GGPS and Geocaching

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In October 2001 my Dutch friend Gerrit showed me the Garmin Etrex GPS he had just bought. Using it we walked to a nearby restaurant and he sent me our track.

I was immediately hooked and within a few weeks I had bought my own Etrex for 459 guilders (208 Euro). In the Netherlands I started using it to record walking and cycling trips.

Here are two bicycle trips. The first one was a round trip from Amsterdam, September 2002, the other one, June 2003, taking our bikes by train to Culemborg, then cycling back to Weesp. Click on the image to see the webpage. In the webpage you can click on the blue dots to see the photos I took during the trip.

There were no digital maps of Malaysia yet. I took my Etrex everywhere to record the roads I traveled, in that way slowly creating my own digital map. Left West-Malaysia, right the surroundings of Kuala Lumpur. Covering the period 2002-2005.

Around 2003 Malsingmaps was created and developed, an example of Community Mapping. I contributed some waterfall access roads ;-). Soon there was no need anymore to create and maintain my own map.

In 2002 I discovered geocaching. In this game/sport you use a GPS device to find the location of a hidden container. And of course you can also hide a container yourself at a nice location. In both cases you report your find or hide to a website. Here is the page I published in February 2003 on my own website about geocaching. Click on the image to link to my site, where you can find more details.

At that time worldwide there were more than 40.000 geocaches, but in Malaysia only a handful. My first geocache was at the Quartz Ridge on 15 December 2002. The second one on 25 January 2003 and the third one on 6 February 2003. Click on the image below to view more hides.

The first two caches were found within a few weeks, the third one never at all. Here is the story. Coming back from hiding the Gombak river cache, I searched the Internet for more information about that river and came across a webpage of a guy named Khong. I decided to write to him and that was the start of our friendship, now more than 20 years. I told him about my two geocaches, he got interested and went to find them with his friends (without any help from my side!). One of his friends, Stephen Boey, a reporter of the STAR newspaper, wanted to write an article about this “new” game, so we went to the remote Berembun falls with him. It resulted in this article, probably the first time that geocaching was mentioned in the Malaysian news.

In my first year of geocaching I kept track pf the goecaches hidden (12) and found (7). But after that year I lost my interest in the game, for several reasons. The main reason was that I became more busy exploring waterfalls and reporting about them on my website Waterfalls of Malaysia. Actually, I placed several geocaches at waterfalls. Here are a few, Lata Berembun, Lata Kijang and the Tanglir Falls. Click on the pictures to view the geocache description. The Berembun and Kijang geocaches were never found, Tanglir one time. The locations were too remote, I archived them many years ago.

Lata Berembun
Lata Kijang
Tanglir Falls

Only one of these waterfall geocaches is still active, the Kanching Falls geocache, hidden in December 2003. It has been found 49 times, about twice a year. The waterfalls are not far from Kuala Lumpur and can be reached by public transport. It is my favorite geocache in Malaysia.

I hid the geocache on 12 December 2003 at the 7th fall, during a visit with my friend Gerrit who introduced me to GPS in 2001. Here he is at one of the lower falls. The other picture shows the 7th fall.

The next picture shows me with the geocache in my hand. In the collage, I am hiding it between the roots of a big tree. The container is covered with a rock, to make it monkey- proof.

The pictures above were taken during another visit. When geocachers report that they can not find the cache, you, as cache owner, have to take action and visit the geocache. Often it happens that the geocacher didn’t search carefully enough, and the geocache is still there. But a few times the cache was indeed missing and I had to replace it. That’s part of the game and it was always a pleasure for me to revisit the Kanching Falls.

When geocachers find the cache they sometimes post photos. Here are a few.

The Kanching cache represents for me the essence of geocaching.

  • You need an attractive location, not easy to find without geocaching info.
  • Geocaching is an outdoor game that is not suitable for an urban environment. Where to find locations to hide a geocache container in a concrete jungle?
  • A container is essential. Big enough to contain not only a logbook and a pen but also some “stash”, items to collect and exchange. The original name for the game was GPS Stash Hunt.

There have been many changes since those early days of geocaching.

  • My favourite type of geocache is now called a traditional. Many different types of geocaches have been introduced. Here is a list. Some types don’t even need a container or a specific location!
  • Even traditionals nowadays don’t always have a real container. So-called nanoaches only contain a small strip of paper where you can log your find (but bring your own pen!). Often they are magnetic. so it is easier to hide them in an urban environment.
  • Geocaching has become a community game. Events are orgainsed where geocachers can meet each other.. There are competitions, favourite points and souvenirs.

For many geocachers this adds value to the game, but not for me.

When I became a regular hiker in Bukit Kiara, I decided to hide a few geocaches there. Traditionals, with a real container and an interesting location. Here they are, hidden between 2012 and 2018. In brackets, the number of finds. Click on the picture for a link to the cache page.

Kiara Stream (85)
Kiara Bridge (28)
Kiara Rocks! (37)
Kiara Trees (47)
Kiara Waterfall (35)

Although not very active, I was a member of the Geocaching Malaysian WhatsApp chat group. In 2018, Bernard, an active member, who knew that I had lost interest in the game, told me that he was interested in adopting the Kanching geocache, as it was one of the oldest geocaches in Malaysia. I agreed, and in June 2018, we climbed up with a few fellow geocachers to the top waterfall, where I ceremonially handed over the cache.

The adoption idea appealed to me, so I wrote in the Chat group that all my Kiara geocaches were also available for adoption. All of them have now been adopted by various geocachers.

I may have lost interest, but the game is still popular. Here is a map of Kuala Lumpur and its surroundings. The latest count of active geocaches in Malaysia is 1179!

Taiping, June 2025

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My last visit to Taiping was end of February. Click here for the report. There were two reasons that I went again after a few months. I was invited for the wedding dinner of my friend Yeap’s son. And my Dutch friends Yolanda and Math would be in Taiping, after spending a few days with us in PJ, see the report Visit of Yolanda & Math.

Most of the content in this post will be familiar to my regular followers. As usual, I went by public transport. It was Muharram that weekend and when I booked, there were only a few seats available. Left the MRT to Sg Buloh, right the ETS.

I took a Grab to Furama and, after checking in, went out to have a look at the former Majestic cinema, around the corner of Furama. It’s been an empty shell ever since my first visit to Taiping. A few weeks earlier, there had been a fire (arson?). The building is still undamaged. I always wanted to have a peek inside, now I could, but there were police tapes around the entrance, so I decided not to trespass.

So tempting to go in! It looks like only the roof was damaged.

That evening I had dinner in Restaurant Yes with my gang, with Yolanda and Math as special guests. A Dutch party, each of us paid RM 30, unbelievably cheap.

These pictures show what we had. From the upper left, clockwise: minced pork tofu, Fried squid, fried chicken, Tempura Kangkung, Stingray curry, and French beans with dried prawns.

After our dinner, we went to the Aeon mall, a tradition for my gang, but an unexpected ending for my Dutch friends. We had an ice cream there as dessert.

The next day, Math and Yolanda went to Kuala Sepetang, and I went for a walk to visit my favourite haunts. First breakfast. Lian Thong had recently changed ownership, was renovated, and had lost its charm. But I found a suitable alternative in Jalan Pasar, where I had my favourite roti goyang (toast with “shaking eggs”).

Next I went to the replica of the market buildings. Still not occupied.

The same for siang malam, still an empty shell.

The other part of the Pasar, also empty. Will the vibrant market atmosphere ever come back? I doubt it.

A short stop at Ansari Cendol. A visit to Taiping is not complete without a refreshing cendol.

What I love about Taiping is the mixture of beauty and decay.

There is a lot of decay. Here is the Rest House, a heritage building (1894). A fire destroyed part of it

As an urbex fan, I used to explore the ruin, using a “lorong tikus”, but there was no need now, a real entrance was open.

Homeless people are still living here, butt I didn’t see anybody during my visit.

The other Shame on Taiping building also has somebody living there, but his/her bicycle was not there. I didn’t enter.

A few years ago an ambitious plan was presented to transform the two buildings into a boutique hotel . Since then all has been silence. The other pictures shows the counter window, familiar to many Taiping Lang.

I passed two of the huge murals, a specialty of Taiping.

It was a very hot day, so I went back to my hotel for a rest. I skipped lunch, because that evening I would attend the wedding dinner/ Later I went out again for a stroll at the Raintree Walk. Many people enjoying the holiday weekend.

I asked permission to take a picture of this nice group. No problem, but of course also a picture had to be taken with a Mat Salleh in the center.

The wedding dinner was in the Soon Lee restaurant, a short walk from my hotel. It was a big event, about 45 tables. Luckily, my friends Bok Kin and Teng Hin were at the same table.

I have known Yeap and his wife for many years, but I had never met the groom and his bride.

It was a traditional wedding ceremony, with the pouring of the wine, yam seng, a speech of the father, and a reply from the groom.

I had an enjoyable evening at my table, with a lot of alcohol.

The next day, I showed my friends the town. We started with a walk in the Lake Gardens and met my friend Foo for breakfast. We had chee cheong fun.

They were interested in the Perak Museum and we decided to walk. I had not been in the museum for a long time.

There was an event going on, so it was quite busy. There was a drawing competition for the kids.

The first floor is dedicated to the Orang Asli, the original inhabitants of Malaysia.

Outside the museum there were various means of transport.

Walking back, we passed the prison, one of the many “firsts” of Taiping.

The All Saints church was closed, we took photos in the cemetery

Time for lunch, I brought my friends to Prima. I ordered popiah for them, which they liked

More murals, of course I had to show them the (in) famous one of Amelia Earhart, who actually never landed at the Tekah airfield..

As they are also urbex fans, they wanted to have a look inside the ruined buildings. There was no bicycle outside, so we ventured in. It is clear that there is still somebody living there..

They also wanted to have a look at the Rest House.

The building of the Ceylon Association is an example of successful renovation. We skipped the Ansari Cendol, as it was too crowded.

I prefer this kind of murals.

At the end of the afternoon, Aric arrived in Taiping. We went for dinner to Mattang, the Lighthouse seafood restaurant.

Leaving the restaurant after a delicious meal, we heard music and had a look. A surprise, never before had we visited this temple.

It is called the Sam Teong Ong (Hock Chuan Keong) temple and supposedly very old (1838). A committee member gave an explanation. Must explore more during my next visit.

There was a lot going on during our short visit. A puppet theatre with front seats for the spirits.

I had a third, secret, reason to visit Taiping again. I wanted to take an ultru-light flight over my 2nd hometown. During my last visit, there were no time slots available, so this time I had made an early booking. But it depends on the weather conditions whether you can fly, so I had not told my friends about my plan.

The weather was perfect. We were at Tekah 7:45am and after registration and payment (RM 350 for me, RM 250 for Aric), we were strapped in our seats.

Ready for take off. Click on the picture to watch. Video taken by Aric before he started his own flight. The pilot is sitting in front of me.

Included in the package is a video of the flight. taken by a GoPro camera. mounted on a wing tip. Here it is, 15 minutes, from takeoff until landing. You can scroll through.

It was an unforgettable experience, worth every Ringgit. Here I am after landing with my pilot.

Math and Yolanda were so pleased with Taiping that they stayed one more night. Aric and I went back to KL, but first we had lunch together in the Casual Market.

On our way back we made a detour to Chepor where we visited the Seen Hock Yeen Confucius Temple, with a nice lake and a lotus pond.

It was a rewarding weekend, but I needed a few days for recovery 😉

Ampang Pecah, July 2025

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A few weeks ago, I came across a report: Cherandong Dam Via Ampang Pecah, KKB, about an old dam in the KKB region. During a recent visit to Fraser’s Hill, I spent some time in Kuala Kubu Baru and wanted to come back because there was a lot to see. I asked my friends Paul and Fahmi if they would be interested in joining me on a day trip to KKB, Ampang Pecah, and the Cherandong dam. They were, and I made a list of all the interesting places we could visit. Fahmi warned me that it was too much for a day trip, and he was right. We could only visit Ampang Pecah and must come back another time for KKB.

Here is a map of the region. I have marked the Selangor River in blue.

It was a one hour drive to the trail head. When we arrived Fahmi said that he had been camping there, a few years ago. And that we could drive further to a campsite.

There was a difficult stretch in the road where we decided to park the car and continue on foot.

It was a pleasant walk in a palm oil plantation.

We passed the campsite and soon came to a shed where we paid 3 x RM 3 to continue. A friendly Malay guy told us that we could go to the waterfall, but that the dam was in a Forest Reserve land and access was not permitted. Heavy fines for trespassers. That was a disappointment.

It was not far to the waterfall, the trail became steeper and a bit slippery.

Almost near the waterfall. The Selangor River is quite impressive, there were a few more visitors.

The Cherandong waterfall is not a spectacular one, but scenic. Two warga emas are proudly posing.

No pool, and the rocks were quite slippery; we had to be very careful. The dam is only a short distance away, but you have to scramble up the rocks (behind me in the picture). We decided not to take the risk.

Fahmi took a shower and a few years ago I would have followed him, but nowadays I have lost confidence and I am afraid of falling and breaking something.

We were just in time, the Selangor river is famous for white water rafting and soon several boats arrived and stopped at the waterfall. We didn’t stay long. I asked the guy in the shed if Rangers sometimes checked. He said that sometimes they were wearing casual clothes and only later showed their badge. I understand that they protect the forest, but they should allow access to the dam, and create a short trail up to the dam.

It was already 1 pm, time for lunch. Fahmi had found an interesting coffee shop on the Internet. A bit complicated to reach because you have to cross the Selangor River on a hanging bridge.

Quite an amazing place, this Kopi Kisar Kebun !. Only open during weekends, 9am to 5pm.. A large variety of food and drinks. Really worth a visit when you are in the region. We had lontong, asam laksa and pisang goreng.

Ampang Pecah (Broken Dam) has an interesting history. Long ago it was Kuala Kubu, located at the confluence of the Selangor and Kubu rivers. But the region was prone to flooding. In February 1883, a dam broke and the whole village was destroyed. There is a legend that it happened because Cyril Ranking, a British officer had shot a white crocodile, the guardian of the Selangor River.

The town was rebuilt and flourished during the tin era. In December 1926 there was a second disastrous flood, destroying the town again. The colonial powers decided to rebuild Kuala Kubu on higher ground and named it Kuala Kubu Baru. It is said that only two buildings survived this flood, a mosque and a Chinese temple.

First we visited the Guan Yin Kok temple. The history goes back to 1904. During the Emergency devotees were not allowed to enter the temple, so they moved the deities to another temple in KKB. Only in the 1980s, this temple was rediscovered and rebuilt.

An impressive Laughing Buddha, and a nice location, next to a pretty small lake.

The other building that survived the 1926 flood is the Al-Hidayah mosque

It is recognised as a heritage site. The signboard at the entrance says that the mosque was built in 1926, the same year as the second flood. That’s a bit strange.

There are still questions to be answered. What was the exact location of the dam that broke in 1883. Does the grave of Cyril Ranking still exist? And was the 1926 flood caused by a heavy downpour or by another broken dam?

KKB has a a historical gallery, I will have to go again 😉 .

Dwarf Planet 2017 OF201 and Planet 9

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In April 2016 I published a post Our Solar System, an update. At the end of this post I wrote about the New Horizons mission, that it was on its way to the Kuiper Belt, after a successful flyby of {luto.

Here is the Kuiper Belt, a ring of (mainly) small icy bodies orbiting the sun beyond the orbit of Neptune. The distance scales are in Astronomical Units (AU), where 1 AU is 150 million km. the average distance between Earth and the Sun. The locations of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are given. Earth and the other planets are inside the yellow blob in the center. The grey cloud between this blob and Jupiter represents the asteroid belt.

More than 3000 Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) have been found and that number is increasing yearly. Many of them are (relatively) small, like, for instance, the 2014 MU69, mentioned in my 2016 post as the next destination for New Horizons. Another flyby on 1 January 2019 was very successful. Here is an image of 2014 MU69, taken by New Horizons. It is a contact binary, dimensions ~40x20x10 km, now renamed Arrokoth. See the appendix about naming (and renaming) objects in the Solar System.

The official name for any object orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune is Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO). Some of them can be quite large. In 2005 Eris was discovered, with a diameter of ~2300 km, about 1/5th of Earth’s diameter, similar in size to Pluto. A heated discussion among astronomers led in 2006 to the demotion of Pluto as a planet and the introduction of a new concept: dwarf planet. Pluto was always an odd one out with its elliptical orbit. It is now a dwarf planet, like Eris. Here is the Outer Solar System.

More dwarf planets have been discovered in the region beyond Neptune. A fascinating one is Sedna, discovered in 2003. Its orbit is extremely elliptical, its distance to the Sun varying between 76 and 937 AU, far outside the Kuiper Belt. One orbit takes 11.400 years, Various estimates for its diameter, Wikipedia gives >1000 km. Here is the orbit of Sedna in orange. The Outer Solar System is now so tiny, the Kuiper belt is marked in blue.

Also shown is the orbit of 2012VP113, in red. Discovered in 2012, diameter ~600 km. Again very elliptical, distance to the Sun between 80 and 460 AU. One orbit takes ~4500 years. You may wonder how astronomers discover such a remote object and even determine some of its properties. In the picture you can see how. Three images, taken by a powerful telescope, with a 30-minute interval, have been superimposed. Look at the small dot in the center. That is 2012VP113, moving against the background of stars

One more extreme TNO, 2015TG387, was discovered in 2015. Its aphelion (the farthest distance from the SUn) is a staggering 2114 AU. The orbital period is about 40.000 years.

More of these extremely elliptical TNOs have been found. What can have been the cause? . Not the giant planets or the Kuiper Belt, they never come close enough to feel their gravitation.

In 2016, two astronomers, Batygin and Brown, came up with an interesting hypothesis. A planet with a mass of about ten times that of Earth, orbiting the Sun in an elliptical orbit between 280 and 1120 AU, orbital period of 5000 years, could explain the orbits. In the diagram, the orbit of this hypothetical Planet Nine is shown.

P[anet Nine has not yet been found and it will not be easy. Not all astronomers are convinced that it exists, but it generated a lot of interest in extreme TNOs.

Recently, a new one has been found 2017 OF201. First observed in 2017. Distance to Sun between  45 and 1630 AU. Orbital period 24.000 years. Here are again three superimposed pictures, this time taken with an interval of 1 hour. Estimated diameter ≈ 550 to 850 km.

In an appendix I will tell more about the interesting way this extreme TNO was discovered and how an estimate could be made about its size. The evidence presented was so convincing that on 21 May TNO 2017 OF201 was accepted by the authoritative International Astronomical Union (IAU) as a new dwarf planet. I flurry of articles in magazines and newspapers followed. Some are accurate, like the EarthSky one, others contain errors, like the Yahoo!News one.

Here the orbit of 2017PF201 is added in red to the other TNOs. The supposed orbit of PLanet 9, here called Planer X, is shown in black.

As you see, the orientation of this new TNO is completely different from the others! And that is a serious challenge for the Planet 9 theory. Model calculations show that Planet 9 would strongly disturb the orbit of 2017 OF201 and, in the future, would kick it out of the solar system. So, does Planet 9 really exist?

That was the ending I had in mind for this post.

But, very recently another interesting article was published, claiming that PLanet 9 may have been found! Click here for the original publication (quite technical). The idea is “simple”. Planet 9 will be cold, but still it emits (thermal) infrared radiation. The authors use data from two infrared missions, IRAS (1983) and Akari (2006), comparing them, filtering out all known infrared sources and looking for an area, that doesn’t move within a few months, the operating time of both missions, but is found in a different location after 23 years. They find one suitable candidate, which fits with the theoretical orbit of Planet 9. Amazing.

I am sure that this is not the end of the story 🙂 .

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Appendix 1 Naming/renaming of astronomical objects in the solar system

All astronomical solar system objects (except comets), smaller than planets, are called minor planets (planetoids). Asteroids, KBOs, TNOs, and dwarf planets. The Minor Planet Center keeps track of them. When a new minor planet has been discovered, it gets a name. For the new dwarf planet, this (provisional) name is 2017 OF201. Here is the explanation. 2017 was the year it was first observed. Followed by two letters.

The first letter, O, tells in which half-month of that year it was discovered, in the second half pf JUly 2017. The second letter gives the order of discovery for that half-month. The F would naan that it was the sixth minor planet discovered in that half-month. But wait. When this coding was designed ( in 1925), it could handle 25 discoveries in a half-month, but nowadays, with modern technology, there are many more. That’s why the subscript is added. 201 x 25 = 5025 +8 = 5033. This dwarf planet was the 5033th discovery in the second half of July 2017!

When the orbit is determined accurately enough, this provisional designation is replaced by a (sequential) number. The team that discovered the minor planet can then suggest a name. The minor planet 2014 MU69, visited by New Horizons, is now named 486958 Arrokoth. Using the coding given above, you should be able to check that Arrokoth was the 745th discovery in the second half of June 2014.

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Appendix 2 T The discovery of dwarf planet 2017 OF201.

The original article can be found here. The authors use data from the Dark Energy Survey project, which itself is not related to the solar system. To find objects in the solar system, you must look for objects that move. Using the survey data, already ~800 TNOs have been found. The next step is to find the distance of the object. For that we use the apparent motion of the object against the background of the stars. It is called parallax. Due to Earth’s orbit around the Sun, the position of the object changes. From how much it changes, the distance can be calculated. For 2017 OF201 this distance is at the moment about 90 AU.

The combined effect of parallax and real motion for 2017 OF201 is shown in this diagram

The oval (due to parallax) is moving throughout the years. Observation dates are indicated.

From the amount of light, combined with the distance, a rough estimate can be made of the size. For 2017 OF201 this results in a diameter of 550 to 850 km . Big enough to call the object a dwarf planet.

Immersify

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Probably everybody knows KLCC, the Kuala Lumpur City Center, but what about BBCC, the Bukit Bintang City Center? It is a mixed-use development on the former site of the Pudu Prison in Kuala Lumpur. The monumental entrance has been preserved.

We found a parking spot in the huge Lalaport shopping center, had a look at the iconic Merdeka 118 skyscraper, and decided to have a drink near the old prison entrance. Expensive, but the cake was delicious.

Our plan was to visit the Immersify multi-media exhibition in The Labs, part of the BBKL. A journey beyond imagination, as is announced on their website. The ticket price is not cheap. RM 68 for adult Malaysians, RM 50 for me (senior discount). They use a time-slot system, but it was not busy.

It was a fascinating experience, worth every Ringgit. We stayed more than two hours, enjoying each of the eleven exhibition halls. Visual and sound effects, we really became immersed. I will just show a few pictures from each zone, using the same names as in the folder.

Zone 1 Glowing Garden

Zone 2 Mystic Waterfall

A thundering waterfall, where fowering trees grow and elephants emerge from the water. Absolutely breathtaking.

Zone 3 Moonlight Memories

Zone 4 Starlight Garden

Zone 5 Turning Moment

Zone 6 Illusion Road

Zone 7 Neon Jungle

Another fascinating hall. The proboscis monkey jumps and shows off, The ape gets angry and destroys the glass window.

Zone 8 Canvas Oceania

We stayed a long time here. You take a paper with the outline of a fish and color it as you like it. Then you scan your drawing and within a minute your fish is swimming in the tank. Aric created the fish with my name on it.

He made a few more drawings, one with his name and the other with his dive devil gang.

Most people stayed longer here. I also did one, but I am not so creative, easy to guess which one was mine.

Zone 9 Prism Shine

Zone 10 Surreal World

Mesmerizing.

Zone 11 Art Gallery

A very unexpected ending, for me the apotheose of Immersify. Paintings of three painters were shown, as the “real” painting together with a digital tarnsformation on the surrounding walls. Combined with classical 19th century music

Claude Monet

Gustav Klimt

Vincent van Gogh

What an amazing exhibition. First I thought that this exhibition would only temporarily be in KL before traveling around the world. But no, it will stay here in a building specially designed for it. A Korean concept, until now only materialised here, in KL. Malaysia Boleh.

We were a bit hungry, but the food in the Lalaport didn’t attract us, we went to an eatery nearby where we had nice hokkien mee.

A final look at the Merdeka 118 building, before we drove home.

We took many videos, should have taken even more.

Here is a collage

Visit of Yolanda & Math

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In 1976 , at the age of 32, I became a physics teacher, and Yolanda was one of my first students. After she graduated we kept in contact and have been friends now for almost 50 years. She and her partner Math have been traveling all over the world, but never in Malaysia. Until this year, when they first visited Sarawak, Sabah and Bali, before staying a few days at our place in KL They arrived in the evening and after a beer , we took them to 1 Utama for dinner.

We bought an ice cream cake for her, as it was her birthday!

The next day I went with them to the KL city center (KLCC).

The park has impressive ficus trees, but of course the main attractions are the famous Twin Towers.

It was a hot day, so after a short walk in the park, we went inside the shopping mall, to the top floor, to my favourite coffee shop in the Kinokuniya bookshop.

I considered having lunch in the mall, but when I saw the crowds queuing for the restaurants, I changed my mind and suggested taking the metro back to Pasar Seni. Aric had mentioned a popular mamak, where we had a simple lunch.

After our lunch, we first walked to the historical city center, passing the beautiful Friday Mosque. Designed by a British architect and built in 1909. Now overshadowed by skyscrapers.

It was getting very hot, so we shortened our walk and took only a few pictures. Three architectural landmarks. In the left picture the former headquarters of the Federated Malay States Railways (1905). In the center the Dayabumi building (1984). The right picture shows the Merdeka 118 tower (2023).

When you are interested in architecture, have a look at this blog post: KL Heritage,

Yolanda and Math are planning to visit Taman Negara. Here she is asking information at a travel agency. The other picture shows a nice piece of street art.

It was my plan to finish the trip with the KL Mural Art. But I could not find them, only a few normal ones. Click here to see what we missed.

Walking back to the MRT station, we passed the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. We were back home around 4 pm for a shower and a rest.

We had dinner at our favourite seafood restaurant, where Aric and I are regular customers.

The second day of their visit, Aric took a day off from his laundry shop to drive us around. First we had breakfast, with Roti Goyang, soft-boiled eggs on toast. A favourite of mine, here the “shaking eggs” were put on garlic toast.

Our first destination was the Batu Caves. The temples inside the cave are dedicated to Lord Murugan, and his huge statue is visible from far away.

It is a popular tourist attraction, but also a place of devotion for Hindus

You have to climb 272 steps to reach the entrance of the caves. We did it slowly to protect our knees.

As we climbed higher, the views of KL became better, although it was a bit hazy.

Many long-tailed macaques are watching you, looking for food. Don’t carry it in a bag, they will snatch it. Almost at the top of the stairs there is the entrance to the Dark Caves. Nowadays, you can only enter on a guided tour. I was lucky to visit them in 2003 with my caving friend Liz Price. The Dark Caves, the first year I used a digital camera!

I have visited the Batu Caves many times, but every time, the huge cave with the temples is fascinating and impressive.

Decorations everywhere. The peacock is the transport animal of Lord Murugan.

Math is a tall guy, had to be careful not to hit his head. Both of us have a knee problem, so we very happy that we could climb up the stairs (and later climb down again).

The caves have a few levels, with Hindu temples. Sunlight enters through an opening in the roof.

After the main cave, we visited a few more caves at the bottom of the stairs, not much climbing required. You reach them via a zigzag bridge.

Many live peacocks and peahens. Two elephants guard the entrance.

The cave has many statues and paintings from Hindu mythology. An orgy of colours.

We skipped the last cave, only took a picture of Hanuman, guarding the entrance. Before leaving, we bought some peacock feathers.

Our second destination for the day was the National Art Gallery. It was my third visit, I lke the museum very much.

During my first visit, I found that the museum had a cafe, but I never tried it. This time we did. Not cheap but excellent coffee and nice food.

I wrote a blog post about the museum it with many photos: The National Art Gallery.

On the upper floor there was a temporary exhibition of digital art.

We spent some time here, creating our own museum artworks. Fun!

A very useful digital artwork at the entrance. The whole museum collection is on this wall, as thumbnails . When you point to a thumbnail, it will be enlarged with details about date, artist etc.

We went home after a tiring day, took a rest, and went out later to SEA park to an open air eatery, specialising in nasi lemak bumbung

The next morning Math and Yolanda left for Melaka.

Fraser’s Hill

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It has been quite a long time since I last visited Fraser’s Hill, and with the hot weather in the Klang Valley, it seemed a good idea to go again for an overnight trip. We stopped for lunch in Kuala Kubu Bahru at the Xin Yen Kee restaurant. Delicious udang galah.

I like the quiet town of KKB very much, and this time there was an unexpected surprise. As usual in Malaysia’s eateries, the toilets are at the back of the kitchen near the exit to a back lane (lorong). This lorong was decorated with mural art from beginning to end!

Followers of my blog know that I am skeptical about the mushrooming of mural art in Malaysia. But this in KKB is very well done, with several artworks depicting historical scenes. The old Kuala Kubu was destroyed by flooding in 1883 and 1926. In the 1880s Frank Swettenham was the British Resident of Selangor. And not so many people know that Selangor had a civil war from 1867 to 1874, similar to the better-known Perak War.

I took many more pictures, but decided to keep them for a separate blog about Kuala Kubu Bharu, because there is a lot more to tell about it.

We continued to Fraser’s Hill where we had booked a room and a dinner in Ye OLde Smokehouse. Colonial style in everything, stiff upper lip included.

As we had spent much time in KKB, we checked in a bit late, but in time for a High Tea. Nice scones, but missing the sandwiches. First, we sat down on the terrace.

But after a drizzle started, we moved inside.

Nice interior.

The drizzle soon stopped, we walked in the garden a bit, enjoying the evening breeze and the nice flowers.

We had ordered dinner late, around 8 pm. Not many customers.

From the colonial-style menu, we chose two English classics. I had Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Aric had Boeuf Wellington. Both were delicious.

Aric wanted to have a Bombe Alaska as dessert. although both of us had no idea what is was. Surprise! After the waiter had placed the bombe on our table, he switched off the lights, poured a glass of liquor over the bombe, and lit it! A nice mixture of ice cream, whipped egg white, fruits and more.Enough for 3-4 people, but we managed to finish it.

The next morning we had an English breakfast on the terrace. “Beef bacon”, not real bacon, the restaurant is halal.

Before leaving, Aric used his drone to take an aerial view of the Smokehouse and its beautiful green surroundings.

Although I have given up exploring remote, difficult waterfalls, I am still interested in visiting “easy” ones. The Jeriau waterfall is such an easy one, a half-hour walk, with only some stairs at the end. It is one of the few waterfalls where you start upstream of the fall and walk down.

Aric discovered a frog.

I needed to wet my feet before I climbed up the stairs, back to the entrance.

We drove back to the village. Fraser’s Hill is a relatively new hill resort, younger than the Cameron Highlands and Maxwell Hill, developed in the 1920s. It is located on the border between the states of Selangor and Pahang. Next to an old telephone booth, two border lines are marked, Left Selangor, right Pahang.

Here we try to stand with our feet in two different states 😉

The iconic clock tower is not really old (1989) but a popular spot for pictures. We had a simple lunch with roti canai and teh tarik.

On our way down, we passed a spot that was new to me, the Paddock.

Although there was an (unused) ticket booth , we could just walk in. There is a copy of a hobbit house, a windmill, you can ride a horse, and there is an archery range. Not really worth a visit. The sculpture is not modern art, just look at it with your head tilted 90 degrees clockwise.

Driving back, we passed a group of pig-tailed macaques. We took some pictures, but kept the car windows closed, because these macaques can be quite aggressive. An impressive alpha-male kept watching us.

On our way back, we stopped at what is left of the Gap Rest House. About 20 years ago I stayed overnight there. In those days, there was only a very narrow access road to Fraser’s Hill. There was a one-way traffic system, odd hours going up, even hours coming down. The Gap Rest House was a perfect stop for a drink or a meal. Actually, the Rest House is older than Fraser’s Hill, it was already mentioned in a travel guide from 1913. After a second access road was constructed, it lost its importance, was abandoned and is a ruin now. A pity.

Nowadays, the Rest House is almost invisible from the road, overgrown by jungle. Aric used his drone to take an aerial view.

The stairs leading to the building are still there, with a clear warning: Watch out for snakes. I wanted to have a look at the ruin, Aric reluctantly came with me, using my walking stick to tap everywhere. We didn’t see any snake.

The building is structurally intact and in good condition.

There have been renovation attempts, I have visited the building several times in the past 20 years and taken pictures of the decay. Maybe I should write a separate blog about it.

In 2011 I could still walk on the suspension bridge in front of the Rest House. Finally, another drone picture of the building. Notice the suspension bridge.

A few hundred meters further down the road, there is an Indian temple. Still maintained, the authorities should do the same with the Rest House.

One more waterfall on our way back to KKB, the Air terjun Semangkok .

As usual, a trip full of variety!

Gua Lepak

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In Malay language, gua means cave and lepak is a verb, meaning to hang out, relax. Gua Lepak, the Hanging out Cave, has a restaurant inside a cave. We had dinner there on 15 February after Aric had read about it on the Internet.

The cave is one of the many caves in the Batu Caves limestone hill, famous for the Hindu temples inside the main cave. This cave is a much smaller one, about one km away at the south-eastern side of the hill. See the GE screenshot. Notice how the hill has been encroached on all sides by urban development.

It was an interesting experience. We needed Waze to find Gua Lepak, located in an industrial area. Parking was no problem, maybe difficult in daytime, but the Gua doesn’t open until pm. Entering we first passed a number of food stalls, most of them closed, a bit of a desolate atmosphere.

Before ordering our food, we decided to explore the cave first. Walking down a few steps, we reached the entrance. Nicely decorated. Although the neon sign might suggest otherwise, smoking is not permitted inside the cave.

It is clear that a lot of work has been done to make the cave easily accessible, with (often colorful) lights everywhere. A smooth walkway, here and there, paintings on the wall. Near the entrance we noticed tables and chairs.

In many places the ceiling is very low, easy to hit your head. Interesting rock formations everywhere.

It is not a large cave, after a few hundred meters you exit near where you entered. In the picture you can see the steps to go out.

At the exit, just outside the cave, again some fancy decoration.

Near the entrance there is a Malay stall where we ordered food and drinks.

We entered again and found a suitable table. They had given us a number, so they knew where to serve us.

Service was fast, and the food was quite nice.

It was not crowded, but there were a few more (Malay) customers.

Back home, of course I immediately Googled for more information about Gua Lepak. I found two useful STAR articles, both published on 11 March 2024. In the first one, concerns are voiced about an eatery in the cave, because it might endanger the efforts of the Selangor state government to create the Gombak-Ulu Langat Geopark in the state. The newspaper article contains a poll where citizens can give their opinion. The second one is an interview with the young Malay entrepreneur who, with his family, is managing the Gua Lepak complex. He argues that the rock formations in the cave have not been damaged, only some mural art has been added.

Not surprisingly, the result of the polls (~2000 votes) was that a large majority was against the eatery in the cave, less than 10% was in favour. A few days later, on 15 March, the STAR published a third article, that the Land Office had issued an eviction notice and closed the eatery.

End of story? No. A fourth article in the STAR of 21 January 2025 wrote that the eatery in the cave had reopened, already in October. Repeating concerns about the Goepark After this publicity I expected that the Gua Lepak would be closed very soon again. I suggested to go soon with our UK friend Rodney and only three days later we visited Gua Lepak again.

The atmosphere was the same, not much activity. I had read that the manager and his family actually had a license to operate food stalls in front of the cave.

Also that they had plans to add more options for families and groups of friends to hang out and chill. Like a karaoke room, a surau, a game room, and even a homestay. That explained the fancy decorations in this part of the establishment.

Entering the actual cave, after we had ordered food.

There were a few groups of Malays enjoying their dinner. I think not many other races will visit this place.

We had the same food package as during our first visit.

After our dinner, we showed Rodney the cave. He really enjoyed it.

In the STAR article, the manager had pointed out that they had not damaged the structure, only added some mural art. Some of the paintings are very Islamic.

They left the structure intact. Another activity they have added is rock climbing.

My expectation that the authorities would immediately close the eatery again turned out to be incorrect. In a fifth article in the STAR of 23 January, it was reported that the manager had applied for a temporary occupation licence (TOL). Maybe that request had been granted.

A few weeks ago we went again, this time with our friends Paul and Fahmi. There were no other stalls open, except this one where the lady recognised Aric ;-).

We ordered the same package again.

After the dinner we walked through the cave. Mind your head, especially Paul.

Some parts of the cave have a higher ceiling.

The cave still has a bat population. Aric managed to take a few pictures.

A few more pictures. In the last photo we are standing outside the cave, probably where there can be rock climbing.

We will see how the situation develops. It is a nice location to visit with guests from abroad. With proper management, it could become a major tourist attraction in KL I would have voted in favor of Gua Lepak in the STAR poll 😉

A waterfall Puzzle (and more)

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On my 80th birthday, 17 April 2024 , a few of my waterfall friends surprised me with a present.

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A Waterfall Puzzle!


“How did you know that I like doing jigsaw puzzles?”. I asked. They didn’t, it was the waterfall that made them decide to give it to me as a present.

Actually, not only me, but all my siblings have been avid jigsaw puzzlers. In Amsterdam I had dozens of jigsaw puzzles and even here in Malaysia I still have a few, They are big, 2000 and 3000 pieces, the huge one has even 5000 pieces. Too big for me nowadays, if anybody is interested, he can get them for free, just contact me.

But I still like doing jigsaws. In 2020 I received (by post!) a present from my brother Arie and his wife Ineke, after I had visited with them the heritage building shown in the puzzle. Not an easy one but doable 😉 .

We even have puzzles made for us from one of our own photos, by a specialised company. Here is an example, a photo of my siblings and their partners at a reunion meeting, a couple of years ago.

And here’s another one. The photo was taken by my youngest brother Otto, and we asked him to make a puzzle of it. This puzzle still needs to be done.

All this to show that I come from a jigsaw family 😉

As I was going back to the Netherlands a few weeks after my birthday, I decided to take the puzzle with me to Amsterdam. There I started with optimism, a puzzle of 1000 pieces should be no problem.

The usual approach is to collect the border pieces first. The puzzle is of Japanese origin, high quality and the puzzle pieces fit accurately.

The next step is to select an “easy” part” of the puzzle. I chose the white region of the waterfall and discovered soon that even that part was not easy at all.

I used a few tricks, one is to spread out all the puzzle pieces, just doable for a 1000-piece jigsaw. The next step is to sort the pieces according to colour.

As I had many other commitments, it became clear that it would be impossible to complete the puzzle during my stay. At a reunion meeting with my siblings, I asked if anyone would like to give it a try. My brother Ruud showed interest, so I put the puzzle back in its box, the various colors in separate plastic bags.

When my brother Pim brought me to the airport, in June last year, I gave him the puzzle and he passed it on to Ruud when he visited him in Groningen a few months later.

Unfortunately it was getting clear that Ruud’s health, both mental and physical, was deteriorating. When I asked about the puzzle in February, his partner Jur replied that Ruud would not be able to do it. My sister Lous was willing to take over.

Then things went fast. On 9 April Ruud passed away, only 76 year old. The funeral took place on 15 April. I could attend it digitally via life-streaming. On a condolence visit Lous received the puzzle..

It was a hectic time. Two days after the funeral I turned 81 and the weekend after that was Easter.

That weekend Lous sent me this photo. She had started the puzzle on 18 April and finished it three days later. Amazing.

“What shall I do with it now”, she asked. These Japanese puzzles always have a tube of glue included, so the puzzle can be glued on a piece of cardboard and hung on a wall as a kind of painting. “Can you split in separate pieces and put them back in the box?”, I asked. Then I will take it back to Malaysia, put it together, glue it and hang it in my home as a kind of in memoriam for our brother.

She managed to do it. Here is the result. The puzzle is now waiting for me to be taken back to Malaysia.

What started as a post about a puzzle, given to me by my waterfall friends, became more personal. Although Ruud probably never touched it, it will become a memorial for him.

KL Lake Gardens

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When my hiking friend Pek Foong invited me for a drink at the Royal Lake Club, she suggested that we could combine it with a walk in the Lake Gardens. Have you ever visited the Tun Razak Memorial there, she asked. I told her that I didn’t even know it existed. Oh, then I will show you the house where Najib grew up, she said.

At 4 pm she picked me up from home and we drove to the Lake gardens where she parked her car near an attractive building. This was the private residence of Tun Abdul Razak, the 2nd PM of Malaysia. He lived here with his family from 1962 until his death in 1976.

It is now part of the Tun Razak Memorial. Free access, after registration, open until 5pm.We noticed one guard only, probably there will be CCTV. We were the only visitors, I am sure that also many Malaysians are not aware of this mansion.

It is an elegant building of two storeys. The ground floor has spacious living and dining rooms , upstairs there are bedrooms for the family.

There is an attractive courtyard. Pity that the pond was empty.

There are several display cases, one with krisses and another with walking sticks. Did Tun Razak collect them? We used the reflection in the glass for a selfie 😉 .

The first floor contains bedrooms. Left the master bedroom, right the bedroom of their eldest son, Najib Razak, the sixth PM of Malaysia, now enjoying accommodation in the Kajang prison because of his role in the 1MDB scandal.

The bedrooms of the other boys, Tun Razak had five sons and no daughters.

The house looks like a (luxury) private home. There is a home trainer and the safe is a sign that the family had money.

A traditional ironing table. On the ground floor there is a Quran recitation room. Not clear why there is an extra bed in that room. The story is that Najib had to pass the recitation test before his parents gave him permission to go to the UK for his studies.

From the house there is a nice view of the Merdeka 118 skyscraper. The other picture shows the second building of the Tun Razak Memorial, which we did not visit.

We walked from the house to the Orchid Garden.

Here is a collection of orchids that we saw during our walk.

The gardens are well designed. Although the rocks are fake, the fish are real.

We could have continued our walk to the Lake Club, but Pek Foong decided to drive there by car. Here is the main entrance of the Royal Lake Club, a huge complex, not far from the Lake Gardens.

For many parts of the club there is a dress code, but not for the Sunset bar near the swimming pools.

There we met Peter Leong, another hiking friend, for a couple of beers and nice food.

Here is a GE image of the Lake Gardens. I have marked the places where we have been, and also the location of the Royal Selangor Club, the other club in KL. For orientation I have also indicated the Pasar Seni.

It was a nice outing, I am looking forward to a repeat.