It has been a while since I have actually been on a road trip, which is not work-related, that is, and the recent family event which took place over the long weekend gave me the opportunity to do just that.

I always think that I am blessed to be born in this beautiful country, where we could find almost everything; from the hills to the sand and the sea to modern development, it is just the place where nature and evolution commune.

If you have ever been to Malaysia, that's my country, you will know what I mean.

Even Malaysians could never say that we have been to every single nook and cranny on this land, for there is just so much to explore.
I am not referring to the tourism spots, but rather the localized places which are quite off the guides anywhere.
Well, I guess that's the benefit of being a local, and it applies everywhere.
(I'm sure you too, know places in your own homeland not exposed to the rest of the world. That's just the little secret we would all like to keep, I'm sure, thank you very much).

The road trip was not really a planned one, nor was it really the intended destination, but rather, it was more of that "we're on the way, and we are dropping by" kind of place, though I am looking forward to future trips back to the same place as well.

As a matter of fact, I have been to this little state, which happens to be the northernmost in the country, on this part; the Western side of the Peninsular.

That was a few years ago though, since my last trip.

It's funny how we always seem to steer far away from the places closest to us, to explore, well, places that are just way further.
As I have mentioned in one of my earlier posts, perhaps it is just that thinking that the close distance and its proximity just makes us feel like it is accessible, anytime.

I have been to most of the northern states, of course, though with the constant development and also that "dropping by" trips, I can't say that I have seen it all.
I don't think anyone can, even for those who grew up in the states.

Anyway, to cut the long story short, it was probably just a few hours stop in Perlis which was on the way to our destination.
I wouldn't call it a real detour, since we were really meant to be in that part of the state, to get to our destination and since we had a couple of hours to kill before continuing our journey, we just explored a little around the town.

At a glance, there is not much to look around; of course, this is no big city like the capital but there is just something quite quaint about the place.

I grew up in a city, and I am proud of it; never want to change that even a little bit.
At the same time, all that time in the city could be both bad and good and I guess, in a way, sometimes it could just turn us into spoilt city brats sucked into the luxury of modern development and all the perks of facilities offered by the touch of the technology wand.
I am sure most city folks would concur, that we never could have imagined life without electricity, computers, water direct from the tap, or popping into mega malls to get whatever we wanted.
It's not that suburban folks lived like primitives, but it is all about accessibility.

As I have said, there is that good and bad to it, though there is a reason why we are labelled brats and snobs, behind our backs.
Yes, we know it too.

Perhaps it would be hard to imagine a less hectic life, let alone the peace in the daily run and the downsized population, which translates to lesser traffic and of course, lesser modes of facilities available.

It is just the flow of logic.

Life in the town of Kuala Perlis, which is the second largest town and the main port in the state, is just like that.
While it may not be buzzing with that scary image of traffic thronging through multiple lanes as cars emerge from various directions, stemming from flyovers or diversions from leeways, the town is still bustling in its own style, on that quiet Friday afternoon.





In case you didn't know, the week runs a little differently in some of the states; Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis, all run from Sunday to Thursday; which means their weekends start from Friday and ends on Saturday.
This is in accordance with the state ruling, which honors Fridays as prayer days to constitute them as a day off to allow devotees to perform their religious duties.

It was unusual for schools to be operating on Friday, or even businesses to run, though on that Friday, I guess there were replacement classes for the students in the state.
(Replacements for the public holidays and also the closing of schools; non-gazetted holidays due to the El Nino which has been plaguing the country)




It has been quite some time since I have seen scenes like these, where the school children are assisted by the school guards who would stand on the road, stopping traffic for the school kids to cross the road.
(I shared this on my Instagram as well)

It was quite a lovely experience, and just embed more insights and perspectives on life and culture in general and all I can say is, I wished I had more time to just sit down and enjoy a cup of herbal drink, in one of their local coffee shops, even in the hottest of temperature and there is no air-conditioning.

That is what it means to be and experience life as a local, so be it.

Anyway, I am pretty sure there will be a next time; in fact, I can see a trip coming up soon, to just explore a little more.






I am glad I stopped by this lovely town, for it gave me an opportunity to see that other side, or perhaps many other sides of my country from where I came from or grew up.

Sometimes we don't have to board a plane to get out of the country to say we are traveling, for there are just way too many places to be explored even within our own backyard which could just teach us more than just a thing or two about life experiences as well.

Travel is not about going out of the country, but rather out of our own comfort zones to see everything else outside our very own established routines.

Even in our own area of residence, people are already living differently.

That, is the perspective of travel.