Seeing Linda off back to England

Our trip was over and we waved Linda off first as her flight left before ours.  Mum and I had several hours to kill before we could check in but the time flew by and we finally boarded our flight home too arriving back in Australia early Saturday morning.

Last day and airport

Had a very enjoyable last morning. After breakfast I headed back to the Central Market to look through the stalls, intending to also get another fish foot spa on my last day while mum opted to look around Chinatown one last time and Linda joined her. Arriving at the Central market I discovered that they are late to open, probably because stalls stay open into the night so with time to kill I wandered down streets I hadn't ventured before and came upon a really good fabric shop that was selling material for half the normal price. We'd been looking for some nice material all the time we'd been in Chinatown without too much success - I sprinted back to Chinatown in search of Linda and mum and found them both enjoying their great discovery of the last morning - a chinese wet market selling fish, meat and fresh vegetables along a narrow aisle located behind the shop fronts. We all headed to the fabric shop and spent the next 45 minutes engrossed in selecting materials for dresses that we are hoping Aunty Vera will make into dresses for us from a copy of a dress I already have. After that we all split up again and I headed to Central Market and bought half a dozen of my favourite portuguese egg tarts for the flight home and then booked into a half hour fish foot spa and got talked into a further 30 minutes of foot massage to follow (not that I needed much persuading mind) Back to the hotel with only minutes to spare to check out and we caught a taxi to the airport - Linda's flight is some hours before ours so after having coffee together we've now waved Linda off through the gates and mum and I are going to potter around while we wait to check into our own flight home. In fact we've just checked our watches and see that Linda's flight is probably just taking off this very minute!

The last night's 'Food Festival'

I decided to forgo my breakfast this morning so I could go back to the hide at dawn and see what final birding I could get in and was rewarded with great views of 3 Hill Mynas flying in and perching in an exposed tree top. Also saw a large family of long-tailed macaques, enjoying their antics as they crossed the grassy area. By 9am we were all in the boat heading back to Temberling Jetty and Linda picked out Oriental Pied Hornbill's and a very large water Monitor sunbathing on an exposed, overhanging branch. Also nice views of a Crested Serpent Eagle. The sun was behind us as we cruised downstream giving us a lovely light. Arrived at the jetty by 11am and after some lunch and a short wait we boarded the bus for KL but our hearts sank when we saw it was the same bus driver - a really nice man but an awful driver. The tour agent stepped onto the bus to bid all of us passengers a farewell and informed us the ride back to KL would take 4 hours but we all agreed that that was just because he didn't know the driver, who we were sure would make the distance in just 2 hours judging by our previous experience of him. Heading back we passed many rubber plantations and saw how the trees had been tapped and the cups were collecting the rubber. Two very nice surprises have marked this trip - one being that 1 hour into the boat ride to Temberling I realised I'd forgotten to get my RM200 key deposit from Mutiara Resort at Taman Negara and didn't hold out too much hope of seeing it again but on arrival at the jetty found out the Resort had phoned ahead and made arrangements for me to be reimbursed at Temberling Jetty. On a second, earlier occasion I left my purse with my money in the internet cafe in Chinatown and didn't hold out much hope there either but on returning some hours later and enquiring was handed it back without any drama. Tonight was our last dinner together and so we've visited 3 food outlets and feasted on fried fish (Tilapia and Gumbo) BBQ'd in a marinade of chilli, ginger, and coconut creamm; 2nd outlet we got chicken sate sticks and peanut sauce and the 3rd outlet we got singapore noodles with shrimp and lilly pad vegetables. We'll have a final morning of activities tomorrow before heading to the airport.

A great day at Taman Negara

As planned I was up earlier than both Linda and mum and I had breakfast and headed off for the trail I remembered from my last time here that had led to the swim hole, Rentis Simpon. Two hundred metres along it and the first bird I got was a male Great Argus! It's hard birding in the rainforests here as so many birds stick to the canopy but along this same trail I also got Maroon Woodpecker and Green-winged Pigeon very well. The best birdng today was enjoyed from the 'Tahan' hide though as I enjoyed great views to the canopy and amongst the birds I got there were Lesser Green Leafbird, Scaly-breasted Bulbul, Thick-billed Green Pigeon and Little Green Pigeon and many others. The weather has been good today and managed to get only three leeches on me and even mum got one too. Other critters incuded a visit last night from a Slow Loris in the rafters between the roof and the rattan ceiling sheets (apparently a regular occurance in our bungalows) and another unidentified critter that ate into a guava we'd left out on the counter in the room last night. Dinner tonight was a bit later, since we held off until all the floating restaurants had lit up and looked inviting across the river before we took the boat over and had Ginger Fish, Ginger Chicken, and Sweet and Sour Chicken and for dessert - fried bananas. Tomorrow we have to catch the 9am boat back to Temberling sadly and then back to KL for our last night in Malaysia.

Taman Negara

Arrived at Taman Negara after a bit of a hair-raising van ride as the driver had a real lead foot and road conditions were wet. At Temberling jetty we needed to purchase our Entry Permits to the national park and then had a lovely lunch at a local eatery while we waited for the boat. The boat ride was two and a half hours long and we finally arrived around 4pm and settled into our accommodation at the Mutiara Resort. The rainy conditions eased and then cleared so we caught a river taxi over to the floating restaurants and had dinner. Tomorrow I'll be up early and off to bird the trails while mum and Linda have opted to do a bit of exploring including across the river and around the Kampung. We'll all meet up again around midday and most likely have a dip in the river. We've already had a visit by a local - a rather greedy, overly confident but cute 'wild' boar around our bungalow who also visited next door for a wallow in a dust bath under their bungalow which like ours, is raised on stumps. While I type this I think I'm hearing an owl calling outside which is pretty torturous as I've not got a torch with me. We're thinking about going on a guided jungle walk tomorrow night.

Back together again and Lin's caught up with her blog updates

Here we are moved into the Swiss Inn Hotel in Chinatown just across the road from the 5 Elements Hotel where the coach departs in the morning at 8.15am for Taman Negara. Linda has typed up her blog for the last 3 days when she and mum were in KL so just refer down to the next 3 blogs for hers and mum's update. All the fruit is what the Cheaws gave me to bring back to KL for mum and Lin to try. Tonight we're all looking forward to eating out from the stalls in Chinatown.

Heritage walk in KL

Weather sunny then wet. We caught another train to Pani Seni for our free heritage walk. Absolutely excellent. We had to wear a headscarf and long coat to walk around the Mosque, Masjid Jemak and we learnt about Islam, which means 'Peace'. Went through Indian money lenders area, and visited a Chettinad food restaurant - all food fresh ingredients, and served on a bannana leaf. This is food from South India and you eat it with your fingers. We went to a chinese Taoist temple, and it was explained to us that the temple's purpose is mainly for teaching, money from donations are given to poor people as a bursary for education for those poor people and they have to apply for it every year. After the heritage walk we spent time looking around Central Market, which was the old wet market in years gone by, We had ginger chicken with rice and mum had seafood goreng, from the 'Little Wok'. Tomorrow our 'Mum' is back, but we did manage with not too many difficulties. A wonderful day.

Lazat cooking class

Picked up by the transportation at 9.10a.m. and taken to the cooking class, We met lovely Ana and Syriad. We cooked Prawn Fritters, then Beef Rendang, Cucumber Salad and Keuh Koci for dessert and had an absolutely super time. It rained all day so a good day to do it. Finished at 2.00 pm so back to the hotel for a rest, before we braved the rail system to go to a night market at Kampung Bharu. A bit daunting as no tourists around at all, but we managed to find it; it is a very kocal market. I recognised turmeric leaves from cooking this morning, so I bought some, but whether they let me take them through customs is another matter. Lovely old wooden malay houses to see, everyone eats out in Malaysia. Apparently a lot of people don't know how to cook. Back on the train again and we took a walk through the park before heading back to the hotel. Very pleased we managed to buy the tickets electronically and got on the right direction home. All in all a very good day.

Fountains

This is the first day without our Mum (Bobby) to guide us through the transport system, so we stayed locally around the hotel district. We thought we would try the Petronas Towers, but when we got there at 9.00 am after it opened, all the tickets had gone for the day. We shopped at KLCC shopping centre and I bought a nice pair of shoes. Mum had her photo taken with 3 japanese girls. We looked around a budhist temple and their kitchens; they serve vegetarian food to all and sundry for only RM2.50 per bowl, that's 50 pence!! We got caught in a tropical storm and sheltered until it was over. We had sweet and sour chicken for our dinner and then watched the lovely fountains in KLCC park when it got dark.

Kinta Park near Ipoh and Oriental Cuckoo

This morning we birded close to Ipoh as I needed to be back for pick up by Shirly for the clogging class at midday. Kinta Park is located alongside the Kinta River and adjacent to deep freshwater pools that are the legacy of the old tin mining industry that Ipoh built it's wealth on. I have to say that the biggest thrill for me today was 3 separate sightings of otters, 2 of them large family groups and watching them catch and eat fish. That was closely followed by another unexpected thrill - great views of an Oriental Cuckoo perched in a big Rain Tree. Other sightings today included Baya Weavers, Black-crowned Night Herons, both Purple and Grey Herons, Yellow Bitterns and Blue-tailed Rainbow Bea-eaters amongst other birds. It was a terrific birding location and I'd love to come back some time. Todays' culinary treat from the Cheaws is called 'Kaya' a pastry snack - it was delicious. They also pointed out a place we passed called 'Bata Gajah' (which means 'Elephant Rock') which has a memorial to British soldiers and is visited annually by old soldiers. Got back in time for Shirley's class which again, was just great fun and I enjoyed dancing with all the Ipoh cloggers and workshopping a current Austalian routine we do with them. After the class we all, as is normal routine for them, went out to eat and have a cool drink together. I enjoyed fried noodles with shrimps and egg, some glutinous rice flour desserts and starfruit juice with a salted plum in it. Am back in the hotel now getting cleaned up ready for a night out with friends of the Cheaws (fellow birders) and a meal together (16 of us) at a Thai Restaurant as the guests are Thais and have been birding in Malaysia but by now, according to the cheaws must be hanging out for some spicy Thai food. My last evening here in Ipoh. The hospitality and generousity of everyone I've met here has really blown me away.

Mossy Rhododendrum forests and pitcher plants

This morning the Cheaws picked me up from the hotel at 7.15am and we set off for the Cameron Highlands and in particular for birding in the upper montane area. En route we stopped to buy Pork steamed buns for breakfast and after driving through some of the more touristy parts of the Cameron Highlands we reached the beautiful mossy forests of Gunung Brinchang at 6666 feet/2031 metres where rhododendrums, pitcher plants and orchids abounded and the trees were moss encrusted. Bird highlights included White-tailed Robins, Snowy-browed flycatchers, Golden-throated Barbet, Golden Babbler, Mountain Leaf Warbler, Orange-bellied Leafbirds, Mountain and Chestnut-winged Fulvettas and Mugimake Flycatcher amongst others. The bird waves are amazing and head-spinning when they happen. We stopped at the top and Kuan Yaow cooked us up some some Ipoh 'white coffee' which is roasted quite differently and has a taste all of its own. On the trip down we called in at the Lutheran Mission Bungalow area to look for Slaty-backed Forktail and dipped there, but had Black and Crimson Oriel and Barred Cuckoo Dove here. A final try at Parit Falls Recreation Forest at Tanah Ratah got us several of the Forktails flying along the watercourse and perching on the rocks. We finished up at he 'Boh' Tea Plantation enjoying a selection of teas and cakes for a late afternoon tea and headed back to Ipoh arriving back around 7pm. Tomorrow we'll head off again early and bird locally as I have to be back by midday for Shirly Teh's Sunday dance class. Called Linda and mum to catch up on their news and they have both had a great day in Kl at the Malaysian cooking class.

Dim Sum and clogging

I enjoyed the train ride to Ipoh and was delighted that the train made a stop at KL's old heritage railway station too. There was much less evidence of palm oil plantations on the northern route and we passed lots of crops being harvested alongside the tracks - looked like small tea plantations - the leaves of the shrubs were being picked and also field crops being harvested manually by local farmers in chinese style shade hats. Many more birds were evident too with many on the wires and in virtually every other tree and shrub we passed at 142kms/hour making it impossble to identify them. We passed wetlands and I saw herons and raptors and all sorts I could only wish to see better. Arrived at Ipoh bang on schedule to be met by the Cheaws who proceeded to give me a tour of the town and took me to visit the limestone temples that Ipoh is famed for where we also had great views of Crimson Sunbird, Blue Rock Thrush, Blue Whistling Thrush and Black-thighed Falcon. They also pointed out all the Durian and Rhambutan trees growing in the kampung areas around the temples and we stopped at a store and bought a local speciality, Pomelos, guava, mangoes ( 2 varieties they introduced me to are called 'water lilly' and 'elephant tusk'), Roast Apples and budhas fingers - I've to give them all a try and take some back to KL with me for mum and Linda to try too. For lunch we went to the locally famed 'Foh San' restaurant for Dim Sum and it was just out of this world as a culinary experience. Back to the hotel for a brief rest before Shirly Teh picked me up for her clogging class at 6pm. I had an absolute ball with the other dancers and am so glad to have met them. The next class is Sunday and Shirly has asked me to share with them 2 dances that we do at the Brisbane clubs so a bit nervous about that but looking forward to it too. After clogging a group of us went out to eat at an open air market place with stalls of hot food and I enjoyed their great company and got introduced to some more local cuisine, this time claypot chicken and rice, chicken satay and peanut sauce and chicken noodle soup. Tomorrow Hong Ming and Kuan Yaow are picking me up at 7.15am and we're off to Cameron Highlands birding for the day.

A brief visit to Seremban for old times sake

Up to the lighthouse for one last time this morning before checking out from Ilham Resort at midday. I met up with a birding friend of the Cheaw's, Ng Kit Wan who was great company and other birders there were happy to share their knowledge of other good birding spots in and around KL and also recommended 'Pencil Hill' in Thailand as another great raptor migration viewing spot each October. At midday we all checked out and caught a taxi back to Seremban where we made a beeline for my favourite bakery, buying up custard tarts, curry puffs and other delights and then walked along several streets window shopping before heading back to Seremban Rail station to eat lunch and catch the local commuter train back to KL for RM6 each and then our usual LRT train onto KLCC and back to the Corus Hotel. We've settled back in now and caught up with the news on TV and are shocked and saddened by the extent of the tragedy in Japan that's unfolding. I've prepared my bags for tomorrow ready to catch an early train to Ipoh for the next 3 days and Linda and mum are organising their plans for the next three days in KL which will include the Malaysian cooking class and a early start tomorrow too to get in the queue early for crossing the bridge at the Petrona Towers.

More of the same activities today

I was up before breakfast again birding the forest trails - my favourite forest birds today were White-rumped Shama and Black-winged Flycatcher Shrike and also a Coppersmith Barbet in the resort grounds. Returned back to meet mum and Linda for breakfast and we had some rain for an hour or so but when it cleared by mid morning we all set off up to the lighthouse at the top of the trail to watch the raptors migrating. From the lighthouse we had expansive views of the straits and I enjoyed watching 2 very large green turtles swimming in the waters below before we headed back for a swim in the sea. Today we 've enjoyed watching some family parties of monkeys frolick along the power cables - something they clearly do regularly. Tomorrow we've booked the nice taxi driver that drove us to Port Dixon yesterday to come pick us up at midday when we check out and take us to Seremban where we'll take a walk around the town looking at the shops and, in particular, visit the Seremban bakers (something I've dreamed of doing since last years visit as they make the best portuguese custard tarts ever to be found). Then it's back to KL for one night before I'll head off to Ipoh for 3 days to catch up with birding friends Cheaw Hon Ming and Poon Kuan Yaow and also get to 'clog' with the Ipoh dance club. Linda and mum have made plans too for their 3 days in KL and Linda is going to update the blog with their news for that period.

Swimming at Port Dixon while watching the awesome raptor migration overhead

I walked to the lighthouse through Tanjung Tuan Forest Reserve before breakfast - too early for the raptors who were waiting until the sun was well up and there were thermals for them to soar on. The walk to the lighthouse was really nice and I enjoyed seeing the squirrels ('Tupai Pinangs' : Calloscusrus notatus) and the wonderfully weird looking langur/monkey ('Lotong Cenkong' : Presbytis obscura) that I remembered from last year's visit. Birds seen were fairly common species today and no Jambu Fruit Dove this time. I caught up with mum and Linda (who opted for a lie-in) at breakfast and we decided to walk the 2kms to the main road junction and try to catch a local bus to Port Dixon itself. We ended up jumping in a taxi after what seemed like a futile wait. Port Dixon has the only 'op' shop I have ever come upon in Asia and we found a couple of items we liked there and then, after a nice fresh coconut drink we headed to the beach and swam in the wonderfully warm straits of Malacca. We headed back to Ilham Resort at Cape Rachado and swam again off the Resorts own beach and delighted in the hoardes of raptors soaring above us on their migration. The sheer numbers made it confusing for me to get my head around identifying individuals and so this evening I've sat down and done my homework and so am hopefully prepared for tomorrow's dedicated raptor watch. The most numerous raptors today appear to be Crested or Oriental Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorbyncus) in all their varied morphs.

The Chinchin Yu treatment

Today's highlight was having a fish foot spa in the Bukit Bintang area of KL. Many Garra Rufa, a type of tropical fish, also nicknamed 'Chinchin Yu' nibble at your feet, consuming the dead areas of skin and leaving the healthy skin to grow. Admittedly it nearly freaks you out to begin with as they immediately swarmed upon our feet the second we placed our feet in the shallow pools like a bunch of pirahnas. But at the end of the session it feels enjoyable and mildly ticklish. Before that we'd stopped at a traditional chinese herbal tea shop and sipped from bowls some very strong, dark licquorice flavoured tea - along with that we were given a 'treat' to follow the tea which was wrapped in paper like a sweet and I suppose is their equivalent of an 'after dinner mint' except this one tasted of a cross between very strong liquorice and aniseed - we could only manage a nibble. We'd decided the Lester Wong the tailor wanted too much to make dresses and so returned to KL Sentral station where we retrieved our luggage we'd left in lockers all ready to catch the train to Seremban, and from there a taxi onto Port Dixon. The day ended with a nice dinner here at Ilham Resort at Cape Rachado where the great raptor migration occurs each year at this time. High tide is at 4pm tommorrow and so we're all looking forward to a swim in the Malacca Strait and I plan to get up early before breakfast to take a walk up to the lighthouse birding all the way.

The healing powers of foot reflexology

We all slept well, woke later and had a later breakfast then caught the shuttle bus to Bukit Bintang to find a tailor in the Sungei Wang Plaza. We searched seemingly in vain through the huge compex of shops and stalls, many of which appeared shut to come to the conclusion that those outlets probably didn't operate on Sundays. Next stop was for a simply wonderful 30 minute foot reflexology session for mum and I which began with a warm soak of our feet in a tub of water with floating flower petals. The massager pointed us back to Sungei Wang Plaza after the tailor once more and this time more shops and stalls had set up and we happened upon a treasure trove of a shop that sold an array of irresistible chinese type bags and purses and we learned where the tailor we wanted was located so will call back tomorrow when he is open and drop off the dresses for copying. From here, our mission semi accomplished we took the monorail to KL Sentral and pre-bought my return electric train tickets for Ipoh and then I showed mum and Lin where and how to buy their LRT train ticets back to base (KLCC) and mum said 'what we gonna do without our mum then' meaning me when I go to Ipoh for 3 days. Back at the hotel we've all packed now ready for Seremban and Port Dixon tomorrow. We're preparing to travel light and leave the bulk of our luggage at the hotel here ready for our return on Thursday. We decided next to go and queue for Petronas Towers only to discover along with anothr couple, a brother and sister from Nepal that all tickets today were sold out. Such a shame! Tonight we ate locally for around $1 each and it was great - Roti Canai, Nasi Lemak done in banana leaf parcels and kopi - a very kind old chinese man had encouraged us to try the banana leaf parcels, which we had looked at with no idea about what they contained. Our evening finished up at the rooftop pool, Lin sat on the lounger reading, I enjoyed a swim and now we're back in our room and mum is enjoying her second night running of laying back in the bathtub spoiling herself!

Arrived and have all met up

Tracy picked mum and I up at 5am Friday morning and drove us to Mt Gravatt's bus station in time to get the Air Asia coach to the Gold Coast airport for our flight at 9am. We'd already calculated that Linda would also be getting on her flight from Stanstead airport in the UK at around the same time. Of all the luck mum and I managed to get adjacent aisle seats where we had the entire row of seats to ourselves and so enjoyed the luxury of stretching out and catching up on some zzzzzzzzz's. Sadly, it turns out that Linda's flight was a full one and so her major observation on her flight was that Air Asia doesn't compare with Singapore Airlines for passenger comfort. On arrival at KL airport it was raining and so when mum and I stepped onto the tarmac we were delighted to witnesss a sea of Air Asia red umbrellas that were made available to all the alighting passengers to use to walk to the terminal - a very nice touch. Linda's flight was 45 minutes early and we booked into the Corus Hotel and were very happy with our room and this morning's buffet breakfast was wonderful too with eastern and western options and fresh fruit and juices. Our first stop today was the Celcom shop in Jalan Ampang to register my mobile phone for broadband and the other 2 mobile phones for normal calling SIMCARDS. Took the usual 2 hours to get it all working and set up and Linda and mum patiently waited until it was all done. That left us just enough time to take a stroll up the road to the Petronas Towers to suss out the drill for getting passes to walk the air bridge between the towers before we headed back to the Corus Hotel to glam up for our lunch reservation at Carcosa Seri Negara, the former residence of the British High Commissioner at the turn of last century. After that delightful experience we returned to the hotel to sit around the pool and snooze or swim for an hour or 2. This afternoon there has been some powerful thunderclaps but no actual rain and we have booked ourselves on the hotel shuttlebus tonight at 6.30pm to take us to Chinatown. So far so good, a bit of jetlag for Linda, not surprrisingly, but she has held up very well and mum is still on her feet too.

click on the pic below to link to the picasa web album for the trip