Kuala Lumpur is changing rapidly.  Or is it us?

This isn’t the first time we’ve visited Kuala Lumpur. We last spent some time here in December 2009. I don’t know whether its KL or us that has changed, but one thing that is definitely different is our budget.  If you want you can read about our 2009 visit to Malaysia here, and see how our experience differs.

In 2009, we had a much more generous travel budget as we were both working.  We stayed in a deluxe room at Traders. We enjoyed fine dining in expensively decorated restaurants and gulped cocktails at sophisticated bars around city.  We spent our time on organised tour buses, exploring the main tourist attractions.  We ascended 3 towers, including the KL landmark Petronas Towers. This time round there are no ‘free’ golf carts to ferry us the 150m to the nearest mall, or hotel staff waiting at the entrance to greet us with bottled water and scented hand towels to mop our brows. Am I bothered?  Not in the slightest.

I wasn’t that keen on visiting Malaysia again.  Although I had enjoyed my previous stay; it was more of a desire to explore another country, a been there done that thing.  Craig made some compelling arguments about why we should return to Malaysia, he conveniently managed to omit the excellent diving on offer!  I’m glad he did, and I’m surprised to learn that we’ve spent well over a month touring around the country.

Flashpacking around KL

During this trip to Malaysia, we’ve stayed in KL on several occasions, as we’ve made use of the great transport connections available to see the rest of the country and visited Brunei. What I now know is that you can enjoy KL on a ‘flashpacking’ budget, and you don’t need to spend a lot to get around the city.  In fact, by not cocooning yourself with other tourists and just visiting the major tourist attractions you begin to understand that KL is an exciting city, with a bit of a soul!

What I love about KL is it’s so cosmopolitan. This cliché is often overused, but when you look at the diverse range of restaurants, entertainment, bars, museums and markets catering for locals and visitors from around the world, I think it’s quite appropriate.  As we’ve said before, food is of a very high standard and you can eat really cheaply here.  Like Singapore, KL is popular with visitors from all over Asia, and also has a fairly large expat community.

You can get a spacious clean room with private bathroom and air-con, tv etc for about US$20-25 in a great central location. I think you’d struggle in most major cities to get such a bargain.

Whilst visiting KL this time, we’ve relied on local buses, trains and even the monorail to transport us about the city.  The good thing about KL is walking around is one of the best ways to experience the gentle energy and friendliness of Malaysians.  Although you can’t easily walk around the entire city due to the road network, and it’s size, it’s very cheap and easy to navigate yourself to places of interest.

Our favourite places to chill are at the pavement cafes around China Town or Little India. The food is good and cheap and these places are bustling with people, so you’re never alone and will always find somebody to strike up a conversation with.

Malaysian Shopping Malls

Malaysia is shopping mall crazy. There are malls all over the country and they are very popular with Malaysians, who don’t just go there to shop or eat. It’s a place to socialise and be seen. I guess it beats sitting in a pub! However, the malls in KL are something else, stocking every brand imaginable and offering all manner of services from plastic surgery, a public exercise class or a spa massage. Our favourite mall was the Berjaya Times Square Shopping Mall, its enormous with loads of events and activities taking place.  Its  a great place to stroll and people watch.

Shopping in KL is great, and can be done cheaply at the many markets.  Most things have a price tag and negotiating is straightforward and easy.  If you don’t like bartering, then KL is the place to come and do your shopping. I’m just happy window shopping these days.

Some of the things we did in KL

We were in KL during Hari Raya, which meant that most of the museums were closed for about 3 days during part of the holiday period.  We decided to use this opportunity, to cure Craig of his ornithophobia and visit KL Bird Park.  It was a strange experience, but I think we did the trick and Craig is cured. The bad news is, I think I’m now frightened of birds.

We also visited the Batu caves, which are free to enter, it cost us 3(MYR) return to get there on the train from KL Sentral.  The caves are interesting but not amazing.  The monkeys, around the hindu temples, are hilarious stealing offerings and drinks from visitors.  There are some tasty market stalls selling all manner of sweet things – delicious!

We visited the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, which has a many artefacts from around the world and is worth a visit. The different galleries contain an eclectic mix of objects from jewellery, weapons and ceramics to architectural models of mosques.  The roof terrace was currently being renovated, and despite my best endeavours to secure access, it wasn’t possible.  However, when it does open it will offer an additional view of the KL skyline.

A journey to Kuala Lumpur doesn’t have to be a quick stopover 

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is regularly announcing new flight schedules from different flight carriers, so will continue to be a gateway for travellers from around the world.  KL isn’t just an unwanted layover destination, while you wait for your connecting flight to somewhere else.  Just make sure you give yourself time to explore the creative, modern and energetic pulse of this rapidly growing city.  The next time our journey brings us back to KL, we’ll be heading to Chinatown for a slap up meal, a couple of beers, and then maybe a bar or two. Can’t wait!

I guess its us that are changing.

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A Bit of Melaka History

While staying in Kuala Lumpur it is well worth setting aside at least a  day (or preferably an overnight trip) to wander down the west coast to pay a visit to Malacca (or Melaka – in Malay).  For the sake of a two hour coach journey (train travel isn’t simple to Melaka) you will be greeted by some wonderful sights as well as a refreshing change of pace away from KL city centre.

Melaka has a wonderful and varied history to rival Penang; it also now has UNESCO world heritage status too.  During its development from a simple fishing port, it has been ruled first by the Ming Chinese Dynasty, then the Portuguese arrived in the 16^th Century and took hold building a walled fortress, the Dutch took hold in the 17^th Century and in a fit of pique destroyed much of the Portuguese heritage.  They ruled for two centuries until the British added it to their Asian colonial portfolio as a result of some land trading with the Dutch.  It remained under British control until the Japanese occupation during WWII.  Thereafter, Melaka became part of the Malaysian Union and gained independence in 1963, along with the rest of the Malay states.

The history is worth outlining in brief, because this rich history is what makes Malacca so interesting today.  While there is little left of the Dutch and Portuguese buildings, with the exception of some churches and the A Famosa Portuguese gate, the cultural influences of these European conquistadors sre still visible in the houses, food and cultures within the city.

The city is also the centre of Peranakan culture. The Chinese settlers arrived in Malacca to mine, trade and married local brides and adopted many local customs. What you get is a mix of local and Chinese cultures and you will see references to men as Babas and women Nonyas throughout Melaka.

Melaka Day Trip or Tour from Kuala Lumpur

You could see the main sights in Melaka in a day trip from Kuala Lumpur, but you will miss seeing the place at night and this really is half of its charm.  There are many tours operating from KL, costing around 190 MYR per person for a day trip. The restoration efforts along the canal and the heritage areas are lit up beautifully in the evening and its worth seeing them by twilight, which you won’t see on a one day tour.

Getting to Melaka from KL is easy

Buses for Melaka leave from the  B’spadu Selatan Station, Kuala Lumpur, station a few kilometres out of town.   You can get a shuttle bus from the Pudaraya bus terminal near Chinatown for 2 MYR and then the fare from the terminal will cost you around 13MYR ( $4 US) to Melaka.  There are quite a few bus companies operating on this route, with varying levels of comfort and prices.  Some buses operate a more express service.  Buses leave frequently, and as there is plenty of choice, no need to book tickets in advance, just turn up and hop on the next available bus.  All the buses terminate in Melaka at the Sentral bus terminal, where you need to catch the local bus into town for 1 MYR.  The No 17 bus, drops you off at the main square, which is a short walk if you are staying in the heritage area.  Not too far even with a backpack. KL to Melaka town centre will take you just over two and half hours.

Sightseeing in Malacca

There is no shortage of heritage sights and museums to visit in Malacca – here are our highlights.  We weren’t in museum moods,  as we visited on a Tuesday when some were closed anyhow.

• Cheng Hoon Teng Temple. Claimed to be the oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia, small but impressive given its age.
• Christ Church – Completed in 1753, another oldest claim….the oldest protestant church in Malaysia.  Not very impressive on the inside, and again the ‘no internal photography’ rule grrrr!

• Dutch Square – With beds full of real flowers and trishaws full of plastic ones, this place is the iconic view of Malacca with Christ Church.   It is also home to the Beng Swee Clock Tower A ‘Dutchesque’ clock tower built by the British. Stand and watch the trishaw drivers, out kitsch each other with their elaborately decorated transportation.

• Jonker Walk - This is the heritage residential centre of Malacca with its narrow winding streets, stunning (now restored) houses and temples ornately decorated in Chinese and European architectural motifs.  Great atmosphere and well worth a slow wander, but watch yourselves down the narrower side streets.  The limited lane width does not deter the moto or car drivers from whizzing down these pavement less boulevards.
• Saint Paul’s Church – sat atop the hill (more of a hillock at only about 40 steps up) in the centre of town, originally built in 1521, by the Portuguese and called Nossa Senhora da Annunciada before the Dutch renamed it the more pronounceable  St Pauls.

• Stadthuys – built in 1660, is a facsimile of the town hall in Hoorn in the Netherlands, purportedly one of the oldest Dutch buildings in Asia.

Our favourite pastime in Malacca, was wandering down the riverbank which has been developed and paved to allow you to walk the length of the old town from Jonkers (and if you are feeling energetic)  up to the Kampung Morten where you will find an original traditional Malay village houses.

The houses along the main part of the riverside have been painted with beautiful murals depicting the different cultures at play in this city.  You will also find some very reasonable cafes dotted along the walk to top yourself up with a drink or a snack.   We found one serving American breakfast and decided we had to reward them for their ingenuity with our custom.

If you don’t want to walk the whole way up the riverbank, into the East of the city, you can spend around forty minutes on one of the boats that ply the route up and down the river.   It’s a great way to see the riverbank on a very hot day without all the exertion. It’s not bad value at 15 MYR each (US $4.50).  It will take you all the way up to the monorail station which despite being finished some years ago is still not operational after stranding some passengers 10 metres up on its inaugural journey.   If you are lucky on your journey along the river, you will spot some large lizards basking in the sun along the riverbank.

The second touristy thing to do is take the ride up the Menara Taming Sari (360 degree viewing tower) which for 20 MYR (US $6) you get a five minute ride to a height of 110M above Melaka.  Yes it’s touristy, and very popular with the locals, it’s also great fun revolving around the city getting an aerial view of some of the old buildings and shop houses below.

We visited the swiftlet birdhouse, which has a rich history and you will be led around the house and told about the swiftlet birds nest soup production techniques.  There is a bit of hard sell at the end to have some birds nest soup or buy some other bird nest soup products.  They are expensive, but when you see how the nests are cleaned ready for consumption you can see why – it is not known as Asia’s caviar for nothing.

Melaka is a relaxing  town (apart from the traffic whose density outweighs its populace) and most things slowly quieten down at around 10pm.  You can find a few pleasant bars dotted about the side street off Jonkers walk (Jalan Hang Lekir). We ate in Far East cafe and had some good value local Peranakan food and a few not so good value beers.  They are quite pricey here even by Malaysian standards.

There is a very unlikely hero we came across here too his name is Gan Boon Leong  and he is the father of bodybuilding in Malaysia.  We found at least three statues across town dedicated to him (no doubt there are others).  The local hero celebrated his 80^th birthday this year, thankfully he no longer competes, but his reputation continues in the local statues and the gym named after him in town.  We were told you can sometimes see him outside the gym at around 9pm.

The accommodation here is good value and our recommendation would be to stay in the Jonker street heritage area, so you can absorb the culture while you wander through your ‘tardis’ like heritage Chinese hotel.  We stayed at the Baba house hotel and room there cost just $22 per night.

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Kuching has been the perfect base for us to explore Sarawak’s beauty and wildlife.   A population of around 660,000, made up of the now familiar mix of Malay and Chinese people.  What makes this area more ethnically interesting is the presence of the Dayak indigenous ethnic groups (can be categorized into Ibans, Bidayuhs, Melanaus and Orang Ulu) and those from neighbouring Indonesia.

Depending on who you ask, the name Kuching  is derived from either the Malay word meaning cat or the Chinese word for port (Cochin).  In terms of the city’s statue erection it looks like the cat derivation won; as not only will you find a cat museum located here but we counted at least five cat sculptures adorning main roundabouts and intersections in the city, some more tasteful than others!

What we didn’t know is that arriving in Sarawak, we’d need to receive another stamp in our passport. Although, very much part of Malaysia, the stamp recognises the regional significance of Sarawak. This isn’t a problem, it just means an additional four stamps in John’s rapidly filling passport by the time we head back to KL . This means he needs to explain at length, where he wants each stamp placing to every immigration control officer we encounter, interesting times ahead.

After Kuching we had planned to head to Kota Kinabula, and then do some more diving in Sabah. However, due to my foot injury and looking at the cost of accommodation and diving we’ve decided to head back to KL and sort out our China visas before reluctantly leaving Malaysia.

Kuching and the Surrounding Area

Most people heading for Kuching are here to get to the local national parks and experience some Borneo wildlife.  However, it would be cruel to label Kuching as just a base for visiting these sights.  It has a charm all of its own and in between your more energetic jungle treks and wildlife searches you can enjoy yourself with it’s welcoming people, fantastic food and relax with a jaunt up the sleepy Sarawak river artery.

A stay in a traditional long house, to see some skulls acquired by the head-hunters is high on many visitors travel itinerary.  Thankfully, the practice of demonstrating your manhood by decapitating some poor soul has been prohibited for several generations.

The river dominates the city and the local government has been quick to capitalise on this. Building a multi-million dollar regional government building,  and an impressive river embankment promenade along the main city stretches.  Although this continuing ‘improvement’ along the river isn’t popular with everybody, its a great place for watching the world go by.

The Sarawak Tourist office has an outlet located in the Old Courthouse, in the centre of town, and you will get all the information you need here for the trips about sightseeing around Sarawak.  One of the things we had to ask for, that was extremely useful was a local bus guide with times, fares and bus stopping points.  It really is handy and will help you get you to most of the surrounding sights easily and cheaply.  Ask for one, they keep them in a draw behind the desk (which no doubt keeps the local tour operators happy)

Kuching Food Dishes

I know we keep going on about the food quality and availability in Malaysia, but it really is one of the highlights of your visit here.   In Kuching you will see lots of the familiar kopitiams (coffee shops) and hawker centres serving really cheap noodle and rice dishes. Sarawak does have some of its own local dishes which are well worth a try, if you don’t like them you won’t be crying over spilt ringgit as they will have probably cost you US $1.50 and you can try something else instead.  Some local treats we tried and liked

Sarawak Laksa. Is a spicy noodle soup type dish, though with a thicker broth/gravy than you will see in other parts of Asia.  The flavours will vary from place to place but usually contain sambal,  tamarind, garlic, lemon grass and coconut milk, finished off with egg  strips, chicken  prawns, fresh coriander and sometimes lime

Chicken Porridge – this is mostly a breakfast/lunch dish that is a congee porridge made from rice (not our western oats) and flavoured with very simple ingredients of soy sauce, spring and regular onions, garlic, ginger and chicken broth with a slug of Chinese wine for flavour.  The rice is boiled to a glutinous mush and then served.  It does taste better than it sounds.

Kolo Mee – this noodle based dish, like the porridge is incredibly simple and forms a staple breakfast and lunch dish for the locals here served in virtually all the coffee shops and hawker centres.  It consists of noodles (they look like packet noodles) and comes with your choice of meat topping.

Midin is a jungle fern unique to Borneo which has a great crispy texture and flavour.  It is often served fried or as we tried it with some other vegetables and wild mushrooms at the Top Spot food market.

Top Spot Restaurant and International Food

The Top Spot is one of Kuching’s great institutions.  It is a food court set rather incongruously on top of a car park in the main town.   You are guided there by a ten foot neon prawn declaring the Top Spot location.   Now these things might put you off, but don’t let them.  The top of the car park has been transformed into a canopy and seat laden food heaven with a variety of stalls where you pick your own seafood and vegetables, decide how you would like them cooked, sit down order a relatively cheap beer (US3$) and wait while your fresh food is cooked and delivered to your table.

The place is packed every evening with locals and it is easy to see why. The food is very reasonably priced, you pick what and how much you want from the selection of fresh fish, shellfish, crabs, lobsters and prawns and sit back and enjoy the atmosphere.  We ended up at the ABC stall (there are about 20 to choose from) it seemed the busiest with the locals and the staff were really helpful explaining what was on offer, how much it would cost and recommending how it should be cooked and flavoured.   We feasted on an oyster pancake, fresh crab, squid, wild mushrooms and midin vegetables with rice, it all tasted fantastic and the meal costs us US $10.

Travelling around the world, you sometimes have cravings for foods that aren’t readily available. Not that we are yet fed up with Malaysian food, but we thought that as the standard here has been so high and there is such a wide selection of dining options here that we would try a couple of ‘international’  restaurants.  We are pleased to report that these two trials stood up to the demanding standards of the rest of Malaysian food.

Our first foray was to a Lebanese restaurant on the waterfront (Little Lebanon) where we enjoyed a taste of the Middle East in the form of some kofte kebabs, home-made hummus and falafels.  I wouldn’t be rushing to let the Michelin guide know about it, but it was authentic and a pleasant change from rice and noodles.

Our second off country foray was to a Japanese restaurant to rekindle (hopefully) some of the wonderful taste memories we had  travelling around Japan.  We had to wait for a table at the Sanga Restaurant, on a Saturday evening, and were glad we got lucky, bearing in mind the reservations list.  The standard here was excellent and certainly made us feel we were back in Osaka, after polishing off some great tempura, sashimi and a Japanese seafood and vegetable ‘pizza’ which was the definite highlight.  This quality was amazing, and the tastes authentic, given the bill was a mere $18 for both of us, and we had an amazingly large doggie bag.

While you are here you also have to try the Sarawak Layered Cake (Kek Lapis Sarawak) there are a host of shops selling them opposite the main waterfront promenade.  They are sweet and buttery and come in a variety of flavours from durian to chocolate.  All of the stalls offer a taster of the flavours so you can try before you buy, or just try if your broke.

Community Events Not Just For The Locals

We were lucky that while we were here the Chinese community were celebrating the ghost festival and treated the city to a fantastic colourful and noisy street parade of dragons, drummers and costumes.  It is always a pleasure when you stumble across these local festivities whilst on the road and allows you to sneak a glimpse at an unfamiliar culture. However, speaking with a local guy, he said that there are a calendar of such events all year round, the next being the dumpling festival.

Apart from wandering the waterfront you can hop on one of the boats lined up on the riverside that will take you on a one or two hour jaunt up and down the Sarawak River.   Don’t expect any stunning sights from the boat but it’s a relaxing way to spend an hour watching the local sampans ferry people across the river and the peppering of stilt houses which line the banks.   You will however get the best views of the local mosque and the state parliament building from your watery vantage point.

There are a few museums to pass the time if the rains come.  From the Cat Museum situated a short bus ride from the centre of town; or the Sarawak Museum in town which is free to enter and offers exhibits on the history, culture and ethnography of Sarawak.  There is a tiny Chinese museum about the size of your front room on the waterfront and a larger Islamic museum in the south of town which will give you the run down on Muslim history and heritage throughout Sarawak.

Kuching is friendly and distinctly different from Peninsula Malaysia while still having many of the rest of Malaysia’s familiar plus points, notably the food, polite people and a clean and pleasant city to base yourself.  Oh did I mention the sunsets, if you get lucky with the weather you will be treated to some spectacular sunsets down the river. Kuching has probably now made it to our very own Top Spot on Malaysian cities, its just a very peaceful and pleasant place.

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National Parks in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

There are four main national parks located in the Kuching area.  Each offers a distinct nature experience in the South West Sarawak region of Borneo.

The Gunung Gading Park is located west of the city and its main attraction is the sightings of the giant Rafflesia flower, the largest species of flower in the world.  These one metre diameter blooms flower for only five days and local tour companies or the local tourist office will know when they are at their best.  Sadly when we were here they were not, so we passed on this trip.  This park is particularly popular with locals as its easy to reach by car or taxi.

Kubah National Park and Matang Wildlife Centre are the place to go if rainforest scenery is your thing, as the wildlife resides deep in the park away from the main marked trails and the summit trek to Gunung Serapi.   Matang is situated within the park and offers a chance to see Orangutan and other wildlife.

The Kuching Wetlands consists of mangrove systems and waterways along the Sarawak coast.  Unlike the other parks this one is accessed by boat via a river cruise.

For us the lure of Bako National Park was irresistible.  We had the chance of jungle treks to secluded beaches, the chance of spotting proboscis and silver leaf monkeys, cheeky long tailed macaques, snakes, tarantulas and other small jungle wildlife as well as a variety of terrains from swamp forests, scrub vegetation to mangrove and dipterocarp forests.

For more details about each of the parks visit the Sarawak Forestry website.

How to get to Bako National Park?

Like the trip to the Semenggoh Nature Reserve, Kuching local transport and the local boatman make this a pleasant, easy and affordable trip for anyone visiting Sarawak.

The number 1 bus operated by Rapid Kuching Transport leaves every hour from bus station number 1 or (more conveniently for us) at a stop on the North of town opposite the Riverside Majestic Hotel.

The hour long journey to Kampung Bako will cost you a mere RM3.50 ($1.10) where you will be dropped at the boat jetty.  Here you pay your National Park Entrance Fee (RM20) and organise your boat to take you from the village to the National Park Beach or Jetty.  Many visitors come to the park, just for the day.  However, you’ll be very limited as to what you can see due to the diversity of the habitat, and that the fact that you have to do this by foot, meaning you can’t discover the charms of this place quickly. The boat costs RM47 each way for up to five passengers, so if you can find enough people to share with the cost reduces to RM10 each.   The journey takes just 20 minutes and depending on the tide when you arrive, you will either be dropped at the purpose built jetty nestled among the mangrove trees or on the beach shoreline with a short wade to dry land.

The boats you book are numbered and you arrange your return time with the boatman when you book.  Don’t worry too much about being committed to this as you can get the helpful staff at the National Park to call and change your collection time as we did.

How to book accommodation in Bako National Park?

You need to book accommodation in advance before arriving at the national parks.  The accommodation is limited, so no walk up services are available.  This can be done either on line via a web form request or at the Sarawak National Parks Office next door to the tourist information office in the Old Courthouse Building in Kuching. If you are arriving at the weekend, be aware that the booking office is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

There is a range of accommodation at Bako, but all of it is basic and the only real difference is how many people you will share with or whether you have your own attached bathroom. As you’d expect for a national park, camping is a popular option for some. We booked exclusive use, of a four person dorm room with shared bathroom, for just over RM40 (US $13) for the night for both of us.

There is a canteen on site which has basic food, drinks and even beer for sale all at reasonable prices.  The food, like the rooms, is basic and will remind you of school dinners as its self service but it keeps you energised for the treks and is served by the very friendly on site staff.

The best trek route to see the Proboscis Monkey at Bako NP

We arrived at around 1pm, had lunch and after off-loading our bags in our room, it was getting a bit late so we took the advice of the reception staff and headed out for one of the shorter treks for our first day.    We chose the Telok Paku trail (at 2.4km for the round trip) which takes you from the park centre to the beach through the cliff forest.   The trek is reasonably challenging with some steep sections traversing tree roots and mossy ground.  This is one of the best trails for proboscis monkey sightings, and as we later learned we had embarked on the trek at exactly the right time, as they are most active in the early morning or late afternoons.

This, the first of our first jungle treks was quite an eerie experience as you are completely unfamiliar with the sounds and movements in the forest as you make your way slowly over the uneven ground.  The first you know about a potential monkey sighting are the grunts and the crashing of the tree canopy metres above your head, which was a little bit unnerving the first time we heard this.

We’ve added some sound cloud audio files to the travel blog to try and give you a sense of the places we visited.  Let us know what you think of these sounds from trekking in the Borneo jungle, as its just an experiment and wonder whether it adds anything to the blog?  Here are our first attempts.

We started to hear these sounds just as we ended the trail and emerged onto the secluded beach where there was a group of macaques scuttling about at the water’s edge.  As we looked to the right we saw our first proboscis monkeys high up in the trees chomping on the fruits and leaves.  As we learnt, they are extremely shy and at the sight of us they retreated into the canopy.

We had to hone our stealth skills so we spent the next hour or so on the beach, or in the jungle which fringed it, creeping around hiding ourselves till we heard the rustling and then quietly and slowly tried to get some pictures.  We finally headed back and continued our stealth manoeuvres trying to spot the monkeys high in the canopy near to the beach. The frustrating thing is, you know the monkeys are well aware of your presence and are in the vicinity, as you can hear the distinctive grunt made by the proboscis monkeys and the noisy way which they clamber around the jungle.

Just as we got back to the main jetty area we found a mother and baby pair high up in the trees who we managed to snap.  They must have been about 50 metres away but were still wary of us, with my zoom at full length I managed to get a shot of the mother’s displeasure at our unwanted attention.  Great moment, hopefully not too disturbing for mother and child.

We decided to rest at one of the shelters on the beach before heading back to the accommodation block and were rewarded with a half hour of more fantastic nature in the form of bird life and strange looking crabs, one of which was coloured the most vivid blue I have ever seen on a creature, absolutely fascinating.  If you visit spend a while here at low tide it is a real pleasure.

We were quite lucky with our sightings, as we spoke with other visitors at the park who had failed to spot a glimpse of these strange looking monkeys.

Trekking in the Borneo Jungle at Night

We knew that there were guided night treks organised by the rangers here.   You pay a small fee (RM10) to join the guide and need to bring a torch with you.  The guides have good powerful torches for spotting and showing off the night creatures, but you will need your own to be sure of your footings in places.

I was unsure of what to expect or whether this would be worth the trip.  Given my tiredness from the afternoon trek in the heat and my post dinner comfort I nearly said to John that we should skip the planned night trek.  I am so glad John persuaded me to do it.

It was an incredibly unique experience,  thankfully our afternoon trek had got us ready for some of the sounds of the jungle, but at night everything seems amplified and you are greeted with a whole new range of sounds from the creatures that only come out to play when it gets dark.  Given the lack of sun and the trek along a flat route (the Ulu Assam trail) the walk is not strenuous, and you take it very slowly while the rangers seek out the hidden animals and reptiles.

It was explained before we set out that what we see is down to luck, but I secretly hoped for a snake or two and at least one tiny tree frog.   In the end we got all of these and a whole lot more.

The advertised one and a half hours trek (it was actually just over 2 hrs) was probably one of the strangest experiences of this whole trip so far, but I would do it again in an instant.   In fact we both did not want it to end.  I have never really used my camera in these total darkness conditions before, but thankfully I discovered it copes quite well and I managed to get some pictures of a sample of the creatures we saw on this trip. We also captured some of the sounds of the night trek to give you a hint of the atmosphere.

Here is a list of some of the treats we got to see and hear:

• A very noisy tree frog, the sound is deafening at times
• A selection of viper snakes thankfully happy to strike a pose, but not us
• A very shy tarantula spider who refused to pose for photographs and hid in his tree stump
• Flying lemurs who stuck to tree trunks and were not the interested in flying.
• Giant centipedes
• A Scorpion or two way too quick to catch on camera
• Spiders of all sizes
• A nest of swallows making birds nest soup! The birds nests actually come from caves in another part of Sarawak for this popular regionally produced dish.
• Not to mention the night time smells of the jungle, with some of the fauna projecting some intoxicating scents.
• The luminous mushrooms, which are a bizarre and enchanting spectacle lighting up patches of the jungle.

Our final hike at Bako National Park

The next day for our final trek we took on the Lintang loop a 6Km round trip trek that takes you through a variety of the different terrains.  We decided to do the loop anticlockwise for no reason other than that is the way we decided to head out.

We set off at 8.30am after having delayed our boat pick up till later in the afternoon and enjoyed the first 500 meters so the flat hearing but struggling to see the Proboscis moneys in the numbers or with the ease we had the day before.  However, we soon discovered that our anticlockwise route meant we were doing the next kilometre in an almost upright direction.

Needless to say we were pretty knackered when we reached the first lookout overlooking the sea at an elevation of 800m.  Thankfully the rest of the trek was either downhill or only with some gentle gradients.What is fascinating about this trail is the change in terrain as you make your way further from the shore inland.

The trail changes from jungle to hard stony scrub flatlands.  Wildlife sightings for us were far and few between, but the changing vegetation and landscape and the carnivorous pitcher plants made up for this.The trip is labelled as a three and half hour round trip, but with a couple of generous stops we managed it in just over three hours.Thankfully this gave us an hour to cool off and change from our sweat drenched clothes before the boat picked us up.  I also managed to twist my foot, 5 mins from the end of the trek, which is now swollen and looks like it will prevent me from tackling Kota Kinabalu in Sabah – bugger.

There are many more ambitious treks and walks for those with more time. We have included a copy of the Bako National Park Trek Routes Map in the gallery below.

Travel Tips for visiting Bako National Park

The treks here are not that difficult in terms of gradient and length, but combined with the heat and humidity and uneven terrain (think jungle root systems) this makes them quite a challenge, even for the relatively fit.  You will sweat from places, and in greater volume than you ever have before, so make sure you take plenty of water with you.  The park are very safety conscious and you must sign in and out for all your treks letting the staff know where you are going should anything not go to plan.

All in, another great value self managed trip which with boat fees, bus fares, park entry fees and accommodation cost us RM90 each (US $28) for an overnight stay and a visit to the jungle – you really can’t buy those sort of experiences at that price anywhere but here.

1. It is essential to pre-book accommodation. You can only do this Monday-Friday.
2. Take a fashion tip from tennis legend Bjorn Borg, and take a sweatband for your head, you’ll grow tired of mopping your brow to keep the salt trickling into your eyes.
3. There a trip hazards a plenty on all the treks, mainly tree stumps and roots, so if you can take a walking pole or stick – do so!
4. Take a torch to explore the jungle by night.
5. Stay at least one or two nights here, rather than just visit for the day. You couldn’t possibly begin to explore what the place has to offer without camping or staying in a lodge.
6. Don’t leave food, water or belongings unattended for a millisecond absolutely anywhere in the park. Even if you can’t see a cheeky macaque, there will be one hiding in wait for the split-second opportunity to steal your bag, camera or water bottle. Their favourite hangout is the cafeteria roof, you won’t stand a chance as they’re a lot quicker and more conniving than you think.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we were considering extending our stay, before I injured my foot, for another night. This place makes you feel so alive, by making you feel your’e about to die (due to the exhausting humidity rather than any threatening creatures) and it was a great pleasure to trek amongst the trees and beaches observing the abundance of nature in this very special destination called Borneo.

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Visiting the Orangutan in Kuching for less than US$5

Using Kuching as your base in Sarawak, will give you the chance of meeting lots of wildlife.   We spent a week based in Kuching and ventured out into the nearby jungles to witness first hand some of the exciting and interesting creatures that have inhabited this part of the world long before us humans arrived.

The best bit about these trips from Kuching is that you really don’t have to pay a tour company a lot of money to get you there to witness the natural world.  You can do them all yourself with the aid of some pretty cheap Malaysian local transport and very reasonable entrance fees to the national parks, conservation centres and animal sanctuaries; all within a few kilometers of Kuching.  We encountered loads of wildlife on our trip to Bako National Park, more of that though in a later blog post, but for now here is how to get to see the Orangutans in the wild for less than US $5.  You can do this tour with one of the many travel tour operators, but you will be charged anything from US$20-30 . The choice is yours.

How to get to Semenggoh Orangutan Centre by local bus?

Using public transport from Kuching town centre, you can take the local bus K6 from the bus station (Bus Station Number 2). This is located near the market at the end of Jalan Mosque (Mosque Street).  The buses are not too frequent, but the timings are lined up with the opening hours of the Semenggoh park (open from 8am – 11am and 2pm – 4pm with the feeding times at 9am and 3pm).   If you are visiting for the afternoon session you need to catch the 1:15pm bus.  The return fare for the 45 minute journey will cost you 5 MYR ($1.50)

If you want to go for the morning session, you need to set your alarms early and be at the station for the 7:15am bus which will get you to the park just as it is opening at 8am. Apparently, your chances of seeing these great apes are increased when visiting the park in the morning. The entrance fee is 10 MYR (US $3) for non-Malaysian visitors. From the entrance gates you have a 20 minute walk up into the main sanctuary where the park facilities and the feeding areas are located.

This will give you half an hour to wander around the small information exhibition about the orangutan conservation effort and have a quick peek at the rescued river crocodiles that are also kept here.  Bizarrely, one of the crocodile cages also had a live chicken clucking about inside it which was making some pretty nervous sounds as the crocodile kept its beady eye on it.   I guess that chicken may no longer be there when you get to the park!

The best way to see Orangutan from Kuching

Just before 9am the park rangers will give you a safety briefing about the orang utan feeding area and what to do if one takes an unhealthy interest in you.   The wardens explain about the park, that the orang utans live wild, some as semi wild animals whilst they are taught to fend for themselves.  The conservation efforts and successes in protecting orangutan. Many of them have been rescued from captivity and reintroduced to their natural habitats over the last three decades of its operation.   There are no fences or boundaries, the creatures live there and will decide whether or not to come down and avail themselves of the limited free food provided at the two feeding times each day.  In fact an orang utan sighting is far from guaranteed and the rangers say that on some days many people leave disappointed having not glimpsed a single beast.

You should remember you are not visiting a zoo or a safari park safely cocooned in your car or minivan.  You are visiting the orang-utans in their natural habitat, they mostly spend their time building their nightly nests high up in the trees and generally doing what these creatures do in the wild; which is keep themselves to themselves forage and gather enough food to keep themselves alive.

One of the rangers spotted a mother and baby orangutan high up in the trees near the walkway down to the park and spent about twenty minutes calling out to them both to encourage them to come and get some of the free fruit he had on offer for breakfast that morning,   They took their time swinging down from the trees and eventually they both made their way to us  much to the delight of myself and the other visitors.

It was then time to get into the main feeding area deeper inside the jungle from the visitor centre.  We had a small delay as some of the orangutans were blocking the path towards the area, but eventually we made it down the five minute walk to the viewing area.   Here there is a platform where the morning food is laid out for the apes. When we arrived there were already three of them swinging their way down to the treats.   They hung around, quite literally, feeding on the pineapple, mangoes and bananas for around twenty minutes mostly eating, but sometimes interacting with each other before making their way off through the branches and trees.  No doubt they would report back and tell their  friends what cute humans had come to visit them that day.

Seeing them in this environment was quite magical, out of the 29 apes, we got the chance to see five of them during our visit.   It was fascinating to see them getting on with their habits and having the privilege to watch them during our 3 hours there.   The best bit for me was spotting them in the trees before they came down to feed and watching them make their way back from the feeding area, seeing them swing effortlessly high up above you (you need a long lens to catch this as the canopy is about 30-40M above you).  The other highlight for me was looking into their eyes when they were closer, and you can see every single bit of the 96.5 % shared DNA that we have with them  - its eerily spooky.

This has to be one of the best value trips I have ever been on and feel truly blessed to have been able to see these creatures this close in their natural habitat.  Not too close though, as these wild animals are incredibly strong and territorial.  If you come to Kuching do not miss a trip Semenggoh Orangutan Centre.  If you get unlucky and don’t see the Orangutan on your first visit, make sure you go back the next day and try again – trust me it will be worth the effort.

If you like monkeys and apes, and we certainly do, check out our travel blog posts on the tarsier monkeys in the Philippines and snow monkeys in Japan some other great ‘in the wild’ experiences.

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My Diving Experience in the Perhentian Islands

If you want to know more about the Perhentian Islands see our previous Malaysia travel blog post before reading this summary of some of the best dive sites in the Perhentians.  My dives were split across three days, two a day for the first two days and final dive on the day of our departure.  The dives took place in early August 2012.

The Temple of the Sea

Depth:                  19.9M

Dive time             46 minutes

Temperature:    30 C

Visibility:              20M

Dive Experience

This was a great first dive. I was still a little unsure of myself as it had been almost five months since my last dive in the Philippines, but under the influence of Crystal, the divemaster, I settled in and was soon in awe at the number and size of the fish on offer at this site.  The visibility was also great at 20M on a clear day giving some great sunlight reflections off the fish and corals. (This is the one dive I should have had the camera for)

Highlights

Enormous Fusilier shoals, small bamboo sharks nestled under rocks trying to ignore the inquisitive divers. My first blue spotted stingray lazing on the bottom of the sea a medium sized puffer fish just hovering in the sea completely uncaring that four divers were hovering around it staring into its beady black eyes.

Sugar Wreck

Depth:                  18.8M

Dive time             43 minutes

Temperature:    30 C

Visibility:              6-8M

Dive Experience

The wreck is a sugar cargo vessel that was apparently scuttled when the captain got caught for not having the right import papers and he chose to sink the ship rather than pay the fines.  Not sure of the validity of this tale but it makes for a good story.

Wrecks by their nature attract a lot of sediment and that gets churned up by currents around it, so the visibility wasn’t great, but what you lack in visibility you make up for in atmospheric eeriness.  The ship is on its side and after 12 years is now covered in coral and the sea life has made it their home.  As a none certified wreck diver you can’t go into the wreck other than through a swim through of the hold, which was just enough small spaces for me.

Highlights

This was a good dive to hone some buoyancy skills as you are swimming up, under and around the various protrusions of the ship, its mast, bulkheads and other lumps of metal.  As well as the wreck we got to see Giant Puffer fish, Masked Porcupine, Yellow Tail Barracuda shoals, Yellow Back Fusilier shoals (much smaller shoals than at Temple) and probably the highlight for me a group of four Lion Fish strutting about the wrecks struts.

The  D’Lagoon

Depth:                  17.4M

Dive time             63 minutes

Temperature:    30 C

Visibility:              10M

Dive Experience

We had reasonable visibility on this dive, and got to see a great variety of sea life.  For me though this dive was a turning point in my diving experience.  After my ‘forced’ improved buoyancy on the wreck dive yesterday I started to gain some confidence in my diving and this was improved further with the calm guidance and advice from Halla, our divemaster for the day.   I can truly say that there were times on this dive when I was in another world.  Peaceful, relaxed and almost silent as I bobbed along amazed at the variety of sights on offer here.

Highlights

Blue Ringed Angel fish, Large Titan Triggerfish, Parrotfish, more Blue Spotted Stingray and this time I got to see this one swim gracefully through the water rather than lounging on the bottom. An absolutely enormous brown mottled Grouper a variety of Butterfly Fish and juvenile Yellow Box Fish.   The highlight for this dive apart form the enormous Grouper and Puffer Fish was a group of tiny Clown Fish about the size of your small finger nail nestling inside and Anemone while the parent came out and tried to scare us off. This territorial defence though was nothing compared to the aggressiveness of a white damsel fish that took a dislike to Halla and went for her on a number of occasions.  It’s a shame the little fellow was no bigger than your hand – feisty through – must have had Scottish roots.  Towards the end of the dive I got to see my first giant Moray Eel.   He was curled into a rock and as we approached (at a safe distance) he was there gnashing his teeth and I decided I was quite close enough.

Batu Layer

Depth:                  15.9M

Dive time             54 minutes

Temperature:    30 C

Visibility:              8-10M

Dive Experience

This was an OK dive with good but not great visibility, and an abundance of other divers.   This was probably the most congested of the sites we visited on my five dives.  You would see something large out of the corner of your eye hoping it would be some magnificent rarely sighted specimen only to find it was yet another group of divers.  On the whole though the sightings were similar to those at D’Lagoon.

Highlights

I got to swim through shoals of fusiliers again on this dive and I have decided that I shall never tire of this experience.  It is truly majestic as hundreds of turn and dart away to let you through as if they are all behaving as a single entity.  Great experience.

The star of this dive through was our friendly green turtle that gave us a five minute show of swimming and eating while we hovered at a distance and watched him get on with his daily life.  I have seen turtles at all my dive sites so far both at Gili Air and at Bohol and they are always a pleasure to watch,  They have a serenity about them which is mesmeric.

T3

Depth:                  19.2M

Dive time             52 minutes

Temperature:    30 C

Visibility:              5M

Dive Experience

This was a difficult dive for me as I had elected to borrow an underwater camera to try and capture some images.  I couldn’t have chosen a worse dive.  Technically this dive was a challenge, as the dive site is made up of lots of swim-through’s and caverns that mean you really have to focus on your buoyancy to make sure you are not barging into coral or rocks and doing yourself harm (I did manage a couple of scrapes).  Doing this and trying to control a camera was a little too much for me, but Halla and I (whom I handed the camera over towards the end of the dive) managed hopefully to get a few shots that I’ve shared here.

This dive is mostly about that technical challenge and the topography of the rock and coral formations around the site.  We did see some of the specimens I had witnessed on other dives, but this one was more about what didn’t move than what did.  It was a tricky challenge, but with my new found skills and confidence I was able to surface relatively unscathed without damaging any of the corals below.  A good dive to end on, even if the photography got kaiboshed.

I asked the Divemasters whether they ever get bored of going to the same dive sites, day after day, and they said no because with nature each day is different.  You never know what the currents will sweep in, what visibility will be like and what creatures will be out and about.

I would have liked to have continued diving here and stay longer, but with so much to see and do in Malaysia I had to force myself to leave this excellent dive shop and beautiful location.

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From Mountain Highs to the Depths of the Sea

The Cameron Highlands were a real treat in terms of the lovely cool weather, the great scenery and the relaxing fresh mountain air.  This crisp air was about to be replaced with something out of a compressed tank as we headed east through the mountains toward the deep blue sea of the Perhentian Islands.

From Cameron Highlands you can take a shared minibus to the Jetty at Kuala Besut where one of the many speedboats will whisk you across the Malacca Straits on a 45 minute bumpy, bouncy trip to either Perhentian Besar (Big Island) or in our case the smaller, Perhentian Kecil (Small Island).  We got an ‘all in’ ticket which included the return ferry cost and the van from Cameron Highlands for MYR 115 (about US $30).  The total journey takes around 5 hours depending on how long you have to  wait for the ferry. You can easily pick a boat ticket up at the ferry terminal if your travelling from KL.

If you get off the boat on the islands at anywhere other than the main jetty you will be ferried from your large speedboat on one of the local boat taxis to the beach for the final 50M of your journey and you will pay MYR 2 for the privilege.

Kecil Island is small and consists of a range of mostly budget accommodation (with a few mid and upper range rooms if you feel the need to splurge) set along either Long Beach or Coral Bay. None of the budget places took any reservations at this time of the year so it is up to you to get there and do the rounds to see who has beds left to accommodate you.  We chose Long Beach, and settled for a basic chalet at the Panorama resort and dive centre.  In peak season it is best to get there early or your choice of accommodation will be limited to what is left at the end of each day.

While the chalets were very basic, and like most places on the island, electricity limited to evenings and early morning, the package which included five fun dives for me came to grand total of MYR 500 (US $150).  This included three nights’ accommodation for the both of us, the five dives including all equipment and even a free dive shop t-shirt. Now I call that good value.

What to do in the Perhentian Islands

If you don’t snorkel, swim, sunbathe or dive there is little on the island for you other than a jungle trek through the centre of the island to meet the local snakes, monitor lizards and other creatures that inhabit this land.  Although, you don’t need to trek to see any of the nature here, as it will come to you. I was perfectly happy with this limitation as this would be where I could hopefully improve my diving skills without the added pressures of a PADI certification and the associated homework and underwater skills tests.

There are a few bars dotted about the front of Long Beach, with the Monkey Bar being the most popular.  Like everywhere in Malaysia alcohol is not very cheap and you will pay MYR 8 for a small can of beer or MYR 20 for a half bottle of Orang Utan local spirit (its good and only 25% proof).  This place offers a local band playing (mostly) reggae and other popular tunes and a large screen TV which for our time there concentrated on the Olympics coverage.

Food on the island is varied and of a good quality, our favourite place to eat was the Panorama. The staff are really cheeky, and the place has a friendly vibe with a great low cost menu.  They don’t serve alcohol, and the smoothies and juices are excellent, you can take your own beer in if your that desperate from the local shop or bar.

Most evenings there’ll be a few fireworks and beach fires taking place on the beach that you can enjoy. Apparently they also have a full moon party here, but we can’t really comment on that as we didn’t visit at that time, but guess it is nothing like its Thai namesake.

Visitors to the island are a real mix of ages and nationalities.   Long Beach had a very relaxed and harmonious atmosphere, which was maybe a little more sophisticated that the usual island scene around Asia. We found the Coral Beach to be a little sharp, so be careful – that’s the corals not the people.

You can produce your own itinerary for any water based activity you fancy, whether island and beach hopping or spending the day snorkelling. I’ve included a price list for local water taxis in the gallery.

Bring everything with you that you might need to the Island including cash.  There are no ATM’s and getting cash advances from hotels will costs you 10% over and above what you withdraw and paying by card will add 3-5% to the bill depending on where you stay/dine.   There are shops that sell basic provisions and essentials, but you will pay a premium for the local service.

Diving in Perhentian

The Panorama dive shop is run very well and while it may not have had some of the newest equipment that I have been exposed to on my albeit short diving career this was easily made up by the friendliness, professionalism and general enthusiasm of the dive team here.  All the equipment worked perfectly and even if it’s showing its age it is all in perfect working order.

Sharon, the manager, runs a very tight ship and has everything organised from the moment you arrive and are introduced to the divemasters and instructors.  I had the pleasure of diving with Crystal, Natalie and Halla on my five dives.   I also met some trainee divemasters Dai and Zara from Wales, who were just embarking on their month long training at the dive shop.

The Panorama Way

Every dive starts with a clear briefing of the dive site and the usual safety and signal run throughs.  Unlike some other dive shops I have used; this was not a cursory run through but a thorough explanation of the dive along with a clear briefing of the sea life and corals that you are likely to experience.  The divemasters also add at the briefing the special sightings they have made at each of the sites.  It really does make for a great start to your dive.

Similarly at the end of the dive there is no rush to get rid of the divers;  you are offered free water, tea and coffee (and free internet access too) and given a full debrief of the dive including all details of the different things that were seen by each of the groups.  If you are like me, and like to complete your dive log in detail; this is great and leads to a real friendly group atmosphere.

For me,  Halla deserves a special mention as she leads her dives slowly, has no real interest in getting as deep as possible or rushing along to try and find that rare shark or specimen stingray.  She taught me a lot about control and relaxation under water and I can safely say that it is in no small part due to her that I have moved myself from being a nervous diver to a comfortable one.  As such, I enjoyed these dives more than any I have done in my short time getting to grips with this sport. Thank you Halla.

I rented a camera for my last dive and it turned out to be a poor choice on a number of levels.  I had probably the worst visibility of any of the dives that I had been on.  The site was also less about the fish and more about topography; the exciting swim-throughs in the coral and the rock formations under water.  I tried my best, but the results aren’t fantastic, but I hope will give you a taste of life under the water here when I post them on the dedicated Perhentian dive site post in a few days.

This will appeal to those with a keener interest in the dive sites here as I will include a dive summary of what the sites were like and the things I got to see, depths, temperature etc .

Diving and Me

I am now a better diver and really started to enjoy the peacefulness and calm of being under the water for this series of dives.  Perhaps the highlight for me was on the first dive when I got to swim through a massive shoal of thousands of fusiliers  and watch them part like Moses at the Red Sea, as I made my way gracefully  (I thought I was graceful anyway) through their habitat, hopefully not disturbing their daily life too much.

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Journey to the Cameron Highlands

With the flavours of Penang still swirling round our taste buds we boarded our minibus and spent the next four hours slowly winding our way eastwards and upwards into the Cameron Highlands.

The Cameron Highlands get their very British name from the surveyor who charted the area in 1885.  The road to the highlands was finally completed in 1931 when the British colonials, tea planters and other farmers transformed the place over the next 80 years to what it is now, Malaysia’s gardens in the sky.  Still the thriving agricultural centre of Malaysia producing fruits and vegetables, honey and of course some famous teas. The climate is cool, never getting over 25 degrees and its soil fertile; perfect ingredients for its continued agricultural success.

Strawberry Fields Forever

We were actually looking forward to the cooler air having spent the last few months in sometimes unbearably hot and humid temperatures on our journey through Asia.  The last hour of the journey from Penang, are spent on the windy switchback roads that take you over 1500 meters into the sky. It sometimes felt like we were on an aeroplane as we literally passed through the clouds.  We knew when we’d nearly reached our destination, as we saw gigantic plastic strawberries dotted along the roadside, and stalls selling all manner of strawberry related souvenirs. From the edible to darn right ridiculous, anything you can possibly imagine either in the shape of a strawberry or with a strawberry pictured upon it was for sale. It was all a bit surreal, but fun in a kitsch way and doesn’t detract from the outstanding natural beauty of the area that you glimpse from the window.   Strawberries, whether real or plastic, are big business here.

Cameron Highlands Environmental Awareness

One thing that does detract from the beauty is the large amount of deforestation taking place to ‘apparently’ provide land for agriculture. The environmental impact is clearly evident to the naked eye, as large swathes of forest are cleared of trees. We did hear some rumours, from the locals, that this is severely impacting on the ecology of the highlands, but thankfully local tour operators are raising awareness and discussing the issue with the government.  If your’e a member of any environmental or ‘eco’ campaign group in Malaysia, it is worth highlighting this issue, as the Cameron Highlands is a very special place and needs to be protected at all costs. Having said that, you can not fail to be impressed by the virgin areas of untouched forests that cover the mountains as you look in awe at the incredible vistas still on offer.

We had decided to stay at Brinchang, the accommodation is a little bit cheaper here and it is much less touristy than the one street town of Tanah Rata, five kilometres to its south. However, the choice of tour operators and types of places to eat is greater in Tanah Rata. The fact that most of your time in these parts is spent either trekking or in the back of a land rover or minibus, who all do hotel pick-ups,  it really doesn’t make that much difference where you decide to stay.

Trekking and Hiking in Malaysia

There are lots of things to do in the Highlands; you can go on energetic hikes up the mountains (there are plenty of trails to choose from ranging from a couple of hours to eight hour plus hikes).  For the less adventurous, there are many tours on offer to discover the area.  Most tour operators will take you to see the tea plantations, up the highest mountain in Peninsular Malaysia (Mount Brinchang) and for a wander around the enchanting mossy forest.

If you are really in tourist mode you can add the following to your itinerary a butterfly farm, an apiary, strawberry farm, water cress plantation, vegetable farm and the rose and cactus gardens. If you are feeling sporty you can do a round or two of golf at the prestigious Cameron Highlands golf course.

Little Britain in Malaysia

The Cameron Highlands is a firm favourite with the Malaysians and Singaporeans as a holiday destination.  In Britain, when we have a bank holiday or fancy getting away for the weekend we all pray for hot weather and make a beeline for the nearest beach or jump on a plane and try to get as far south as possible to catch some heat and sun on our bones.   Here in Malaysia they do the opposite, they run for the hills to escape the heat of the cities and lowlands and bask in the cool mountain breezes and soak up the calm beauty of the highlands.  Many people comment on how similar the climate is to that in the UK, and yes it is similar and could be compared to that of a good British summers day, but they don’t have four seasons here and certainly no snow.  We experienced glorious weather here which made our outdoor pursuits all the more enjoyable.

We were surprised at the large number of hotels available to chose from here, all seemed very quiet with plenty of vacancies. We were approaching the end of Ramadan, and Hari Raya was due to start in the next week with national holidays here in Malaysia.  A local taxi driver told us that the place becomes gridlocked during this peak season, with road closures and hotels full to capacity.  The road travel time between Brinchang and Tana Rata, rising from five minutes to forty as the traffic jams seize up the one lane highways here.

We eschewed the majority of farms (we are blessed with many Honey, fruit and vegetable farms from where we come from in England) and instead went for the forest, mountain and tea plantation trips.

Tea Time

The tea plantations are dominated by the Boh tea company who own and manage hectares of the mountainsides here.  They have been producing tea here since the early 1920’s.  If their PR is to be believed they produce  some of the world’s finest black teas. We sampled some at the end of our tour and while we can’t attest to this grand claim, it was very tasty.

The spectacle of the plantations lie in the arrangement of the tea bushes which are neatly trimmed to table top height on mountainsides as far as the eye can see.  Between each row of tea bushes are passageways, left to allow the tea pickers (or now the tea pickers with machines) to get by and clip the fresh young leaves off the top of each plant.  These young leaves are bright green with the older leaves turning a darker green underneath.

It is this contrast between the unpicked brighter leaves and those showing only the older darker leaves which makes this a stunning mountainside spectacle.    After you have finished marvelling at the vistas you can go and have a look at the tea processing plant in the factory that is strategically located by the wonderful floating cafe run by the tea company.   Here you can pick from their finest tea selection and enjoy a cake and a cuppa enjoying the views of plantations below.

The mossy forest near to the tea plantations is a good place to wander amongst the cushion soft moss underfoot and try and find some of the more exotic plants and flowers that have chosen this as their home.   There are a few carnivorous plants and some impressive wild orchids hidden amongst the moss covered bark of the trees and branches here. The Cameron Highlands is abundant in flora, and on a separate trip you can see the largest variety of flower in the world, the rafflesia, but be warned take a nose peg!

If you have a wonderful clear day you can climb up the watch tower which sits at the peak of Mount Brinchang and enjoy 360 degree view of the nearby mountains and jungles.  Sadly, it was a little grey when we arrived, so these wonderful views were interrupted by some pretty dense cloud.  It was still breathtaking to be stood aloft the highest mountain in Malaysia.  The best bit is the tour bus/jeep will take you all the way there so you don’t even arrive huffing and puffing.  Brilliant!

Every weekend in Brinchang you will find the night market sets up camp at the top end of the village.  This being Malaysia the market is mostly about food with sweet corn and the ubiquitous strawberries and honey for sale.  These are sold fresh or made into a whole host of mouth-watering savoury and sweet snacks for you to try.  Thankfully, we hadn’t eaten that evening and arrived at the market hungry, so our dinner came from the stalls in the form of freshly barbecued sweet corn, tempura watercress, wild mushrooms, sweet potato balls and peanut and sweet corn folded pancake rounded off with chocolate covered strawberries.  We were gutted though, as we’d never eaten day lilies, as all the stalls ran out of this menu item by the time we were ready to order.  A very tasty al fresco dinner for about US $7 between us.

Cool Cameron

The Cameron highlands are cool and it’s not just the temperature.

• We liked the hundreds of (mostly very old) Land Rovers chugging about the place bellowing out 1960’s exhaust fumes. Apparently, the older models are superior than newer versions hence their popularity.
• The tea plantations and the views from the mountains are spectacular
• The food continues to strengthen Malaysia’s reputation, as the food capital of the world, and is fantastically tasty and cheap
• The local people were extremely friendly and fun

We finished our stay here with a visit to one of the local Chinese reflexology shops to have our feet ‘reflexed’ and our ailments diagnosed.  We were told that John and I have problems with our shoulders and I have a neck problem too, which was news to us.  All this wonderful diagnosis was completed by feeling my feet while they were massaged for an hour.  Not sure about the medical validity of this, but it was a wonderfully relaxing end to our Cameron whistle stop tour.

Its back to the heat next as we head further east to the Perhentian Islands for a bit of rustic charm, and hopefully for a me a bit of diving.

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Penang Past to Present

Penang has an interesting history from its days as part of the Sultanate of Kedah, through to the ‘leasing’ to Captain Francis Light and the East India company in the 18th century, Japanese occupation in the Second World War, its dominance as a Freeport and eventually its independence to become the Penang of today.  One of Malaysia’s most densely populated cities, a bustling economy where ethnic Chinese form the majority of the population.  Penang has a thriving arts community, some artists were probably drawn to stay here by the inspiring architecture reflecting the multicultural heritage of this place. George Town was awarded a UNESCO World Heritage Site listing in 2008. Penang is a popular tourist destination, as well as a place for those travelling on a long-term basis to take a room and enjoy the many attractions it has to offer.

Penang Culture

Penang island is an interesting cultural melting pot with a mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay people with their religions intermingling to produce a unique and intoxicating place to visit.

As you wander about you see Hindu Temples next to Mosques, Buddhist Temples next to Christian churches and a diverse population that appear to get along without any tension, strife or trouble.  Newspapers and the local television channels print and broadcast in English, Chinese, Indian and Malaysian on the same channels and within the same newspapers.   Penang seems to offer the blueprint for a multicultural society, evident in the calm and harmonious way in which the Penangites go about their daily business.

This all leads to a very safe, welcoming and friendly place to invite visitors of any culture.  There are the some ‘tourist focussed’ cafes and restaurants, offering visitors the opportunity to mix with other travellers.  You can easily find a menu in English, and are assured a warm welcome just about anywhere, even on the street food carts.  If not, someone nearby will speak English and help you out, so there really is no need to miss out on any of the local delicacies, just because you are not sure what they are.  In Penang prices are fixed, and nearly always displayed so unlike many other destinations in Asia, you will not be charged an inflated tourist price. Dining out is very much a way of life in Penang, the quality of eateries is exceptionally good and prices are comparatively cheap.

Penang provides a stimulating visitor experience in a measured hassle free environment.  Some people compare Penang to Chang Mai in Thailand.  Although they do have many things in common, we think Penang is unique enough, so its best not to compare it with another destination.

Sightseeing In and Around Penang

While Penang doesn’t feature any ‘not to be missed’ attractions, it certainly has enough to entertain any visitor for a few days or weeks.  This will be ample time to make their way through the tastes and flavours of its food offerings in between admiring the heritage buildings that dominate the Georgetown area.  There are markets and plenty of shopping malls, all very competitively priced for those who want to shop for a bargain.

We spent a very pleasant four days in Penang, and entertained ourselves by visiting:-

• The ‘floating’ mosque at Tanjung Bunga – we had a welcome from the Mosque Imam and the loaning of a gown to wear to go inside and take pictures, well worth a stop on the way to or from the beach (Bus 101)
• The Beach at Batu Ferenggi is about an hour from the city, but seems a world away.  You can get your feet wet, feel the sand between your toes or for the more active enjoy some water sports. There is plenty of accommodation available for those who want to experience some beach time. (Bus 101)
• The temple at Kek Lok Si is probably our must visit recommendation here, set on a hill overlooking Penang harbour and will keep you entertained for hours wandering around the stunning colourful temple buildings.  (Bus 204)
• Penang Hill is also well worth the trip and is on the same bus route as the Kek Lok Si temple so if you make an early start you can combine both in one day.  The views are spectacular, as is the mode of transport used to ascend to the peak, a very fast funicular.  On the peak you can enjoy the cool air whilst taking some refreshments.
• A trip to the botanical gardens is a place to let off some steam, and stretch your legs in a very peaceful location.  The gardens themselves, are well maintained but true botanists may be a little disappointed by the variety of flowers on display.  Although there are many specimens of trees. One bonus of visiting here is the number of different types of butterfly and monkeys you’ll spot going about their business in the wild.  We felt the gardens and collections were not really up to much, but ten minutes away is the new Waterfall temple rebuilt and newly consecrated this year, an impressive Hindu temple on the hill. (Bus 10)
• There is lots to see walking around Old Georgetown that include, St Georges Church (closed for two hours during midday, just as we arrived!), the old Town and City Hall colonial buildings at the Esplanade  and some wonderful temples and mosques about the main town.
• The Penang Museum, next to St George’s Church is worth a quick tour.  It charts the history and cultures of Penang through the ages, and has a fascinating section on the ethnic origins of the many cultures that make up modern Penangites.
• We also wandered down to the old clan stilt houses on the harbour which have been home to traders and fisherman since the 19^th Century.

Penang Transport

Penang Food Heaven

I have saved the best bit of Penang till the last.  The food.   I am afraid no one has yet invented a web app so you can taste and smell food, so you will just have to believe me when I say it is fantastic.   It is ridiculously cheap; nor does cheap mean bland.  You can eat like a Lord for no more than US $5 at the hawker stalls and local coffee shops that are on virtually every corner.  The Chinese Dim Sum (or Tim Sum as it is referred to here) is most definitely the finest we have ever tasted.  After chomping our way through 15 dishes we went to pay the bill  and paid US $11 for the meal.

If you want to sample some Indian delights a wander around Little India will allow you to eat with the spices and flavours of India for a similar cost.   In between this you can snack on sweet treats, snacks and pastries from the many bakeries and finish it off with a feel good cup of medicinal herbal Chinese tea.

Whatever your budget, Penang really does offer something quite unique and is an excellent place to indulge your senses in a magnificent Malaysian destination.

Penang is now firmly in the top three food destinations for our flashpacking trip alongside Japan and it’s Kaiseki and the wonderful Vietnamese Bun Cha.

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A Flashpacking Train Journey

Train travel is always our preferred method of transport.  So we booked ourselves onto the 14:45 from Bangkok to Butterworth, a 24hour train journey taking us south through Thailand, across the border at Padang Besar, and then into Malaysia for the final three to four hours of our journey.

We have used Thai trains on earlier trips so we pretty much knew what to expect.  The last time we travelled by train in Thailand, we were on holiday and chose the 1^st class private cabin for two.  As we are now flashpackers, we roughed it in second class this time, although it was not a great deal different.

The trains here are clean,  reasonably well maintained and come with a good food menu at sensible prices, all served at your seat by the train stewards.  The journey was pretty uneventful on the whole, with the exception of the Thai lady opposite me who was quite happy letting off incredibly noisy rasping farts throughout the journey, with not a care in the world.  She threw in the odd burp and belch too, just to balance the gas emissions.

Sleeper Train to Butterworth

After dinner the train guard comes and makes up all the beds, which you can tell he has been doing for years, as he whips up the carriage, dropping the upper bunks and transforming the lower seats into near the size of a double bed.  We had booked late so we had the two upper bunks, which are not as roomy, but perfectly adequate for a reasonable night’s sleep on the move.

We hit the border at about 10am the next morning (it should have been 9am, but we were running an hour late by the time we got there) and you are offloaded from the train to go through the Thai exit and Malaysian entry immigration rituals.  We thought you could leave your main luggage on the train (as we did at the Vietnam Cambodian bus crossing) but when we returned with our Malaysian stamp in our passport we found my rucksack missing.   A moment of mild panic and a question to the guard assured me that they offload some luggage for customs inspection, and there it was waiting at the customs gate – phew.

There is no great scenery to behold on this trip, the best bits are when you arrive into Malaysia.  You pass down through the rubber and palm oil plantations that line the fields by the tracks before finally arriving at Butterworth station in the early afternoon (2.30pm Malaysian time  - they are an hour ahead here from Thailand).  It was just a five minute walk from Butterworth (temporary) train station to the ferry terminal after a quick stop at the licensed money-changer to rid ourselves of the last few Thai Baht in exchange for Ringgit.  The temporary train station, is part of works that are taking place right down the line from Bangkok.  The majority of the upgrades, to train stations and tracks along the route, are on the Malaysian side of the border.

The Ferry from Butterworth to Penang

The ferry takes just 15 minutes, across the Straits of Malacca, and costs a mere US 35cents  each to get from the mainland to the island (the return part of the journey is free). The ferries run very frequently, so no need to book in advance, for this short ferry trip across the harbour. On arrival on Penang Island we decided to walk to our hotel, as it was a beautiful day. Although there are plenty of buses (one is free) and taxis at the terminal to take you wherever you want.

We stayed at the New Asia Heritage Hotel, in the heart of Georgetown on Kimberly Street/Jalan Pintal Tali (it has two entrances).  The staff here were great, and the location is perfect for the shopping malls and main bus station at Komtar, and getting about the heritage sites in old Georgetown.  The best thing about our hotel’s location was the great value restaurants and food hawker stalls that surround it.  But more about those in our next post.

Some Train Tips for the Butterworth Journey

Smoking – Smoking is ‘permitted’ on these trains in the toilets or by the doors in between the carriages

Plug Sockets – There are no sockets in the 2nd class berths, you may find one near the guard’s stations at the end of some of the carriages, but the ones I tried were not working, so make sure your kit is fully charged before the journey.  If you travel  1st class you get a socket in the carriage but no guarantee that it will work.

Air con – The temperature was set at a sensible level and you get a blanket to cover yourself in the evening so a warm nights sleep is guaranteed.

Backpack Storage – these go under the seats, but if you get the berths near the doors the emergency ladders are stored there so you have a bit of a tussle for storage with your neighbours.

Don’t worry about disappearing carriages – as the train gets near the border the twelve carriages reduce down to two or three for the final leg into Malaysia  - food service stops here too so make sure you have what you need for the final few hours.

No First Class – There are some first class carriages on his train, but they never make it all the way to Butterworth, so if you want to book the through ticket from Bangkok you will have to go second class.

Sleeper Train Costs – Total costs were US$34 per person, you will pay a few more dollars for the extra wide bottom bunk, but best book in advance if you want one of these.

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