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KEDAH – The Rice Bowl of Malaysia
Langkawi Island / Pulau Langkawi

langkawiLangkawi island is an archipelago of 104 islands lying in the north western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The exact location of these tropical islands is at the site where the Straits of Malacca meets the waters of the Andaman Seas. The largest of these islands is called Langkawi Island and is bigger than the Penang Island.The other islands in this group are Island of Pregnant Maiden (Pulau Dayang Bunting), Lion Island (Pulau Singa Besar) and Beras Basah Island.The smallest of these islands are atolls roughly the size of an ordinary house!

Langkawi is coined from the Malay words Lang and Kawi. Lang is a brown eagle and Kawi is a local manganese stone.The ancient fishermen must have seen eagles flying clutching the manganese stones! A giant monument of a brown eagle clutching the manganese stone greets all visitors to Langkawi near the Kuah Jetty.

The main tourist attractions of Langkawi Island is its virgin white sandy beaches.The beaches have very gentle continental slope and the water is crystal clear.

 
Muzium Negeri / State Museum
kedah state museumAs a state museum, it houses a large collection of Kedah's historical, culture, and royal heritages. The collection includes early Chinese porcelain, artefacts from the archaeological excavations in Lembah Bujang (Bujang Valley) and a fabulous pokok bunga emas or 'gold tree' produced as a tribute to the Thais.

The museum is also a research centre on Kedah's civilisation. Before the present premise was built in 1936, the museum - officially opened by the then Kedah Mentri Besar Tan Sri Tunku Ismail Tunku Yahya (Tunku indera Setia), on February 3, 1957 - was located in the Balai Besar (Grand Hall).

 
Perangin Sik

perangin sikPerangin Sik is located 3 km from Sik or 80 km from Alor Setar. Situated nearby is the Kedah Economic Development Authority (KEDA) Training Centre. This area is also popularly known as 'Rimba Taqwa' and it is the earliest recreational forests that has been established in the state of Kedah. It gains its popularity after the official launching of Semarak Negeri Kedah in 1986. Along the journey to this recreational forest, visitors would have the opportunity to observe fruit orchards, rubber estates and traditional Malay villages. It has a large campsite that could conveniently accommodate some 1000 campers. This site has been earmarked for the next International Scout Jamboree.

There is a wide variety of flora and fauna of lowland dipterocarp forest.

 
Gunung Jerai
Formerly known as Kedah Peak, Gunung Jerai is a massive limestone outcrop rising 1200 m above sea level, south of Alor Setar in Kedah. The cool, fresh mountain air is matched by the quiet serenity of its natural surroundings. On clear days, different vantage points on the mountain offer spectacular views of the rolling rice fields of Kedah stretching up to Perlis in the North; the emerald seas surround Penang in the South-West and the legendary islands of Langkawi in the North-West.

gunung jerai This magnificent mountain is has its own share of history and fascinating legends.The discovery of the ruins of Hindu and Buddhist temples at the foot of the hills established its importance as an ancient centre of Hindu civilisation within the region. Varied tales also abound about the famous 'Raja Bersiong' ( the king with fangs ) who once held sway over an ancient kingdom within the Bujang Valley at the foot of the mountains. Recent archeological findings reveal the existence of the Temple on the Ninth Water pool ( Chandi Telaga Sembilan ) - many believe this pool to be the private pool of Raja Bersiong. Indeed , amidst such majestic surrounding, its would be difficult to separate fact from fiction.
 
 
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