Lembah Bujang, Kedah

This visit was actually unplanned.  But then, when did we ever really plan our trips?  Most of them were at the spur of the moment. And very few were really planned.  The unexpecteds were what spice up our lives together and I hope you will remember and pass those memories to your children.

So, this trip was originally for a wedding reception of Papa's second cousin in Sungai Petani.  The reception only took at most 2 hours.  So, it'd be a waste of time to head back home.  Since, it's already near Merbok, Papa decided to bring you guys to Lembah Bujang to visit an old civilization, before Islam came to our country.  That's why we didn't dress for the occasion but we didn't care as long as we're able to enjoy our visit, we'd be fine.

Lembah Bujang dates thousands of years ago. Kedah has the oldest kingdom in the world, more than 1000 years old and even older than Thailand.  And the Hindu civilization there was even older.  So, the Kingdom of Kedah was originally headed by a Hindu King - I think of Malay descent, not an Indian. But who knows.  There were many temples and some are still buried underground next to people's houses in villages in the vicinity.  Excavation works are still ongoing there but in a much smaller scale than previously headed by a British (I think) curator.

Well, anyway, there are many versions of why and how the civilization ended.  Some say due to the changes of the weather and climate, the temples slowly started sinking underground.  Some also say that after the last Hindu King converted to Islam, he ordered the temples to be buried under ground.  I'm willing to go with the second opinion.  It's more logical.

Elevated pose.

There's a waterfall and quite a number of visitors having a picnic.

Inside the museum there.

Most artifacts there were made of stones - stone pillars, stone tablets with inscriptions, hinduism-buddhism religious relics, statues, clay plates, religious icons, beads etc. 

The atmosphere in the hall was cool, not stuffy.  There were not many people inside the museum as many were having a picnic or enjoying the temples outside.  Papa and I decided that you guys should have little knowledge about the place before we explore further uphill towards the temples.

This was outside the museum.  Asha and Meen tengah melompat seperti yang diarahkan Papa.

Why was Asha hanging? She looked like a cliffhanger.

There's an artifact behind us, but we're more interested to take pictures of us than of it. Hahaha...

These were the steps uphill towards the temples.  Tinggi oooo!  Nina yang rendah terpaksa berdiri atas step belakang Asha supaya sama tinggi dengan adik dia.

At one of the temples there. Amboi sayangnya Mama dia kat dia!

Papa pun nak la jugak.

There were many pathways, either uphill or downhill.  Pilih ja larat jalan kot mana.

Another one of the ancient temple there.  There were more uphill.  Tapi setakat ni pun dah termengah-mengah.

Tempat tu memang cantik dan nyaman. Maybe sebab hari nak hujan jugak kot :-)

Asha tu pandai panjat, tapi nak turun terkial-kial. Kena pulak pakai baju kurung.  Hahaha.. terjun ja Asha!

I was looking for a place to sit. Tak larat nak jalan dah.  Penat naik bukit tadi tu.

Green, green, green everywhere.

 

Mama masih tak mau jalan. So, depa pulun ambik gambag depa dulu.

O yeah! I like this one! Ni idea Asha la ni. People were watching you, but what the heck. We don't know them and will never meet them again.  Pulun ja....

On the way home, we stopped at Pantai Murni.  But the weather wasn't cooperating.  The sea was a bit rough.  The waves were crashing.  So, we didn't stay there long.

Balik rumah keletihan but always fun!  I miss Kedah!