History of the Paddy Museum (Muzium Padi)

Do you have questions about rice? Have you ever wondered about the origin of rice? How is rice cultivated? Are you curious to know more about rice?

Well, the best place to gather information about rice is at the Paddy Museum (Muzium Padi). This museum is located at the foot of Gunung Keriang, which is 8km from the city of Alor Setar in Kedah. It was officially opened by DYMM Tuanku Sultah Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah, the Sultan of Kedah on 12^th October 2004. This is the first paddy museum in Malaysia, and the fourth to be opened in the world after Japan, Germany and the Philippines.

                   The structure of building that looks like a bundle of paddy stalks


The museum has a unique architecture. The structure  is built  to look like a bundle of paddy stalks (gemai padi), consisting of the main building and six other secondary buildings surrounding it.

The Paddy Museum consists of three levels. On Level One, visitors can gain insights into the history of paddy planting in Kedah and view the exhibits comprising of traditional paddy planting equipment like ‘kapok, renggam and tenggiling’. On Level Two, there are six galleries where mural paintings depicting various agricultural activities are exhibited.

My favourite spot in this museum is at Level Three. This level is designed in such a special way that visitors feel as if they are standing at the peak of Gunung Keriang, surrounded by a 360 degrees panoramic view of a malay village below, with miles and miles of green paddy fields and blue sky above. Actually, the whole scenery is a giant mural painted on the walls and ceiling of Level Three.


Here are some pictures on the Muzium Padi Kedah scenic doom

If you are ever in Kedah, you must visit this Paddy Musuem. The entrance fee is  RM3.00 (adult) and RM1.00 (children). Believe me…this is a small investment for what you gain is worth more than that. 

just a piece :)

I rarely get connected to internet and even my phone always has weak coverage, so, I am sorry if this entry does not fulfill the requirement provided (I read not even halfway what was posted on facebook before I got disconnected, so, pardon me) ^.^v

I am listening to Dream of Goose while writing this, just to get  into the mood. This song always  gives me a certain feeling, kind of melancholic.

If you ask me what I remember from our trip, I would say that I did not really remember what I had gained academically; I do remember that the those paintings could even beat Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa but I could not recall the names of the traditional  exhibits or even the varieties of rice displayed. But, I remember that I had a wonderful unforgettable memory with you guys and girls on that day. Oh yes, now I remember that  the names of our sport houses (rumah sukan) Malinja, Mahsuri, Ria and Bahagia are the names of  different types of rice. Unexpected, isn’t it?

I am from a small family. My family consists of my parents, me and my little brother. So, boarding a bus with other 17 ‘siblings’ was a lifetime experience for me. All eighteen of us are different; a-cheeky-and-critical-JC, a-gentleman-Simon, an-innocent-Izni, a-firm-Komalah, every one of us is different, but when we boarded the bus, I couldn’t see that difference anymore. We were just like small kids , eager for our first trip together. I remembered Zhi Hui’s effort to block out the wind by pushing up the window, only to find that the window would slide down with a crash – giving everyone a scare each time that happened.  Well, the wind sure made a mess of her hair as well as Jay Ying’s who sat next to her. I remembered how we giggled and laughed seeing Zhi Hui’s “fight” with the window.  For those who don’t quite know Zhi Hui, she’s one person who makes sure her hair is always in place, falling smoothly down to her shoulders like those models you see in shampoo adverts.  But, on that day  we saw the other side of her hair. ^.^V

What else do I remember? Mmmm….I recalled  that lunch stop at Jitra Mall. We walked around and finally decided on a restaurant situated outside the mall building. We went  in and  placed our orders.  It was peak hour and the restaurant was packed.  Knowing that our food would not be served that soon, we decided to perform our prayers first. Aina and I were the last to leave the prayer room situated in the mall.  I remembered I told Aina that I wanted to buy waffle and she said she wanted it too. So we headed towards the waffle stall on the ground floor of the mall. We realized that we had only 15 minutes left before the pick-up time. But the lure of sweet –smelling waffles was too strong for us and we decided to go ahead and order.  By the time we got our waffles, we only had less than 10 minutes left. And we still had our ordered food waiting for us at the restaurant.  Aina and I hurriedly took the nearest exit out of the mall. As we stood outside the mall building, we looked around but could not locate the restaurant. That was when we realized that we had taken the wrong exit. We did not know where we were.  Thankfully, Kama called and with her directions we made our way back to the restaurant. When the others asked, we said we got lost. Well, technically we did lose our way but the thing was they did not know about our waffles.  We began to eat our lunch while everyone else headed to the pick-up point. There was less than five minutes left for us and we gobbled down our food  without even a glance at the other customers. I wondered what they thought of us kids who haven’t been eating for ten days? But you know how I felt? I felt like a real tourist, like you have to eat real fast so that you had enough time to catch your bus , train or flight. It just felt real. Well, our trip was real of course, but you know what I mean.

And Simon, that day was a day before your birthday.right? You should see how much effort Syazwan and JC put in to light the candles. Do you still remember how the candles looked like? Half burnt. Haha. It was fun to see you guys trying hard to light the candles without Simon noticing. Even the pak cik driver was smiling when we sang Simon a birthday song.

This trip feels homey doesn’t it?  

We will all be the “Sirs, Madams and Ms.” teachers in a few years time.Teaching – they all say it is a routine. Same thing for  years and years to come. But here’s a survival tip. Look for happiness in small things. If not,  your burning passion to teach would fade. So, find your “little” happiness, enjoy your life. ;) This class trip has shown me that happiness comes in ‘small packages” – thank you guys & gals of P3M.

trip to paddy museum :)

Well... Time and experiences are said to be the most precious things one can obtain in life. I would say that my classmates and I had gained an awesome moment together by organizing a trip to Paddy Museum on 27^th of April 2012. The enjoyment is furthered with the participation of our beloved lecturer, Madam Shirley Goh. The main aim of our trip was to strengthen our bonds with each other besides expanding our general knowledge throughout the trip.

We were informed that the Paddy Museum is situated at Alor Setar, Kedah. The bus ride from Sungai Petani to the museum took about an hour and a half.  Throughout the journey, we had an amazing time looking at the picturesque countryside – small villages surrounded by green paddy fields where young children were happily spending their time playing and running around.  Once we reached the destination, we realized that the museum was located exactly opposite to a hill called Gunung Keriang.

 When the bus stopped at the parking lot of the museum, all of us in the bus were stunned when we saw the design of the building. The architecture was unique. We quickly got off the bus and headed excitedly towards the entrance. We were eager to view the interior beauty of this museum. The entrance fee was RM3.oo per person.

The museum is divided into three levels where the first level was situated at the basement of the museum. The exhibits here consist of a variety of paddy planting tools. The second level was situated at the ground floor. This level allows the visitors to view the history of paddy plantation. There are also six galleries featuring huge mural paintings.  Subsequently, the third level was located at the first floor. Here, visitors can seat comfortably on a revolving platform while enjoying a 360 degrees panoramic view of a giant mural painting of village life, its surrounding paddy fields and even Alor Setar city in the distance.

Although the main feature of the Paddy Museum was its exhibits on paddy cultivation, yet there is one section that I found to be most attractive – that is the art gallery on the second level. There are six mural paintings, each about 25 meters long. The paintings were beautifully painted. Most of the murals were painted to represent the uniqueness of Malaysian culture as well as to show visitors the beautiful environment of the paddy fields. The choices of colours were planned creatively by the painters to give a realistic feel to the paintings, hence making visitors feel like they, too are part of that environment. For example, one of the mural paintings depicted a beautiful sunset scene at the paddy fields. And of course, the beauty of the paintings was supplemented by with our crazy poses during the photo shooting with friends.

Furthermore, there is a television corner at the second level of the Paddy Museum. Here, visitors can sit comfortably and enjoy a documentary on paddy cultivation. The documentary had raised our awareness of the hardships involved in paddy cultivation which in turn heighten our appreciation towards the paddy farmers.  Various processes of paddy cultivation such as seeding and harvesting were shown during the documentary. In addition, the documentary also helped each of us to gain insights about the history as well as development of paddy plantation since the British colonial era up to present time. Besides enjoying mural paintings and documentary on paddy cultivation, my classmates and I also had an opportunity to know more about various types of rice produces in different countries such as in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Arab countries. The three-dimensional (3-D) model of a rice grain also amazed some of us since we realised that a rice grain comprises of many subcomponents with different scientific names.

On the whole, all of us were very grateful as we were able to enjoy our trip as we had gained much insight into paddy cultivation besides spending time with our lovable lecturer, Madam Shirley. It was a good break for us, though the trip was organised two weeks before our exam. In fact, we felt refreshed and more prepared to face the exams. We snapped many pictures. Those photographs will be our best kept memories. The most important thing is that we were able to bond more closely with each other especially with our lecturer. 

love,

komalah

::buffAlo Language::

Did you know that humans  can communicate with cattle using “cattle language”.   Yes, this is not a myth nor is it a joke.  Believe me, there is such a thing as “cattle language”! This is what I learn through my recent trip with my classmates to the Paddy Museum.

Cattle are important animals used during the traditional days of paddy cultivation. Nowadays, we hardly see farmers using buffaloes to work in the fields due to the advent of paddy cultivation machines.   Traditionally, The cattle do most of the heavy duty work  in the fields.  job. So, the farmers needed  a way to communicate with their cattles. There are  a few simple commands that the farmers  used when commanding their cattle to perform certain tasks. 

A buffalo pulling a plow

Cattle language information  displayed at the Paddy Museum

Here is the list of commands that a farmer usually used  to command  his  cattle. 

1.            Haih---to command the cattle to walk  

2.            Chah---to command the cattle to walk to the right   

3.            Sok---to command the cattle to walk to the left

4.            Diam---to command the cattle to stop

5.            serot---to command the cattle to move backward

6.            Paling Chah---to command the cattle to turn right

7.            Paling Sok---to command the cattle to turn left

I don’t really know the difference  between’ Chah’ and ‘Sok’ with ‘Paling Chah’ and ‘Paling Sok’ because I find that the commands  are almost the same (well, I’m not a farmer after all).

With this language, the farmer’s work was a lot easier because  he could  communicate with his cattle. I’m sure it was fun to have animals do thing as commanded.   If I were the farmer, I  would   like an expert animal trainer when commanding asking my cattle to do things in a certain manner.

Since we don’t have any cattle, I suggest you use these command on your friends and imagine that they are cattle(yes, I had done this with some of my friends). It is quite simple actually. Just use simple command like ‘Haih’ and  ‘Diam’ to your friends and see if they follow the command.If that did not work, maybe you can add few hand gestures and make them move.   Enjoy the show of your ‘new cattle’.After you have stopped laughing, make sure you tell them what they were actually doing….yea, following your “cattle language” commands. This will really throw them into a fit.   Well, it’s all  about having some fun….just give them a “roti canai and teh tarik” treat after that…Haha. 

So, now you know.

dear,

nadhir syahir

A Marvelous Trip to Paddy Museum

Class photo with Mdm Shirley & P3M

            On 27^th April 2012, my lecturer and my classmates went to visit Paddy Museum which was located in Alor Setar. This trip came at the right time as we had just completed all our assignments and we needed a short break before we begin exam preparations and then sit for the exams.  As the proverb goes ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. We went to Alor Setar in an old mini school bus. We were quite worried about the condition of the bus, but amazingly it brought us to and back safely. At the start of our journey, we chatted with one another while munching delicious sandwiches prepared by my classmates. Sad to say, I didn’t eat any because there were sardine in the sandwiches. Fortunately, one of my classmates bought me an ‘Egg Tart’ for my breakfast. Along the journey, my classmate and I were actually quite worried whether the bus driver knew the way to the Paddy Museum.

            After a 90 minutes ride, our worry turned to happiness because we finally arrived at the Paddy Museum. All of us were amused by the special design of the museum which resembled paddy stalks. We spent about two hours wandering around the museum and viewing the exhibits.

         The section which captivated me the most was the revolving platform at Level 3 of the museum. Here, visitors can catch a 360 degrees gigantic panoramic view of a village nestled at the foot of a mountain named “Gunung Keriang”.  Even though the scenery was hand-drawn, it still looked realistic enough to make me feel like I am actually standing there in-person, taking in the real view in front of me. 

Of course, what is a trip without souvenirs, right? I always make it a point to buy some whenever I go on a trip and this is no exception. There is a souvenir shop at the basement and many of us had a great time shopping. Before we left the museum, we posed for a group photo at the steps leading to the entrance of the Paddy Musuem.

            What next?  Since it was a Friday, our Muslim friends had to perform their Friday prayers. So, the driver dropped us off at Jitra Mall for lunch while the rest went to the nearest mosque.  I walked towards the mall with three of my friends. Suddenly, one of my friends, ‘JY’ shouted aloud, “Where’s my mobile phone?” I thought she was making fun with us, so I asked her to search her bag carefully. After a futile search, we came to the conclusion that she might have left her phone on one of the seats at the revolving platform of the Paddy Musuem.  We tried calling her mobile number but it was unreachable. We suspected that someone must have found the phone and taken it. So, we quickly called to the telco service operator and tried to terminate the number. Unfortunately, Due to some incomplete personal details, she could not terminate her phone number. We could see that JY was very upset over her loss and at the same time worried that her number could be misused by whoever had taken it.

          Do you believe in miracles? I do after what happened next. You see, I really wanted to help JY, but how?  Well, I decided to try my luck, so I picked up my mobile phone and dialled her number again.  A miracle happened! First, I heard the ringing tone then a male voice answered. He identified himself as one of the workers in the museum who discovered the phone on the seat.  I informed him that the phone he held belonged to my friend, JY. The man assured me that he would keep the phone safely till JY came to claim it.  Oh, that was a happy ending to JY’s phone. It was a lesson learnt, and ‘Never give up until the end of the road’.

I was tired and sleepy and on our journey back to KSAH, I fell into a nice slumber. Suddenly, one of my classmates called my name and when I turned my head to look back, all of them sang me a birthday song as an early birthday celebration. Honestly, I felt extremely touched as they remembered my birthday. They even surprised me with a cup cake and butter bread bun, both with lit candles on them. I blew the candles and everyone cheered. Thanks Mdm Shirley and P3M for celebrating my birthday J

           It was really a memorable trip for me as this was my first time to celebrate my birthday in a school bus and also with butter bread as my birthday cake! J

         Again.. Madam Shirley and P3M.. I Love You All for giving me a memorable day.. MUackss ^^

By:

Simon

            

Paddy Stalks

People in the crowd,

Yet, you give me this chance to know you, 

Spending time together, 

Doing things we like,

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

So here we are, 

Enjoying these precious moments,

Which will live in our memories forever and ever, 

Knowing and hoping there is no end to our friendship,

 Such as these long paddy stalks.

Written by:

Lee Jeng Cheng (P3M)

A day trip to?

Assalamulaikum everyone ;)

Time flies...it’s been a while since our class trip to the Paddy Museum at Gunung Keriang, Alor Setar, Kedah. In fact, we went on April 27^th. 2012. But, somehow it just felt like we were there yesterday. Why did we have this class trip? Well, it was part of our English Language Enrichment class activity. Since, this is a non-credit course (no exam, no coursework) our lecturer, Mdm. Shirley suggested that we do something different apart from the normal classroom-type of interaction sessions.  That was how this trip came about.

This is actually my second visit to the museum. During my previous visit, I did not get to experience the revolving platform on Level 3 as that section was closed due to renovation work. Happily, this time around, we were able to go up to Level 3. This section is unique because of its gigantic wall to ceiling mural which gives visitors a 360 degrees panoramic view of a Malay village and its surroundings. There are about 40 theatre-type seats fixed on to the revolving platform. Visitors can sit and enjoy the view.  Initially, I was thrilled to sit down and take in the view, but after a while I got bored because the revolving speed of the platform was too slow (that’s just my opinion, ok)

Here are some snapshots taken at the museum.

In front of the mural

The revolving platform with the theatre-type seats  and the mural in the background

Some of the girls

We really had fun at the museum. 

After our tour of  the Paddy Museum, we rested for a while and had lunch at Jitra Mall. had rest for a while and took our lunch. Our next destination was this:

Lye Huat Garden

Unfortunately, the place was temporarily closed due to renovation work. Oh well, nothing we can do about it......except to pose for photos in front of the entrance.

Anyway, this trip was a good break for us all to unwind and release tension before the end-of-semester exams.

THE END OF OUR JOURNEY

Love,

Mas :)