>THE sight of emerald green countryside just outside Kangar was a far cry from the narrow, traffic-choked trunk road linking this capital city of Perlis with Alor Setar.
Ploughing through such heart-pounding traffic with weaving cars, motorcycles, occasional packed buses and clogged intersections reminded us very much of Kuala Lumpur, which we left about seven hours ago.
It set me thinking that if there was one route that badly needed a four-lane highway, it would be the Alor Setar-Kangar stretch.
As we left the busy thoroughfare, the view became postcard perfect - lush trees and padi fields dotted with craggy limestone hills under a brilliant blue sky.
Sheltered by the hills, the padi fields were a sight so welcoming that I felt I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world right at that moment.
As dusk fell, we watched white egrets flying in formation, perhaps returning to their resting place, and farmers making their way home through the padi fields.
The soothing sight was a good start to a four-day break in Perlis.
To The Countryside
In the days ahead, we learned that it was possible to reach even the most distant points in the State within 40 minutes. Perlis is after all Malaysia's smallest State, only about three times the size of Penang.
It shares a northern border with Satun, Thailand, and on the east and south with Kedah. To the west is the Straits of Malacca, with some vantage spots along its coast that offer unobstructed views of the open sea.
Pockets of sandbar islands lend character to Tasik Melati.
The Kuala Perlis-Kampung Sanglang route offers some of the best countryside views. At certain stretches, we saw the road flanked by the sea on one side and patches of padi fields and irrigation canals on the other.
The beaches are flat and the shores lined with boulders to prevent wave erosion. The dull, grey sea is nothing to look at; it gets bluer only when one heads towards Langkawi, departing from the Kuala Perlis jetty.
But it's the activities on the seashores that are charming. When the tide was low, we saw people wading in knee-deep muddy waters to collect cockles, clams and mussels.
Fishermen in small boats and sampans were returning from sea with their catch, unloading them into basins and baskets.
Stalls dotting the coastline sold some of the fresh catch as well as belacan (shrimp paste), the specialty there.
On the side of the road fronting the padi fields, boys cast lines to fish at the canal or caught fish fry with their bare hands or plastic bags.
The grounds along the canal are lush with banana trees, mango and coconut trees. Where trees offer shade, stalls have sprouted up, attracting people to come and have their favourite kopi-O or teh-O, laksa Perlis, pasembor (northern-style rojak) and pisang goreng (fried bananas).
Kuala Sanglang is a bustling trading centre for fishermen but nearby Kuala Sungai Baru, with a little fishing port, is more scenic, especially at the Sungai Baru Bridge.
We saw bobbing in the waters, colourful boats, and on the riverbanks were makeshift huts where fishermen mended their nets or took a breather from their hard toil.
Turning off at Simpang Empat, we found ourselves on narrow roads passing through flat land with miles and miles of padi fields that occasionally gave way to majestic limestone hills, and to attap-roofed wooden homes built on stilts to big concrere bungalows on pockets of "islands".
We didn't worry about losing our way as there were many milestones on the roadside to indicate the way to either Kuala Perlis or Kangar. In fact, it's hard to get lost in tiny Perlis as most roads are linked to the two towns and to the royal town of Arau.
This reminded us of the famous northern Malay saying: "Pi mai, pi mai, tang tu jugak!" (you go round in circles and you still end up at the same spot).
People And Food
Soon we found ourselves back in Kuala Perlis where the coastal road ended at Sungai Perlis. There were a few fishing boats docked at some old, rickety wooden jetties.
Pockets of sandbar islands lend character to Tasik Melati.
The sun was just touching the rim of the sea, squinting down at the few boats, silhouetted against the bluish orange sky.
We hung out at Laman Brasmana, within walking distance to the jetty, where throngs of people disembarked from ferries from Pulau Langkawi.
The slight evening breeze carried with it the strong, sweet aroma of grilled fish and satay. The source? A line of seafood stalls facing the sea.
On the way there, I could hear my tummy rumble. An hour later, my husband, my son and I had cleaned plates of grilled siakap and squid, sweet-sour clams and mixed vegetables with rice - for only RM45, including drinks!
One of the pleasures of holidaying in Perlis is the cheap food. Pre-packed nasi lemak still goes for 50 sen per pack! Nasi dagang, nasi kerabu and other rice dishes with meat are sold from RM1 to RM2.50. One such stall lies opposite Masjid Alwi - almost a century-old mosque with Islamic and Malay architecture - at Persiaran Jubli Emas. It's only open for breakfast.
Not too far from the mosque is Fatin Corner where you can get hot chicken rice and zesty laksa Perlis with a generous amount of flaked fish in its gravy, a side serving of otak udang (shrimp sauce) and slices of lime and cili padi for added zing. To cool off, there's ice-cold cendol, with or without pulut (steamed glutinous rice). The cendol, sweet corn, coloured jelly and cincau are drowned in santan, with a mountain of shaved ice and red and brown syrup. This utterly sweet, rich dessert evens out the taste of the tangy laksa.
Food here is as interesting as the mix of its peoples whose mannerisms and dialects show influences of northern Malay, Thai and even Kelantanese. It's also a melting pot of other races.
The wide variety of food includes fast food outlets, especially in the newer parts of town. But it's more fun to eat at stalls with seats under attap roofs and in restaurants in pre-war shophouses or eateries at the fringes of padi fields, the sea and lakes.
Pristine Lakes
Lakes dot the flat land of Perlis. One of these is Tasik Melati, just about 10 minutes' drive from Kangar town. Concrete walkways mar the otherwise scenic man-made lake, a popular recreational place for boating, picnics and jogging.
The water, though green, looks murky but pockets of little sandbar islands with trees lend character to the place.
The most stunning-looking lake is perhaps Timah Tasoh, also a dam fed by Sungai Timah and Sungai Tasoh. It's visible from the Kangar-Padang Besar trunk road.
The area surrounding the lake is a sanctuary for birds, including herons and egrets. From April to August, birds from Central Asia migrated to this spot to escape the harsh winter.
Not a birdwatcher, I was more drawn to signs along the road that read "Ikan Pekasam". We stopped at a stall offering this local delicacy of fresh fish fermented in salt, but alas, it was all sold out as a busload of local tourists on the way to the shopping haven of Padang Besar had stopped by earlier and "sapu bersih" (took all) the fish.
Cross-border Shopping
Padang Besar, straddling the border with Thailand, earned its reputation as a cowboy town from the rows of dilapidated shophouses and dusty dirt roads.
Though there are modern shops and complexes, it still has the old, chaotic ambience with makeshift stalls shaded by large, colourful umbrellas or simply tarpaulin covers.
Buses, construction lorries, pickup trucks and cars with many bearing Thai number plates inch their way through narrow roads with potholes.
But don't let this picture of a dowdy town fool you, as Padang Besar attracts busloads of local and foreign visitors from near and far.
Bargaining is the order of the day and those with a knack for haggling often leave gleefully with bags of goodies. Women often go ga-ga over cheap comforters, clothes as well as pots and pans, most of which are brought in from across the border.
The men, however hard they try to hide it, are more obviously charmed by the sweet smiles and soft, sing-song tones of shop women speaking in Thai accent.
Personally, I prefer shopping in Wang Kelian, another border town about 40km north of Kangar. Here, the weekend open-air market is held from Saturday afternoon till late evening and all of Sunday.
The Malaysian and Thai immigration posts are within shouting distance. The Thai checkpoint at Wang Prachan is the gateway to Satun, about 32km away.
It was drizzling the Sunday morning we were there. Strong, cold winds blew across the valley of Wang Kelian, sandwiched between towering, mist-covered limestone hills.
Colourful umbrellas sprouted up over hundreds of stalls lining the road, stretching for more than 1km on both sides of the border.
Stallkeepers did brisk business selling mostly foodstuff and Thai-made goods from bags and clothings to handicrafts and toys.
We stepped into Thailand without producing our passports, on condition that we remained in the market area. Sadly, this "free entry" would soon be halted.
The passport-free weekend visits for the past 15 years was revoked by the Malaysian Government on Dec 18 last year for security reasons. Following this, visitors to the market must produce their passports while Malaysians living along the Malaysia-Thailand border could apply for a border pass to enter and leave the country.
Goods sold at Wang Kelian are similar to those in Padang Besar but the novelty of shopping in Wang Kelian is the cross-border walkabout. The other pleasure is driving through mountain ranges with the narrow road winding up ridges and descending into valleys.
Cave Walk
Not too far from Wang Kelian is the Perlis State Park, situated on the country's longest, continuous range of limestone hills that form the Nakawan Range.
A park ranger told us that the range has heavily forested slopes, rugged cliff faces, extensive caves and streams. Its uniqueness includes semi-deciduous forests, such as the White Meranti-Gerutu Forest with trees that shed leaves, lending the area a lovely autumn feel.
As we didn't have a permit to enter the park, we could only view it from the outside. Even its fringes are lined with verdant bushes and giant trees.
We made a short detour to Kaki Bukit to explore Gua Kelam or Cave of Darkness. It is in a recreation park with a cascading stream. The cave is hollowed out from a limestone massif by an underground stream ages ago.
The original cave was enlarged more than 80 years ago to facilitate transportation of tin ore mined in the area for 10 years from 1920.
Later, it became an easy access for locals walking on foot or riding on motorcycles to get from Kaki Bukit to Wang Tangga on the other side of the cave tunnel and vice versa.
The rock formations inside the cave were not particularly attractive except for some flow-stones with golden hues on the ceilings.
Huge steel ropes that suspend a 370-metre-long walkway over the underground stream and attached to the stone walls somewhat stunted the growth of the limestones.
The walk through the cave takes about 15 minutes and at the end of it, you are rewarded with the sight of the stream flowing out into pools set in a landscaped park.
Gua Kelam looks pretty much like a commercialised showcase with lights switched on daily from 8.30am to 6.30pm.
Still, it was a short respite from the fierce afternoon heat. As I rested, my thoughts drifted to the cool, green padi fields with their boundless grace and beauty and the open, breezy market within the hills of Wang Kelian. These memories would be lingering in my mind for a while.
