Kota Kayang Museum is located near the borders of Thailand and Malaysia, near the foot of Bukit Wai. As far as I know the only way to get here is to drive.
My experience
My first thought when I reached Kota Kayang Museum was that the place was just breathtaking. It features 4 main sections in which there are multiple indoor and outdoor exhibitions.
Outdoor exhibitions
AL-Murhum Kayang’s Tomb and Kayang’s Cave
The first place I went to was the Al-Marhum Kayang’s Tomb which is located on the far left from the main building. The walkway leading to the tomb was surrounded by lush greenery and so even though I went on a hot day, I didn’t really feel the heat at all. But before we reached the tomb, we came across the Kayang’s Cave first.
After talking to one of the guards of the museum, I found out that visitors can actually go explore the cave if they wished. However, since I didn’t bring a torchlight, exploring the cave during my visit was out of the question. The torchlight on current smartphones are not powerful enough for cave exploration as I soon found out after trying to shine some light using my phone into the cave.
After spending some time at the cave, I continued walking on towards the tomb. This is the tomb of Sultan Dhiauddin Al-Mukarram Syah (1661-1687), the 15th Sultan of Kedah. It was very well maintained and quite extravagant in my opinion.
Recreation Park and the Royal Well
Walking further on leads to the Recreation Park. There is a small pond right in the middle of the park, surrounded by well-trimmed bushes and shrubbery. It’s the perfect place to take a stroll and take in the scenery. The Royal Well is located right behind the pond. There’s nothing fancy about the well but I bet the water is really clean as it comes from the hills.
Other outdoor exhibitions
These exhibitions are located in front of the buildings, there is no specified exhibition or gallery name for it. Here you can find multiple kereta lembu, a replica of the fishing boat, old sampans, old cars and a few cannons.
Indoor exhibitions
Royal Gallery
This was the next place I went to. This gallery features items that were in the personal collection of the royals in the past. Sadly, the Kota Kayang Museum has a no photography rule so I couldn’t take any pictures of some of the items on display that I found interesting. There were quite a lot of things on display, a replica of the royal’s bedroom was also on display. The layout of the bedroom was a surprise for me, I was actually expecting a more lavish and extravagant bedroom.
Cultural Gallery
This gallery features the tools they used in the past. Be it for fishing, cooking, farming, etc.. They have it all! Even music instruments too. I was quite fascinated by their ice cream grinder they had on display as I am quite curious as to how it is supposed to be operated.
History Gallery, Archaeological Gallery and Weapon Gallery
These galleries are located in the main building of the museum. The history gallery features the British colonisation and the Japanese occupation. They have the different helmets that were used by the soldiers of the British and Japanese army on display as well.
The archeology gallery has the usual things that most museums would have, which is pottery, stone tools, old currency, etc. Most of the items on display were found in the Kayang’s cave mentioned earlier. But there wasn’t anything on display that really grabbed by attention here.
The Weapon Gallery is filled with weapons of all kinds. Keris, spears, pistols, shotguns, you name it and they most likely will have it. This gallery makes me wonder why we humans are so violent. We designed weapons that would inflict the maximum amount of pain and suffering onto our opponents. Like those daggers with the jagged edges, I can’t even imagine how painful that can be.
So is it worth going?
Yes! The galleries are able to offer a glimpse into how life was like in the past in Perlis. It also shows the creative minds of the people of Perlis and how they came up with new tools that were innovative to increase productivity. I would recommend paying the Kota Kayang Museum a visit if you’re ever in Perlis. (And best of all, entrance is FREE!)
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Visiting Hours
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Everyday)
Closed on Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji
