Pasir Penambang - A Fishing Village

A group of kids entertaining themselves at the village jetty stop to give a smile and pose to tourists.

There is a small town, a fishing village that lies nestled next to the Sungai Selangor where the fireflies light up the dreary nights, where fishing boats cast out early to try their luck with the day's catch and hope to bring in a good load by the end of the day, where the paddy grows green as emeralds and golden when near harvest time and where time sometimes feel as if it never ticked a second towards the present.

Pasar Penambang lies off the Kuala Selangor road towards Sekinchan and here is one of the main centers for seafood products in Selangor for those city slickers that never does set eyes upon the ocean (I do miss living near to the coast). If you're down visiting Bukit Melawati for its famed fort and every so friendly monkeys, do give a thought to stop by here. Framed by a one street row of double storey wooden houses where the lower floors sell everything from dried shrimp to live deep sea fishes you are sure you're getting a good deal here with the wide range of products.

The work table of the seafood shop reveals much of the store owner's business know how, many small shops operate here usually family business where every single member pitch in to help.

Most people would also know that Pasir Penambang or more synonymous to Kuala Selangor is a great cheap place for seafood. We had 20 of us gathered for our Flickr trip and we were at the local seafood restaurant (there are a few there and all can be assured to be as good) ordering perhaps 7 dishes consisting of steam fish, fried sotongs, crispy lemon chicken, seafood tom yam, two kind of crabs, kangkung masak belacan and drinks all around and at the end the bill came to about RM140 which to me was a bargain for the amount we had. The food was delicious and the price light on the pocket. Before we headed back we were sure to bring back some dried keropok to fry, dried shrimps which makes good aroma enhancers for any dishes, ikan bilis, some fish snacks and even a salted fish.

The store owner comes to greet prospective customers, offering advice on how to choose good products and even haggling away if you feel like it though prices are reasonable enough.

If the town is an attraction, walk a few meters down and you'll hit the village. Built on stilts like most other coastal villages, Pasir Penambang is an all wooden construct characterised by narrow walkways which allows bicycles and motorbikes to pass and nothing else. The houses are open fronted and connected by the walkways, looking over the edge you can see the sea at your footsteps and if you dare go waddle in the mud. A friend of mine dropped something of his onto the mudflat and the ensuing trudge through the goo was a sight not to be missed, especially the expression on his face.

The Chinese character of the village is unmistakable, as you stumble onto a small temple adjacent to a house with incense burning offerings to the various deities especially to those most affiliated with the sea to ensure better catches and safe voyages. The people here are quite friendly and casual, most stopped to talk to us and give us their best smiles. We entered into a keropok making factory and the entire family clan was busy preparing and packing the crispy chips into plastic packings for sale from the youngest kid to the patriarch of the family who sat like a king in his chair overseeing the enterprise as his wife busily handles the accounts while the grandma was preparing the evening meals, all this taking place within the same room which was part business, part home and part living area.

The double storey wooden shophouses that line Pasir Penambang's main street.

If you're there you have to take the opportunity to visit the other nearby attractions. As mentioned, the paddy fields near Sekinchan are a sight to behold but be sure of the season lest you end up in empty fields after harvest time just like us. You can make a trip to Kota Melawati where you can walk amidst the old sultanate fortress and feed the friendly silver backed macaques of which the young ones spot a brilliant golden fur. A bit farther down river you can take a river cruise at Kg Kuantan to watch the fireflies.

A man looks to the river and tries to figure if he could get some fish for himself today.

A friend decided to model at the village.

No 2-25, a humble enough abode in a fishing village.

A chinese prayer altar says much about the occupants here, most of whom are Chinese though other races also live side by side.

The wooden walkways of the village connects individual houses which are built on stilts over the water's edge.

A reflection shot of the clear sky and village houses.

An occupant carrying goods back to his house.

Look closely to find this wind mobile near the village jetty.

The evening sun casts some pretty long shadow which can be loads of fun for shadow shots.

Two mode of transports, both time tested and works.

An old lady rests outside a friend's house to have a chat in between work and chores.

Burnt incense at a chinese altar.

These kids were playing with their puppies, too cute.

Every friendly and shy all at the same time, priceless.

The narrow lanes often means the best mode of transport is the trusty bicycle which most folks here own.