I've had just enough time to... take the 110 steps up the leaning tower of Teluk Intan
The Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan against the straight lamp post :)
There is
a leaning tower and it is not in Pisa. In the center of the town of Teluk Intan
a Pagoda structure rise 25.5m from ground level and tilted slightly to one
side. My skeptical friend whom I took to the tower downloaded an app into his
smart phone and measured a tilt of 2.8 to 3.0 degrees so it is not an optical
illusion. The reason for the tilt is the soft ground on which it is built and
the water tank at the top though it is no longer in use.
It reads 2.8 degrees tilt
From the
outside, the wooden structure appears to have 8 storeys high but from the
inside, you will discover it only has 3 floors with the water tank on top of
the third floors. It held enough water for 800 people which used to the entire population of the town when it was built. Today, it has an estimated population 120,00 and is the third largest town in the state of Perak. The tower has a board base of 13m which gradually tapered to a top width of
8.1m. There are 110 steps to the top if you are counting.
A wave from the tower
The
popular story of its origin was that a rich merchant consulted a “Feng Shui”
(the Chinese system of geomancy) master who advised him to build a large
storehouse at a strategic location which has a commanding view of the downriver
traffic to increase his influence. The British District Officer upon learning
of this got another “Feng Shui” master who advised him to construct the clock
tower to counteract the move. Thus, the tower was born from the titanic clashes
of the “Feng Shui” masters. But this comes to naught when the Japanese invaded
and used the tower as an observation post during the war.
So if
you happened to be in Perak, drop into the town of Teluk Intan (Diamond Bay)
formerly known as Teluk Anson to the British and pay a visit to the leaning
tower of Malaysia.
