Day Trip to Sekinchan.
As the situation in Malaysia (and other countries) start to loosen up their restriction and going back to the 'normal' normal, traveling domestically is something that a lot of people are doing.
Although I have already traveled to Singapore in June, I still wanted to share this Sekinchan trip that we did in May. Sekinchan is a small town in Selangor and was initially a fishing village. However, it's now popularly known for its scenic view of paddy fields.
I suggested my family to visit Sekinchan during the Raya holidays but my relatives advised against it due to the holidays. So we visited on a weekend after Raya in hopes to avoid the crowd and traffic jam.
On the day of trip, we got up in the morning and traveled by car. I was surprised to find out (due to poor planning, I guess) that it takes an hour and a half to get there even though it's within Selangor. Nevertheless, we got there without much traffic or troubles. We were greeted by wide fields of green paddy plants upon our arrival.
The sun was already up, but that didn't stop us from taking a bunch of pictures of the paddy fields. I never thought such view existed within my state.
Near the paddy fields, we took a look at small shop called Ah Ma House which I guess is known for its traditional and antique decorations and items. Honestly, I have seen many shops and restaurants with a similar themes in Kuala Lumpur so it didn't really impress me.
We then moved on to the Paddy Gallery, a rice-processing facility and museum which is also nearby. We took the tour where they educated us on the rice-planting process and how it ends up on our shelves. It only costs RM5 per person and they even gave us a small packet of rice, so I think it's worth it. Unfortunately, I retained none of the information and can't share any fascinating rice-paddy facts with you guys.
Just outside the paddy gallery, there is a area where I believe is the paddy nursery. There's a long straight pathway you can walk and see the different stages of paddy growth, from the seedling stages to the mature golden paddy plant. If you're visiting at the wrong season, I guess you can still drop by this area to look at the paddy plant cycle.
We left the paddy gallery and headed to Sekinchan beach, which is only 10-15 minutes away on the west coast. Nearby the beach there is a Wishing Tree where you can buy a RM1 wish ribbon and toss it onto the tree. The beach wasn't particularly beautiful nor was it clean, but it has been a while since I saw the ocean.
There are many food stalls around the beach area so it's unlikely you'll get hungry. We ate a stall where we ate some fried seafood and drank some coconut water. Ironically, I find the fried mushroom tasted the best.
After our lunch, we attempted to shop for dried seafood for my mum. We stopped by one of the many shops near the beach, but they only sold live ones. We didn't really try to find more shops because it was inconvenient to park and get down the car at every shop.
We made a trip back to the paddy gallery area because I wanted to try a popular ice-blended mango drink. The store (Mango King) is situated beside a small road so there wasn't a lot of space to park, so we decided to visit Nan Tian Gong temple first which is very nearby.
At this temple, there are viewing towers that offer a very beautiful view of the paddy fields. The stairs leading to the top of the tower are quite steep, and you'll have to mind your head on the way up and down. My mom felt bad that if we just came by to took pictures, so we made an offering and prayed at the temple too.
On our second attempt to get the ice-blended mango drink, we managed to find a parking space. We were lucky there wasn't much of a queue but it still took a while for them to prepare the drink. I recommend just getting the original mango flavour and ditch the passion fruit combo, because it's too sour even for my taste.
And that concludes our day trip to Sekinchan. Unfortunately, it took us more than two hours to get back home due to traffic and some poor navigation by Google Maps. Nevertheless, I'm glad I finally got to visit Sekinchan as it has always been a place I wanted to visit. I also just wanted to go somewhere in this pandemic.
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Traveling internationally during the pandemic is a lot different compared to pre-covid times (obviously). There were more restrictions, documents to apply and worries to think about, but I think it's getting a lot better now.
I was always an anxious person when it comes to international traveling, especially if I'm going somewhere alone. So while planning my trip to Singapore during late June got me very nervous and thinking of the worst. Thankfully, the process isn't that strict anymore and you can pretty much get in and out the country without much hassle.
I'm glad I got to travel to another country and look at a different view, meet my friends and eat delicious food, and in general not worry about work and just relax. It was only four short days, but I think it was worth every second.
I'm an introvert by nature, but I think I took going outside and traveling by granted during the pandemic. I get tired if I have to go out everyday, but I do realise the importance of stepping out of the house once in a while.
I hope everyone has the chance to travel as they please now that the the world is slowly going back to normal. I know traveling overseas for leisure is a privilege, and that's why I will never take it for granted again.
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