Bukit Kledang, Perak
To say the least, i did not expect my Bukit Kledang hiking adventure to be as what i did.
It was on a Saturday my friends and i embarked on the journey towards the hill, at quarter past six in the morning. We arrived at the designated car park and began our early morning walk up the hill at 6.50 am. The sun was still below the horizon and the surrounding was dark. A single torchlight led the way for us as we started our attempt to conquer the hill. It was a Saturday morning and as expected, there were other people trailing up and down the hill. Mostly, they were elderly people- this showed their stamina and how they stay healthy. Along the way at the early stage of our hike, there are restrooms available and gazebos for you to rest.
The Sun peeking through the clouds.
Watching the township blanketed by the clouds; admiring the scenic view.
Bukit Kledang is located at Menglembu township and is popular with Ipoh folks. There are several trails to consider when hiking up the hill. Since it was mostly our first visit, we used the paved road to reach the Tower- we set the Tower at the top of the hill and end of the paved road as our goal of the day. This longest trail is referred to by the locals as the RTM trail and it takes approximately 4 hours for a return trip. Use good walking, jogging or hiking shoes and carry a bottle of water with you if you want.
As we hiked up the hill, we saw light slowly rising from the mountains and reflecting its rays onto the lush greenery around us. It was chilly as we went further up the road. The green that swallowed us were humming the music of the forest. We could hear the sounds of water, and a monkey made an appearance from the tree top. Some stretches of the road were steep and we had to force ourselves through the uphill tasks.
Lush greenery. We kept on moving and moving.
Not something to be done often- lying on the paved road, resting.
To reach the top is one thing, to encourage and support each other to reach it is another, and i like the latter. Accomplishing the goal set together multiplied the sense of satisfaction and victory as we reached the Tower. There, we regrouped and cameras were out from its pockets! The view was splendid; nature painted an artwork with different shades of green. There was a dog with us at the Tower and we began speculating the story of how it got there. Mine was the dog being a guardian of the Tower while my friend related its presence to that of Hachiko- may be it followed its owner up to the Tower in the past. When we were done admiring the view and our photoshoot, we began our descend, together with the dog.
Just where we began to descend, this pitcher plant caught my attention. Pitcher plant. Flora. Rarity at sight.
It did not follow us back- if you're wondering where the dog is now. It followed us halfway and when we could see it tired, we bid the dog farewell- it was a great companion. Going down was much easier- unless if you take the man-made steps because you will be facing the entire valley, and faster- it took us nearly two hours to reach the Tower and about an hour and a half to return. As the morning was dark, our descend allowed us to see and stop-by a mini waterfall.
Water gushing down the rocks.
At the top of this post, i mentioned about it not meeting my expectation. It was because when i heard the word 'hiking' and 'Bukit Kledang', i was prepared for muddy ground, tree branches brushing against me and climbing on rocks. The trail we chose was paved road from start to end. Nevertheless, it was lots of fun. It was exhausting, i'd admit, but it paid for something.
The bottomline is, we enjoyed ourselves.
***
We were hungry, definitely, after the hike. Not wanting to travel further, my friend recommended dim sum at a cafe nearby. Exiting the car park area, we turned left and then right at the second junction.
They say that food tastes better when we're hungry. But the dim sum i had was good breakfast (or brunch). We placed our orders and when it came, we dived our chopsticks onto the food on plate.
Highly recommended fried 'pau'. Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the inside.
Steaming hot glutinous rice 'lo mai kai'.
Deep fried prawn roll.
This cafe also serves other dim sum dishes like 'siew mai', 'ha mai', 'yu mai', 'chee cheong fan', fried carrot cake 'lo bak kou' and Chinese dumpling 'wo tip'.
The cafe that filled our hungry stomachs! With the steamers placed outside the cafe, you will not get lost finding this little shop.
What? Dim Sum and fried pau
Where? Kafe Chin Kueh, Bukit Kledang foothill
How much? Fried pau (RM 1.60), dim sum (mostly at RM 3.40), glutinous rice 'lo mai kai' (RM 3.00) as of 25 Feb 2012
*Photos credit to YH.
It was on a Saturday my friends and i embarked on the journey towards the hill, at quarter past six in the morning. We arrived at the designated car park and began our early morning walk up the hill at 6.50 am. The sun was still below the horizon and the surrounding was dark. A single torchlight led the way for us as we started our attempt to conquer the hill. It was a Saturday morning and as expected, there were other people trailing up and down the hill. Mostly, they were elderly people- this showed their stamina and how they stay healthy. Along the way at the early stage of our hike, there are restrooms available and gazebos for you to rest.
The Sun peeking through the clouds.
Watching the township blanketed by the clouds; admiring the scenic view.Bukit Kledang is located at Menglembu township and is popular with Ipoh folks. There are several trails to consider when hiking up the hill. Since it was mostly our first visit, we used the paved road to reach the Tower- we set the Tower at the top of the hill and end of the paved road as our goal of the day. This longest trail is referred to by the locals as the RTM trail and it takes approximately 4 hours for a return trip. Use good walking, jogging or hiking shoes and carry a bottle of water with you if you want.
As we hiked up the hill, we saw light slowly rising from the mountains and reflecting its rays onto the lush greenery around us. It was chilly as we went further up the road. The green that swallowed us were humming the music of the forest. We could hear the sounds of water, and a monkey made an appearance from the tree top. Some stretches of the road were steep and we had to force ourselves through the uphill tasks.
Lush greenery. We kept on moving and moving.
Not something to be done often- lying on the paved road, resting.To reach the top is one thing, to encourage and support each other to reach it is another, and i like the latter. Accomplishing the goal set together multiplied the sense of satisfaction and victory as we reached the Tower. There, we regrouped and cameras were out from its pockets! The view was splendid; nature painted an artwork with different shades of green. There was a dog with us at the Tower and we began speculating the story of how it got there. Mine was the dog being a guardian of the Tower while my friend related its presence to that of Hachiko- may be it followed its owner up to the Tower in the past. When we were done admiring the view and our photoshoot, we began our descend, together with the dog.
Just where we began to descend, this pitcher plant caught my attention. Pitcher plant. Flora. Rarity at sight.It did not follow us back- if you're wondering where the dog is now. It followed us halfway and when we could see it tired, we bid the dog farewell- it was a great companion. Going down was much easier- unless if you take the man-made steps because you will be facing the entire valley, and faster- it took us nearly two hours to reach the Tower and about an hour and a half to return. As the morning was dark, our descend allowed us to see and stop-by a mini waterfall.
Water gushing down the rocks.The bottomline is, we enjoyed ourselves.
***
We were hungry, definitely, after the hike. Not wanting to travel further, my friend recommended dim sum at a cafe nearby. Exiting the car park area, we turned left and then right at the second junction.
They say that food tastes better when we're hungry. But the dim sum i had was good breakfast (or brunch). We placed our orders and when it came, we dived our chopsticks onto the food on plate.
Highly recommended fried 'pau'. Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the inside.
Steaming hot glutinous rice 'lo mai kai'.
Deep fried prawn roll.This cafe also serves other dim sum dishes like 'siew mai', 'ha mai', 'yu mai', 'chee cheong fan', fried carrot cake 'lo bak kou' and Chinese dumpling 'wo tip'.
The cafe that filled our hungry stomachs! With the steamers placed outside the cafe, you will not get lost finding this little shop.What? Dim Sum and fried pau
Where? Kafe Chin Kueh, Bukit Kledang foothill
How much? Fried pau (RM 1.60), dim sum (mostly at RM 3.40), glutinous rice 'lo mai kai' (RM 3.00) as of 25 Feb 2012
*Photos credit to YH.
welcome =)
ReplyDeletePrawn roll looked nice..LOL
ReplyDelete