The sleepy town of Karai, near
Enggor, is
hidden between the rubber plantations. It's about a twenty minutes drive
from Kuala Kangsar and it lies beside the Sungei Perak. You can enjoy a serene view of the gentle flow of the
Perak River and the mighty Victoria Bridge which spans the wide river; the banks
of the river being bordered by bamboo clumps and jungle. It's about about two
miles from the Iskandar Bridge.
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The bridge in Karai was built by the Perak State Railway in 1900.
Suspecting exists that the grubbing of the tin extraction an
important reason has been for the construction of this particular bridge.
The Victoria Bridge, at that time, was one of the most beautiful bridges in
SouthEast Asia, and was opened in 1900 by the sultan of Perak:
Idris Mersid-el-Aazam.
Some people think that the Victoria Bridge looks like a kind of
"bridge over the river Kwai", but that's not true.
There is another bridge in Malaysia, which looks like the bridge over the
river Kwai: the Guillemard Bridge in Kelantan.
The sleepy town of Kampong Karai, which is situated beside the Perak River, located about 134.5km from the Butterworth station. There are several handicraft centres which sell local crafts. Traditional handicraft is a prominent cottage
industry within the state. it is predominantly found in Kuala Kangsar than
anywhere else. Handicraft centres sell many different types of local crafts like
earthenware, gold embroidery, bamboo carvings and seashell designs. While you
will most probably be able to find well stocked handicraft centres along every
route you travel, the most famous and popular centres are at Enggor, Kampung
Berala, Kampung Padang Changkat and Kampung Bendang.
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Further on in Enggor, you can buy inexpensive local
crafts in the Perbadanan Kemajuan Kraftangan Malaysia.
In the village of Labu Sayong, just past the Iskandariah Bridge over the Perak, talented potters
exhibit and sell the black glazed pottery typical of the area.
Here you can buy 'labu sayong' (water gourds made from semi-porous blackened burnt clay).
'Labu' is an earthenware pitcher used traditionally by the local Malay community to store drinking water.
It is believed that the storage not only keeps contents cool but also safe as it
provides protection against all sorts of illnesses.
Other products are terracotta and glazed pots, which then be made into
flowerpots, potpourri vases, lamp bases and wall decorations.
You can be rest assured that the handicrafts sold here are of exceptional
quality but reasonably priced.
You
can't discover much of the train rails at the North side of the river.
A couple of shaky stones constructions at the beginning of the bridge are
still quiet witnesses of the fared glory.
The rails have been overgrown by the marching jungle, of which the
photograph on the left is a quiet witness!
Do you still see the rails on the Victoria Bridge?