Gunung Bunga Buah - Day Hike

My friend and I just got back from a day hike from Gunung Bunga Buah (Mount Fruits Flower), Genting Highlands.

At the start of the hike, we wasted 20mins looking for the entrance to the hill and fortunately thank God for his wisdom that we realise it didn't felt right and we thought the climb was too slippery to be a trail for hikers. With this, I thought I should post a few picture here, hopefully will be helpful for those who in need of direction.

Now, the starting point of Gunung Bunga Buah trail is located in Gohtong Jaya, 40km from Kuala Lumpur city. In the township, look for this bright yellow shoplot - Restaurant Har Wong (which mean King Prawn in Malay language) And since the entrance of the trail is located in a privately owned vegetable farm, it is advisable to park your car at the shoplot then walk.

Walk past Restaurant Har Wong

This wellness resort should be on your left as you walked in, on the left would be the first private vegetable farm (but not the farm you should walk in)

Here's the right farm house, walk along the fences

Entrance of the trail is on the left side of this picture. Walk through the visible path on the farm, but remember to be respectful because this is a private property, owner of the farm will have the right to refuse you from walking pass their farm.

Now, pay attention to where you walk, the entrance is rather small as the ribbon marking is quite tiny. Can you see the small space in between the 2 small tree, thats the right entrance. (this will be on the right side as you enter the path from above picture)

a close shot of the entrance with a tiny ribbon marking

Next, look for this, the first part of the ascend is a 45 degree uphill climb (note it is rather hidden, look for trail marking, it is there!)

after about 20 mins uphill climb, you will reach a folk road as shown in the picture, turn left walking uphill on the abandoned tarred road.

After approximately10-15mins on the tarred road, turn to the left, walk past the former quarry (a series of barren granite outcrops at the right side), look out for ribbon marking

Is a pity that Gunung Bunga Buah's peak was shrouded in mist when we arrived, there was no view. It took us approximately 4hours to reach the peak, it is quite an exhausted ascend as it has combination of up and down hill, do prepare enough water and pack your lunch. Weather wise, it is not cold nor warm. And by the way, go with a pair of shoes with good grips and you should wear long trousers if you do not want cuts on your legs.

The signage that mark the peak

Paku Waterfall at Mulu

One of our original plan was to do the Garden of Eden tour however unfortunately it was fully booked when we enquire a week prior arrival, we therefore had the time for our own and went on the unguided walk ourselves. The walk started at approximately 10am to the Paku waterfall through the so called long valley trail which was suppose to be 6km long where we missed 1 of the 2km walk at a folk pebbles trail that has no sign which causes us missing the 2 km walk and reaches the waterfall with 4km walk. In case you wonder, these trails are pretty much flat so anyone could do it, just do be prepare to get abit messy as the floor gets quite muddy and slippery after rain.

Here's a few shots taken along the way:

There are lots of big and tall trees along the trail, here's one of them

A raja brooke sitting on the ground as if for us to photograph

Julie Climbing into the Paku fall

After spending about half hour resting at the Paku waterfall, the plan was to continue walking to the bats exodus observatory deck via the Kenyalang trail where we were hope to spot some hornbill in the trail.

On the way, we came across this nameless trail where we later reckon that it was where the canopy walk were.

Canopy walk - don't think this is recommended, 

The whole walk took us approximately 2 hours where we took some nap while waiting for the bats exodus at the deck. It was a very slow and quiet afternoon, we saw different group of people starting to join us slowly.

For your info, the bats would usually leave the cave right after sunset,  they are time of the year where these bats leave the cave as early as 4.30pm but that night we waited till 6 plus to see just the few. In case you wonder, you can return to the observatory deck on your own any other day you wishrs, it is about 2km away from the park office and it'll take around 45mins walk.

Some of the early birds like Julie and I

Caving in Mulu

Whilst in the park, you are obligated to follow rules and regulations written up by the park authorities, they are friendly rule that help sustain the park so that more people can enjoy. One of the common rule here is guide, all caving activities must be accompanied by a license guide. There are independent guide available however some tour such as Garden of Eden can only be done by using the park's ranger.

This is our first trip to Mulu, and didn't know the available option, so we did all our tour using the park's. Deer and Lang Caves are a must do caving activities in Mulu, this tour is @ RM20 per person.

These show caves are situated 150m apart from each other and if I estimate correctly, it is about 2.5km away from the park office.

Both cave has it's uniqueness where Lang is the smallest of the 4 show caves available at this moment. From Lang, you may expect to see a lot of amazing formation such as stalactites and stalagmites where in contrast Deer cave is not only the biggest show cave in Mulu, it also has the largest cave passage in the world which was form by underground river that once flowed through this area yonks years ago !

Entrance to the Lang

One of the many cave formations

This is the impressively huge Deer cave, in this picture is a formation that look like a giant turtle.

The infamous Abraham Lincoln's profule, we did it our way, adding my friend's profile... just for fun

Following every Lang and Deer caves tour is the bat exodus observatory, that evening it was pouring with heavy rains so obviously the bats are getting a day off work. We walked back to our dorm in the rain and got ourselves all wet. Anyway since this bats exodus is such an iconic scene to witness, my friend and I did went back to the observatory deck the next day and saw some small tiny bit of the exodus, definitely not near to 3 millions but better than non.

At the desk, the view that we stared at for hours, waiting for those bats

Now, a little further away from the park, approximately 15mins boat ride to this absolutely stunning clear water and wind caves. The tour prize for this is slightly higher comapred to Lang and Deer caves that is @RM50 per person.

The trip started from the traditional village of the Penan people, where there is a small morning market where local villagers showcasing their handicrafts for sales here.

The boat ride

After stopping by at the village for about 30mins, we then head straight to the caves which is about another 5-10mins boat ride.

Wind cave is one that's similar to Lang cave where there are a lot of beautiful formation, additional to that you will feel its cooling winds as you walk through. 

Entrance to the wind cave

Clearwater cave is name after it's crystal clear river that flows through 180km of the cave's passages. These water in the cave is very clean, our guide even brought us to a spot where we can all fetch some fresh river water to fill out our water bottle. They maybe cleaner than those water that are filter out from 'diamon' water filter that cost a fortune?

Another unique feature of this cave is where there is this special plant that grew out at the entrance of the cave. Can you see those single leaf plant in this picture, they are the single leaf monophyllaea plant that's only available here at Clearwater cave

The beautiful interior

The other side of the interior, also the way where we fetch river water

As you may see, there are a bit more steps in/out this caves but is an easy walk :)

Here's the reward after the stairs climb in/out cave, be sure to be prepared with you swim wear and chill in the pool! I didn't get ti dunk myself in the pool cos I have not gotten my swimsuit :(

Out of the 4, Clearwater got to my favorite cave, as this seems to have a bit more landscape and smell least of guano compared to the other 3. Not a fan of caves or bats.

Prep before you fly in to Mulu. Be sure to pack a pair of water proof hiking boots, hiking sandles, rain coat and dry fit clothing is most suitable as the forest is very wet and you will struggle with lots of moist from the weather.

While food and water are very pricey here, cheapest RM10 for a meal, to save your budget, you may want to pack some dry food for some meals. For water, if you don't want o pay RM5 for each 1.5 litre, do pack your own water tumbler, do bring one that can fit warm/hot water, cos in the dorm, there's no guarantee that you can let ur water cool in the shared pantry area.

Overall I like Mulu, and hopefully soon I could return to do the Pinnacles climb.

Adventure to Mulu - getting in and settling in

There is a bit of hassle to get into Mulu, as Mulu is only accessible via MASwings, you may need to get into one of the bigger city in East Malaysia where flights are available to get into Mulu, so do log on to MASwings to check on which are the cities available. Now, the closest city to get into Mulu would be from Miri where it only take 30mins. To give you an idea to the cost of these flight, we paid RM191 for a return flight from Miri. If you plan early, there is probably more discount.

would have guess how far is the Mulu National park from the airport, so we bought our return airport transfer (RM5/person/way) as suggested by the park's website. While in the van, we saw there are 2 tourist walking into the park where we jokingly think is quite crazy to walk all the way from airport to the park, 1 minute later we realize it is definitely not a problem since it is only 1,479m away! After all, we flew in to Mulu, expected to have a lot of walking right .

Now, take your pick, to walk or to pay :)

The RM5 van ride, I can't recall if is air-condition, the journey is too short you see

We were already been warn by the Mulu tourism info counter at the miri airport that Food and water in Mulu are very expensive, well we were at first planning to stock up some mineral water to bring into the park but there after realize how can we bring in water since we are boarding a plane! To give you an idea, a bottle of 1.5 litre mineral water bottle at Mulu airport is selling at RM6!

Lodging in the park is available and I do think is the best option for convenient sake, Royal Mulu Resort is better known here in Mulu however you will need to ransfer using the resort shuttle and it'll take about 15mins.

Since we stayed in the park, let me tell you what the park has to offer. Your room will come with a breakfast set, they have 3 options and here's how it looks like:

I only have picture of their western and asian bfast set as we have not eaten the park's special which is a pancake set. Not forgetting to mention, there have refillable coffee and tea!

Here's what we found is the best option for the rest of the meal, they are slightly cheaper in prize as well as the restaurant is open till late. Mineral water here is so far the cheapest we can find - RM5 for a 1.5litre and RM2.50 for a 75ml.

Good luck cafe and bar is located at the entrance of the park

Our 1st lunch in the restaurant, RM10. Yums

All park accommodation check in/out are done at the park office, including booking of tours. The office open daily from 8am to 5pm.

The dom shape park office with a canteen at the left side

By the time Julie and I decided to carry on with the trip, private rooms in the park has already ran out. Thank God we still manage to get bed spaces in the dorm. Here's how the dorm here works, you'll get a bag where it has a bed sheet, pillow case, blanket and towel upon registration and you need to pay RM50 as deposit for the linen.

This is a mixed dorm, you can pick the best bed available but you will not know who is sleeping next to you unless they are there when you arrive.

In the process of doing up our bed

The finished work , by the way those bed are really comfortable, I slept so well on them. We paid RM40/night for each of this bed. Bath room is outside of the dorm, you will need to take your sandal with you everytime you go to the toilet as their floor is wet and not as clean.

Mabul and Kapalai

Mabul is a small island located at the south east coast of Sabah Malaysia, the village used to be a fishing island where it later become more popular to divers because of the Sipadan Island some 15km away.

To get into this macro diving paradise, I flew in to Tawau, then approximately 45minutes drive to Semporna to catch a ferry to the island which takes another approximately 45minutes by medium size speed boat.

Big John Scuba home stay on the stilt - Big John Scuba
In pic, at the right edge was our room for the few nights, electricity supply in this island is very limited, so be prepared for the heat!

The view approaching Mabul island - unbelievable beauty

Speechless view - absolutely stunning! Still this picture doesn't do the justice as the real thing was way more spectacular

Morning seafood 'marketing' by the pier of Big John Scuba

Crystal clear water by the side

This - is Kapalai, there are lots of turtles here, variety of coral and fishes are pretty amazing as well

Sashimi fresh from the morning season 'marketing'

Here's what I paid for the trip: RM300 for 4days 3 nights food and room (quad sharing) include all meals with airport transfer as well as return boat transfer to Mabul, RM160 for 3 snorkeling trips, RM150 for 1 discovery diving trip. And lastly my flight ticket to Tawau was RM380.

The above snorkeling trips only cover spots around Mabul and Kapalai, for those who plan to go Sipadan, reservations needs to be done earlier and I would expect cost may differ as well.

This trip is also my first time trying out scuba diving, staying in water for the first time was rather scary than fun, I was struggling to calm myself but my guide was indeed caring where he hold me throughout the whole discovery journey, so at least the money paid for the discovery package not wasted. I love the experience, but whether to dive again, I'm still trying to get over the fear.

On yhe other hand whether I would return to the island? I think is too obvious to tell... praise lord for his perfect creation.

The first evening sunset shines onto these coconut trees - isn't them pretty

Tourism in Kuching

Besides food, there are a number of touristy thing one could do when you visit here in Kuching. I gather outdoor activities in Kuching is quite something but unfortunately it rains most of the days during our visit here, we therefore didn't have much chance to explore it's outdoors more.

How else best to see the city other than driven by a local, it was such a privilege!

rare scene of drying noodles the old school ways

 Kuching Riverside - what to see?

the riverside, crossing this river to the other side only cost 50cents

cats artwork nearby riverside

city view from a complex and did u see the red chinese temple from the picture? go have some shooting fun with the vibrant red wall - sample of fun in the following picture :)

I'm the wall paper

Friendship garden at Jalan Song, the park's landscape's design are contributed by both Malaysian and China. Local goes to the park for working out.

these engraving is made for every single state in Malaysia

some very Chinese looking architecture 

The following activity is definitely my favourite - hiking at Mt Singai!

free parking space is available at the roadside, there isn't any visible signboard to the mountain, however you could look out for the huge signboard in this picture.

Parking near this area is strictly not allowed, this is apparently a private area

here's the right direction to the entrance of the mountain 

The slippery stairs all the way up the Catholic church 200m high

From the main worship hall, you will find the entrance to the mountain trail, and the trail is quite easy, it was a little challenging that morning due to the slippery floor cause by raining season

This huge tree is amazing, located not far from the church, if you can't reach the top, try at least aim here as your objective

The peak - approximately 1600m above sea level

Kuching biggest roundabout - road on the way to Santubong. 

A quick glimpse of Santubong from the car

Those kids got a little crazy and excited over the biggest roundabout in Kuching

Cotton tree at Kuching Merdeka square - I called it Merdeka tree 

Dragon boat at the riverside, however too crowded to even squeeze in to take a closer glimpse

This roundabout with cats statue is the only thing I remember seeing when I last visit Kuching like close tp 10 years ago. 

Conclusion from the trip is that I like Kuching, much for it's food as well as the state is so rich with green and outdoor activities.