Inspired by the Japanese movie An, about the life of a former leprosy-sufferer, we today visited the Valley of Hope, the name given to a former leprosy settlement at Sungai Buloh, about 25 km north of KL.

We blundered around a bit trying to find the right road from Sungai Buloh station, and we stopped for a coffee and a piece of "bittersweet" cheesecake at The Morning After, a smart cafe in a new-looking mall.

But then we were off, passing a picturesque temple and the first of the plant nurseries that the area is famous for. Immediately across the road from the spanking new Sungai Buloh Hospital is a compound containing a variety of medical facilities, all very prettily arranged amidst the greenery.





Further on again, is what is left of the old settlement.

This lovely area, backed by wooded hills, and now home to a riot of nurseries, lawn-sellers, birds, butterflies, and wildlife, must indeed have seemed a pleasant change from previous leprosariums. But before a cure for leprosy was discovered, it was still effectively a prison, and children from the various marriages that took place within the community had to be given up. (Some very moving stories, as well as other collections, can be found on a site called The Way Home.)

Leprosy, unfortunately, is still found in Malaysia, but there is no longer any need for people to live in isolation. A few of the former inhabitants remain, as they did in the Japanese movie, but some of the land has now been developed, and many of the former chalets are crumbling away, albeit in highly picturesque fashion. It's a beautiful place to stroll.













Sadly, it's also under threat. Let's hope it doesn't all disappear.

On the way back, we stopped off at a roadside eatery for the most awesome laksam (that's the laksa-variant with those wonderful roly-poly noodles and that incredibly delicious "fish sludge" gravy). With a couple of glasses of coconut and a little pack of onde-onde to chew on the way back to the station, the bill came to MYR 12.30.