Pisang Falls

Finally we managed to find the entrance to the Jungle Lodge along old Jalan Gombak. It is really easy to miss the entrance, slow down after the hospital and look out for a sign on the right that points to The Jungle Lodge.
Parked the car by the side of the narrow road, we crossed the river. After that, we followed a narrow trail. The trail actually brings you along the river. Along the way, we were cut and slashed by the grass and plants and shrubs that spill over onto the trek. Eventually, we arrived at two huge tunnels right at the bottom of Karak highway. You can hear the vehicles whizzing past above us along Karak highway.In we went through the tunnel to travel through time.
After the tunnel, more narrow trails and plants and rivers. The trail was damp, and full of leeches. Not a single person was spared this time. We came across a unique huge rock, very vertical and smooth.
After hiking for around 45 minutes ( our photo crazy friend stopped to snap photos every now and then), we arrived at Pisang Falls!

We saw many small rocks arranged in anti-gravity-way. It's really unique. Of course, we couldn't be left out and and we created another one. :D

There are two falls, one leads directly to the flowing river the other one falls into a pool.
There's a trail where you can climb up to a camping site. From there, the view of the waterfall is just so majestic.
The upper portion of the falls that is hidden if you do not climb up the trail. Looks like a small little paradise.

We didn't linger too long, just relaxed around, took photos, enjoyed the scenery and the breeze. It was quite a good, short getaway. Before we left, we took a group photo. Under my friend's skillful hand and not-to-be-dismissed camera, he produced a really amazing shot. You can visit his link for more superb photos of the falls: fox's Pisang Falls photos
Another shot that i just have to share it with everyone, beautifully taken by my friend, fox. This really depicts the beauty of Pisang Falls.
At approximately 10.15am, we headed back with cuts all over our legs.

Sumptuous Feast

By chance, i could dine in KLCC Convention Center, a Ramadan Buka Puasa Buffet. Held in one of the halls in KLCC Convention Center, there were approximately 50 round tables arranged in front of a stage where traditional musicians serenaded us with traditional music.

Smoke and aroma from all the grilling done in the hall wafted through the air, exciting murmurs echoed through the hall, a myriad of colours flashed across my very eyes, what an overwhelming experience. I was welcomed by an extensive variety of food from appetizer, main course, to dessert. Without wasting any time, i went on a tour to check out what they had to offer.

Murtabak - Flour patties stuffed with chicken and beef pan fried on a special flat heated surface. I really love the Murtabak, crisp and savoury. The dahl is very tasty too. They are really generous in the amount of vegetable used in the dahl. I was practically drinking the dahl even after i have finished eating the murtabak.
Kebab - This originates from Turkey but it is certainly a hit in Malaysia. The chef would slice the chicken meat wrapped around a rotating heated rod encased in an oven-like enclosure. She then stuffed the chicken slices in a wrap with vegetables and you can consume it with some sauces.
Satay - Marinated chunks of chicken and beef pierced through wooden skewers were grilled to perfection with slightly burnt sides. The peanut sauce that accompanied the satay complements it.

Roti John - John's bread is definitely one of my favourites. Having spent 1 year of my study life in Malacca, i easily fell in love with it. Bread stuffed with tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken, topped with mayonaise, tartar sauce, pan fried till crispy. I didn't miss this one out for sure and it satisfied my craving after bidding it farewell 8 years ago.
Kuih-muih - Ahh, desserts, my best friend. I suffer from a very serious illness of sweet tooth. I can't resist anything sweet, being such a sweet and nice person. This buffet featured a lot of our local Malay dessert.

Grilled section - Grilled lamb, grilled venison were in the most-wanted list of everyone. I have to apologize though that they certainly don't resemble their kind when they were alive, first one is lamb that looked like turkey to me and the second photo is a whole deer.

Eventless Week

It is one weekend without any interesting or exciting activities. No hiking or trekking, no food hunting. It was one of those lazy weekends where you would just love to laze around at home not doing anything. I better engage my gear and rev up a little. Being lazy certainly is addictive; you tend to fall back to the lazy trend once you've tasted it once. No way!!!! I am not falling into that trap. I will definitely cook up something this weekend so do wait for my next post for more adventures!

Home Sweet Home Part 2

After conquering Bankok, we targeted Chiangmai the following night. Talk about traveling. Of course i am not referring to the actual Chiangmai and Bangkok in Thailand. I am referring to the very popular thai restaurants in Kelantan.

Chiangmai looks a little bit more posh with neon light bulbs decorating the roof. This time around, we ordered "bek sak hu", mixed vegetables with sambal, pat ki mau (again yes), phat phet chicken.

Bek sak hu is steamed fish that is spicy and sweet. The fish is covered with sliced cabbage and serai is used to steam it. It is as addictive as tom yam soup, a great appetizer to any meal. My family prefers this to kheng som fish because kheng som steamed style is too sourish for my dad and the taste of spices is too strong. This is milder.

Mixed vegetables with sambal is quite commonly found in other chinese restaurants but the one served here is really spicy with lots of chillie padi used. My family couldn't help but to take breather now and then to cool down before taking the next bites. It was a challenge to complete all dishes served because all dishes are spicy! :)

Yes, the same tofu dish that we ordered one day before in Ban kok. This however allowed us to do comparison between these 2 restaurants. The one in Chiengmai has more original flavours of thai cuisine and herbs whereas the one in Bankok is already more localized. Again, very spicy indeed.

Phat phet chicken is really tasty. Usually, the eel will be served phat phet style but my brother decided to try it out on chicken and it turned out just superb. It is hard to describe how it is being cooked because i am no expert in thai cooking but as usual, a lot of thai herbs and leaves are used, mostly basil i believe. Other than that, plentiful of chillie used very generously. All in all, the meals have been the most satisfying. Best of all, in both days for a total of 9 dishes, 5 on the first day and 4 on the second day, with on average 2 drinks per person, we spent only a total of RM150 max for 5 pax. There is no where else that you can find good food at this price. If anyone were to visit Kelantan, do visit these two restaurants, they're worth all the effort, time and sweat. Take my word for it. Oh yea, a word of advice though, if you're not up for spicy food, don't challenge yourself. :)

Home Sweet Home

I am going home, i am going home, i am going home.... i couldn't stop reciting this phrase as the plane touched down at Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kota Bharu. Do forgive me, i only go back twice a year; once during Chinese New Year and another time any other time of the year. How can i not be excited? Even a few days before, i was all geared up to go back, with food and goodies for my family members back there.

What is so great about Kota Bharu? Nothing actually. There is nothing to promote in Kota Bharu except for the food, laid back lifestyle and the border. But, it means more than that to me. It is where i grew up, where i spent my childhood, where i fell, scratched myself, climbed up etc. Of course, there are attractions to me like cheap tasty thai food, yummie malay kuih and finger-licking nasi dagang. These are musts to me whenever i go back.

The first night itself we went to Bankok for thai food. We already have our to-order list : thai otak-otak, deep fried kangkung, pat ki mau, mixed seafood tom yam soup, curry leaf stir-fried chicken.

Their thai otak-otak is very different from any other otak-otak. Fish fillets, prawns, squids are thrown into a thai coconut with heaps of chinese cabbage leaves and eggs. The coconut is then put over fire with all the goodies boiling in it. The result is an aromatic darkened coconut with fresh coconut flesh and a bowl of mixed seafood with creamy sauce in it.



Pat Ki Mau is the thai phrase for this tofu dish. The tofu is cooked with herbs, vegetables like long beans, asparagus, cauliflower and sawi. It has a tinge of spiciness from the small chilies that are used. This is my brother's favourite dish.


The deep fried kangkung is indeed very interesting. The vegetable is coated with batter and deep fried till light and crispy. It is then topped with spicy gravy with minced pork and chillies. Yummmmmmmmiieeeee, just the right amount of sweetness and spiciness in this dish. Not to forget the crisp of the kangkung when you lay your mouth on it.


Their tom yam is very refreshing too. What an enlightenment to me as i have been fed with MSG-filled tom yam all this while. The sourish taste that first greeted me demanded all my attention to it and it was followed by the aromatic scent and taste of all the herbs used. Drinking it made me addicted.


Lastly, the curry leave stir-fried chicken is pretty normal. You can order this dish in any other chinese restaurants. The one made by the thais though was a bit different. You get more taste of the herbs used and less of the MSG.

Ooooh, not to forget is the forever aromatic sweet thai coconut drink. The thai coconuts in Kelantan are different from the ones in KL. Firstly the size itself is different. The thai coconuts found in KL or being exported to KL are very tiny. Secondly, the ones in Kelantan are far more natural as compared to the ones in KL. Those in KL seem to be more processed because they are very sweet. The ones in Kelantan taste very fresh and you can even see them plucking off the coconut trees before serving you. That is the beauty of living in small rural area.

Chill out at Chiling Falls

Ok, here's the Selangor Dam. It was glistening under the sun rays, so serene and beautiful. This is a rather huge dam, we had to keep a look out after this dam for the entrance to Chiling Falls. We had travelled quite a bit, from KL to Ulu Yam, to Kuala Kubu Bharu and now we're on the route to Fraser Hill. After the dam, we passed by a narrow hanging metal bridge. Immediately after that, there was a right turn to Kampung Pertak. "It doesn't look like an entrance to a waterfall", we discussed. However, to be save, we stopped by a small stall set up by the road side to find out. Apparently, the entrance is further ahead. True enough, immediately after the stall, there is a tiny entrance to Chiling Falls, with a sign saying Chiling Sanctuary ( or perhaps it is different, i can't really recall, i only remember there are words like Chiling, Sanctuary, Fishery department). After parking our cars by the road side, we went on by foot as no cars are allowed to drive into the sanctuary.


After registering ourselves at the counter and paying up RM0.50 each to use the toilet, we crossed the bridge, which was also the first river crossing. There will be altogether 6 river crossings to arrive at the destination. After crossing the river, we took the left turn. The whole trek was wet and damp. We trampled through mud, small stream formed by the heavy rain 1 night ago and soft soil. I was so thankful that i came with my flip flop. Even though it could get a bit tricky if the path got tougher but i can never picture myself wading through all those in my hiking shoes. The shoes would be in such a sad state. Other than trying to avoid yucky, sticky, and slimy stretches, the trek was rather easy as we were trekking along flat land.

As none of us knew the way, we trekked armed with the piece of advice given by En. Nordin who is in charged at the registration counter : Follow the main river, don't stray away from the main river and you will reach the destination. It was such an adventure as we were almost like blinds groping in the dark, finding our own way based on our instinct. After trekking for around half an hour, we came across the second river crossing. There was indication by the river bank showing where is the best spot to cross the river. We took a gulp when we saw the raging river. The current was fast, it was no little small stream whistling and humming along, it was a fast raging bull charging downstream. The guys took the lead to gauge the depth of the river and also to path way, followed by the girls. A step at a time, we had to be careful because we could barely see the bottom of the river due to its current and the depth. We had to find the correct footing among rocks and sand. The river bed is mostly covered with lose sand, that made it even harder to walk as with every step we made, our feet would sink into the lose sand. We had to balance ourselves in the sand and also pit ourselves against the current. No easy job.

Before we could enjoy the sweet joy of crossing the river, we were reminded to check our feet for any friendly leeches who just love to cling onto our feet. True enough, 2 of them got a friendly visit from the leeches. In fact, one of the leeches was already so comfortable and full it was already the size of my little finger. Ewwwwww, so grosss!!!! Thank goodness it was easy for me to look out for leeches as i was wearing flip flop. We carried on and very soon there was the 3rd river that we had to cross. Again, gushing fast-flowing current couldn't deter us. We used the same technique to cross but halfway through, one of our team members lost footing and fell! She was immediately washed off but thanks to rocks surrounding us, she was stopped. I could merely shout as I definitely was in no position to help her. I myself was not confident enough to get myself across, what more assisting someone else. 2 gentlemen plunged in to rescue her. She was assisted her onto her feet and they then guided her across the river. Times like this will display the true human nature. It is very heart-warming to see everyone helping everyone out even though we are from all walks of life. People tend to bond more easily and faster at times of need. It was a close encounter but everyone was safe, only a bruise on an ankle was suffered.

We crossed altogether 5 rivers including the one using the bridge. We skipped the last one because we wanted to go to the peak of the waterfall. Instead, we hiked up a very steep high slope with steps formed using roots of the trees. We drew in a deep breath when we saw the slope, too bad i didn't capture it to be shared with everyone.

At the end of the slope, we were rewarded for our determination. The main attraction was the 7-storey high gushing waterfall that falls straight into a pool that churns a mini whirlpool. It was really a grand scene. We continued on as we wanted to go somewhere we could camp and picnic.

Post Lembing

We spent around 2 hours at the waterfall frolicking in the water, posing for photographs, munching on snacks, sunbathing to keep warm. When the crowd started coming in, we opted to leave as the place was not big enough to accommodate all comfortably. We were a little heavy hearted to part with this beauty but every event always has to come to an end.

Atmosphere was slightly solemn as we began our descend. However, things began to change as we hopped onto the lorry. It was going to be another bumpy tough joy ride. This time, we were taken in for a better surprise. As the lorry was "cruising" along, we swayed to the left as the tyre went into a pot hole. We thought it was going to overturn but thank goodness it just stopped at that angle. Our happiness was short-lived when we realized that we were stuck! The lorry couldn't budge no matter how his foot hit on the accelerator. We were stuck right in the middle of a puddle of mud. The guys volunteered to help push the lorry while the driver navigated it. We girls were ordered to remain on the other side of the lorry hoping that our weight would be able to assist them too. They pushed and pushed and the lorry went "vroom vroom" but we remained stuck. We tried all sorts of methods, jumping on the lorry while they guys pushed, getting off the lorry to reduce weight, all of us including the guys jumping in the lorry but to no avail. In the end, we could merely enjoy basking in the sun while waiting for saviour.


We were finishing up our remaining food when we heard the purring of an engine approaching. Yippie, here comes our chance. It was a jeep. Even though we were skeptical but we had to give it a try. The guys tied the rope between the jeep and our lorry. The jeep then revved its engine with full force but the lorry just wouldn't move. The mud didn't want to release its grip on the tyre. This jeep was too small, we needed something bigger, something meaner and voila, a hilux came along to our rescue when the jeep was still trying in vain to pull the lorry out.

The jeep excused itself as he realized that there was nothing he could do. We thanked them profusely. Now, all attention was turned to hilux. Can he live up to our expectation? Can he pull us out from the ditch? We watched in trepidation ( of course only the girls can stand aside and watch, the guys had to do hands on to assist :D ). The first attempt failed when the rope broke. All the guys were immersed in mud to push the lorry while the hilux pulled it. With a final shove from the guys and a final tug from hilux, lorry finally surfaced! It was such a memorable, touching, joyous and victorious moment for all of us. You could feel the harmony and beauty in human beings. The kindness shown by those people who lent a helping hand in times of need, the team work and good spirit exhibited by all the guys stuck in this predicament goes on to prove that human beings are angels in nature. There is still goodness in human. At that moment, all strangers are friends. It didn't matter that they did not know us in person, it didn't matter that they were on their way to enjoy their picnic at the waterfall, they still stopped by to help us out. Kindness is very scarce in our very competitive society but if only everyone slows down a little bit to show some kindness here and there, the world will be such a beautiful place. Oops, going off track a little. Haha. Anyway, we carried on with our journey and arrived physically in one piece but at the same time torn into pieces because of fatigue.