It's a long way from Cameron Highlands to this large national park but travel agencies in Tanah Rata organize transport for turists (see one of my previous entries). We left Tanah Rata at 10:30 a.m. and arrived in Kuala Tahan in Taman Negara at 7:30 p.m. We had almost two-hour delay due to traffic jams (school holidays in Malaysia).
It was a good decision to book a room in advance as it would almost be impossible to find something after late arrival. Now even in the morning it's difficult to find anything.
I'm staying at Agoh. A ramshackle chalet with airconditioning and attached shower costs me 50 ringgits per night.
On the minibus to Taman Negara I met Andrey from Russia, so we decided to share the room (as he couldn't find anything). I also had a chance to practice my Russian, which I haven't spoken for more than a year.
Aug 17, 2008 12:00 AMHindu festival
In the morning I took a us to Brinchang. I wanted to see a Chinese temple located near this town as well as Orang Asli (aboriginal people) village. While the temple was very interesting (admission free, donation appreciated), the village turned out to be a disappointment with the local people (both adults and children) asking me for money.
On my way back I saw small Parit Falls. Although they aren't impressive at all, the walk itself is quite pleasant.
In late afternoon I wanted to seee Robinson Falls, but on the way there I met a parade of Hindu people. I learned it's the last day of their festival and today they were going to offer things to one of their gods in the river. I was invited to follow the parade and could have an insight into Hindu culture. The whole ceremony was very interesting and I managed to take some nice pictures. When it finished it was too late to walk to Robinson Falls, but I don't regret.
Tomorrow I'm leaving for Taman Negara. A direct minibus makes this route from Tanah Rata in eight hours. The ticket costs 95 ringgits, but if you by directly at the tour operator (not at your guesthouse) you can save 5 ringgits. You'll find the office near the taxi stand on the main street.
Aug 16, 2008 12:00 AMTea plantations
There are a lot of tea plantations around Cameron Highlands. You can visit them for free and some of them even open their factories for visitors.
First, I went to Cameron Bharat Tea Estate. There is only a viewing terrace and you can actually see the plantation from the main road. It's located to the south from Tanah Rata.
To the north there is a much more attractive plantation - Sungai Palas Boh Tea Estate. To get there take a bus from Tanah Rata bus station and get off at Sungai Palas junction. From there it's a 20-minute walk to the plantation. To reach the factory you need about 1 hour (allowing time for taking pictures). Sungai Palas is a very picturesque plantation with hectares of hills covered in green tea carpet.
From the plantation I walked back to Tanah Rata (ca. 2.5 hours). In the afternoon it rained, of course.
Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AMTo Cameron Highlands
Having left KL at 11 I arrived in Tanah Rata, the central town for Cameron Highlands, after 3 p.m. It's difficult to do anything around Tanah Rata in the afternoon as it starts raining here at about 4 p.m. so the trails become dangerous. I just looked around the town to see what's where and tomorrow start exploring the Highlands.
Aug 14, 2008 12:00 AMIn the shade of Petronas Towers
Ok, the towers don't give any shade at noon, but still dominate KL's cityskape. Today I spent many hours just walking around Malaysian capital. My day began with queueing for free tickets to the viewing bridge that connects the twin towers at the hight of ca. 170 meters above street level. To get a ticket better arrive early - there were no tickets available after 9:30 a.m.
After Petronas Towers I explored China Town, Colonial District as well as Merdeka Square area. There are fine Chinese and Hindu temples you can find around KL (not to mention mosques - check Mesjid Jamek and Mesjid Negeri). Also the Old Railway Station is an interesting exaple of islamic architecture.
The easiest way to move around KL is to use LRT train system. Tickets are cheap (1-3 ringgits) and services frequent.
Aug 13, 2008 12:00 AMBatu Caves
For the first time for many weeks I slept longer and got up after 9 a.m. I needed more sleep after several days of early wake-ups. Then I had a nice chat with fellow travelers who are staying at the same hostel - Matahari Lodge. I left the hostel as late as noon and went by bus to Batu Caves located ca. 20 kms from the city center. The traffic is very heavy in Kuala Lumpur so the ride took one hour. The caves are really huge and impressive. One of the caves houses a Hindu temple. This cave is accessed by more than two hundred steps.
In the evening I went to see Petronas Towers that were the highest building in the world until 2004. Tomorrow I will see them again - I want to get to the bridge that links the two towers to see the panorama of KL.
Aug 12, 2008 12:00 AMBye, bye Borneo
In the morning we were transfered back to Uncle Tan's operation base in Sepilok. I had my first shower for more than two days and went to the airport by taxi. Just to warn other travellers - Uncle Tan's staff seems to have some aggreement with taxi drivers and benefits from calling individual taxis for each their guest instead of asking about sharing. Even if you ask and tell them you want to share a taxi they will try to call two cabs for two persons. On top of that the taxi driver that seems to cooperate closely with this tour operator refuses to use the meter and asks for a hefty 40 ringgit fare (with the meter it would be half of this).
My flight to from Sandakan to KL was on time, but the KL International Airport is far away from the city center and I was at my hotel as late as 10 p.m.
At the first glance Kuala Lumpur seems to be a very modern city with well developed public transport.
For the last few days I was getting up early so tomorrow I will sleep long. Having two full days for KL should be enough even if I get up at 10 tomorrow.
Aug 11, 2008 12:00 AMIn the jungle
There were four programmes planned for today at Uncle Tan's and we did all of them but with different result.
During the morning boat safari we didn't see much but for one orangutan, quite a distance from us.
The morning jungle trek was a bit better, but we only saw some insects and plants. They call it a jungle trekking but it's actually not. Especially when I compare to the real jungle trekking near Bario. It was just a jungle walk.
An afternoon boat ride was successful - we saw many elephants taking bath in Kinabatangan river as well as eating plants on the riverbanks.
In the evening we had another jungle walk and spotted several species of frogs, insects and other tiny wildlife. Unfortunately we haven't seen any snake.
Tomorrow in the morning I'm leaving the camp and in the afternoon I'm leaving Borneo at all. The last two weeks of my journey I'll spend on Malaysian Peninsula.
Aug 10, 2008 12:00 AMWelcome to Uncle Tan's
In the morning I went to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre where injured and orphan orangutans are brought back into their natural environment. It's quite a touristy place but one of only few such centres all over the world. I could see orangutans during feeding and also one just roaming around in the trees. This one approached me really closely - it was sitting only one meter from me. It was a really extraordinary experience.
In the afternoon I was transfered along with a group of another 13 people to Uncle Tan's jungle camp. The accommodation there is on a dorm basis and it's very basic, but the staff are very friendly and this makes up for all the inconveniences.
About 9 p.m. we went for a night river safari and spotted some wildlife - colourful birds (kingfishers) just sitting on trees, monkeys and even one crocodile.
Aug 09, 2008 12:00 AMEastermost point reached
Today I arrived in Sandakan, a city located on the Sulu Sea. It's the easternmost point during this journey. The bus ride from KK was not without problems. Around 100 kms from Kota Kinabalu the bus broke but the driver managed to repair it after an hour.
Sandakan itself isn't a very interesting place, but tomorrow I'll start my 3D2N stay at Uncle Tan, located near from here on Kinabatangan River. I will also visit Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center.
