Best waterfall in Malaysia: Berkelah, Gambang

I was pretty sick during the first few days of Syawal, but managed to hit this tropical paradise nearby Gambang, Pahang. It's Air Terjun Berkelah.

It's remote, not much people, and beautiful. You got to walk 1 km deep inside to reach the really nice spot.

But because I was recovering and half sick, I couldn't even swim properly in the deep end. My brother told me big fishes can be found there, ... but I didn't brought any googles, so I was left wondering what we might find.

However, as usual, I would like to condemn those local tourist, it had to be local, who keep on piling rubbish after rubbish like it's their own backyard. In fact they won't do this at their own backyard. Polystyrene cups, plates, plastics...what the hell...I am not reserving any vulgarities against these eco unfriendly people. How could you enjoy visiting a place, then leave the rubbish there?

Let's put it this way. Malaysian Tourist mentality = Rubbish mentality. And I am not sorry for stating it, because I've seen enough to be sad and angry about it.


There's a deep end at the falls...just becareful not to get drown...

hike up...and you get to see more beauty...





I jump...you jump...

La Mer Kijal

For this chinese new year, my brothers and I head north to Terengganu's Kijal. It has quite a long sandy coastline around 10km. This makes it a pleasant place to hangout and also hit the beach.

Now, why would we drove almost 80km from Kuantan to here? It's because Kuantan beaches are really not that nice compared to here. Not to mention Telok Chempedak is really an eyesore with stuck sewage just before the beach. Frankly, I have not swam in any of Kuantan's beaches.

When we reached the place, the wind was a tad strong. Waves were crashing violently. I hadn't seen waves these big. I did try a few laps in the open sea. However, I found out it's best to stay near to shore.

I'll let the pictures & video tell the story :)

Gabai Waterfalls

Sun is shining, and it's a sunday. My brother, his friend, and I head to Gabai, Hulu Langat for a trip out of Kuala Lumpur and into the greens. There are at least 3 waterfalls in Hulu Langat, namely Congkak, Gabai and Tekala. But I think Gabai has the best scenery among them. There's another waterfall in Pangsun, which is an area where you will reach after Batu 18 Hulu Langat, but it's hard to access.

In Gabai, you'll need to climb vertically up for at least 50 meters and more. Thank god for stairs. The best places is further up, so you'll need to do some climbing.

Once you hit the waters, it's so frigidly cold, I could barely stand for a few minutes. But....it's a refreshingly bath in the tropics. Nothing beats this.

It's one thing I like about Malaysia.

But guys...if you go there, please bring back your rubbish. On many occasions, I have seen liters, not a nice view.


At the bottom of Gabai falls...it's nicer up there..


Half way up Gabai...




Finally reaching the top...there's a few pools here..


But...I like here the best...Warning..the depth exceeds 1.5m


If you go up futher, mostly are small streams, and it gets smaller...but you can walk all the way up, which goes quite a distance. I have tried it, but ended up streams that goes uphill.
Noticed the dense bamboo vegetation.

Balik kampung

After months not going back, I made an hesitant decision to go back kuantan, with my younger brother.




I needed some fresher air, and some timeout to forget about work. And driving back this time, I decided to measure the exact distance (at least based on my car meter), of how far it would take to run. So, I forgo the new east highway, and shoot for the old road. In many ways, I still prefer the old. You get to see more things. Small cities, the people, and even cows.


On reaching my house, it says 266 km. My brother says it's crazy to run it. I am still wondering...when and how I could do it.




Kuantan river at night. It's a 2km walking distance all the way up.

The next sunday, both of us, with another friend from kuantan, drove to kemaman. If you really wanted to see real nice beaches, you should head for terengganu. The water was crystal clear, and not much people. And we also did some snorkelling which was great. I saw parrot fishes , some corals, and I think...even a stonefish. That had me frozen for a moment. Stonefish has the deadliest toxin in the world of fish. You could die from its' sting. Seeing it was pure luck. Because it's so well camourflouged, I could only see both eyes. The rest blends with the rocks.



White sandy shores in kemaman.

Stopping by pulau ular in Pahang.






On the way back to kuantan, we stopped by Pulau Ular. It's a small island just 1km off the shore.



Pulau ular from the shore. It's really really near.


The trees are visible, and there's a small sandy shore. We wanted..maybe one day, do some camping and fishing on the small island. To charter a boat, we asked, cost Rm 100.00 bucks. I, on the other hand, was thinking, "that's a swimmable distance".

Only one complaint from balik kampung, I had sun burn, not so serious..but painful enough to keep me from running. Next time, it's swimming with the shirt on.



I found this ray fish stuck among the rocks during low tide. When it settles down, it'll flap it's wings, and hide beneath the sand.


This is why it's called Batu Hitam beach. There's really lots of black rocks.


More black rocks...

Another view of batu hitam.

Trip to Pantai Kerachut on Penang Island

Actually, I went down Penang with my friend for an ex-colleague's wedding dinner. But somehow, got lucky the next day for a trip to Pantai Kerachut.

Yea...the name sounds a bit weird. To go there, you got to get to Teluk Bahang at the northern trip of the island. You'll reach a nice fishing village. There's two ways to get to Pantai Kerachut, which is by boat, or jungle hiking (3.3km). This will take approximately 1 hour for one way.

Yeap, we are more adventurous. So we choosed hiking instead. 3.3 km might not sound far on road, but in the jungle with lots of hills and valleys, it's a bit exciting and takes longer to complete. The place at that area is designated as Penang Taman Negara, which is good. The path ain't so hard. Some parts are cleared and hard cemented, so you could easily put footing.

Once we reached the beach, it was a nice sight to behold. The beach was sandy...no rubbish in sight. Some guys were fishing at the jetty nearby.

But somehow, there's no one swimming. And what surprised me most, is that they have a conservation centre for turtles laying eggs on the beach. We got to see a tong with young turtles, which will be released tomorrow.

There's a lake nearby, which is not so deep. But it provides a nice view, surrounded by vegetation and hills.

Reminds me of my next trip end of this month to Redang...:)


Arriving at Teluk Bahang


We started to hike..


Nice view at teluk Bahang


The path of the forest is rejuvenating...


The jetty at Pantai Kerachut.




This lake name sounds advanced...i forgot what's the name. Metramiktik?




Marking of turtle's eggs.

Ulu Yam Waterfalls

Last Sunday, my younger brother and I went to a nice spot in Ulu Yam. There's a few sections of accessible waterfalls.

Upon reaching our favourite place, I really don't want to say this...but some people just don't care where they throw their rubbish. It's fine if you want to have some snacks, lunch or drinks...but please bring back your rubbish. The sight was really appaling, with polestrene plates beside the stream, and beer cans on rocks!



So, we decided to get a plastic bag and pickup those stuff...

Downstream there's a deeper pool, almost double my height, and not really a safe place to swim. I think there happened an incident of drowning in the papers.





It was noon, but the water is really cold. Swimming here is the nicest stress reliever you could find.

We were quite alone, as it's still early. But soon some other guys came by. I don't mind others joining the fun, but some of them were smoking..and making fires. Personally, no offence to smokers, but I think they should ban smoking everywhere, except the smoker's house. 3 million plus adults in Malaysia smokes. Why would someone want to do something to kill themselves slowly and painfully is really something I don't understand.

There's no reason to smoke. Doctors, studies have given so many reasons to quit.

If you want to get high, go run a marathon. That'll get you high for days.



Then we dropped by the Ulu Yam Lake for some roasted nuts, and a nice scenery. The dam is probably 2km from where we stand. I was thinking...heck...should try swimming here one day.