Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Lembing Trip Part 2

Feeling refreshed and energized after some carb intake and "mental-awakening" shower, my friends finally gave in to my pleas and beg and request to explore Gua Pancing. Who would want to miss out any attraction after driving for 3 hours to Sungai Lembing, they must be out of their minds!

To arrive at Pancing Cave, we had to drive out of Sungai Lembing and went towards Pancing district. It was a 20 minute drive. We went through palm oil plantations, winding trunk roads and voila, we came to the end of the road greeted by an empty flat land with a flight of staircase. The parking fee was RM2 per car.


There are two routes for you to take, one consists of 170 steps whereas the other one consists of 135 steps. Being the lazy bums they are, my friends unanimously decided on the route with 135 steps. Half way through the ascend, we passed by a cave, enclosed one and there is a flight of steps leading down into the cave. It looked really adventurous as the cave was dark but we could see that the cave was inhabited. Not to miss out anything, we walked down the stairs. There was an indian monk in the cave and the cave was fully decorated with both indian and chinese deities. The monk convinced us to follow him deeper into the cave as there was a lot more that he wanted to show us. Intrigued, we followed him.

The cave is really huge! Compared to the cave that i visited in China, this is really comparable, who said Malaysia doesn't have "award-winning" natural scenery? He showed us some formation in the cave that resembles some deity, fish, elephant, rooster etc. I would say the resemblance was really there and only people who live in the cave would be able to spot all those. I have no exact measurement of the cave but it is gigantic but i believe it is nothing compared to caves in Sarawak, which will be my next destination some time in the future :)

After an ethereal story-telling session, we went back on to our ascend. Who would have thought that at the peak of this hill, there is another open-air cave awaiting us. It was really awesome. Because it is at the top and it is open, it is very breezy. There are all sorts rocks and stones in this cavern. The feeling of being in this cave is indescribable, you feel as though you have conquered the world, you're indestructible, you're invincible. I threw all my worries, my trouble away. I just wanted to feel my every breath, feel every breeze that caressed me, feel the world under my feet. We lingered around that area, reluctant to leave. No photos taken can capture the real ambience, feel and the beauty of this cave. You have to be there personally to inhale it.

If not for the impending rain, we would have stayed on longer. From atop, we could see dark gray clouds drifting towards us, not to mention the rain too. We hurried down as i don't think it is a pleasant experience to weather the rain in the cave.



4 comments:

Em Kay said...

Pancing is just before kuantan isnt it? I think I saw Felda Pancing signboard beside the eastcoast hiway, just before the toll plaza. From ur photo, it is a nice place to visit.

smallbook said...

It is in Sungai Lembing, you take the Kuantan exit from East Coast highway but turn right after the toll exit to Sg. Lembing. Before reaching Sg. Lembing, you will arrive at Pancing district first, look out for Charas Cave signboard right beside the Pancing police station. Yes, it is really beautiful, i am still dreaming of it.

小頑童@nottyboy said...

nice cave

smallbook said...

Very nice, should really go, im looking for more caves to visit in pahang, there are loads of them