. Access to the lake has also been fenced up but a worker manning the gates allowed me to enter to take pictures. He claimed that the lake was very popular with anglers. At its deepest point, the lake is at least 200m deep, he said. He showed me bits of coal still embedded in the ground. 

At a coffeeshop near the market in town, I asked some old men why Batu Arang had no high-rise buildings. One of them explained that there was a huge network of mining tunnels running underneath the township. Many of these tunnels had collapsed and damaged the buildings on ground level, so for that reason, building highrises which required heavy piling had been prohibited.

On March 15, 1992, the New Sunday Times carried a feature on the dangers that Batu Arang townfolk faced from sinkholes that had appeared over the years due to the collapse of subterranean mining tunnels. 

The open cast mine is now a lake, visible from the hillock behind the
Police Station.

This painting is of one of the entries to the deep earth mines. This tourist attraction is a few hundred metres from the SKJC Chap Khuan, along a laterite path. There is a signboard that marks its location but you have to walk down a 100m path to get to the entrance which is almost swallowed by undergrowth.

While painting this scene, I had to fend off not only mosquitoes but also some suspicious looking characters who had gone into the bushes in front of me. I later found out that these were drug addicts getting their daily fix. Visitors should also watch out for snakes.

Batu Arang was declared a Heritage Town by the State government some years back and today, remnants of its colourful past include a coal miners' settlement comprising dilapidated brick houses, a row of two-storey shophouses believed to be built in the late 1920s, the police station grounds (which once housed the Gurkha forces barracks and were the premises of the Malayan Collieries Ltd), and an abandoned brick kiln.

CITY SKETCHING: Jalan Ampang

The AIA Building of today. 

Raintrees used to dot the entire of Jalan Ampang but today, not many are left.
These four magnificent trees are not the original inhabitants along
the riverside. They have been planted in the 1980s or 90s, if I am not mistaken.

I spotted a lone street sweeper along the road opposite the AIA Building
and decided to capture it in a sketch.

Jalan Ampang is an old street in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, stretching right from Jalan Tun Razak in the north to Lebuh Ampang in the south. In the 70s, Jalan Ampang was thrown into the limelight because of the hostage-taking drama in the AIA Building by the Japanese Red Army. On Aug 4 1975, a group of the JRA stormed the AIA building which housed the Swedish and American embassies and took 53 employees of the embassies hostage. I decided to sketch this area from the side of the road just after the Chinese New Year period when the traffic is less busy.  In the 70s and 80s, there were no tall buildings in this area except the AIA Building. Today, there are several tall buildings in this stretch, offering shelter from the sun for a good part of the day.

Kiln-ing time in Batu Arang

One of the remaining smokestacks of the abandoned brick kiln.

Did you know that apart from coal, Batu Arang town was also famous for its red firebricks? In fact, the first thing a visitor sees when arriving in Batu Arang is monument built in 2013 in the centre of the town’s roundabout dedicated to this industry. It takes the form of a miniature smokestack, with a black base, another reminder of the township’s coal-mining past. Smaller replicas of similar smokestacks holding up Batu Arang’s nameplates also greet visitors at several entry points into the heritage town.

According to a local, this brick factory employed many staff and the firebricks produced here ranked among the best in Southeast Asia at the time and tonnes from this factory were exported via Singapore port.

 

This smokestack greets visitors to Batu Arang at the roundabout
 in the town centre. The black bottom half represents coal that
was mined from the town's famous open cast mines decades ago.

I drew this smokestack of the abandoned brick kiln from the grounds of the St Michael’s Chapel, about 100 metres away. Although I wanted to trek through the undergrowth to get nearer to the structure, a concerned chapel’s caretaker cautioned me against it because of the presence of poisonous snakes there. There used to be at least five smokestacks in this brick factory, I was told, with the tallest rising over 20 metres.

The Malayan Collieries Ltd (MCL), which operated the coal mines of Batu Arang for 47 years since 1913, was possibly the earliest to produce red facing bricks at this factory for building construction in the township. In the MCL’s Brief Description of the Plant and Activities at Batu Arang as a Guide to Visitors, written in the 1930s, an entry recorded that the clay needed for its brick factory was supplied from earth stripped from the open cast coal mines.

Today, if you drive around Batu Arang, you can still see many of the older buildings sport this firebrick façade, including that of Chap Khuan Chinese Primary School, the old clubhouse building by the town’s padang, the miners’ quarters, as well as some of the houses here.

Reminder of the brick making years of Batu Arang.

One of the houses in the Coal Miners' Settlement, made entirely
of red bricks.

Artists' Colony @ Jalan Conlay, Kuala Lumpur

Ink and wash of the huts at the eastern end of the colony. You can check out the actual scene below,
together with my outdoor set-up.

This is my first outdoor work of 2016. Had been busy with some work and today, being the eve of the City Day, I decided to visit the Artists Colony in Jalan Conlay. This originally started with a colony of traditional wooden huts for artists to work in but over the years, the number of huts dwindled. A car park came up in the middle instead. You could still artists at work here, on weekdays, 9am to 5pm daily. 

The several huts which captured by attention.

This is the west end of the colony. Lots of greenery but as you can see, the colony is hemmed in by development. This is prime land, and I hope the powers-that-be will reserve it for artists to work at. It's the only artistic attraction left in KL.

Quaint Village in Malacca

The Machap Baru Village is a well known for its many home operated restaurants serving
a variety of Chinese dishes, particularly game meats.

 MACHAP BARU is a traditional village of about 1,000 homes located in the district of Alor Gajah in Malacca. Populated mostly by the Chinese of Hakka descent, Machap Baru is located on high ground overlooking the upper reaches of the famous Durian Tunggal dam which dried up in 1991.

I painted this archway across the Machap Baru-Ayer Pasir state road that passes by the village. This archway marks the entrance to the village and from here you could see part of the Durian Tunggal dam. According to villagers here, no farming or animal husbandry activities are allowed near to the dam for fear of polluting the water.

Machap Baru is well known for its many home-operated restaurants that serve wild game dishes. For this reason, I was told, the Wildlife Department keeps a close eye on these home-run enterprises. Lately, tourists are arriving in droves three days each week, from Fridays to Sundays, to visit Machap Walk, a night market which features a wide range of gastronomic delights. Apart from Machap Walk, there is also a beautiful temple located at the hilltop of Machap Baru, which is said to be very popular during Chinese New Year when devotees come to pay homage to a deity.

This is the start of the Durian Tunggal Dam in Malacca,
the biggest dam in the state.

  

Opposite the Machap Baru archway is a stall that sells local agricultural produce like young coconuts, pumpkins and pineapples sourced from around the area. If you happen to be here, ask the stall owner for the red dragon fruits which are planted at his small plot of land just behind the stall. These sweet juicy fruits are affordably priced at RM6 a kilo for large ones. 

Bridge into Kuala Terengganu's past

The bridge was mentioned in the travel journal of Munsyi Abdullah

Kampung Cina, in Kuala Terengganu, is believed to have been set up by Chinese settlers in the 1700s or even earlier. Some of the traditional houses that lined the main street, Jalan Kampung Cina, are believed to be old as the town itself. This part of town is known as Teng Lang Po in the local Hokkien lingo, which means "Chinatown".

During my recent trip there, I found that the local community is also quite active in preserving a piece of the tow’s history. As a result, several alleys have been turned into "living museums" to display any artefact found or saved from the wave of development.

I chose to sketch this bridge because of its historical significance. From my conversations with the township's elders, this bridge that was built from bricks could be as old as the town itself. About two cars wide, the bridge has parapet walls about 1.5 m high, flanked by square shaped columns. They are adorned with floral motifs. I am not sure if the current colour scheme was the original one, however. 

Grim reminder of selfish motorists -
good thing that this was repaired the day
 I painted the piece.

The bridge spans across Alor Lorong Jamil, a stream that feeds directly into the Terengganu river before part of the river was reclaimed and turned into the present-day Pulau Warisan, a piece of land that now sits on what used to be the middle of the Terengganu river.

According to local history researcher Lorenz Law, 54, the bridge had been mentioned by Munsyi Abdullah in the travel journal recording his voyage from Singapore to Kelantan. In his account of his stopover in Kuala Terengganu in 1838, Munsyi Abdullah wrote that he came across a bridge “one dupa wide and six dupa long (an ancient linear measurement unit equivalent to two yards)” when he visited Kampung China. He also mentioned two rows of brick shophouses on both sides of the main street that were owned by Chinese families who spoke fluent Terengganu-Malay.

The weight of vehicles being illegally parked on the bridge had caused the left parapet wall to crack recently. However, maintenance staff from the local personnel had repaired it on the afternoon that I painted this scene.

Hot Springs Therapy in Hulu Tami

Hulu Tamu Hotsprings lies in the Batang Kali forest, off the main road.

DEEP in the heart of Bantang Kali, some six kilometres off the old road to Kuala Kubu Baru, lies the Hulu Tamu Hotsprings. The hotsprings is a popular haunt among locals and weekenders who know how to get there. It was rumoured that the hotsprings’ waters have medicinal value.

The Hulu Tamu hotsprings, which is believed to have undergone a RM100,000 upgrade early this year, has three  shaded gazebos and three pools. The waters in the two smaller pools are very hot, especially towards noon, while the biggest one is lukewarm. There is a canteen at the far end of the pool but choices are limited to bottle drinks and some food.

The pebbled path for those who want some foot reflexology.

The hotsprings area is surrounded by tall trees with thick foliage, making it shady spot for picnickers. There are also short pebbled paths beside the main gazebo that visitors use for foot massage or reflexology after soaking their feet. There is a small car park at the entrance to the hotsprings and a few more parking lots beside the canteen.

According to a local I met there, the hotsprings area has been fenced up and rumours have it that the local council would soon be charging a fee for entrance. It is not known if the pool is open 24 hours as there was no signboard or a security post.

Adjacent to the hotspring is the Cholo-cholo Resort and Restaurant, a privately operated establishment that is also quite popular with holiday makers.

I found Hulu Tamu hotsprings by accident while heading to Kuala Kubu Bharu to escape the recent haze. Having spotted the signboard near Batang Kali, on the KL-Ipoh old road, I decided to take a detour to seek it out. My GPS device did not show its location but you may use Waze as there is an entry of the location. Network connection in the area is erratic, however.

I painted this scene from the canteen parking lot, armed with mosquito repellent to keep the big variety of insect at bay.  

Raub - a town gold made famous

This rest house lies on the hillock overlooking the padang.

ACCORDING to a local who saw me painting the Raub Rest House at Jalan Dato Abdullah recently, the name of the township came from the Malay term “raup”, which means a scoop. The 70-something pakcik told me that his grandfather had related to him a story about a farmer and his two sons who had ventured to set up farm in the wilderness.

After having cleared and ploughed the land, the farmer and his son went to the river to get water to irrigate the plots. Upon reaching the river, they were not only attracted by the crystal-clear waters but also the glitter on the riverbed. Curious, they took a scoop of sand from the bottom of riverbed to see what the glitter was and were surprised to find gold nuggets among the grains of sand.

The news of their finding spread quickly and prospectors came from near and far to look for gold. There was so much gold in the river that every dulang of sand washed would yield a “raup” or a scoop of gold. Hence, the township became known as “Raup” or Raub today. It is said that the area where the padang is now located used to be a waterlogged piece of land that yielded the highest amount of gold deposits.

Another story told was that Raub received its name from the Rao (or Rawo) immigrant community who lived in the area who were mostly farmers and miners. The area, then known as the Rao Valley, became Raub in later years.

I painted his colonial-style rest house seated beneath an old raintree on the south-eastern end. This old rest house is located on top of a hillock which offers it a commanding view of Raub town. The rest house was built in 1908 and had been described as one of the finest in Pahang and Selangor in an old newspaper cutting of the 1930s. Back those days, whenever there was a major event in town, its premises were reserved for the accommodation of VIPs and top government officials.

Today, the rest house is still popular with tourists, especially those who want to experience a little bit of nostalgia in the bustling town centre.  On the walls of the rest house’s high ceiling lobby are old photographs and newspaper cuttings that mark the various milestone events in the town that gold made famous.

An old clock greets visitors on the ground floor.

The padang as seen from the arched doorway of the rest house.

Guardian of Nation's heritage

Badan Warisan Malaysia is housed in an old colonial-style building

This colonial-style bungalow, at No 2 Jalan Stonor, within walking distance from the Kuala Lumpur City Centre was built in 1925. Having passed through many owners, it was restored for reuse by Badan Warisan Malaysia in 1995. The century-old building today houses an exhibition area, the Heritage Centre’s premises, and a gift shop. It is also a popular venue for art exhibitions, product launches and meetings.

The building is built raised floors and faces a huge garden. I was here recently during an exhibition by Malaysian Heritage and History Club to mark the nation’s Independence and thought that it would be a good subject to paint. After all, there are not many such magnificent buildings left in the city centre that mark a chapter of our colourful history.

 

Rumah  Penghulu Abu Seman, one of the
oldest traditional Malay houses in the country
that have been saved from the ravages of time.

Just a stone’s throw away from the bungalow is the Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman, one of the oldest traditional Malay houses in the country that have been saved from the ravages of time. Believed to be built between 1910 and 1930 in stages, this all-timber abode was once owned by Mukim Bagan Semak, Bandar Baharu, in Kedah. Badan Warisan relocated and restored the house in 1996 from its original site in Kampung Sungai Kechil, also in Kedah.

In its silence presence beneath looming sky scrapers, this traditional house is no less grand than the colonial bungalow for it reflects the ingenuity of Malay builders of old, who have masterly incorporated functional use and environment-friendliness into its design. The floors have been raised to keep the structure airy and cool in hot weather. The house also has carved panelling that not only beautiful the walls but also allow good ventilation.

This is a traditional Kukur Nyiur
or a coconut scraper.

For those who wondered what guardians of the kitchen use in time of old, check out antique kitchen appliances here, which included a granite millstone (batu giling), lesong (pestle and mortar), and coconut scraper (kukur nyiur).

Guided tours are available daily from 11am and 3pm, except Sundays, with a minimum of donation RM10 per person. Call 03-2144 9273 for details or email info@badanwarisan.org.my

Bentong beckons

This was a side view of a dhoby housed in a pre-war building.
If I am not mistaken, the name of the shop is Muhibbah.

This is my take on an old building in Bentong, Pahang, located at the corner of Jalan Wayang. Bentong is not a big town, with the hive activity concentrated at the wet market area in the morning. By late afternoon, the town is transformed into a quiet enclave as most folk retire for the day. Once businesses close at 5pm thereabouts, the town can be pretty quiet. I was here for a few days to enjoy a day out sketching and some traditional food.

Bentong is famous for its durians, usually grown in the Kampung Tras areas, but the real gem that Bentong is very well-known for, since the 70s, is its ginger. You can find fresh or powdered ginger being sold by entrepreneurs under many brands.

Highland escapade

The Convent Primary School in Tanah Rata was built in the 1930s and
was one of the earliest Convent school to accept male pupils.

STUDENTS at the SK Convent Tanah Rata probably enjoy the highest located school on this side of the country. The school is also the highest landmark overlooking Tanah Rata (at 1,440 metres above sea level), which is the largest town in Cameron Highlands.

Brinchang is quiet on most days but on weekends
and public holidays, it comes alive with
a jam packed pasar malam.

According to available reference materials, the primary school began as a boarding school named Pensionnat Notre Dame. Officially opened on May 1, 1935, it was built on land allocated by the Sultan of Pahang of the time. It was originally set up for the daughters of English workers at the tea plantations on the highlands. However, the Convent began accepting boys since the 1960s when the government took over part of its administration.

Tanah Rata, which means flat land in Malay, is a bustling township now increasingly populated by hotels and guest houses for the growing number of tourists. There are travel agents, banks, money changers, sundry shops, fast food outlets, and 24-hour restaurants. There is even a Starbucks Coffee outlet at the main road, Jalan Besar.

The second largest town in Cameron Highlands is Brinchang, located about six kilometres from Tanah Rata. This is also the highest township on the highlands. Its main attraction is a pasar malam that operates during weekends and public holidays. Brinchang also has its fair share of restaurants, hotels and guest houses. Many of Cameron Highland’s attractions are located near Brinchang and during peak tourist periods, the jams here can rival that of many Malaysian cities, say my tour guide.

These two sketches were made during the short respites from the heavy downpours that marked by two-day stay in Cameron Highlands. A makcik who saw me struggling with the colours while painting the Convent advised that I visit Cameron Highlands from March to July as the weather would usually be more forgiving.

If you are heading up to Cameron Highlands, there are several roads that you can take. From the west coast of the Peninsula, the more popular ones off the North-South Expressway are the Tapah old road from the south or Simpang Pulai from the north.

Having used both during this trip, I feel that the Simpang Pulai approach is a better alternative as the road is wider and has fewer heart-stopping bends. If you are going up from Tapah, it helps to switch on the GPS so that you can be aware of bends ahead, as there are many narrow ones that may literally take your breath away. Drive slowly as chances are that you can expect to see vegetable lorries and tour buses race down the other side of the road. 

Rasa - a taste of rural township

The Sunday morning market in Rasa Town.

I was trying to escape the haze last week when I took a 70km drive to Rasa in Hulu Selangor. It wasn't very successful but I did enjoy myself having a plein aire session there. Rasa is a single street rural town lined by two rows of pre-War shophouses. With a residents profile of predominantly Malays and Chinese, there are several housing estates surrounding it. The Rasa Komuter station is at the side of the town and it was where one could still find some very old double-storey mansions and shop houses, some abandoned but some still inhabited.

The air was so thick with haze that I decided to do a quick sketch of four shop houses facing the Rasa train station.

Wat-er delight at Chamang Falls

The Chamang Waterfalls is one of the few
attractions in Bentong if you like Nature

The Chamang Waterfall, I was told by a local during a recent trip there, was Bentong’s well-kept secret until the late 90s when the tourism industry trained its sights on nature’s attraction. Located some 8km from the Jalan Tras trunk road, this waterfall is among the few attractions that the Bentong district in Pahang, has.

For those driving there for the first time, there are adequate sign boards that will take you there even if you do not use Waze or depend on GPS navigation. The road — Jalan Chamang — is also well paved right up to the waterfall area but on some stretches, you have to drive slowly as they are not only narrow but have bends.

This hanging bridge takes
you to the other bank.

There is a parking area near the waterfall which is big enough to park several tour buses. The parking area is located on higher ground overlooking the entrance to the waterfall area. Visitors are charged RM2 which goes to the park’s upkeep per entry. Just inside the entrance, at left, is a hanging bridge that takes you to the other side of Sungai Perting which begins at the fall. There are also toilet facilities.

If you want to have a cool dip, locals I met have advised to stick to the pools at the foot of the waterfall which are less treacherous. While the gushing white waters a few levels up look more inviting on a hot day, they are not to be taken too lightly. The rocks are slippery and in some areas, have very little foothold for you.  Those who have thrown caution to the wind, like jumping off the rocks and making a high dive, have ended up in serious trouble at some spots. Heed the caution signboards that have been put up near the danger spots; they may save your life.

This river is at the foot of the Falls.

This scene is painted from the foot of the waterfalls. I was fortunate to have the entire area to myself as it was a working week afternoon and the weather has been very kind.

Kuala Kubu Bharu's Memorial Clock Tower

The Kuala Kubu Bharu Memorial Clock Tower was built in 1931 to mark the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. It sits on the hilltop overlooking the KKB town. This memorial clock - looks more like a cenotaph - sits just at the entrance to the Traffic Police HQ. You can't see it from the road below because of the foliage surrounding this structure.

This Clock Tower was built in 1931, to commemorate the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

The shipmaker of Endau

The finished painting of the shipyard in Endau. Inset: Starting to put paint to paper.

While checking out the fishermen's wharves in Endau, a small fishing town about 150km south of Kuantan , Pahang, I stumbled upon a shipyard in Jalan Dato Mohd Ali that specialises in repair of local fishing boats. Being fond of marine vessels, I went right in uninvited to capture the scenery that I was familiar with while growing up near in Kuala Terengganu. 

Luckily for me, the owner of Cahaya Empat Slipway Sdn Bhd, Law Ah Wah, who is in his 70s, did not mind my intrusion. I explained to him that I wanted to paint one of the fishing boats that was undergoing repair and he agreed.

There were several fishing boats that were undergoing maintenance work that day. Under a shade at one end of the shipyard, a timber fishing vessel was being built. The boat that I intended to paint had undergone repairs and maintenance for some time and would be launched in a week. Another boat had just arrived and waiting to hauled onto land.

The shipyard uses several diesel-powered winches to tow the vessels onto a trailer which sits on a rail track before being hauled onto land. Once the boat is landed, it is cleaned and dried before the hull is stripped and checked for rotting parts and those that needed replacement.

For timber bottomed boats, planks of hardwood are usually joined side-by-side using a strong adhesive-sealant called damar. A type of fabric thread is inserted into the gaps between the joints before damar is applied. This is to not only strengthen joints but also make them waterproof. Once the joints are cured and smoothed, the hull is painted, and the vessel launched into the sea to continue its seafaring duties.