Waterfalls, Highlands and Coral Reefs

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Our first day in Langkawi we relaxed on the beach and generally recovered from our long journey the day before. Rounded out the evening with a lovely lobster dinner, a walk on the beach and relaxation at the local reggae bar with our new friends Sarah and Rosie.

The four of us headed for the Oriental Shopping Village (not for shopping) to catch the cable car to the top of the mountain for a stunning view. Sadly the view was very cloudy but the cable cars were still fun. After having some Malay tourists take their photos with us (who knows why? possibly they have never seen people so white before) we headed back down the mountain destined for the Seven Wells Waterfall.

The taxi dropped us at the bottom of this massive hill and after 600 really steep steps (plus the spaces in between) we reached the top but boy was it worth the walk. The waterfall has formed pools as it made its way down the mountain. These lovely cold pools are great for swimming and sliding down. So we quickly stripped down to our bathers and jumped in. We spent the next hour sliding from pool to pool hitting rocks and deep water on our way. The best was the last one which was like a natural water slide with a deep plunge pool at the bottom. Such good fun! After having our fill we walked back down the hill for a view of the falls itself and the thieving monkeys before heading back to the taxi via a well deserved ice cream while the monkeys enjoyed the crisps they stole from Sarah!

After our day of fun it was time to catch the ferry and continue our journey to Penang.. well that was the plan anyway. We showed up at the ferry terminal only to find out the ferry was completely sold out until 5pm the next day. After a brief moment of panic we decided to do things the long way and catch the next ferry to Kuala Kedah and take the bus from there to Penang. It sounded simple enough when we decided on it. After 1.5 hours on the ferry we arrived to Kuala Kedah and hopped in a taxi to the bus station.. 40 minutes away and arrived just in time for our 2 hour bus journey to Butterworth. From there we had to catch another ferry to Penang and then get to our hotel. So instead of a single 2.5 hour ferry we ended up on a tour of Northwestern Malaysia that included 3 taxis, 2 ferries and a bus.

The next day we explored Georgetown by trishaw (definitely not made for two foreigners), checked out Fort Cornwallis, walked past the colonial government buildings and took in the history of the island at the Penang Museum.

From Penang we headed inland and south to the Cameron Highlands. The highlands were lovely and covered in strawberry farms, tea plantations and every other type of farm you can think of from roses to bees to cacti. Had a wander in town and booked a tour for the next day. Headed back to the hostel and I was invited to go for a walk on Jungle Trek 2. I thought it sounded simple enough so we jumped in a taxi to the next town. We were dropped at the main road and headed for the Chinese temple about a kilometre away. We found the temple sure enough but after a hour and a half of wandering around we still couldn't find the trail. We did however discover some local strawberry plantations and farmers who couldn't give directions to save their lives. We finally found Jungle Trek 2 through the rain and by the time we reached it it was too slippery and too steep to be much fun. We ended up calling it a day and headed back for town. Spent the evening around the campfire at the hostel.

Up the next day for my tour of the highlands. First stop the Boh Tea Plantation. This plantation is the highest in Malaysia and was just beautiful in the sunlight. The rows of tea bushes are carefully pruned and the new leaves harvested every few months by hand. We had the grades of tea explained which range from the full leaf to partial leaf to dust (which is what they use in teabags).

After snapping a million shots of the sweeping views our journey took us up into the mossy forest where we went for a walk. Many carnivorous plants live in these high forests (over 1,200 m to be considered a mossy forest- anything lower is jungle). Lovely pitcher plants, tiger balm plants, cobra lilies and vines are everywhere. The forest floor makes you feel as if you are walking on sponge, so you bounce as you walk. From the forest we headed for the highest point for views of the Highlands below.

Next we explored the Boh Tea Factory and had the five steps of tea processing explained: withering, rolling, fermenting, drying and sorting. The factory was something out of the 1920s but still processes enough tea leaves for 5.5 million cups of tea of day- amazing! Spent another evening around the campfire before heading out tomorrow.

From the highlands we headed for the Perhentian Islands and after an all day journey by minivan and speedboat we arrived to Perhentian Kecil. These lovely islands sit just off the northeastern coast of Malaysia. We checked into our very swish resort, Shari La and I immediately booked a snorkel trip for the next day.

The snorkel trip stopped at 6 points around Kecil (Small Island) and Besar (Big Island). First stop, Shark Point. Have to admit I was a bit petrified of getting into the water at first (after all Hollywood has made way too many movies about man eating sharks) however after willing myself into the water I realized that the black tipped reef shark is very scared of humans (and very small!). A great experience and the water is so clear!

Next stop, Turtle Point. We arrived to the next bay and searched and searched for the turtles in the area. It seems they were all "still asleep" as quoted by the driver. However we did find one and after much coaxing (and seeing that it needed a fresh breath) it came to the surface and was within arms length of me. Such a beautiful and graceful animal.

Heading a bit further out we snorkeled through an area of poor coral but loads of fish and more sharks before stopping for lunch at the fishermans village. From there we headed for lighthouse point and the best snorkeling of the day. Schools of fish surrounded me as I swam in water so clear I could see all the way to the bottom (which must have been 25m away!). Cuttlefish floated in the deep as barracuda hung near the surface. The coral was amazing shades of purple, yellow, green as were the fish. Parrot fish and so many others I can't begin to name. Such an amazing experience that I kept swimming around and around to try to commit this place to my memory.

Last stop of the day was sting ray point where we only saw a single small stingray however the beach was beautiful soft white sand. A fantastic day!

Spent the next day with Ev on Long Beach- a long stretch of white sand next to the clear waters. Bliss! Decided to head out to the Rawa Islands the following day to get in as much snorkelling as possible in this beautiful place. Took a speedboat out and had about 4 hours of snorkelling around the islands before heading back to the island via the lighthouse one last time.

Sadly the next day we had to leave the islands. Got back to the mainland and headed for Kota Bharu to catch our bus down south the next day. Dinner in Chinatown. The next day we headed to the bus station for our trip to Mersing- gateway to the Tioman Islands. We were promised to be in Mersing by 5pm. However after a full 12 hours (and 2 food stops the second being only 20 kms from our destination-so frustrating!) on the bus we finally arrived at 8:30pm!

Awoke the next morning to catch our ferry to the Tioman Islands (whose beaches were depicted in the musical South Pacific). The ferry was a bit rough but we arrived in good time to "Bali Ha'i" and checked into our budget bungalow near the beach. Plan to spend the next few days relaxing before heading to KL via Melaka.

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Photos

Feeding the Local Wildlife
well sort of.. just a bit of fun for 20 pence

The trail
is there somewhere!