9:55 p.m. The Wait.
I'm waiting for the second episode of History Asia's Hidden Cities, featuring Malaysia, and I'm quite excited. Host Anthony Morse goes to Penang, Keddah and Perak in Malaysia.
10:00 p.m. The show starts now!
Little known historic sites are going to be revealed: forgotten fortresses, a castle and secrets of a lost civilization.
10:01 p.m. Jerejak Island
Penang is the biggest electronics manufacturer in Malaysia, or something. Anthony is going to Jerejak, to Malaysia's Alcatraz. In and out of the island? Via the water, of course, like Alcatraz. Jerejak means fence. Anthony meets with a technician who worked at the prison.
According to the technician, there were about a thousand people in the complex at its peak. After the 1980s, prison population included drug dealers. It closed down in 1998. Remnants of the prisoners' stay can still be found, with letters and photos pasted on the walls.
10:006 p.m. Jerejak as Quarantine Center and British Detention Facility
See, it really has a dark past. Anthony with his guide goes to the lost British detention facility.
They've reached the detention center. As early as the 1930s, the center had housed detainees. They went inside one of the cells. The British abandoned the facility and then it became a shelter for animals, but apparently, its now abandoned, for good.
The host is now going to one of the wells; there are four in a line, and airholes? And, they're going inside the well to see how large the bunkers are. Oh, it's just one chamber for each well. It's only 15x30 feet. Locals say the bunkers were used to house prisoners and ammunition but Anthony was looking for evidence to support those theories; he couldn't find any.
10:13 p.m. One last island surprise: tombstone of leprosy patients
It was also a leprosy colony in the 1800s, I forgot the exact decade, though. It was shut down in 1969 to make way for the Jerejak prison. And it's commercial break.
10:16 p.m. Penang's Forgotten Hidden Fortress from WWII
08 December 1941, Japanese army invaded Malaysia, apparently, one of the British army's greatest blunders, or something.
Anthony is now in Fort Penang. It was completed in 1939, 40M pounds was used to build it, the largest fort outside of Britain. The victorious Japanese used it in 1941 when they won against the British.
There are underground tunnels. Wow, there's a room with paintings underground. There's an ammunition hoist and even an escape route. One of the shelters could accommodate 200 men, and Anthony is walking on one of the tunnels, backwards! And he looks filthy now. Oh, he reaches the center.
10:22 p.m. Places not open to the public
This is no longer part of the places open for public. Anthony goes down a tunnel, an ammunition room. Careful, apparently, there are snakes in there.
The guide says 50% of the place is still unexplored. Anthony finds remnants of smaller defenses. And he found a small shelter where the soldiers could do damage with their machine guns and rifles; no, apparently, it's called a pillbox.
10:29 p.m. One fortress held: the Kampar Defense Line
Dang it! Our cable's switching on and off!
Anthony is talking about a command trench, and he's off to find remnants of the supply chain. While hastily dug, it proved its worth against the Japanese. And Anthony gets to see, and test, why the trench held.
15 February 1942, Malaysia surrendered in Singapore and it paved the way for a 3-year Japanese occupation.
10:36 p.m. Kampung Tanjung Bangkung
Carbide chimney, a remnant of the Japanese arms factory.
10:37 p.m. Mysterious Castle built by Malaysia's Tin and Rubber Tycoon
Commercial break!
10:40 p.m. Kellie's Castle
Who built it? William Kellie Smith, and he lived there until 1926, or something. In 1925, Smith decided to built a castle when his child was born.
Whoah! So huge! Smith wanted to have the very first elevator in Malaysia in his castle. It has Mughal style because around 70 Indians worked on the castle. The bricks were apricot bricks.
In 1926, Smith passed away of pneumonia, enroute to pick up his elevator. His family sold all their lands and went back to Britain. The castle was never finished. And Smith's castle has an eclectic mix of architecture. It has secret passages to hide Smith's wealth to protect his family.
A spiral staircase going to the yard; a dungeon, and several of them. Perhaps, even tunnels, too, allegedly, four. They're now into the wine cellar with an entry into the dungeon.
10:46 p.m. Digging outside to uncover the stairs to the tunnel
And host Anthony is digging and getting his hands dirty if only to find a doorway to a tunnel going to an old Indian temple Smith built for his workers. Of course, he didn't find any; he possibly can't do the digging alone, but it's enough for him to find the first of the stairs.
Commercial break!
10:50 p.m. Bujang Valley in Keddah
2000 years old evidence of a civilization. In 2009, the excavation team found iron smelting something, oh, a platform jetty. Probably, a loading and unloading dock leading to the river nearby. The first one found in Southeast Asia, the first one in our region!
The process of authenticating the rock samples taken from the iron smelting. Oh, scientists were able to confirm that the smelting site used high quality iron.
And, that's a wrap!
To those who failed to watch the show, catch its encore showing on 02 November 2010 at 11:00 p.m.; 07 November at 9:00 p.m.; and 19 November at 10:00 p.m.
To those who failed to watch the show, catch its encore showing on 02 November 2010 at 11:00 p.m.; 07 November at 9:00 p.m.; and 19 November at 10:00 p.m.
Happy travel research!
