@ Balik Pulau - Sungai Burung

Could one ever get bored of tranquil moments such as this?

I couldn't recall when it was I discovered this place, it must have been many years ago. Lately, I have been going there more regularly. Its one of the places I go to when I needed some space, when I need to be alone. To some, this is a very boring, "unhappening" place. Well, maybe that is what I like about this place, the mind numbing slow place. There was this popular tv sitcom called Cheers back in the 90's. The story revolves around the bartender, the bar owner and the regular customers. Its a bar where "everybody knows your name." Sungai Burung is a place where "nobody knows my name," where I don't need to interact with anybody, a place I can be "alone." Its also a place I can get "high" on my occasional indulgences of soaking in every ounce of tranquility and a place where I can pour my heart out, not to a bartender but to God.
I am usually there at least 30 minutes before the sun sets, sometimes earlier. On this particular trip, I was there before 5:30pm (one and a half hour before sunset) and as I was strolling along the edge of the padi field, something caught my attention. The yet to be flooded parts of the field was littered with empty golden snail shells.

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Apple snail (Ampullariidae)?

I think these are golden apple snails. Yesterday, when I was at a pet shop, I saw some of these being sold as aquarium pets. But the ones I saw was much smaller and they were selling at RM2.80 each. According to some websites, these snails are edible, a delicacy as a matter of fact. Read more about these snails here and here.

The fields were being flooded

Young padi needs a lot of water

There were hundreds of swallows in the sky and thousands of
dragonflies near the water surface

Delightful clusters of wildflowers by the roadside 

7:02pm

7:09pm

7:20pm (zoomed in)

7:23pm

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