Sekinchan is a small town north-west of Selangor, in the Sabak Bernam district on the west coast of Malaya. It is well-known for its vast area of lush paddy fields and fresh seafood from its nearby fishing villages.
Small fishing village with spectacular views
Sekinchan is a small town north-west of Selangor, in the Sabak Bernam district on the west coast of Malaya. It is well-known for its vast area of lush paddy fields and fresh seafood from its nearby fishing villages.
The name “Sekinchan”, pronounced as “Shi Geng Zhuang” in Chinese, literally means “land suitable for cultivation”. The residents and the tourism authorities have taken advantage of the available natural resources to make it an agro-tourism attraction.
I was there last month as my first travel destination outside Sarawak since the COVID-19 Pandemic started two years ago. It was an alternative to overseas holiday trips, as many foreign countries were still closed to foreign tourists at that time.
Eight of us, consisting of family members, were on a guided tour.
“The rice in Sekinchan is harvested twice a year — in the middle of the year (around May and June) and at the end of the year (around November and December),” explained our tourist guide, Liu Yoon Pin.
After being out of work for more than two years, Liu revealed that my group was the first tour group from East Malaysia that he had received, as most West Malaysians were coming on day trips and in their own cars, picking a few destinations to visit on their own, without having to engage a tourist guide.
Sekinchan is known as one of the major rice-producing areas of Malaysia with its vast paddy fields. After the sowing time between March and April, as well as August and September, the paddy fields becomes a boundless expanse of green as the paddy plants start to grow. During the ripening time of the paddy seeds, the field turns into a sea of golden yellow.
We were there just at the right time — the harvesting season. We managed to capture the picturesque scene of golden yellow fields against the backdrop of a bright blue sky. It was certainly a breathtaking view for photographs.
We also visited the Sekinchan Paddy Gallery, which is located within one of the rice mill factories. The gallery provides visitors with information on the history and the present-day modern method of paddy planting and processing. At the sales gallery in the factory, we could buy a lot of rice products, including some nicely vacuum-packed rice of selected quality in one kg packets, as well as a variety of rice crackers, cookies, and rice vermicelli (beehoon).
Other businessmen are also taking advantage of the tourism to come up with fruit stalls, handicrafts, and local foods for sale to the visitors. One of the popular stalls, named Mango King, located near the factory, sells fresh and sweet mango fruits and mango smoothies, jack fruits and guavas, as well as rojak and “kuih kapit” (egg waffles).
The Ah Ma House, or Grand Mother House, is another great tourist attraction in Sekinchan. It is a bakery shop selling freshly made kuih kapit and other traditional local snacks, biscuits and desserts. The shop is well-decorated with vintage household items dating back to the last century. It is like a museum where the younger generation can learn about the lives of the previous generations.
Nan Tian Temple
Located next to the paddy field, the Nan Tian Temple is another tourist spot, especially for visitors of the Buddhist and Taoist faiths. It is open to the public, and visitors can go up to the top of the two pagodas on each side of the temple to get a panoramic view of the paddy field and surrounding area.
We also visited Redang Beach and got a glimpse of the fishing village nearby.
Seafood villages
The fishing villages in the Kuala Selangor area provide plenty of fresh seafood to Sekinchan and other towns and cities in Selangor.
There are many seafood restaurants here. We enjoyed a meal of seafood at the town during lunch and had a seafood dinner while enjoying the beautiful sunset at the Summer Windmill Seafood Restaurant at Pasir Penambang, on the bank of the Selangor River.
Sky Mirror
A trip to Selangor would not be complete without visiting the Sky Mirror at Kuala Selangor during the low tide, when we can see our image reflected on the shallow water of the shore.
The journey took about half an hour by boat from the jetty in Sekinchan. It was a rough boat ride, as the boat had to navigate against the strong current caused by the waves from the sea. However, the reward for the journey was worth it, as we managed to take great photos with full action shots, and the reflections came out nicely in the photographs.
