Kedah - National Rice Museum

The Rice Museum (Muzium Padi) stands under the shadows of the towering Gunung Keriang in Kedah. Built on land belong to MADA (Malaysian Agricultural Development Authority) at a cost of RM24.7 million, the Rice Museum itself resembles bushels of harvested paddy stalks. As you explore the Rice Museum, you will find the rice motif repeated everywhere, on the banisters, and even on the fence and gate outside.


The Rice Museum consists of two main levels and a top portion accessible by a spiral staircase. As you tour it, you are given a thorough explanation of anything involved with rice. Some are simply trivia, like songs dedicated to rice - this kind of reminded me of the Cat Museum in Kuching.



There are several galleries with panoramic murals. These are the result of painstaking work by 60 artists from North Korea. My favourite gallery is 59 steps above, accessible via a spiral staircase. What you find here is a massive circular mural measuring 103 metres in circumference, and 8 metres in height. You enter this gallery from the middle, and immediately the scene of the surrounding Gunung Keriang region unfolds around you. As you stand there admiring the mural, you are taken in by the sheer size of the murals.


Indeed you cannot be sure where the ground is, and where the mural begins. Another thing, as you view the mural, you feel that the scenery was moving. Soon you realised that you are standing on a revolving platform, and by simply being still, you will have the scenery rotate around you. It was truly a mermerizing experience.


The Rice Museum is open daily from 10am to 6pm. On Fridays it observes a 12.30-2.30pm recess. Admission is RM3 for adults and RM1 for children.