A Big Surprise in Tampin

Assalamualaikum and good evening, my friends. I would like to share my short escape to Tampin, which was never planned. While I was enjoying my Sunday evening at Amcorp Mall, my friend suddenly phoned and invited me to accompany him to send his workers to a construction site in Tampin. I accepted the invitation and felt excited to enjoy every view along the journey.

At around 4pm, we headed to Tampin via the KESAS Highway. Along the way, the views of nature, villages, architecture, and people truly captivated me. The breeze was cool and peaceful, making the journey even more enjoyable. After about two hours, we arrived at the site, which was surrounded by oil palm plantations, a cluster of terrace houses, and a wide plain field. The site seemed newly opened, as the environment looked bare and quiet.

Later in the evening, we decided to stroll around the peaceful town, unsure of which direction to take. We randomly explored the area to find a nice spot to rest, but first we decided to perform our prayers at a nearby mosque. We were unsure which mosque to choose because they were scattered and quite far from one another.

We decided to stop at a mosque located along the road towards Kuala Lumpur to avoid making a U-turn and to make our journey easier. At around 6.40pm, we finally found the mosque, known as Masjid Jamek Tanah Datar Chengkau, located in Kampung Lada, Rembau, Negeri Sembilan. We parked our car near the graveyard area. My friend rushed to the toilet while I slowly walked around the mosque, absorbing the fresh evening air and serene atmosphere.

Unexpectedly, the mosque revealed something remarkable. It was not a single structure, but a combination of two, a newer concrete mosque standing beside a hidden traditional Malay wooden mosque. My eyes were immediately drawn to the beauty of the traditional mosque. Although part of the building was slightly damaged, it still stood strong. The mosque was adorned with beautiful wood carvings, had a Meru roof, a verandah, and a concrete staircase. I walked in and out of the mosque and believed that it was no longer fully functioning or regularly used by the villagers.

As I observed the roof decorations, I noticed some familiar traditional features and motifs such as ekor itik, sisik ikan, and buah buton, or perhaps kayu tunjuk langit. There were windows beneath the roof to allow ventilation, connected to another layer of roofing made from different materials. This showed that parts of the roof structure had been upgraded and differed from the original design.

Outside, I was surprised to discover several old graves nearby, possibly belonging to past villagers. Around the mosque were humble houses, edible trees, and a narrow path leading further into the village. The setting felt intimate and untouched. I was so excited exploring the area that I did not realise my friend had been searching for me for some minutes hahahahaha.

After taking some pictures, I prayed at the new mosque. We combined our Zohor and Asar prayers earlier and planned to perform Maghrib and Isyak at another mosque.

After that, we drove towards Pedas to look for a restaurant, a mosque, and the highway exit to Kuala Lumpur. Before having dinner at a small restaurant in Pedas, we stopped at a mosque to perform our Maghrib and Isyak prayers. At around 8.30pm, we had dinner. I ordered soup noodles and, as usual, a kopi O panas. We were hungry and tired, but felt content and grateful.

We finished dinner around 9.30pm, passed through Seremban, and continued our journey back to Kuala Lumpur. At approximately 11.30pm, Alhamdulillah, I arrived home safely. I thanked my friend for the spontaneous invitation and hope to have more short escapes like this in the future, as it was truly refreshing and memorable. Thank you.