Gua Tempurong and Lata Kinjang Waterfall [25 May 2003]

Where have I been recently? I went for 8 trips last year that almost everybody jealous about me. This time I don't think I can break the record, as I have just started my Master Degree (Applied Statistics) with University of Malaya since June this year. My life has changed from a irritating and hassling working life to a relaxing and enjoyable student life. The only headache I have is the challenging assignments and examinations, of course not to mention that suffer of no income as being for a full time student.

I went for a second trip to Perhentian Island in March and a return short trip to Genting Highlands in April this year (I have written the travel diary on both trips respectively). Then, in May, I joined the company's sports club who organized and subsidized day trip to Gua Tempurong and Lata Kinjang Waterfall. In June, I took a break to Sunway Lagoon Theme Park. In August, I went to Redang Island again. The most recent trip was to Pulau Besar Johor last month.

As usual, I would like to share with you my travel experiences gained during the trips mentioned about. I hope you will enjoy reading them. As I have received some feedbacks saying that my travel diary was rather too lengthy, therefore I will try my best to cut it short and precise.

Gua Tempurong
Surprisingly I received an e-mail sent by the president of our company's sports club on organizing a day trip to Gua Tempurong and Lata Kinjang Waterfall. I did try to organize one by myself last time but due to poor response, I had to put the plan aside. The trip was really cheap as the sports club had subsidized part of the cost. Immediately I confirmed my participation of the trip.

On 25th May, I took a taxi back to office in Segambut our departure point at about 6 o'clock in the morning. I was the third person who reached before the departure time, however most of the participants, as usual being a common Malaysian, were late. The response of the trip from the staff was rather too disappointed, as most of the participants were friends of our staff; there were less than 10 staff that joined the trip whereas the rest are outsiders. The trip was initially organized for the benefits of the staff but as expected nowadays there were not many people like to go on such adventurous activities.

The journey to Gua Tempurong was quite comfortable as we were using our company's luxury coach and traveling on the North-South Highway known as one of the best in the world. I was falling asleep during the coach journey in order to retain my energy for the cave exploring activities, as I did not have a good sleep the night before.


It was used to be a very narrow and rocky path leading to Gua Tempurong from the main road last time, but just recently the State authority had opened up another entrance by building a tarred road and also a spacious car park area in order to promote this place. We equipped ourselves with the necessity for the cave exploring and waiting for our turn to go into the cave. It was quite many people visiting the place that day. A local guide for the cave exploring led us the way to climb all the 5 platforms and return by river; we took the Top of the World and Short River Adventure Tour which would take about 2 and a half hours journey. The formation of the rocks inside this limestone hill was fascinating. The journey climbing up hill was quite comfortable as there were walkways and platforms have been built up to the last platform so called Top of the World. There were some lights in the cave along the walkways but we still have to depend on our torchlights to have a better look on the rocks.

It was really amazing, the cave was huge and well preserved with lots of rocks formation and furthermore the cave was clean and not smelly! It was used to be a tin mining area long time ago and later on it became a hiding place for the communist last time, and now it becomes one of the famous places of interest. The authority used an Australian engineer to build the walkways and platforms inside the cave last time and the construction work cost billions of dollars and the State government is now still repaying the loan.

The local guide was humor and knowledgeable. We had a very pleasant trip inside the cave. He showed us a lot of the nature painting works and the amazing formation of rocks. There was one huge rock looked like a long hair pregnant woman but our guide said it looked more like a fat woman to him. He even showed us how a monkey driving a car, a dinosaur killed itself by hanging itself with a rope, human faces, and so on. At one time, he asked whether we were interested to see how a hairy leg looked like, when we were so excited to see more things, he pointed his torchlight to the guy who standing beside him and say: "this is how it looks like!"

While we were sweating during the climb, our guide told us that we would soon enjoying the cool natural air-cond when we reached somewhere. Amazingly when we went into a tunnel, a very strong cooling wind blew to us from one side of the tunnel to the other side. It was non-stop blowing and we were really enjoying the cool breeze. This phenomenon was due to the difference of the air pressures in the cave.

Our guide also showed us that there was holy water dropping from the limestone and people believed that whoever touched the water would gain good luck. There was also a living stone that is still growing and its substance is totally different from the rocks around it. We even saw the real crystal on a big rock standing in the middle of the cave, sparkling like a Christmas tree. There was also holy water raised from the ground and people believed that by applying the water on one's body, that person would be younger by 3 years, but the water shouldn't applied on one's face. I did follow the guide said to touch and apply these holy waters. True enough, I got good luck when we were at the Top of the World, i.e. platform no. 5. One of my colleagues picked up something paper liked from the ground and showed it to me, as I have the headlamp to see what actually she found. Guess what, RM 1.00 note! We shared the money that we both believed it was due to the good luck from holy water.

At the last platform, we could actually touch the ceiling of the cave; this is the highest point of the cave. Right after this, we had to go down hill and there would not be anymore well-built walkways or platforms. We had to move on in the dark with the little help of our torchlights. There was a slope of 50 meters height. Every one of us, no matter what, had to slide down the slope one-by-one. It took 3 steps before one could safely touch down, and each step we needed one person preferable a gentleman to be placed there to support the participants when sliding down the slope. It needs teamwork for accomplishing the task. Quite a number of ladies were so scared to slide down the slope. We had to use psychology tactics to pursue those who scared. The guys were looked okay but I knew they were pretending in front of the girls. In fact, the slope was dangerous. One crash would probably caused a serious injury and it would also difficult to carry the patient out of the cave.

The mission of sliding down the slope was rather time consuming especially for a big group like us. At the end of the mission, we had to get in a hole on the ground that only one normal adult width; it would be difficult for a fat guy passing thru it. Our guide was at the bottom of the hole to support us. Again, one-by-one we let the ladies passing thru first. After getting down into the hole, the river journey started.

At first, we were trying to avoid stepping on the water but later on every one of us had to dip our body into the water in order to pass thru some narrow tunnels. We had to be aware of passing thru the stalagmites and stalactites inside the tunnels. One could easily injure by those rocks if not careful. It would be difficult for passing thru certain tunnels if it were rainy season where the water level of the river would be very high. At the end of the journey, everybody was wet.

At one time when we rested at the riverbank in the tunnel, the guide asked us to switch off our torchlights and sit tight to feel the total darkness. We saw nothing; it was no difference of close or open our eyes. We could only listen to the sound, sound of water flowing and dripping. Nobody said anything; it was totally quiet and very peaceful, it seemed like you were the only person in the tunnel. When the next group approaching, we could only see the rays of lights searching everywhere and the noise passing thru the tunnel. We had to move on while the next group of people was catching up.

My shoes were filled with water and sands. Before leaving the cave, we washed off the sands from our shoes and took a rest on the surface of rocks at the riverbank. Our guide was busy counting the number of people in our group in order not to miss out anyone. According to him, it was not surprising that there would be additional persons in a group after the journey. I hoped he was just kidding then.

The changing and shower facilities were rather too rundown. The old half wooden and half concrete building with huge water container on top with not well-maintained sinks, wall and floor. The water taps were dripping and the shelves were either dirty or broken. Anyway, we just wanted a place to wash of the dirt from our body and change our clothes.

Next, we proceeded to a small town, Kampar for our late lunch. We had "bread chicken", curry and Chinese herbs flavours, the famous dishes in the town. The chicken was first cooked in either curry or Chinese herbs then wrapped with paper. It then baked inside the bread. The taste of curry chicken was quite nice but not the one with Chinese herbs, I guessed it was not cooked long enough for the fragrances of the Chinese herbs. The dishes had to be ordered before hand otherwise we had to wait for a very long time for the restaurant to prepare. The restaurant was then full of customers and luckily we had already reserved the tables.

We continued our journey to the next point: Lata Kinjang Waterfall.

Lata Kinjang Waterfall
The waterfall was very well known and had been seen by most of the people who used the North-South Highway traveling between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh. It looked very beautiful far from the highway but the path going to the waterfall was not easy, it would be flooded during rainy season. There was no parking area and all the vehicles had to be parked on both side of the path. It was a crowded place during weekends and we had to park our coach far away from the entrance. No admission fee for the visitors but the villagers collected a token for looking after the vehicles that parked at the roadside. There were many little hawker stalls alongside the road selling snack foods, soft drinks, fruits and even swimming clothing.

The place was rather rundown and crowded with the local people. We walked further up hill to look for a place with lesser people. There was a hanging bridge that linked both sides of the river. The view of the waterfall was really fascinating and magnificent, the sound was very loud and I was attracted with the waterfall, it was very tall and huge!

Surprisingly there were people everywhere! Some of us dipped into the cooling water and the rest just hanging around at the riverside or at the side of the waterfall. I liked the moment when I sat on a surface of a huge rock in the middle of the river looking straight at the waterfall and listened to the sound of the water that surrounded me. I enjoyed the cool breeze that flew on me. It was a peaceful moment that I couldn't find it in a big city like Kuala Lumpur.

The toilet and bathroom facilities at that area were very unacceptable. One who used the facilities might get nightmare. I noticed that there were many people changed their clothes or pissed behind the bushes at the area beside the waterfall or riverside. Anyway, who would know if one decided to piss while dipping in the water? That was one of the reasons why I didn't get into the water.

Later we proceeded to another small town, Bidor for a comfort stop. The town was famous with local snack foods and fruits. I liked the noodle cooked with duck meat and herbal soup at one of the restaurant that well known with this dish. The restaurant was crowded with customers and we had to wait for a very long time for our orders. It was supposed to be a short stop but end up we wasted a lot of our time.

We reached Kuala Lumpur at night. I was really tired and sleepy taking the LRT back to my home. It was really a wonderful day trip.

Yoke Ming
8 Nov 2003

[View Gua Tempurong & Lata Kinjang Photos]

Sunway Lagoon Theme Park [1 June 2003]

The sales and marketing team of the properties had a very special promotion rates for the staff of travel agents in conjunction with their special promotion of their newly renovated water-park facilities. I was the first person who asking for the purchase form entitled for the special rates. However, the response was very poor and there was only one colleague that following me.

On 1st June morning, we took a public bus. There was a big crowd of people in front of the entrance and a very long queue of people waiting at the ticket counters. Luckily we were staff of travel agents with a special rates form and I dealt with the counter staff at the group ticket counter. It was a public holiday and I guessed there was lack of manpower I was waited for my all parks entrance tickets for quite a long time. However, as compared to those who lined up at the ordinary ticket counters, I was really lucky (working as a travel agent staff)!

The day was still early, not many people yet entering the theme park. We were among the first batch of people playing all the rides. We didn't waste so much time for lining up. There were still the same rides in dry-park and I didn't play all of them as I had already played them once last time. Nothing was new then.

About noon, we went down to the water-park. All the newly renovated water rides needed a tube that rented from the counter. We didn't play the rides, as there were crowded with people and long queue for the rides. We were only relaxing ourselves at the man-made surf wave pool known as the largest in the world. It was a hot and sunny day.

We did not spend the whole day at the theme park as the sky was very cloudy in the afternoon and looked like it would rain anytime. Furthermore, the theme park was crowded with people everywhere we went. We decided to leave the theme park earlier and hanging around at the annex shopping mall, the Sunway Pyramid. Again, people everywhere, almost all corners!

It was just a break from the routine irritating and hassling working life in the office. I just wanted to have a place to shout (release my tension) and relax. A day trip to such theme park would be just wonderful. However, this is not the right way of handling the long accumulated tension from our daily pressure of work. Something has to be done to avoid such tension otherwise it could be turned into a disaster later on. Therefore, I had made a change for myself; a better opportunity for my future instead of suffering of what I was doing then.

Yoke Ming

8 Nov 2003

Redang Island [15 ~ 18 August 2003]

This was the first trip since after I had resigned and being a full time student. A close friend of mine asked me to join their group going to Redang Island as his sister having free stay coupons at Berjaya Redang Beach Resort, the only 5-star resort on that island. We only had to pay the transportation and meals. I had heard a lot about the beauty of this resort especially its private beach. Without any further thought, I grabbed this golden opportunity that only come once.

Thirteen of us heading to Kuala Terengganu, the jump off point for the resort on Redang Island, on 15th August night by express bus. I finished my class at 9pm that night and rushed back for a light meal and a quick wash. Then, with my rucksack and a bottle of water I went to Puduraya Bus Station to meet my friend. It was a hot weather and I sweated like hell. The bus journey was quite comfortable as it was VIP seating however the air-cond was too cool that everyone had to wear layers of clothes or even cover themselves with towels. The hero, me, as usual put on nothing extra the whole journey. I felt quite okay almost the whole journey. In fact, I was rather too lazy to dig out my clothes from my rucksack underneath my legs in the dark. I was shivering when getting down the bus at the Tanjong Bus Station, Kuala Terengganu the next morning.

We had our breakfast at one of the stalls right behind the bus station. Once again, I had the famous local rice: "nasi dagang" with delicious fish paste mixed with chilies, which I really missed them. We then had a short walk to the nearby jetty where we going to board the speedboat to Redang Island. We registered at the Berjaya office located at the jetty and left our luggage at the office so that we could visit the morning market nearby. We bought some fresh fruits and mineral waters there. The market was very busy with people around, the sellers and buyers, and of course the visitors like us.

The boat departed punctually and the journey took about one hour. We were welcomed by the staff of Berjaya Redang Beach Resort and the goat shits at the end of the jetty upon arrival and before boarding the shuttle bus. The journey from the jetty to the resort was quite far, about 15 minutes driving on a countryside road passing thru some small settlements.

The rooms were nice but the facilities were not adequate for local tourists like us. It was a wonderful quite place for relaxing ones soul and body but unfortunately they were having a huge construction of new chalets on one side of the beach. The unwanted noise from the construction site was the only disturbance to our holiday there.

Without further delay, we went down to the beach and it was really attractive! Beautiful beach with crystal clear water and snow-white fine sands, I would regret if I ever miss out this place in my life of traveling. I snapped many pictures on the beach during my stay there. The pictures that I took turned out amazingly wonderful and lovely.

During our stay in Redang, it always rained heavily in the afternoon. For a period of 3 days / 2 nights stay was rather too short to enjoy the lovely sunshine and beautiful sea. The beach was too clean till I hardly could find one seashell. However, the feeling of stepping on those soft sands was fantastic and I really missed it. The sands were so fine and white that looked no different with pepper powder. One might misused it for cooking dishes.

The next day morning, my friends they went for a round island snorkeling trip, quite reasonably cheap. I didn't join them but I went for sunbathing on the beautiful beach. The resort had plenty sundecks and little shelters arranged in two rows alongside the beach and all facing the sea, one may not have problem looking for the idea one. The beach was really quite and peaceful, enjoying sunbathing under such environment would be lovely. However, the noise from the nearby construction site was really unacceptable.

At night, we just wandered around the beach or in the resort, listening to the live band, playing mahjong or board games, or just simply rest on the sundeck on the beach looking at the sky, searching for the biggest and the most shining stars and viewing the beautiful moon.

The last day morning, right after the breakfast we had to rush for the first speedboat to leave the island. We took the morning express bus back to Kuala Lumpur, the timing was just right. The return journey was long and tiring. I was really bored, as I couldn't do anything in the bus beside sleeping and sleeping. I really not used to sleep in the daytime directly under the sunlight. However, due to the unavoidable circumstances, I had to follow the group.

I really wish that I could visit the beach again in future. I want a clear sky with a hot shining sun for enjoying the sunbathing, and photograph as well!

Yoke Ming
8 Nov 2003

[View Redang Photos]

Pulau Besar Johor [23 ~ 26 October 2003]

I had heard about this island last year, I had even seen the pictures on the Internet. I did try to plan for a trip there, however due to poor response, I couldn't make it. Now, ex-colleague of mine asking me whether to join her group for a 3 days / 2 nights package with fullboard meals and return boat transfer, quite reasonably cheap. Without any further thought, I paid her the money.

We left Kuala Lumpur on 23rd October night by a private car. Her brother drove all the way to Batu Pahat (about 4 hours driving to the south), his wife's hometown for putting up a night there then continued the journey to Mersing Jetty (about 2 and a half hours driving to the east) the next day morning. He was afraid of missing the boat scheduled in the morning if we travel all the way from Kuala Lumpur to the jetty, which would take about 5 hours driving.

The road condition from Batu Pahat to Mersing Jetty was not really good, as the State government was carrying out a construction of highway linked between Batu Pahat and Kluang that would cut down the traveling time by half after completion next year. There was a stretch of about 2.6km journey in the middle of the jungle before reaching Mersing Town was heavily under construction. The road condition was extremely bad. Otherwise we would have reached the jetty much earlier.

Overall, the driving experience was not too bad as along the journey there were signboards showing the way clearly. One could see a lot of palm plantations in this area as compared to the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia more to rubber plantations. The weather was just nice for our journey and we didn't have much problem getting the way. Thanks to our wonderful driver.

The Mersing Town was crowded with heavy traffic and visitors. The car park area next to the jetty was totally full upon our arrival. We had to park our car at the nearby stadium field. We then checked in at the resort office, just opposite the jetty on the other side of the road. We left our luggage in the resort office and went to walk around the town, as we still had some time before boarding the boat. Surprisingly, the people in town were very friendly and helpful. We managed to locate a supermarket nearby after few turning points. It was really amazing, I couldn't find any mineral water available in the whole supermarket; the shelves labeled with drinking water and mineral water was totally empty!

It was due to a public holiday and a long weekend, the visitors were dramatically increased but I guessed most of them were going to Tioman Island, which was the most famous offshore island compared to the rest. We did check with the staff of the resort that they were still having quite a number of empty rooms. The speedboat journey took about 25 minutes; the island was the nearest to Mersing jetty compared to the rest.

 
It was a sunny day. The scenery was irresistible that I couldn't stop myself snapping the pictures! The beach was not as beautiful as compared to Redang Island but the lifestyle was very much different. We could feel that the island was more towards a small village kind of lifestyle than a resort type of living. There were not much entertainment to be found and the facilities of the resort were minimum. There were no water sports, due to the restriction of being part of a marine park. There was no nightlife on the island as well.

There were many hammocks and swings hanging from the roots of the trees at the beach. There were also some tree houses for the children but it seemed strong enough to support adults too. Sleeping on the hammock or playing with the swing or having a nap on the tree house was a wonderful idea for a sunny day near the beach while enjoying the breeze from the sea. It would also be a good idea for a family gathering or activities there. There were some sundecks for those who love sunbathing.

The sands were not that fine and white as compared to Redang Island but were good enough for my expectation. People that enjoy quiet and peaceful nature environment, do nothing but just relaxing their soul and body on the island, appreciate the lazy and slow pace of lifestyle would definitely love this place. The family who set up a small stall next to the jetty selling drinks and foods also had a shelter on the beach with hammocks and chairs with a small radio playing the soft music. One could enjoy chatting with the villagers or listening to the waves and the breeze from the sea while having a glass of iced lemon tea. No one would disturb your sweet and beautiful afternoon nap at the beach. Lovely, isn't it?

We had fresh coconut juice at the stall late afternoon before our dinner (at the resort). The fresh coconuts must be ordered in advance, in order for them to climb up the trees and pluck the amount of coconuts required. They usually don't store excess coconuts, as the coconuts would not be fresh anymore the next day.

There were currently only 3 resorts on the island and the one we were staying is a luxury one, Aseania Pulau Besar Resort. The resort was decorated with lights at night and it was really so attractive and impressive. After the dinner, visitors were usually remained sitting at the cafe enjoying the peaceful moment. Most of them were usually left for their rooms very early, as there were no nightlife activities around. Most of the time, we were playing cards, till I really get tired of seeing cards again. For those who love fishing, the island was a paradise for them. One could choose to fish at the jetty or rent a fishing boat out to the sea for fishing. Island hopping was another favour activities here. We did not join any snorkeling trip cause the weather was merely unpredictable and usually cloudy at this season. We rather spent our time at the beach.

The resort was fenced, in fact others as well, to avoid the cows going into the resort. There were many cows on the island and shitted everywhere. Therefore, one had to be extra careful when walking on the path or ground outside the resort. There was no motorbike on the island as to preserve the peaceful environment. People travel either on foot or using a bicycle.

The resort had the one and only open-air Jacuzzi and a very deep swimming pool that without any stairs. A baby pool for the children was also available. A common lounge was usually crowded with those watching the TV program on football games on air at night.

The island received many Singaporean for a short holiday, also the locals. We did experience a group of locals during the first two days of our stay there making abundance of noise, shouting at each other day and night fearing that no one could ever notice their existence. They finished all the foods on the buffet line whenever the waiter was just serving the dishes. We felt like a kind of release when they finally left the island. We met a group of Singaporean who were really friendly and even invited us to join them for beach volleyball and jungle trekking. We also met another group of Singaporean who were very selfish and unfriendly that not even a smile on their face. We observed all kinds of people who visited the island; guessed this was one of the entertainments that we could find.

Another highlight of this island was plenty of seashells and dead corals. I was really enjoying collecting those tiny and beautiful seashells on the beach the morning before we left the island. I saw people found a huge seashell larger than a basketball the day before. Beware of removing those seashells, dead corals or anything that belongs to the island are prohibited under the roles and regulations of the authority concerned. However, there were still people smuggling those items without being caught.

The wet weather had caused those vehicles that parked inside the stadium field dirtied with mud. We noticed that all those affected vehicles went to the nearby patrol station for washing their cars using the waters freely without paying any cents to the properties owner. At least we pumped and paid the patrol at that station.

On the journey back to Kuala Lumpur, we stopped by another small town, Ayer Hitam. The main road of the town was crowded with people and stalls that selling local snack foods, home decoration items, soft toys and other local products. These were the highlights of this town and usually people who travel between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore would make a comfort or shopping stop here.

Before we left for Kuala Lumpur, we went back to Batu Pahat again. We had the delicious local snack i.e. "otak-otak", the minced fish meat mixed with chilies and other ingredients then cooked and smoked by using charcoal. However, according to the locals, the best "otak-otak" could only be found in the neighbour town, Muar (about 1 hour driving to the north). Friends of mine having party enjoy eating the most famous fruits in Malaysia, so called the king of the fruits, durian. Unfortunately, I don't like it.

We reached Kuala Lumpur about 10pm. I was truly tired of traveling such long journey but I enjoyed the trip, at least self-driving is more flexible than taking the public transportation.

Yoke Ming
8 Nov 2003

[View Pulau Besar Photos]