Day 10: Jungle Train, Ferry to Prehentian Islands

Today started at 330 am with a short walk to the Jerantut train station for the 4 am "Jungle Train" headed to Kota Bharu in Northeast Malaysia. The train took us through many small villages and jungle wilderness so dense it was as if we were passing through a green tunnel. We exited the train a few stops early at Tanah Merah just before noon and took a taxi an hour East to Kuala Besut. From there it was a 45 minute bumpy boat ride in the drizzling rain. What awaited us was an island paradise with clear blue water like I've never seen. We unpacked and grabbed some snorkels from our hotel to check out the water. To our surprise we soon discovered that the water just footsteps from our hotel was full of life. Corals, sea cucumbers, anemones, clown fish, angel fish, and plenty of fish my older brother could almost certainly name were right in front of us. We shared a huge diner of prawns, calamari, sliced beef, and chicken satay and slept well knowing we start our Scuba lessons tomorrow. 

Waiting at the Jerantut train station. 

Cruising on the Jungle Train. 

Arrival at Alunan Resort. 

View from our hotel room.

 Delicious food at our resort.

Day 9: Taman Negara, Lata Berkoh, Jerantut

We took a boat tour to a local river rapids swimming hole this morning. On the way we stopped at a massive tree and a fishery. After the boat guides dropped us off at the final stop it was a bit of a trek to get to the swimming hole, but it was certainly worth it. We ended the day by traveling to a town about an hour away called Jerantut. We were quite possibly the only Westerners in the entire town that night. 

Across the river from the national park.

Lata Berkoh river rapids.

Strolling through Jerantut. 

Our hotel. The nicest one in Jerantut according to a local. 

Day 8: Taman Negara, Jungle Trek, Canopy Walk, Bukit Terisek

We went for a long jungle trek today and walked along the canopy rope walk then up to a lookout called Bukit Terisek. According to JM's Fitbit we climbed the equivalent of ~110 flights of stairs in the humid jungle heat. We then jumped in the river to cool off and enjoyed more food at the outdoor resort restaurant. 

Ready for this challenge. 

Canopy rope walk. 

Bukit Terisek peak. 

Exhaustion at the end of our trek.  

Day 7: Travel to Taman Negara, Malaysian Jungle

We woke up early to catch a bus to a boat jetty near the Malaysian jungle. From there we took a several hour boat ride up river to the Taman Negara National Park. 

The boats for traveling upriver. 

 

Taking in the scenery.

Cold drinks and good food after a long day of travel.
 

Our cabin at the resort. 

Complete with house guests. 

Petting the friendly bird. 

Day 6: Kuala Lumpur, Central Market, Jalan Alor, No Black Tie

We spent our last day in Kuala Lumpur relaxing at our hotel's rooftop pool, checking out the Central Market shops, and eating along a well known street called Jalan Alor. We finished the evening at a nearby Jazz Bar called No Black Tie. It was great to unwind a little and sleep in!

Central Market, Kuala Lumpur.

 Kuala Lumpur Journal Hotel rooftop infinity pool.

Amazing food along Jalan Alor.

No Black Tie. A local jazz bar with a tribute performance to legends Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown.  They put on a great show and gave me a new appreciation for Jazz music. 

Day 5: Kuala Lumpur, Batu and Dark Caves, Lot 10, Petronas Twin Towers

We traveled back to Kuala Lumpur this morning where we will stay for 2 days.  After checking in to the hotel we headed to Batu Caves and the neighboring Dark Caves.  Later we grabbed some food at the nearby mall called Lot 10 before walking to the Petronas Twin Towers for our scheduled tour.

Batu Caves.  A Hindu golden monument stands at the entrance.

Getting to the actual caves required walking up several hundred steep stairs.  I brought a sarong along so I didn't have to pay a dollar to rent one at the bottom. (Women must cover their knees). 

Near the top we were greeted by a group of monkeys begging for drinks and snacks.  Jan-Michael quickly discovered his new passion for taking pictures of monkeys.  Soon the big American white man photographing monkeys became its own attraction for those walking by.

Another one of his hundred monkey photos. A monkey researcher from UC San Diego even stopped him to ask him survey questions about his opinions on the treatment of monkeys.

We moved to the nearby Dark Caves and took a spelunking tour.  Included were stinky hard hats for protection from bat droppings and a small flashlight.

We came across many insects and a sick bat that was on the ground.  The experienced tour guide picked him up and relocated him to a safe place.

Later we stopped by the popular food court in the nearby mall to grab some food.  We gobbled up a delicious noodle dish called Fried Hokkien Mee.  JM went for the added peppers because sweating all day wasn't enough.

Everywhere we go there are signs advertising a prickly fruit called durian which is in season.  It has a pungent odor and there have been signs in both of our hotels banning it inside the building.  We gave durian cendol and shaved ice a try.  It was not delicious. 👎

The tour of Petronas Twin Towers first took us to the sky bridge connecting the two buildings half way up.

Next we went to the 86th floor where we watched the sunset over the city.

Sunset over Kuala Lumpur.

JM admiring the view.