CNY 2020 – Day 17 – Laman Padi

In the hot Malaysian heat, some days you just want to be indoors where it’s cool. That’s how we found our way down to Laman Padi this week.

This is what time looks like shortly before it’s ready for harvest

There’s quite a lot to see there, actually. They have rice paddies in various stages of growth so you can see the process of growing this grain.

You can see that the rice in the back is older than the rice in the foreground. Rice is actually a kind of grass and it becomes more yellow as it gets closer to harvest time

Rice needs lots of water to grow. Often, rice is grown on the side of hills and mountains and Farmers create little walls to trap water as it rolls down

The rice on the left is very young. Notice that it’s growing in a field with several inches of water in it

There is also a museum that teaches about the tools that are used, and tools that used to be used for farming rice. The museum is nice and cool and full of neat things to see.

Tools that were historically used in rice farming

Drying rice in the sun. Of course now, they have more efficient methods

Mostly, the Laman Padi was nice because it was quiet, there was lots of indoor space, so we could stay cool, and there was a surprising amount of wildlife there.

Water buffalo are still used in farming in some places and are also a common site in rice paddies

I’m not sure what kind of bird this is. Perhaps another kind of egret?

They had scarecrows to try and keep the birds away. I think the birds were onto them because they didn’t seem to care a whole lot

With an extra week away from China, we’ve been careful to budget our money a bit better. Laman Padi is free and if you’re there and keen, staff will show you around and explain things. Dave and I chose to do the tour solo though. After living in China for nearly 6 years (7 for me!), We know a lot about rice already.

I’ve got some fun posts about monkeys and Langkawi’s food scene coming up!! Check back soon!!!

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