SEKINCHAN is a quiet fishing town in Selangor’s Sabak Bernam district, about a 1.5-hour drive from KL. Sekinchan has secured its status as a favourite day trip destination for urban Malaysians wishing to escape the city for a bit, thanks to its delicious seafood, green paddy fields, and laid-back ambiance.
With this helpful guide, you may start organising a day trip to Sekinchan with your friends or family! To see lush, green paddy fields, the ideal months to visit Sekinchan are March, April, September and October.
View of paddy field
When translated from Mandarin, the word Sekinchan allegedly means “village ideal for cultivation.” It is known as the Rice Bowl of Selangor. As a result, large plains of well-irrigated and organised paddy fields may be seen here. If you live in the city and have never seen a field of unending green paddy, now is your chance to take some beautiful IG-worthy images. With their stunning clear blue skies, the paddy fields form the ideal background scenery. Despite the fact that it is really hot, this is one of the worthwhile activities you can do while in Sekinchan.
Paddy Museum
PLS marketing’s Pearl Rice is particularly popular in Sekinchan. PLS created a Paddy Gallery at their facility at the end of 2013, where tourist guides would show guests a presentation on the process of paddy plantation using a mechanised planting approach. Visitors will be given an explanation of the paddy processing and planting. In order to visit the Paddy Gallery, visitors must purchase a ticket for RM5. You will also receive a little package of Sekinchan rice for free upon paying the fee. There is also a souvenir store where you may purchase food products like as snacks and rice packets.
Debit cards are accepted if your transaction exceeds RM100, however I would strongly encourage you to carry cash because the connection is rather slow and you may waste time waiting for your payment to be processed.
Visit Pantai Redang Beach
While Pantai Redang obviously isn’t the most beautiful beach in Malaysia, it’s still a pretty nice place to have a relaxing time at. Sink your toes into the soft sand, fly a kite, or just sit down and enjoy the warm sunshine and sea breeze! There are some seafood restaurants and other stalls in the vicinity of Pantai Redang where you can get yourself a satisfying meal or snack before heading over for an after-meal stroll.
N16 Café
The adorable N16 Cafe is a restored bus cafe perched atop a container in the centre of the rice paddies. Rest your legs and get out of the sun (despite its rustic façade, the café is air-conditioned and rather cosy on the inside!) simply stopping in for a cup of coffee, a plate of spaghetti, or a slice of cake and enjoying your meal while looking out over the green fields.
Ah Ma House
Ah Ma House, an old house-turned-shop that serves old school snacks, is a four-minute drive from Padi Box (Sekinchan’s famous container hotel made of repurposed freight containers). Ah Ma House (Grandma’s House) is a one-of-a-kind attraction in Sekinchan that features antique household objects such as grandfather clocks, gas lamps, and rotary phones. Most of the goods would be familiar to Millennials like myself, but I suppose Gen Z would be completely taken aback. Aside from antiques, Ah Ma House serves handmade cookies and crackers that are likely to bring back childhood memories. All the snacks are sold at a very reasonable price with many varieties.
Wishing Tree
Near the beach, there is a strange-looking tree that appears to be covered in red cloth. If you look closely, you will notice that these are actually ribbons dangling from all of its branches. These ribbons have people’s wishes written on them. To make a wish, obtain a red ribbon from the nearby temple (with a small fee), write down your wish and name, and then toss it up to the wishing tree. To facilitate this operation, the ends of the ribbons have been knotted with pennies. Try to get your ribbon as high up on the tree as possible. According to legend, the higher it lands, the more probable it is that your desire will come true.
Fishing Village
Though Sekinchan is known for its rice paddies, the hamlet is primarily intended to be a fishing community. As this is the country of fish and rice, pay a visit to the Fisherman’s Wharf to see how the fishermen live. You will be able to observe them hit the waves for their early morning catch, just to return with a pleasing quantity of catch from the water. This isn’t something you see every day; therefore, this activity is worth watching.
Seafood hunt
It would be a pity to visit Sekinchan and not try the seafood. There are far too many seafood restaurants to list, and both halal and non-halal alternatives are available. Most of the restaurants’ signature dishes are inspired by the Teochew culinary style. It is strongly advised to call ahead and place your order and make a reservation for a table, or you might be disappointed.
Stop at Kuala Selangor
Visitors who plan a trip to Sekinchan should include a stopover at Kuala Selangor, around 29 kilometres south from the town. There are several historical landmarks on Bukit Melawati, as well as a few lovely tourist attractions such as Kuala Selangor Nature Park, Firefly Park, Sky Mirror, and Eagle Watching. If you start early and the weather is warm and nice, you should be able to see most, if not all, of the attractions in Sekinchan in a single day. If you intend to visit Kuala Selangor and undertake all of the excursions, it is definitely a good idea to stay at least one night.
