The Last Dredge, Batu Gajah, Perak
This post is different than usual. Why? Look on.
Not wanting to travel far, i suggested to visit the 'kapal korek', Malay for dredge. It has been there for years, at least for the last five years, and to visit this Malaysian treasure was one of the many items in my 'to-do' list this year. I Google-d for information about this place and got the directions. Surprisingly, it is about 20 minutes drive from my university- i never thought it'd be this near. I followed the route through Kampung Bali and turned left at the end of the road towards Batu Gajah; my heart beat with excitement. It is a pride of Perak and a pride of our nation, a living history, our legacy. I saw it while i was driving, amazed at its great size even as i parked my car and entered the compound.
The place was quiet; no crowd; everything was still and silent that i could hear my footsteps and the wind. Thoughts, imagination began to play in my mind. We were greeted by a lady who was manning the entrance and paid a fee of RM 6 per person. The lady informed us that we could only visit the lower deck and not the upper deck. Not thinking too much, it was for our safety. I cannot help but to state the obvious: the setting was ideal for a horror genre blockbuster (Anaconda came to mind too)! And i cannot blame my mind for these imaginative plots.
The giant dredge sits unmoving in a pond-like site, as if a moat is surrounding the castle. A rusty metal bridge connects to the entrance of the dredge. We walked in and discovered the many metal remains, used during its glory days of tin mining operation. Most of them were dusty and wrapped in web. We first moved to the left of the dredge, where we saw what seemed like a roller coaster- the cup-shaped buckets looked like chairs. There are holes at some points on the platform that goes at least 3 meters deep and i was frightened by my own reflection at the water surface. A lizard crawled between the metal bars then jumped into the water, breaking the silence.
We walked across into the other half of the dredge and looked out to see farms of ducks. Then we moved to the right. An old toilet stuck to the side, nothing but a shelter, door and hole for the excretes to fall straight into the water. At the right, the view was eerily soothing: ripples of water, birds perched next to each other on cables, and cloudy, blue sky. We continued to look around until the outside was less sunny, and ventured outside, around the dredge. Imagine the strength of the dredge during its heyday, truly an engineering beauty.
Before exiting the compound, we entered a small museum that displayed some old photographs of the tin mining activity, traditional techniques for tin mining and a dredge model, amongst others. I left feeling satisfied to have witnessed and discovered this treasure.
My verdict: nothing but the dredge. The dredge holds so much wonder and worth that Malaysians should cherish it as part of our history. Unfortunately, i felt the place was under-appreciated and not well maintained- we paid RM 6. I see potential in it to become an attraction. It is a great place for photography and wild minds like ours. After all, the dredge itself pulls visitors. There was no signage to explain anything on the dredge. Everything was old and rusty and unclean. Yes, i do understand authenticity in keeping the items as it is but efforts to make the place and the items cleaner and more interactive would draw more people to learn about its function. There should be more public promotion.
Take some time to visit this dredge because for what it's worth, you will have seen one that not many people do.
Later at night, we watched Pacific Rim- and that concludes my metallic day.
Coordinates: 4°23'48"N 101°3'11"E
*photographs courtesy of YH.
Not wanting to travel far, i suggested to visit the 'kapal korek', Malay for dredge. It has been there for years, at least for the last five years, and to visit this Malaysian treasure was one of the many items in my 'to-do' list this year. I Google-d for information about this place and got the directions. Surprisingly, it is about 20 minutes drive from my university- i never thought it'd be this near. I followed the route through Kampung Bali and turned left at the end of the road towards Batu Gajah; my heart beat with excitement. It is a pride of Perak and a pride of our nation, a living history, our legacy. I saw it while i was driving, amazed at its great size even as i parked my car and entered the compound.
The place was quiet; no crowd; everything was still and silent that i could hear my footsteps and the wind. Thoughts, imagination began to play in my mind. We were greeted by a lady who was manning the entrance and paid a fee of RM 6 per person. The lady informed us that we could only visit the lower deck and not the upper deck. Not thinking too much, it was for our safety. I cannot help but to state the obvious: the setting was ideal for a horror genre blockbuster (Anaconda came to mind too)! And i cannot blame my mind for these imaginative plots.
The giant dredge sits unmoving in a pond-like site, as if a moat is surrounding the castle. A rusty metal bridge connects to the entrance of the dredge. We walked in and discovered the many metal remains, used during its glory days of tin mining operation. Most of them were dusty and wrapped in web. We first moved to the left of the dredge, where we saw what seemed like a roller coaster- the cup-shaped buckets looked like chairs. There are holes at some points on the platform that goes at least 3 meters deep and i was frightened by my own reflection at the water surface. A lizard crawled between the metal bars then jumped into the water, breaking the silence.
Crossing the 'moat'.
Candid shot, looking at the 'roller coaster'.
A notice on safety of workers back in those days.
We walked across into the other half of the dredge and looked out to see farms of ducks. Then we moved to the right. An old toilet stuck to the side, nothing but a shelter, door and hole for the excretes to fall straight into the water. At the right, the view was eerily soothing: ripples of water, birds perched next to each other on cables, and cloudy, blue sky. We continued to look around until the outside was less sunny, and ventured outside, around the dredge. Imagine the strength of the dredge during its heyday, truly an engineering beauty.
Just thought this would look vintage.
Below protruding bars...
... enjoying the view.
Before exiting the compound, we entered a small museum that displayed some old photographs of the tin mining activity, traditional techniques for tin mining and a dredge model, amongst others. I left feeling satisfied to have witnessed and discovered this treasure.
View of the dredge.Different angles give different perspectives of the dredge.
Take some time to visit this dredge because for what it's worth, you will have seen one that not many people do.
Because not everything is in black-and-white, like in life.
Later at night, we watched Pacific Rim- and that concludes my metallic day.
Coordinates: 4°23'48"N 101°3'11"E
*photographs courtesy of YH.
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