Thursday, June 21, 2007

of paddy fields and daffodils

Right, I'm probably dreaming a bit here. There's lots of paddy fields but no daffodils in Kedah, as you can see in the pictures below.

I made a quickie day trip to Alor Star and Sungai Petani yesterday. First flight in, last flight out. It was a reconnaissance trip to check out the area for some work-related thingy. The area of interest was the Merbok River basin. It has very nice mangroves along its estuarine banks, from the river mouth at Tanjung Dawai and extending upstream past Sg. Petani town. Gunung Jerai (1380m) forms a dramatic backdrop to the flat coastal plain where rice paddies dominate.


Alor Star Landmark


UFO!


Wobbly jetty near the river mouth


Boats


Row


A cow's life, Gunung Jerai in the background


Infinity on a coastal bund


Field


Sky


Reflections from the past


Stop


The Straits of Melaka as seen from Tanjung Dawai beach


Sg. Tupah


Sunshine through the clouds

6 comments:

el'z said...

"Country roads, take me home
To the place, I be-long..."

your country-sight shots very nice... majestic Jerai standing tall amidst the green plains...boats and jetties..

i love the sight of paddy fields along the freeway to my hometown... especially when it's blazing gold...but when i'm back, i'll be complaining "so HOT".

HL said...

Thank you. Hmmm, paddy fields are somehow always very scenic... it's something about the wide open space and interplay between sky and land.

I can imagine the change in mood from green at planting to golden at harvest time. As for the hotness... you could go jump in the irrigation canals...?

Anonymous said...

A sudden picture of an UFO discovery in the series is a knock-off (LOL) but it's hilarious. Is this always your style of telling stories through pictures?

But on the more serious note, the green paddy fields are so captivating especially with the stop sign. You didn't take this on purpose, did you?

You do have a lot to tell us through the pictures you took.

HL said...

I'm not sure how to describe my "style". It's a mix of scientific documentation, standard touristy postcards, serendipitous shots and wacky angles.

Yes, I took the stop sign on purpose. I was passing by and saw the scene and stopped the car and wound down the window and just took one shot. I thought it looked like something from National Geographic.

Unknown said...

aww.. no daffodils.. *sad*
oh well, paddy fields are nice too. Loved to drive past them whenever i return to sitiawan :) As far as the eye can see and i love the "bangau"s standing tall in the fields.. White spots amongst the green.. nice.. :)

HL said...

No daffodils, but got lallang. :P Those white "bangau"s eat parasites on the "kerbau"s skin and keep them "kerbau" clean. So they're in a symbiotic win-win relationship.