Raya Cina Roadtrip I : Beautiful Batu Gajah

Surprisingly, mum decided that she would not be visiting relatives on the second day of Chinese New Year. Instead, she wanted to go on a road trip, and have fun. Worked for me. The only challenge was to decide where to go and what to do. The general idea was to drive north. Our first stop was Kellie's Castle located near Batu Gajah. Arrived there an hour past high noon. As one can guess, it was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. For a small fee, we entered into the compound to admire the beautiful mansion built by the Scottsman William Kellie-Smith. Located beside the Raya River, the mansion looks imposing, as it is on higher ground. The architecture is also unique, employing the use of much marble and red bricks in a mash up of Scottish, Moorish, and Tamilvanan Indian influence.





Although it was very hot outside, one could find refuge inside the vacant mansion. The interior was surprisingly cool. Kellie started with Kellas House, and started building a grand extension after the birth of his son in 1915. His ambitious project included a 6-storey  tower which was supposed to be fitted with Malaya's first elevator, an indoor tennis court, and a rooftop courtyard. Well, it was never finished as Kellie died of pneumonia during a short trip to Lisbon, and his devastated widow moved back to Scotland shortly after. Personally, I love the beautiful corridors on the ground floor. The rooftop gives a good view of the surroundings, but is quite dangerous unsupervised children can just fall off like Lemmings.









One Magnum ice cream later, we continued our journey. A random search on Google Maps landed us at 131 Capati Corner, in middle of the historical Batu Gajah township. The shop served soft, fluffy chapati... really delicious. And the Indian uncle who did the cooking could speak Cantonese.





The roadtrip continues...