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FireFlyz | 25
J
ust
as soon as we had checked-in at The Happy 8 Retreat
in Kuala Sepetang, turned the key to our river-facing family-
sized room and swung open the balcony doors, our senses
were assaulted by the riot of activities down below.
The property lay smack in the middle of a stretch of
docks filled with fishing vessels and tourist boats. Smaller
vessels zipped across and around larger ones as they went
about their business. We gasped as three of them chugged off
simultaneously in each other’s paths – deck hands scowling as they
deftly avoided collision.
Soon after, the pandemonium subsided and the air of tranquillity
that we had anticipated before the trip was restored. We nestled into
hammock chairs and soaked in the surrounds as the breeze caressed
our faces and the cooing of distant gulls lulled us into a silent reverie.
In its previous incarnation, Kuala Sepetang was a flourishing fish-
ing village and an export hub crucial to the Larut mining industry. Port
Weld, as it was formerly known, was named after former Governor,
FrederickWeld. The first railway line in Peninsular Malaysia spanning
13km from Taiping terminated here. Then, trains had substituted
elephants in the transport of tin, greatly reducing transit time and
increasing freight capacity.
The railway had since been dismantled and what was left of the
station that was built in 1885 is its ‘Port Weld’ signboard, which was
relocated and placed in front of a shophouse, which coincidentally
also faced a nameless makeshift food stall (off JalanMatang) popular
for curry mee and prawn noodles. Patrons, local and from
W o r d s & I m a g e s :
E d w i n K o h
Balcony view at The Happy 8 Retreat
A hot, delicious bowl of Curry Mee