But a short trip to downtown Lumut allowed me to enjoy the delightful little town and helped to clear my mind of work for a bit.
Lumut is a coastal town with a population 31,000 located in the District of Manjung, Perak.
It is fairly famous in its own right, Lumut. It is the home base of the Tentera Laut DiRaja Malaysia and houses the Naval Dockyard. And of course, it is the gateway to the well-known Pangkor Island.
It is not that big a town. The main shopping area comprises two streets both running parallel to the beachfront. But it oozes some class and has a dignified air about it. It is not only clean and pleasant, but its waterfront is a surprising attraction that one would not normally associate with a small seaside towns in Malaysia (think Kuala Kedah, or Kuala Perlis).
The Lumut Waterfront is a great place to have a walkabout. It is not as big and elaborate as the Kuching Waterfront, but yet it is simple, functional and very presentable as in being aesthetically-pleasing. A plus point is that it was cleverly designed to capitalize on the views towards the water. Supporting facilities are great, too. The toilet is clean and airy - definitely an A+ !
I remember when I was small, Apak would regularly take us to Lumut for its annual Pesta Laut Lumut. Thousands of visitors would throng this small town during this festival. In the days well before Jom Heboh! was created, I guess that was the only means for ordinary folks to have a dose of entertainment and recreation.
The District of Manjung in those days was still called Dindings District. Even much earlier, I mean like in the 1870s, Dindings was part of the Federated Malays States of Penang.
How come! you might ask?
Well it is a result of the infamous Pangkor Declaration in 1874. The Declaration had widespread impact on the history of the Malay Peninsula. It marked the beginning of British intervention in administration of Malay States.
But that is another story for another day.
For now, enjoy some pics of the Lumut waterfront.
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| Clean, pleasant walkway |
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| Cleverly-designed public toilet complete with a small retail outlet where the shopkeeper doubles as the "gatekeeper" who collects 50 sen form each person who uses the toilet |
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| Plenty of shades and seating areas along the walkway |
3 comments:
Nice pix AAT
Thanks for taking us to Lumut and highlighting its challenge to other seaports or harbour. I assure you if other towns close to the sea practice what Lumut has done we would have many more beautiful and CLEAN towns. Yes if only Kuala Kedah with its exit to Langkawi would attempt such a challenge and Kuala Perlis too in the north. Maybe yr department could make that direction.
It's a beautiful little town indeed. Was there July last year and it's totally different from the old Lumut I frequently visited during my short 3 year stay in Sri Manjung. Did my banking chores at the Naval base. There were only 2 banks (RHB and Maybank) at that time. Still remember having laksa at the beach near the jetty from pakcik laksa who carried his laksa at the back of his motorbike, the best laksa in town!Tried to look for him but to no avail. Just wonder if he is still around?
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