Cameron Highlands

Early morning, on the road to Cameron Highlands, first trip for the family. We stopped by this bridge to enjoy the scenery and the small stream below. Wished we could trek downhill and have a cool dip.. but we have yet to arrive at Tanah Rata. The road was wide, and not many vehicles as it was on Saturday. We were very excited as we were beginning to feel the cool breeze of the mountain air. Fresh morning and the sky was slightly cloudy.

Pretty stream below the bridge.

Approaching the very crowded hills and taking in the views of the farms, no space was left wasted and planted with vegetables of some kind..

While I was ooh-aahing over the sceneries, Al was ooh-aahing over these trucks! 

Had a memorable picnic at the local park whilst enjoying the wonderful weather :) I had expected more flowers but all I could see were these cannas and anthuriums.. I guess I have to pay my way into one of the flower farms if I want to see some nice roses.. chrysanthemums.. ;(

Zafree and Zachwan exploring the bridge wished they could play in the cool water..

A shroud of tea plants looking like thick carpets over the Boh plantation. Its very romantic here, I could see why so many comes here repeatedly to enjoy these views..

Valley of tea, though very tempting to walk through the delightful bushes, I shudder to think about the climb back uphill..

Zachwan, he doesn't drink tea much.. but loves the sense of being in the middle of something edible.. :)

nyeh.. tourists.. ;P

Me and the boys :)

Watching the tea plantation workers drying the newly picked tea leaves. There were also small bungalows and cabins for rent nearby.. but since there were many dogs around, I think I'd prefer the local apartments. But this place is really suitable for peaceful weekend getaways..

 

Blue flowers, anyone?

I think this was Lingzhi.. about RM10 and considered cheap to buy. I don't think it will survive the heat and weather downhill. 

More weird looking fungi from the jungle.. I don't particularly know what they're for but looked kinda groovy, don't cha think ? ;P

This is the best! Straight from the hills.. they're big and thick! You're not Malaysian enough if you don't eat these Petais!! You can eat them raw.. sambal it.. grill it.. masak lemak it.. fry it.. pickle it.. which ever way you find yummy! ;P~

Taman Negara, Pahang

Macam mana ye, nak put down into words.. cuz I'm not much of a writer.  Tiba2 jer rasa nak pergi Taman Negara, walhal sebelum ni tak pernah pun nak imagine myself and the kids going there.  Apa yang seronok nya kat sana tu? Dengarnya banyak nyamuk dan pacat. After taking in all the positive considerations and what an mind opening experience it would be, I've decided to give it a shot. Possible things we might need... Baigon, checked!, leech socks, checked! So apalagi, buat reservation lah! Sebab kerana tiba2 jer nak pergi, tak la pulak talipon sana sini tanya kengkawan nak tinggal kat mana, nak buat camna yer?.. cuma harapkan berjam2 tengok blog and google.. Dapat lah jugak a few possible places to stay, tapi nak jugak rasa nak tinggal dalam hutan. Mutiara tu mahal and posh sangat, Woodland macam terlampau commercialized and away from the sungai, and tak kan nak tinggal kat base camp! So after juggling between resorts, we decided to stay at Nusa Holiday Village, reception staff kata we had to get on a 15min boatride to the resort..eerrmmm.. sounded interesting!  So we packed, after a brief stop at Lata Meraung, we arrived at Kuala Tahan at around 4.15pm.

view of Kuala Tahan taken from Mutiara

the merge of sg Tahan and sg Tembeling

important means of getting around

Kuala Tahan somehow looked smaller than the photos i've seen on the net, but the river water flow was swifter! I was really scared of the water when we arrived. Typical of me, always too concerned about everybody's safety. But we had to make it to our resort, after about half an hour waiting at the Nusa Jetty, we got on our boat and experienced our very first sungai boat ride of Taman Negara. And it was awesome!! The scenes along the riverbanks were spectacular and after what it felt like only a few minutes, we arrived at Nusa Holiday Village. Quietly, i gave a pat at myself for being very cerewet with which resort to stay, cos i really heart this resort :) Tucked in a jungle, far from the chaos of Kuala Tahan, this place was perfect for our short jungle getaway from civilization :)

Nusa Holiday Village

Morning in Taman Negara is beautiful and serene.. lucky us being away from Kuala Tahan, the quietness  and peacefullness were overwhelming. Mists coming up from the lush greenaries of the thick jungles.  But I could not helped myself from making a comparison between the jungles we saw along beautiful Gerik-Jeli, the Lower Belum. That was even more incredible.  But I understood now, the lure of Taman Negara are the rivers and the people that lives along these great rivers.  I could just stare at the swift river flow of Sungai Tembeling for hours, but we needed to get ready, for us to be able to catch the 8.30am boat ride to Kuala Tahan and then to Lata Berkoh, our most important mission of this holiday!

view of the mists from the jungle on the Taman Negara side, taken from the hanging bridge at Nusa Camp. River flow was higher, murkier and swifter from previous night's heavy downpour 

morning at our chalet (Malay House unit), basic accommodation but considered luxury in the jungle :) for RM110/night

Mission of the day- to Lata Berkoh! After haggling boat fees with the Nusa boat operator, we were introduced to Dabang, the Perhilitan Officer and an orang asli to be our guides for the 3-4 hours trip. Wow! the boat journey to Lata Berkoh along Sg Tahan was indeed the highlight of our holiday. Although it rained very heavily the night before, it turned out to be quite a blessing in disguise, the water level was higher and all 7  (plus 2 guides) could easily ride the Sg Tahan although for a few times, we felt the bumps and grinds along the shallow rapids ;P

riding the sg Tahan, the best river ride!

Zafree, me, Zachwan and Zafran parading our leech socks!

The sun was high on our heads, it was almost 12pm but we felt the cool jungle air and the trip was mostly shaded by the huge trees along the riverbanks.  Quite unfortunately we didn't get to see many jungle inhabitants cept for monitor lizards, kingfishers and egrets. We've got our leech socks on and we were ready for the less than hour trek to Lata Berkoh.

in the middle of 130 million years old rainforest

The trail was indeed very clear and shady and more like a walk in the park. We've only encountered a few obstacles and steep climbs, but you gotta be careful of the veining roots and tree branches.  It was easy for the kids, it was even easier for the adults. We trekked along the river banks, and were mesmerized by its beautiful mocha colors and sparkling reflections underneath the midday sun.. and I was also pleased to see how excited the kids were to be able to go on a jungle trekking again. We did not bathe at Lata Berkoh, our guide politely asked us not to and took us to Lubuk Tenor to have a cool dip instead.

Zafran posing at Lata Berkoh rapids

Nusa Village rapids after rapid shooting

After visiting the Kelah Sanctuary at Lubuk Tenor (we didn't get to see any adullt Kelah, the water was too murky) and rapid shooting, we chilled at the rapids at Nusa. By now, the rapids at Nusa subsided a bit, and it was safe again to have a cool late afternoon dip.  But then again, we were all soaked up from the rapid shooting already! It turned out that the rapids at Nusa is a pitch stop for other rapid shooters, being the best and safer place to soak in the water along the sg Tembeling. This was our first trip to Taman Negara, we had an incredible time and hope to go there again soon, coz we missed the Canopy walk (closes at 3.30pm) and Lubuk Simpon!!

Nusa Holida Camp : 09-2662369/09-2671752 

(www.tamannegara-nusaholiday.com.my)

Dabang (Perhilitan Taman Negara) : 09-2663070

More photos, click here.

Pantai Remis, Selangor

I have lost count on how many times I have been to this place, after all, its only half an hour's drive from my house.  On most unplanned weekends, we'd like to take the scenic drive to Pantai Remis, stopping for brunch at Nasi Lemak Kapar Restaurant at Kapar town.  Usually on bright and sunny Sundays, it was always nice to take some time off to go kite flying or seashells picking by the beach...

wispy cirrus clouds

things to see and spends money on

Its only this colorful during weekends, and usually swarmed by locals. There are fishermen's villages and jetty nearby, its a good place for photographers and birders too.  About 20+km, its Kuala Selangor and one could take the opportunity to catch sights of the fireflies at the mangroves..

always a spectacular skies over Pantai Remis

no shortage of cold beverages at these local stalls

on a good season, you could get oysters for about RM1-RM2 each

in the distance, you could stay at on one of the 'kelong' to fish

Just millions and millions of black barnacles, creates quite a contrast to the colors and seascape.  These muddy shores are perfect habitat for the shellfish species, and if u have the time and perseverance towards the blazing sun, u could harvest them yourself!

These horseshoe crabs makes a rare appearance! Laden with eggs, said to be quite delicious.. but I'll pass!  But they do look quite interesting, with its' thick armor and pointy legs.

If you come here early, you could get a nice spot under the shady casuarina trees.

Anytime or anyday, always a fun time for the boys :)

More photos, click here.