Another trip to Penang National Park.

Here's the entrance to a number of places in Penang National Park. The registration office for visitors is before the entrance, on the right of the picture.


On the way up the hill to Pantai Keranchut, is this dug out path.


And there are also concrete steps in certain parts.


At the end of the path of this hill is a bridge. After this bridge you see a lake on your left and the sea on your right.



Here is the unique meromictic lake.


And if you turn to the other side, there is the beautiful beach,


the sea and the beautiful blue sky. Once a British lecturer told me a sky can only be termed beautiful if there are no cloulds. I think that is because a cloudy sky in England would mean colder weather and so cannot be considered beautiful, For me, the texture of the clouds plastered on a beautiful blue background on a hot tropical day is beautiful. Of course, she did not agree with my comments but I accepted her view as I could place myself in her position in a cold country.


Coming back to the lake, it is known as a meromictic lake. I searched for the word 'meromictic' but was unable to find it. However, 'mero' means partly or partially. According to the information given, a meromictic lake has two layers of water, sea water below and fresh water above, that do not mix. This lake is the only one of its kind in Malaysia. Throughout the world there are only 19 places such lakes exist.











Looking back at the bridge.






Even have beautiful flowers on the beach!




Turtles! Little one day old baby turtles kept in a fibre-glass tank at the conservation centre.






A picture of a dead dolphin found in Keranchut Beach on 12th October 2008.

Below is the skeleton of the dolphin.



Another lonely beauty on the beach.


After the rain we enjoyed at Pantai Trampi (Trampi Beach), all soaking wet, it was a boat ride back to the registration centre.





And a chance to enjoy the coast line from the sea. Of course this is taken only when the rain stopped as the camera could have been spoiled by the rain.


Hey! That's caged fish-rearing.





And it's towards the jetty at the registration centre.







Recently, we made another trip to the Penang National Park. It started with lovely weather but ended with a storm. So, unlike the first time, the rain made the trip most memorable.

Sometime last year we went to this park and we were lost coming back from Pantai Trampi. This time there was no opportunity to be lost as we were ready with cut newspapers to be scattered on the ground for us to retrace our steps. Well, we may plan but sometimes fate just comes to give us some surprises.

We reached the starting point at Batu Ferringgi where we, as required, registered ourselves as visitors to Pantai Keranchut and Pantai Trampi, both places only accessible by sea or over hills.

At Pantai Keranchut, we again came to the only lake in Malaysia which contains two types of water, sea water and fresh water, separated because of their different densities. Here, we get to see newly hatched turtles at the tu8rtle conservation area.

After our lunch we went on across another hill to Pantai Trampi. As we reached Pantai Trampi, rain came. It was heavy and the wind was strong. For me it was refreshing but very soon all of us were drenched to the skin. So, we phoned for a boat agreeing to pay ten ringgit each; there were thirteen of us.

In the meantime, since no shelter could prevent us from being totally wet, we looked for whatever plastic bags we had and put out hand phones and car-keys into them. Then we just played in the rain on the beach.

Soon the boat came. The boat merely had a canopy top which was hardly able to keep the rain off our faces and bodies. Huddled in the boat with the wind blowing in our face, it was cold. About forty minute's ride later, as it were coming near to the Batu Ferringgi starting point, the rain stopped just in time for me to take ut my camera to take some photos.

Cold and wet we quickly changed into some dry clothes. By then we were quite hungry and so went in search for food and after that we headed for home.

A trek up Gunung Jerai from Merbok.

That's the archeology museum in the background


And here's the map at the parking lot showing the route to Gunung Jerai, Kedah, Malaysia.


This is the river we had to cross to the starting point of our trek.





The starting point.


A bridge over that river.


My partner walking into a rubber estate.


Liquid rubber flowing into a cup at the rubber estate.



A living beauty! A little one but full of grit and strength. Certainly adventurous!


We met one of the inhabitants of the jungle.



This is a part of the way to the top.



Art through the light drawn through the trees onto the floor of the jungle.


As we reached the higher parts, light came shining through.


The fantastic view at one part near the summit.




From the jungle into a man-made road about a kilometre from the summit.


And here's a little stream just outside the jungle.


Here is the directions to a number of place about a kilometre from the summit where there are chalets and a dining place as well as a number of attractive planted areas.


This is the Telaga Tok Sheikh.(Telaga means 'well' Tok Sheikh is the name of a person.)


Another part of the Telaga Tok Sheikh.


Here is a spider. Dangerous? Well, harm it not and it will never harm you.


The entrance to Padang Tok Sheikh.


Is this a snake i see on the road? But then, looking at the scales, it cannot be.


This is what i first thought is known as Batu Kapal which means 'Stone ship', but I am told that it is not. According to the friend Batu Kapal is a huge rock very near to Telaga Tok sheikh.


What a beauty! An orchid!


Here's a red beauty!


Have you seen a fern like this!


On Saturday, 11th of June, a friend and I decided to trek up Gunung Jerai (Jerai Mountain) from the archeology museum at Merbok, Kedah - a trek which was approximately 13 kilometres to the top - a route known as 'Jejak Warisan'.

We reached Merbok at eight in the morning and from there crossed a river to a path. Soon we came to a fork in the path and here we chose what appeared to be the more often used path which turned out to be the wrong path resulting in us reaching a rubber estate. Here we saw some campers. We had to retrace our steps and took the path on our right. Then we still had to look for the right way up and eventually found it across the river further up from where we started.

Fortunately for us, since then there was this yellow strip of plastic sign that led us all the way to the top. At certain parts of the way it was fairly steep and one of these parts took its toll on my thigh muscles. The muscles started to cramp and that slowed us a lot. My partner had this liquid known as 'Yoko Yoko' which I applied to the painful muscles. Initially, the pain and cramping became worse but after a short while the pain subsided and it was bearable enough to continue. I also discovered that a stick did help to take the weight off the legs and prevented further cramps.

The jungle was beautiful with its many beauties, some of which I photographed to enjoy at a later date. It was up and down three, or perhaps four, hills before we reached the summit of the mountain. About one kilometre before the summit we exited the jungle onto a tar road.

It was a wonderful trek of calm greenery with great huge trees and a few orchids attached to their trunks which was only spoiled by the wriggly leeches which constantly attacked us all the way to the tarred road. There were so many of those leeches that we had to forgo stopping at half past twelve although we were really hungry then. The sight of the leeches on the floor of the jungle was sufficient to drive us on. At the top, I removed my bloodied socks and shoes to find more than thirty of those fat well-fed creatures, some of them still stuck to my feet. I had certainly donated a good quantity of my blood to them. That was alright except that at the time of writing this i am still suffering the itch that their vampire-type punctures have left behind. In fact my bed-sheet and floor was stained with my blood that Saturday evening and night. My feet were swollen the next morning as a result of my scratching the whole night.

Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable experience for me. Never had I had so many guests in for dinner at my feet. And the itch they left behind will certainly be remember always. And there was a record 29 tiny punctures in my feet! Well, that part of the thrill of challenging oneself on a trek up a mountain. At the end of it, I could tell myself that I made it in five and a half hours, discovered my weaknesses which I intend to overcome as soon as possible and enjoyed the scenery from the jungle and the top of a mountain. That's great for this sixty-four year old - old in number but young in spirit and flesh.