Alor Star is the capital of Kedah State. It can be accessed by road using North-South Highway, turning out at Alor Star Selatan Interchange or by rail stopping at Alor Star Railway Station.

Some places of Interest near the Balai Seni are Balai Besar, Balai Nobat, Kedah's High Court, Zahir Mosque, Big Clock Building, Rumah Merdeka and Alor Star Tower.

Balai Seni is the art gallery of Kedah. The building was designed by Muhammad Lebai Thambi, built in 1893 and completed in 1895. It was built to be used as high court but many government departments occupied it for a short while. Finally in 1983, it was converted as a State Art Gallery. Sculptures and painting using various medium like etching, print/'campuran', water paint and arkrilik are on one side of the building. One another side of the building, there is one section specially for Malay headress. You will be amazed by the types of headress for different group of people.

Further in, there is a section on type of patterns on wood carfts. It gives the philosophy and concept of art and craft. The abstract link in design falls into 2 categories : 1) Link between Mankind and God, 2) Concept of Existence. There is a big model of a Malay Traditional House. The patterns of the woods used to built the house were given to most parts of the house. Also, the decorations have functions like ventilation, shade, aesthetic and safety function. This gallery does not allow people to take photographs. So, this is why the photos are repeated. Haha.

Balai Besar or the Main Hall is located around, Balai Seni, Balai Nobat, Zahir Mosque and Clock Tower. Balai Besar is part of Kota Setar Palace. They were built in 1735 by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin Muazzam Syah. At the side, behind this Main Hall is a building which was previously the palace of Sultan of Kedah, the Kota Setar Palace. This palace has other names. One of its name was Istana Pelamin because it was used to hold five children of Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Syah who reigned from 1882 to 1943. The palace is now a museum which gives the history of the place. This place also does not allow people to take photographs inside.

The back section of this museum shows 'Nobat DiRaja' or the Royal Nobat which consists of 7 musical instruments namely, Gendang Ibu, Gendang Anak, Gong, Nahara Gendang, Serunai, Nafiri and Mahaguru. Mahaguru is a 'rotan semambu' which is 1.77m in length and will be held by the Penghulu Nobat or the leader of the Nobat. It plays 9 tunes - one of them is Lagu Raja Burung. It is the royal orchestra and plays for official ceremonies, installation, demise, wedding and paying homages.

Apart from 'Nobat DiRaja', the museum shows the royal headress, belt, weapons, etc. The headress was woven using black cloth with gold treads to form pattern called 'Dendam Tak Sudah'. The Royal Waist Belt has crest emerald and diamonds. I have to stop here for this place because my mother called me out after her lunch. So, I did not complete my tour.

Balai Nobat is the place where the Nobat musical instruments are kept and is in front of the High Court Building. This High Court Building was completed in 1922. It was design by F.W. Wade and the design is of Roman structure as seen by the pillars.

Opposite Balai Besar is Zahir Mosque. This mosque was built in 1912 and was initiated by Tunku Mahmud ibni Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah. The architectural design was taken from a mosque in Northern Sumatera. It was previously the resting place of the warriors against the Siamese invasion in 1821. Big Clock Building next to Zahir mosque tell the muezzin in Zahir mosque to summon for prayers.

From the Big Clock Area, walk north and take the left main road into Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. Walk until after the petrol station. Nearby there is where the Rumah Merdeka is. It was closed (after 5:30pm) when I reach this place. This place was where many activities such as private meetings to organise election strategies were held. It was also Tunku Abdul Rahman retreat.

Go back towards the Big Clock Area along Jalan Sultan Mohammad Jiwa. From there, go a short distance north to go Alor Star Tower. When I was there, its surrounding outside was under renovation. It is a communication tower, the second tallest in Malaysia with a height of 165.5 m. It has an observation deck at 88m above ground and a revolving restaurant at 94m above ground.

I have decided to put the Albukhary Mosque under northern Alor Star area because I think this page is a little too long. Lastly, kindly keep Alor Star clean by throwing your rubbish in proper places.