Kuala Sepetang Perak

Last weekend, I paid a visit to the mangrove park and the charcoal factory in Kuala Sepetang. It took about 20 minutes drive from Taiping town.

The entrance to this mangrove park is FOC and there are a few stretches of walkways to view the mangrove trees. One of the species known as 'bakau minyak' are popular for making charcoal. It was quite a good experience to enjoy a different ecosystem and not to mention that there are chalets available for those who wants to learn and experience staying in the swamp.



My first visit to this park was during my secondary education whereby our biology teacher took us to this park to learn about the interaction of the flora and fauna to this ecosystem. We even had a great experience visiting a nearby fish breeding in cages at the river mouth.

Mangrove trees are easily distinguished by the roots of the plant known as pneumatophore growing out from the tree stems. It is learned that such specialized roots are for the plant to breathe since the waterlogged soil environment is low in oxygen. Mudskippers and crabs are the natural inhabitant in this mangrove swamp.

My next visit was the charcoal factory located just opposite the mangrove park.

I could see the workers transferring logs into the cone where they are heated and bake until the water in the logs are completely vaporized thus turning them into shining black charcoal. These workers are really strong and I truly respect their ability of handling such a tough job.






I came across this puppy hiding and playing around between the two packs of charcoal. Thankfully, the latest generation of digital SLR has the live view feature for me to take this cutie at low angle.

I made a quick exploration at this small Kuala Sepetang coastal town. This place is famous for its seafood. Dried fishes and prawns can be seen along the way.







Another popular place for seafood is in Matang. It is located in between the Taiping town and Kuala Sepetang. Occasionally, I take my grand aunts to this place for the scrumptious seafood dinner. Do not forget to call the grilled crab and fried fish.





I forgot to take pictures of the food (maybe next time) as the surrounding stray cats caught my attention. There are really a difference between a domestic cat and the wild stray cat. This domestic cat is quite laid back and likes to be touched while the grey ones (mother and kitten) are very cautious and agile. I really like the sharp blue eyes of this wild mother cat.