BACK TO NATURE

It's a food tour that took us back to Mother Nature.

Once you've set foot in Sekinchan and admire the lush, expansive fields of paddy waiting to be harvested, listen to the humble toil of a corn farmer and observe how fisherfolks land their precious catch after a strenuous day at sea, you'd think hard and deep about wasting food ever again.
A Kuala Selangor local resident graciously permitted to park our cars in front of his house while we trudged to the jetty for a first-hand look at how cargoes of fresh fish, squid and prawns were offloaded from the fishing boats.

We also stumbled upon a little shed where several ladies were busy stuffing beancurd with fish paste and producing fish paste wantans.


Directly opposite was another group of workers who were busy sorting out loads of dried salted fish.
Then we visited a rice processing plant in Sekinchan where the marketing lady delivered a brief overview on how all the paddy harvest is now mechanically gathered, threshed, de-husked and packed into bags of 5 and 10 kilos for sale. She also allowed us to walk around the plant premises after gently reminding us not to take any unprocessed grains home as each handful 'taken' means they have to bear the loss.


Our visitors from down south were also excited to see real corn plants. Mr Chew was kind enough to guide us to his plantation and explained to us the different species of corn, how long they take to grow and how to tell when the cobs are ready to be plucked. After listening to his lengthy explanation, we now know better than to look down at the humble corn and realise just how little the farmer earns in return for his efforts.



Naturally no visit to Kuala Selangor would be remiss without a seafood dinner. Much as we wanted to steer clear of the touristy eateries, we had little choice as the restaurant that my friend patronised on her last visit was closed.

The evening culminated with a noctural river cruise where thousands of fireflies put on a spectacular light show for us. From afar, the insects' twinkling lights amidst the swampy bushes can easily be mistaken for fairy lights. According to our boatman, we were extremely lucky since the clear but moonless night with high tide is perfect condition for the fireflies to converge and socialise.

It was a surreal scene but certainly one night to remember.