Discover Kedah 2016 - Keriang Hill

Gunung Keriang Hill Resort is located at the foothills of a limestone hill on the flat plain of Kedah, the Rice Bowl of Malaysia. It reached a height of 217.92 metre above sea level and has a folklore attached to it.

At Keriang Hill Resort, visitors can view sample of Malay traditional houses.

The mythological legend was that the hill was actually a ship carrying a royal bride who refused to marry the Sang Gedembai and cursed into stome. The hill has caves and in the olden days, community around the hill used to borrow tablewares and cooking utensils from the caves to hold the kenduri or feasts but now all had turned into stones because of the bad habits and attitude of those who had borrowed them.

Today Gunung Keriang or Keriang Hill has a few attractions around the foothills including the Muzium Padi, Aquatic Complex, National Science Centre, Recreational Centre and two Resorts.

Arial view of Keriang Hill and its surrounding attractions

One of the resort is the Keriang Hill Resort and recently it hosted a three days AOR Festival 2015. The chalets at Keriang Hill Resort are traditional Malay houses and guest can experience staying in one of these.

AOR Festival 2015 was officiated by Kedah's Menteri Besar , Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.

The Menteri Besar showing his skill hitting the drum during the opening ceremony after officiating it.

It was a display and promotion fest by local artists peddling their home made arts products including books most of them not found in popular bookstalls and new brand name casual wears. Among the participants that I see anchor the displays are the group from Projek Rabak, displaying books from different publications such as,

 Among the attractions during the fest was the presence of the Helang Merah football players who emerged Champion of the 2015 Super League and together with them is the coveted cup that they had won.

After officiating the event, the Menteri Besar made a visit to the open air stalls and mingle with the crowd.

DS Mukhriz presented with a potrait of himself and his father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammed, the Fouth Prime Minister of Malaysia, during his walkabout to visit the displays.

Datuk Seri Mukhriz appeared on stage for a few minutes to voice out his views and opinion about the challenges of Arts development with time. In future media social that is the in thing of today might be something obsolete.

To keep a momento of my visit to the AOR Festival 2015, I bought a book Travelog My Traveler

by Meor Farid Asyradi

If you plan to visit Alor Setar during the Discover Kedah 2016, you can list down Gunung Keriang on your itenary. If you want to experience the secluded resort at the foot of the hill or stay in Alor City, about 1/2 an hour away, depends on your choice. However do not misss the Museum Padi next to the Keriang Hill Resort or/and the National Science Centre across the fence of the museum. 

If you stay at Keriang Hill Resort, you can make an appointment to try out scuba diving at Baie Scuba Centre located within the proximity of the Kedah Aquatic Complex nearby. Experience scuba diving in a safe environment because its not the open sea but just a diving pool for first timer scuba divers and attended by a qualified open sea scuba trainer.