It was not very far from our house, actually, but we had to go through palm oil plantations and the road was not very cooperative. I had a headache because of the winding road. After what seemed like forever we arrived in Sungai Lembing in the middle of the day. It was VERY hot and my temper was also heating up. We were hungry. We were also thirsty. Everybody's in a foul mood except for Papa who's always cool in whatever situations.
It was an old and a quaint town. It's very beautiful despite my mood swing. It's also not a dead town either. There were activities around. The old buildings were charming. It's like going back in time. And I couldn't help but be in awe. Some buildings were still standing strong while many were also dilapidating, the years eating them away. Old sundry shops were manned by old chinese men, idling away the time, resting on lazy couches in front of their shops.
The road leading to the town was next to a river. There were many suspended bridges, some still in good condition and some rotted away, to access the other side of the river. Oh! Those were just wonderful sceneries! Anyway, in December of 2012, there was a big flood in the area, despite it being upstream, and most of the bridges were washed away.
Papa decided that we should eat first. Of course! So, we stopped at a foodcourt and ate Mee Jawa. Quite delicious! After eating, we moved on towards the museum. It's situated on a hill. It's a very beautiful building - a house originally used by the English mine manager before World War 2!
Sungai Lembing was the main producer of tin then, supplying tin all over the world. It was said that the production, export and profit from this mine helped the British Empire to buy back one of the countries she lost to some other empires! Amazing huh?! Mine shafts run hundreds of miles underground - both vertically and horizontally. Most of the caves were closed and a few were under renovation when we were there to allow visitors to be able to enter the shafts and experience firsthand what the miners endured years and years ago. It's now open to public and we're yet to visit there again. The mine is still operating now with very little production under a local company.
So anyway, it was a long climb to the top of the hill. Lenguh haih!
This guardhouse was at the foot of the hill but nobody was manning it.
No entrance fee to this museum. Yay!
The reason why we didn't climb up the hill yet was because we were too full after eating Mee Jawa. Haha... So, we're resting there for a few minutes before the literally uphill task to the museum. The building in the background was the museum. It's very beautiful and romantic!
Papa with her girls. This was in front of the main entrance.
Mama and bffs! Super gumok kan Mama masa ni?
Lepas picture taking, letih la pulak sebab panjat bukit tadi tu. Luckily there were many benches there that allowed the visitors to rest before or after the museum tour.
Nina tu bila dah kenyang, dia mengantuk la.
The surrounding was also beautifully kept. There were a few gazebos around housing some old machinery once used in the mine.
Pandai jugak Meen ambik gambaq ni. TQ Meen!
Then, we entered the building. We went straight to the reception counter first. After signing our names in the guest book, we started wandering around. The building was a wooden one. So, we clickety clanked our way in. The were not very many visitors.
The exhibitions downstairs were mostly on old maps of the area and of old Pahang, old pictures of Englishmen and women attached to the mine operation over a hundred years ago, samples of tin ores, pictures of thin and gaunt miners all hoarded up in small wooden lifts ready to be lowered down far into the mine, equipments and tools used in the mine, more pictures of Englishmen and Englishwomen and how they fought the Japanese during WWII, excerpts from a memoir written by one of the mine manager's sister who accompanied him to Malaya because he's not married and he needed someone to help him entertained distinguished guests including the Sultan at that time who apparently visited the mansion a lot and slept there, stories on how one by one the Englishmen fought and killed in the war including the manager himself and so many other interesting items once related to the operation of the Sungai Lembing mine and to the lifestyle of the rich back then.
I didn't know that visitors were allowed to take pictures so I didn't take any downstairs. Only after I saw some other visitors snapping away did I realised that it's ok to take pictures.
So we moved upstairs and were greeted by a huge picture of an English lady who turned out to be the manager's sister who wrote the memoir. It seemed that she played a very important role as the mistress of the house helping her brother in the daily management of the mansion. If I'm not mistaken, she left for England after the war broke.
I hope you're aware of the history of our country with our museum visits, It's so much fun watching you guys absorbing all information and started to ask about the history every time we finished our museum tour.
A room usually occupied by the Sultan whenever he visited the mansion.
Exhibits of pot and pans, knick knacks, treasure trove (mmm......), more old pictures on the lifestyle back then - cricket match included, of course! Papa was watching a documentary on the Sungai Lembing mine and it's history.
I guess the atmosphere of the place and town back then was very English.
They even had an English clubhouse there. The clubhouse building was still standing in the town center.
Old typewriters used in the operation of the mine including account books and ledgers.
Being photobombed by Nina.
These were some of the tools used by the miners. We had to walk slowly because we shook up the glass.
Behind Nina, Asha and Meen was a replica of a very small part of the mine. It ran down miles underground.
An old tricycle used by one of the staff's children and Meen was very interested in it. The museum management built a walking plank throughout the rooms. Behind the building was also a small theater showing short movies of the mine. There was also a replica of a pump showing how they pumped tin ore and it was quite noisy with sounds of blasting dynamites.
On the right side of this picture was a car used by the manager.
There were many other buildings near the main mansion but they're not open to public. The scenery from this hill and from the upper level of the house was beautiful and breathtaking. The buildings on the sides dwelled in the production of tin including the staff quarters. The whole complex was huge, really. It showed the tin business then was really big and important. From the old map shown, the town was the last access point and livable area. Beyond it were forests and more forests into remote areas of the state.
So that's the end of our tour. Memang happy dapat melawat muzium. Maybe in the near future, we'll be back and this time we'll take a tour into the mine :-) Boleh kan Papa? I'm sure you read my blog. Hehehe...
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