Lata Kijang, Negeri Sembilan

THis is my post about Lata Kijang, which i just visited recently. Lata means waterfall.w

This Lata Kijang was just something crazy I decided to do. THinking about it now, it was a pretty risky and dumb thing to do. Driving a Perodua Myvi deep into Banjaran Titiwangsa (Main Range) to find a waterfall. THe trail is so bad that I recommend you use a 4WD to get to this fall the next time.

Some parts of the road were tarred, some cement, but more than half the way, the roads are all broken and some just a trail of pebbles and rocks. I pity my poor Myvi whow as forced to go along this ride. Her suspension must have hurt.

The journey started from the old road to Hulu Langat in Batu 9, Cheras. At the cross junction that goes to Ampang (to the left); Batu 18 Hulu Langat, Tekala, Gabai and Batangsi Falls (Straight); and to Semenyih (right), we turned right. Then drive straight and you will pass a winding road up the hills. YOu will also pass by some Orang Asli settlements along the way. After about 20 minutes, you will reach a T junction. To the right will be Semenyih town or Kajang, and the left is to Kuala Klawang and Batu 18 Hulu Langat. Turn left here. You will see los of monkey by the road side here and you will definitely not miss the Semenyih Dam on your right.

Semenyih Dam

After passing Semenyih dam, you will continue driving straight until you see a turning to the left, to Batu 18 Hulu Langat. Continue heading straight. More windign roads up and down the hill from here. I love driving these type of roads. Country road with little or no traffic.

Now all I need is an open top convertible (Peugeot 308 cabriolet, Audi TT insert your dream car here) and I'm set for the perfect weekend drive. Once you reach the top of the hill, theere will be a sign which serves as the border between Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

ITs about 10-15 minutes drive from the border. And you will see a signboard saying Gunung Hantu Besar / Lata Kijang. Turn left and drive straight. once you drive past a river, get ready to turn left. From that turning, it is only about 20km to the waterfall.

But here is where the 4WD adventure begins, the road is in pretty bad condition. If you have any car that is pretty low or has skirting, avoid driving on ths trail. Or else you will cry. Just drive straight for about 30-45 minutes before you reach a FELCRA settlement, then continue straight. You will pass a few more settlements before reaching the waterfall. Just befre you reach the waterfall, you will pass by a camping site which is quite big. ANd the road jsut before the waterfall is in good condition. How does LAta Kijang look like? Here it is!! I've also put up a picture of it from ahelicopter point of view. Its right in the middle of nowhere.

ANy1 wants to visit this place and in need of a guide? Heheheh...

Boodyboy, out!!!

Tasik Bera

Gosh, the guilt is kicking in...what guilt you ask? Well, the guilt of starting this blog and not having the time to pen down a few words of my own. =P Well, finally MADE the time to sit my fat ass down to write some travel stories of my own. :)

Has anyone heard of Tasik Bera? I'm sure most of you will be going ... "Huh, tasik what?" TASIK BERA - well it's situated in Pahang. Just some geography class for some of you, there are two natrual lakes in Pahang; Tasik Bera being the larger of the two and is Malaysia's largest natural lake.

Honestly, I myself have not heard of this place until sometime last year when I attended a friend's wedding where a common friend was telling me about her trip to this lake. Sounded very interesting - PLUS the best part was it she said it only cost RM180 per person for 3day 2night: accomodation and food, plus some free activities such as kayaking, fishing, etc.

WOW, I thought! Thats amazing. So I got the guy's contact : Mr Aziz - 013 623 1199 and gave him a call a few days later to book a room for myself. :)

On the first day of our trip, we left in the morning after breakfast. I think the drive there took about 3 hours or so. I was feeling a lil sceptical about this place as it was so cheap. Perhaps it will be run down, I thought. Or the food might be crap. But when I reached Tasik Bera, to my surprise I was so wrong!



The room was clean with air-con, hot water and most importantly clean toilets. I was so pleased. We had lunch right after we set all our stuff down in the rooms. Lunch was white rice with one veg, one meat and omellete. Yum!

After lunch we walked around to check out the place. Tasik Bera Resort, the only accomodation available in Tasik Bera is pretty small, with probably around 10 rooms and one main dining area. We walked towards the lake (of course with my camera in hand) to find a wooden pier. We sat there enjoying the quietness and fresh air. Just want I need to calm my nerves - far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The second day, we got a free boat ride around the lake by Mr Aziz himself. He tells us about how big the lake it and how DEEP it is. The lake feels like a huge maze - one could easily get lost among the water plants, but I'm glad to know that Mr Aziz knows his way around.

Are there crocodiles around here? Sometimes he says. *cringe* He continues to tell us about the lake people and their ways, about the biggest fish they've caught and how he runs Tasik Bera Resort by mostly himself.

After the 1 hour ride, we thank him and enquire more about fishing. "Oh fishing...sure sure" He takes out two thin bamboo rods, tied with fishing line at one end...takes out his cangkul and starts 'cangkul-ing' the ground, looking for earthworms. He puts the earthworms into a paper cup and passes it to me. I look it. Eww, I thought. *giggle*

"You can take that white sampan down there and paddle yourselves out to the lake and start fishing" Mr Aziz told us. Well, looks and sounds easy enough, I thought. No prob!

I was so wrong. We took such a long time just trying to get into the sampan and to get the sampan out into the water without getting ourselves wet or falling into the water. Finally, we managed to get out into the water and started paddling to the other side of the lake. We found a place among the water plants with some shade to dock ourselves.

Excitedly, I took out my bamboo fishing rod...and now come the hard part (well, for me at least)...to hook the bait. I tried my hardest not to touch those icky earthworms and omgosh, it was sssoooo tough, but I finally managed to hook the bait on. I plunked the bait into the water and waited.

I waited and waited and waited....

Oh, I felt a tug! I quickly pulled my line and there is was - my first fish! :) I was so pleased although the fish was like about 4 inches long. Muahahah! But it was nonetheless, my first fish. And if you were wondering what I did with my fish - well, I let it go back in the water. Didn't want to kill the poor fish.

The sun was setting and it was time to head back to land. We paddled our tired selves back to the bank and headed back to get a shower and dinner after.

The next morning, we packed up and said our goodbyes and headed back to KL. I would say that it was quite an experience - my first time catching a fish (with a bamboo rod), paddling myself out the onto the lake in a tiny sampan, but most of all, it was a good retreat from the busy city. Should start planning another trip there in the next few months to come....

Ok, so till my next travel story....muaks!

Trez

Chiling Falls

Hey People,

I just thought I'd share a bit on Chiling Falls. Seems like nobody's posting anything about actually going anywhere, so I guess this is a start; although I have not been there recently. This is from previous visits of mine to Chiling Falls. I have been there once to camp and once just to hike to the waterfall, which in my opinion is by far the best waterfall in Malaysia.

Chiling Falls is located on the way up to Fraser's Hill. To get there, get on the North South Highway and head to Kuala Kubu Baru. Kuala Kubu Baru is the town at the foothill of Fraser's hill. There are a couple of shops there. In case you forgot something you can always get it before you head up towards Fraser's hill. There's a coffee shop there which sells 'leong char' (herbal tea) in Brandy bottles.

On the way up, you will pass a damn on your left. The scenery is pretty good for a couple of photos.

After the damn, make sure you watch out for the arc to Sungai Chiling on the right. It's not that hard to miss. There's some space to park on the left side of the road.

Past the arc there's a trail leading in to the campsite. The campsite is is pretty well maintained. There's also a caretaker so it's not too dangerous. During the night, we were told that they change shifts and the night caretaker is some orang asli dude; we never did see him though. The campsite is just beside the river but no worries if it rains as it is slightly higher.

The rapids beside the campsite is a pretty good place to just soak in. However, the beatiful Chiling Falls requires about a half an hour hike to ge there. There's a map at the campsite on how to get to the waterfall. According to the map you have to cross the river a few times. When I was there my friends and I kinda took the wrong trail but eventually you'll reach the waterfall; just that its a longer hike.

Chilling Falls actually consists of three magnificent falls. The first fall has a nice pool to swim in. From the first fall you can't really see the second and third fall. But there's a trail on the right that leads uphill which leads you to a nice platform where you can view the second and third fall. I was told that you can actually hike to the top of the third fall but it is pretty dangerous. The second fall has a pool at the bottom as well but it's impossible swim in. Sadly, I have no pictures of the third fall.

The first fall

The top of the first fall, the portion on top is the second fall.

The second fall

If you plan to go there, do go early as you have to start hiking out at 5pm for safety reasons. Also, go during the dry season as if it's raining the caretaker won't let you hike in to the waterfall.

For more details click here.

-nick-

Simple Thai words or Phrases

Hi Everyone once again,

Simple words or terms I learnt while in Thailand. Yes I've been there 3 times alone this year. Twice to Krabi (February and May) and Bangkok, just last week. Good for going around. Though more and more Thais in touristy areas can understand simple English. Some of them smile or looked impress when u can use a few words of Thai in your conversation





Sawadeeka (kap) - Hello. Its a general greeting, can be used during anytime of day. I dont think there is a term for good morning, afternoon and etc (please do correct me if I'm wrong). The words in Brackets shows the pronunciation for females.

Kun Thai - Thai national / citizen

Farang - Foreigner / Toursists

Tau Rai? - How much?

Mai Dai - Cannot (Me and my sis will have a good time laughing over this phrase)

Kiep Tan - Calling for the Bill

Kap Khun Ka (Krap) - Thank You

Moo - Pork (I know... weird isn't it? SO beef is Oink? LOL! I dont know what beef in Thai is though)

Goong - Prawn. I.e. Tom Yam goong

Kai - Chicken

Talay - Seafood. E.g. Pad Thai Talay

Pad Thai - Fried Flat Noodles Thai Style

Khao - Rice

Tom Yum Soup - Duh.... This also need to ask?

Tub Tip Krop - Red Rubies dessert

Soi - Little streets or Lorong

Suvarnabhumi Airport is Pronounced as Soo Wanna Poom

BTS - the Monorail train system that run above ground in Bangkok

MRT - The Subway system in bangkok

Khlongs - Rivers (Bangkok is built around the famous Chao Phraya River)

Wat - Temple. E.g. Wat Arun, Wat Pho

Rak - Love

Sabye - Good.

Sabye Sabye - very good or best

Tuk Tuk - Dangerous flimsy looking bikes that has been modified to pick up passengers. Found almost everywhere in Thailand. Does not have a meter.

Thats all I can think of at the moment. Please do not hesitate to add in more if you know more.
Will probably update this as i think of them.




http://boodys.blogspot.com/


Boodyboy, out!!!

Post Holiday Disease / Depression (PHD)

Alright, let mekick things off over here.

Its been awfully silent in this blog and it would be such a shame if this great idea didnt work out.

Instead of blogging about my most recent holiday (Krabi over a month ago, which i still have not gone about to finish it in my own blog), I'll be talking about Post Holiday Disease / Depression (PHD). THis is of course, not something that is medically certified. its just some random thing I came up with as I have encountered cases of PHD during my previous few holidays.

********************************

How does one contract this PHD?

First of all,it has to be known that this disease will hit any unsuspecting touristor holidaymaker who is enjoying their holiday to the max. Usually,you won't know that you've been infected until its too late.You know why? Cause you are too busy enjoying your holiday. Then suddenly, one fine day, you realise your perfectly enjoyable holiday is coming to an end. That's when you are most susceptible tothe PHD.


Is it contagious?

Well, there has been conflicting reports on the very existence of this disease. Some experts believe that it is a real virus that spreads around while some say its a form of mental illness. If it is a virus, then thereis ahigh likelihood that it is contagious especially if everyone in that group is enjoying themselves. It might not pass on to a person in that group who thinks thats its the suckiest/worst holiday he/she ever went on.

However, if it is a mental disease, some experts are wondering how this mental disease can sometimes spread among a groups of tourists. Could it be the same as the case of a yawn being infectious?


What are the symtoms of the PHD?

First of all, just before the holiday/vacation ends, one will feel like their holiday is too short. They start wishing it was longer, or that they could move and live there forever. They will say how much they love the place and come back again in the future.

Secondly, as the day of departure gets closer, they will start thinking about what they have done throughout the vacation and wished they could have done somethings differently. Maybe they missed a few places or went a few boring places which they didnt enjoy themselves. The words," I should have....." or "if only..." will invariably crop up.

Third, some people,on the day of departure will really start to miss the placeso much that it affects their emotions.They become emotional. Some may start crying, thinking about the wonderfultimethey had here. They REALLY wish they could stay there longer, and if possible, forever.

Lastly, when they get back home. They feel really exhausted.Then they start complaining about how bad their own state/country is compared to the place they havejust visited. The local weather or traffic or air quality gets to them. They say they really wished they were back in the place where they had just come back from.

Some may start feeling nauseous. Some may get headaches, flu. Some would have a very sore body from the rigorous enjoyment they had earlier. The next day, they fall sick, they take medical leave. It just makes them miserable to think that they have to go back to work again after coming back from paradise.


Is there a cure for PHD?

Well, there isn't any really tried and proven cure for this. It will go away once the person feels like he's ready to startthe daily grind again. When he resolves that he needs to get his a$$ off the bed and work to save money for another kick @$$ vacation, from which, hemight contract PHD again.

**********************

Well, thats all for today folks!
Please note that the above "article" is not written by a real doctor. its just a fictional disease I came up after seeing some friends fall sick after a great holiday. Well, actually, I'm one of them too. Guilty of catching the PHD a couple of times already.

Boodyboy, out!!!

http://boodys.blogspot.com

You, Me and the Big World...

Hey peeps,

As I was suffering from post-holiday syndrome (I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about), I thought, 'hhmm....wouldn't it be nice to write about my trip, all I've accomplished, the wonderful places I've seen, the people I've met, and mmm..the food.'

*Ting ting ting* What about a travel blog? So, here I am starting this travel blog where some friends of mine and I contribute on our travels all around and hope that you will someday visit these interesting places and experience what we have....or even better - have an EVEN better time than us. :) Have fun exploring the world!

Cheers,
You, Me and the Big World