www.nst.com There is little today to remind us of crops and spices that prompted global powers to sail the seven seas in the past, colonising lands to get the precious commodities.
But it was for spices like cloves, nutmeg, pepper and gambier that the British took over the island of Penang. Today, Penang looks nothing like when spice plantations thrived, although cloves and nutmegs are still grown on a small scale.
History is not all lost though, as a little tropical haven tucked somewhere along the winding Teluk Bahang Road has chronicled the development of spice and trade routes through the ages from the 12th Century BC to 1917AD.
The Tropical Spice Garden oozes with Old World charm and its small Spice Museum is a treasure house that cannot be found anywhere else in the country. The museum is just one of the many attractions here.
The unique garden is a balm for tired souls. The air is cool and fresh and interwoven with the scent of spices is the smell of the sea nearby. You can also hear the sounds of the jungle, filled with the chattering of insects and birds.
Tall trees stand in quiet majesty, overlooking ponds with cascading waters. Three beautifully landscaped trails will lead you to the “jungleâ€Â, ornamental garden and spice plants and within these are Garden Rooms with special plant collections like heliconia and bamboo.
Tropical rainforest foliage forms canopies over the Jungle Trail while creepers and colourful flowering plants bloom gloriously along the Ornamental Trail.
Natural “perfumes†permeate the air along the Spice Trail where you will find nutmeg and cinnamon trees as well as Tongkat Ali and jasmine plants.
Look up and you will see many hanging vines, the playground for monkeys and squirrels that come out to play occasionally.
The child in each of us will be drawn to a giant swing overlooking the Water Garden. The seat is made from an old door. In fact, a pre-war colonial bungalow called the Lone Crag Villa has been well restored to become the Visitors Centre housing a quaint souvenir shop, garden shop (where you can buy plants) and café with wooden deck that gives you a lovely view of both the garden and the sea.
The souvenir shop is not your usual tacky place selling trivial touristy items. Here, you can buy handfuls of dry spices, nutmeg oil, sandalwood soap, ornamental orchids and even jars of bedak sejuk and batu lesung (stone pounder).
Souvenir T-shirts sold there are designed by Rebecca Duckett-Wilkinson, the name behind Owen Rebecca Design. She is the wife of Bertam Consolidated Rubber Co. Ltd’s managing director David Wilkinson, who is the man behind the “birth†of the Tropical Spice Garden.
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