Stuif's Adventures
| Trip to Kedah and Penang, February 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last year a visitor of my Waterfalls of Malaysia website wrote to me with information about a waterfall in Kedah, Lata Hujan Lebat. He was willing to guide me there. As it would be a long haul from KL, we decided to make it a 3D2N trip and combine the waterfall with a visit to friends in Georgetown. After lunch in Lenggong, we arrived late afternoon at Lake Beris, north of Sik. Here we had booked a chalet in the D'Puncak Lake Resort. A very basic chalet, a bathroom without a washbasin, and when we asked for towels, the answer was, sorry, we don't supply towels! And that for RM 80, really overpriced. There was a restaurant, but we decided to go back to Sik to buy a towel and have dinner there. The small town was lively because of a busy pasar malam. The next morning we met Henry Chan and his wife, who had started early from Kulim where they live. In less than half an hour we reached a signboard for Lata Hujan Lebat. Strange, this signboard pointed to the jungle, no road or trail. But very close to the signboard there was a side road! We tried that one, after a few hundred meter the tar road ended, so we parked our cars and started walking. In about half an hour we reached the first waterfall. In the past some development has taken place, but now only a few locals will visit the fall. Our "guides" were satisfied already, and took a bath, but of course I had to explore further..:-). A small trail followed the river and after a few hundred meter I reached the main fall. Not a lot of water, but nice. On the way back I almost stepped on a scorpion! Aric had found out that there was a vineyard nearby, the only one in Malaysia, and of course we had to visit it. A pity that picking was not allowed. For lunch Henry and his wife invited us to a fish restaurant near Kulim, where we had nice patin and tilapia. After thanking them for their hospitality, we drove on to hotel Mingood. After a rest we went out again to visit our friends Penny and Brian, who live in a beautiful restored, 150 year old townhouse in the heritage part of the town. I should have taken pictures, but I was shy...:-) They were happy to show us their "museum", and we invited them for dinner in a nearby foodcourt. THe next day we visited the flea market at Lorong Kulit (very disappointing) and tried to have the best laksa in town (according to my Penang friend Don), but the shop was closed. What to do? The Snake Temple! Never yet been there. I expected a tourist trap, but it was actually quite interesting. Ok, you could have your picture taken with a python around your neck, and I could not resist the temptation...:-) Finally, on our way back home, we took a detour to Batu Gajah to visit the tin dredge, my favourite "piece of rusty iron" as a friend calls it. The good news is that they have starting some renovation work, stabilising the pontoons etc. Before it was tilting, now it is floating horizontally. The bad news is that therefore it is now temporarily closed to the public. Fortunately I have visited the dredge so many times, that Stephen Ng, the manager, knows me...:-) He was so friendly to allow us access, so I could show Aric this behemoth. A rewarding trip. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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