The Malaysian state of Kedah is known as the rice bowl in the country as it contributes about a third of the nation's supply but in terms of tourism, it's not particularly well known with international visitors except for maybe its Langkawi Island.
However, i have heard of the 165.5-meter Alor Setar Tower, which is a towering landmark for the state capital, and decided to check it out on my day trip although the main objective was still to meet up with Alex's auntie!
Sun at almost 2.00 pm; sweltering heat as there were not many trees in the vicinity.
At situations like the aforementioned, i always wish i could jump into the inviting water of nearby structures! Let's not embarrass ourselves though as it's easier to step into the air-conditioned arena of the tower.
I initially thought there was a door but it was really just a design. Misleading right although the water outside the 'door' would have been a dead giveaway that it wouldn't make sense to have a door there in the first place!
Promotional ticket prices on the day we visited - a discount of RM 3.00 for non-Malaysians which wasn't much but better than nothing right?
Our tickets!
A scaled-down replica of the Alor Setar Tower. Built in 1997 at a cost of RM 40 million, its primary role is for telecommunications and for a small state capital (a population of less than 200,000); it would double up as a tourist destination too.
Waiting for the lift to bring us up to the observatory!
A bubble lift! I used to be obsessed with bubble lifts when i was a kid and recall travelling to Pan Pacific Singapore where there are a number of bubble lifts; weird as i have a fear for heights.
The way up to the 88-meter high observatory; there are two bubble lifts at Alor Setar Tower and it would take us 48 seconds to travel from ground to the observatory.
Age of the tower shows with plain, boring white walls. Many of the newer observatories nowadays made full use of televisions and light effects to 'beautify' the surrounding. Of course, in those newer places, you may likely fork out double or triple what we paid at Alor Setar Tower.
Comparison with the rest of the telecommunication towers in the world. In Malaysia, the tallest is the KL Tower which stands at more than twice the height of Alor Setar Tower.
Non-air-conditioned observatory! Well, the saving grace is that it was windy and given how tired we were; it would actually be a nice place to take a much-needed snooze before our ferry back to Langkawi.
Aside from being high up in the sky where we can see far, i do enjoy looking at the interesting buildings and structures nearby; like the Istana Kuning above.
I am way more intrigued with the abandoned building behind; known as Istana Sepachendera, please click here to have more information (with more photos) via another blogger's post.
You may make use of the computer panels on the floor to check out information of some of the historical buildings. This particular one on the panel talked about the royal Kedah museum.
Views at the observatory. The last one shows the 218-meter tall Gunung Keriang which popped out in the midst of flat, padi fields.
There were metal grilles for safety purpose and even the supposedly clear windows in the middle for non-barrier view were made of glass to prevent people from attempting to climb out. However, please keep your belongings clear to you; if you drop your expensive mobile phone, i can guarantee you it would be gone-case.
In good, clear weather, it was said that we can see as far as the southern end of Thailand; not that i am aware of how it looks like though. At least for Singapore, it's easier for me to spot Bintan and Batam since they are across the Singapore Straits.
This isn't a palace; it's the Albukhary International University!
Stadium Darul Aman - opened in 1962, it has the capacity for 32,387 seats which is considered a lot as the population of Alor Setar, as of 2010, stood at less than 120,000.
Kedah river that cuts across Alor Setar.
Dataran Masjid Zahir - a square that looked stunning from where we stood.
The beautiful state mosque - Masjid Zahir!
Two time-lapsed videos for your viewing pleasure!
A basic convenience store where you can get some drinks and snacks. In case the observatory is not your kind of thing and you are forced to join; you can partake in other activity like VR at RM 10.
We are too stingy to spend RM 10 and saw a nifty device with controls. Being the curious person i am, i started to play around with it!
Turned out it showed the view of a ceiling CCTV with the ability to zoom in and out. Although its purpose was more as a digital binocular, the quality wasn't great.
Alex had a fun time with it though.
As the revolving restaurant and top deck were closed (and my two friends were bored), it was decided we should spend some time shopping at Aman Central Shopping Mall instead. Therefore, let me present to you the video i took in the bubble lift ride from observatory to ground floor!
End of our short 30-minute visit.
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Address
Lebuhraya Darul Aman, Bandar Alor Setar,
05000 Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia
Location Map
As above.
Website
Floor Plan (Tower)
As above
Floor Plan (Observatory)
As above.
Pricing
Adult - RM 21.00
Child (4-12 Years Old) - RM 14.00
Senior Citizen - RM 14.00
Additional Information
The place was really quite empty on a Friday afternoon. Even at the observatory, i can count the number of people using both hands.
