Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Trip to Bentong and Chamang waterfalls
On 6th June, 2009 I made a day trip to Bentong, Pahang with my sister in law, her husband, my wife and son. Leaving K.L. was a breeze until after the Batu Caves just before the toll plaza and after, there was a massive jam which we later discovered was caused by the highway authorities creating a counter flow for vehicles coming into K.L.
After that, the drive was smooth and we reached Bentong just in time for lunch at the Yee Fatt restaurant which was just after the entrance to the Chamang waterfalls. This restaurant is actually an old wooden house that one usually finds in a new village and it's a large house too.
We ordered deer meat cooked with chinese cooking wine, ginger and spring onions, taufu with fishballs stewed in a mini wok, tapioca leaf veggie, prawns and steamed patin fish (which was very well done). The bill was reasonable too, just over a hundred ringgit.
After lunch, we proceeded to the Bentong wet market to look around but most of the stalls were already closed. Then, my sister in law noticed a nearby stall near the market which hung a bunch of pisang emas for sale. The pisang emas turned out to be a very good buy indeed. I also bought 2 packets of Sempalit ground nuts (Panda brand) for the waterfalls trip.
The Chamang waterfalls is 8 km from the main road and we had to drive through some durian orchards. The road was narrow but tarred. It took about 15 mins of slow driving and the way to the waterfalls is uphill. We were practically the only ones on the road until 3 more vehicles caught up with us and when we reached the waterfalls, the place was packed with cars and people who had arrived earlier.
We found a nice spot by the stairway and my boy changed into his swimming gear. He was excited and yet apprehensive about getting into the waters but once my sister in law's husband took him to the shallow part of the stream he was having a good time. He played on the shallow part of the stream most of the time and even made friends with 2 other kids. The water was cold but the afternoon sun was also shining brightly so it made it bearable. My boy enjoyed playing with the water and kept pouring water to wash the sand that had gotten stuck on the tree trunks on the river bed.
Near the waterfalls, the authorities have constructed some BBQ pits for tourists to do a bit of cooking. I don't think it was such a good idea having it so close to the waterfalls. We were constantly irritated by smoke when one party tried for a long time to get the fire started.
My boy was in the water for about an hour and at 3.00 p.m. we told him it was time to go and we coaxed him out of the water by telling him that we were taking him for some ice cream.
The Chamang waterfalls is a nice place to visit but on weekends and public holidays, be prepared to share it with a lot of people. There were a few markers on the rocks of the waterfalls telling people of the danger but we still have some visitors who went beyond those markers when they shouldn't have and the warden had to order them down.
We drove to Bentong town and my sister in law's husband took us to another ice cream parlour (Ais Cream Corner) instead of the more well known one in Bentong. This shop is located behind the Bentong wet market, very near to the restaurant where YL had her wedding dinner some years ago.
We ordered ABCs with pandang ice cream toppings. The owner of this ice cream parlour could be a Mr. Tak as one of the item on the menu was TAK special.
On our way back to K.L., we stopped by Bukit Tinggi village to do a bit of shopping. We bought some passion and star fruits. This little village has nothing much to offer except for the few stalls that sells fresh veggies and fruits and restaurants. The village's police station is located at the top end of the main road and we took a short drive on the old road which was scenic as it was higher than the highway and my boy managed to see two monkeys by the roadside before we returned to the highway.
After that, the drive was smooth and we reached Bentong just in time for lunch at the Yee Fatt restaurant which was just after the entrance to the Chamang waterfalls. This restaurant is actually an old wooden house that one usually finds in a new village and it's a large house too.
We ordered deer meat cooked with chinese cooking wine, ginger and spring onions, taufu with fishballs stewed in a mini wok, tapioca leaf veggie, prawns and steamed patin fish (which was very well done). The bill was reasonable too, just over a hundred ringgit.
After lunch, we proceeded to the Bentong wet market to look around but most of the stalls were already closed. Then, my sister in law noticed a nearby stall near the market which hung a bunch of pisang emas for sale. The pisang emas turned out to be a very good buy indeed. I also bought 2 packets of Sempalit ground nuts (Panda brand) for the waterfalls trip.
The Chamang waterfalls is 8 km from the main road and we had to drive through some durian orchards. The road was narrow but tarred. It took about 15 mins of slow driving and the way to the waterfalls is uphill. We were practically the only ones on the road until 3 more vehicles caught up with us and when we reached the waterfalls, the place was packed with cars and people who had arrived earlier.
We found a nice spot by the stairway and my boy changed into his swimming gear. He was excited and yet apprehensive about getting into the waters but once my sister in law's husband took him to the shallow part of the stream he was having a good time. He played on the shallow part of the stream most of the time and even made friends with 2 other kids. The water was cold but the afternoon sun was also shining brightly so it made it bearable. My boy enjoyed playing with the water and kept pouring water to wash the sand that had gotten stuck on the tree trunks on the river bed.
Near the waterfalls, the authorities have constructed some BBQ pits for tourists to do a bit of cooking. I don't think it was such a good idea having it so close to the waterfalls. We were constantly irritated by smoke when one party tried for a long time to get the fire started.
My boy was in the water for about an hour and at 3.00 p.m. we told him it was time to go and we coaxed him out of the water by telling him that we were taking him for some ice cream.
The Chamang waterfalls is a nice place to visit but on weekends and public holidays, be prepared to share it with a lot of people. There were a few markers on the rocks of the waterfalls telling people of the danger but we still have some visitors who went beyond those markers when they shouldn't have and the warden had to order them down.
We drove to Bentong town and my sister in law's husband took us to another ice cream parlour (Ais Cream Corner) instead of the more well known one in Bentong. This shop is located behind the Bentong wet market, very near to the restaurant where YL had her wedding dinner some years ago.
We ordered ABCs with pandang ice cream toppings. The owner of this ice cream parlour could be a Mr. Tak as one of the item on the menu was TAK special.
On our way back to K.L., we stopped by Bukit Tinggi village to do a bit of shopping. We bought some passion and star fruits. This little village has nothing much to offer except for the few stalls that sells fresh veggies and fruits and restaurants. The village's police station is located at the top end of the main road and we took a short drive on the old road which was scenic as it was higher than the highway and my boy managed to see two monkeys by the roadside before we returned to the highway.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
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