Adventure page

Trip with Pat and Roger 25-6-2013

For a trip with our Melbourne friends Pat and Roger, we had in mind the coastal region between Klang and Port Dickson. So we were worried about the haze that reached hazardous levels a few days before the trip, especially in the Klang region. This haze is caused by forest fires in Sumatra, the effects in Malaysia depend strongly on the wind direction. Fortunately one day before our trip the weather forecast predicted a shift of the wind more to the North-East, so we decided to take the risk. A good decision, the haze was a lot less. Anyway, Pat came well-prepared...:-)

We started with breakfast in Jenjarom (toast and half-boiled eggs), before we went to the Fo Guan Shan Dong Zen temple. With CNY crowds come to this temple, but now we were about the only visitors. First we visited the impressive main hall before we walked around the temple gardens.

Breakfast

with half-boiled eggs

Well prepared for haze and sun

The Jenjarom temple

Main hall

Impressive wall decorations

Nice

Where shall we go now?

In front of the orchid garden

The temple is famous for its beautiful collection of orchids, but there is more to see, a deer park, the eighteen arahats, many statues of Kuan Yin (one of the famous Bodhisattva's), etc. A group of devotees were following a meditation course. A nice place.

Beautiful flowers

Another species

Many varieties

Does that ring a bell?

Pity it is fake

A deer in the deer park

Tree with lots of resin

Many statues

Meditation devotees

The Istana Bandar

Will become a museum

Nicely renovated

Our next stop was at the Istana Bandar. I had never before heard about this palace, Roger had found it surfing the Internet. The palace was built in 1905 for the fifth Sultan of Selangor. An attractive building, located in the middle of nowhere, not far from Jugra Hill. Recently renovated, it will become a heritage museum. Closed, but we found a door open and could sneak in to have a look at the interior.

Side view

Detail

Window

Wasp nest

View of the other side

We could sneak in!

Details of the interior

Mausoleum of the Selangor Sultans

Beautiful location

Another view

Well maintained

On the slopes of Jugra Hill, there is another Royal monument, a Mausoleum, also unknown to me. A number of bright yellow tombs are situated in the middle of a cemetery. Well maintained, quiet atmosphere. Next we drove up to the lighthouse of Jugra Hill, where we saw para-gliders in action. It would have been nice to stay longer there, but we were getting hungry.

Some of the tombs

Another view

Graves

Inside the main tomb

Paragliding at Jugra Hill

A list of the toruist attractions

Fishing village

Batu Laut vilage

Remains of the old restaurant in the foreground

A pity that the famous Beggar Chicken place at the foot of the hill was closed that day, looking for food we followed the coastal road past Morib to Tanjung Sepat. Last time we had visited this region we had enjoyed the food at a very picturesque seafood restaurant a few km before Tanjung Sepat. It was shocking to discover that the restaurant had been replaced by a huge, ugly, new construction without any character. The food and price were still ok, but what a shame.

After lunch we visited Tanjumg Sepat. When we wanted to visit the jetty, we found that it was closed! Only a few hours earlier, part of it had collapsed, wounding an Assembly member who was just inspecting the situation. A big crowd of onlookers, Rela people, some VIP's

Finally we had a look at the Golden Palm Tree resort near Sepang, so named because the resort looks like a palm tree, seen from the air. Only guests can enter, we looked around in the lobby, where we saw unhappy people waiting at the reception. The whole atmosphere confirmed the impression I had during an earlier visit: this is a place to avoid. Not worth the money. We saw a change of management announced. That might help.

On our way back, via KLIA, we had rain. Made us happy, because it would clear the sky...:-)

Another nice trip