We continued westwards from Kota Ngah Ibrahim to the coast and the fishing village of Kuala Sepetang. The whole atmosphere here was of an industrious Chinese community living in a decaying town. We drove down narrow roads, trying to find the coast, and ended up parked near this row of warehouses, one of which had a huge carved eagle on the roof.
We walked along the hot streets trying to find a seafood restaurant I had read about. We could glimpse the river through the warehouses but it took some time to access it via the blue bridge (Port Weld Bridge). And we never did find the restaurant.
The river was busy with traffic in all directions and people doing their daily chores on the wooden platforms over the river.
As we walked around the town, we found the sign for Port Weld and the train station which would have linked Taiping with the coast; this being the first railway line in the Peninsula. Sepetang was referred to as Port Weld by the English-speaking locals, named after a former Governor.
Back in the town centre, and very hungry, we spotted this guy with the paraphernalia we associate with dauh fu fa; a tofu dessert popular in Hong Kong. So we bought some and it was silky smooth and delicious. Being hot and weary by now, we sat inside the nearby restaurant to eat our dauh fu fa. When we had finished, the restaurant guy asked if we wanted some noodles so we said yes, and we had some very tasty curry mee. Apparently this village is famous for its curry mee!
So, if you find yourself in Kuala Sepetang, do look out for this place shown in the photo below.
After our satisfying lunch, we walked back in search of our car which by now was almost too hot to sit in!
We left Kuala Sepetang in search of a charcoal factory (for which the region is famous) and a dragon joss stick workshop. We had intended to look for a dried prawn factory as well, but we felt we had done enough for the day. If you like boat tours, then you can go eagle watching, which I guess is why there’s an eagle sculpture on top the building in the photo above.
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