Time is envious. It was already the third day and after having breakfast with Mak Tok, it is time to say goodbye.

Mak Tok prepared a very traditional nasi lemak along with Malay kuih cucur badak and cucur keria and coffee and tea to wash everything down with, and even offered to pack up some fruits for us to bring back home, but I was already getting tearful and all emotional. After bidding goodbye to Mak Tok and ‘salam’ my family and I left Mak Tok’s house in Kg. Pauh, Bukit Gantang with a heavy heart.

I wonder when I’ll be able to visit Mak Tok again? I certainly wish that we could visit again soon. 2 days with Mak Tok is definitely not enough.

But I guess life goes on. Our time was up and we have to leave and head over to Karai, Perak for the next thing on our agenda; Victoria Railway Bridge Green Day and Voluntourism Launching for Perak State by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri. 🙂

Members of the media…on the way to cross the bridge so that we can go to ‘the other side’.

People crossing the bridge.

Pretty crowded that day. Everyone is heading to the other side for the launching.

A closer look at Victoria Bridge

View from above

The scene from up above is calming but deadly. I was told by the locals that crocodiles can be spotted every now and then in the river, waiting patiently to chomp down on their unsuspecting victims.

To be honest, the Victoria Bridge reminds me of a haunted railway bridge, and rightly so. According to the locals, there are plenty of paranormal activities associated with the Victoria Railway Bridge. Pretty freaky, and according to them, the bridge is haunted by the spirit of a teacher who committed murder-suicide. The teacher who committed suicide killed her son and daughter by pushing them off from the bridge before jumping down herself. The folks in Karai also mentioned that should I encounter any form of woman in the middle of the bridge, wearing traditional clothes asking for direction, I shouldn’t answer as that would be the spirit of the bridge who will push me down to death once I responded.

I shuddered as I listened to the tales and folklores told by the locals in Karai regarding to the Victoria Bridge and tried to assure myself that there is no such things as ghosts or spirits, and it is absolutely safe to go across. It was bright daylight. No spirits would dare to haunt me.

But boy I was wrong. I had the misfortune of encountering a paranormal activity myself. I think I met the spirit of the bridge when I was in the middle of the bridge myself!

It was indeed a horrifying experience. For a moment, I wondered if we were the only one who experienced such a thing, but apparently other members of the media and bloggers experienced the same thing too! Gosh! Something needs to be done about this. I think bomohs or priests should be called for exorsism so that the spirit could go back to where it belongs and rest in peace instead of haunting the bridge and the living.

But luckily for us, regardless of the spooky and horrifying encounter that nobody wants to talk about, we still managed to get across safely. Rangers awaits our arrival. 🙂

The members of media were given selempang. Selempang is a term used to refer to the piece of cloth referring to batik or pelikat and similar to the Hawaiians’ leis, selempang is used to welcome guests of honours during special occasions or events. Traditionally, the selempang is used by Malay farmer as headgears to protect them from the glare of the sun, or to wipe sweat.

Blogger friends posing with performers. There is actually a launching gambit going on when we arrived, but apparently, only the folks from mainstream media were acknowledged as media and no bloggers were allowed any interview or coverage during the press conference. So yea…sorry…again, there is no pic of our beloved minister.

So what’s a girl to do? Well, luckily for me there is always food.

Makan berhidang session for is members of the media and tourists.

Among the food served; fragrantly pungent ikan pekasam goreng, ikan patin gulai tempoyak, beef curry, beef rendang, ayam masak merah, and ulams to dip with sambal belacan and sambal tempoyak. All of these are served with plain rice and nasi minyak. Don’t ask me how many helpings I helped myself too, but I can assure you that it is not something my nutritionist will agree with.

After lunch, we hops back on our bus for a lil tour in Kuala Kangsar, the royal district of DYMM Sultan Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak.

Stay tune to see what we did in Kuala Kangsar. 🙂