First we wanted to meet in Bangkok and travel in Thailand and Cambodia but with the rainy season starting there, we decided to switch locations to Malaysia. That meant we had to take a flight back to Kuala Lumpur and luckily there are plenty of cheap airlines here. We met up with Vroni's parents and her sister Moni at the airport before picking up our rental car and driving to the city. We spent the first three nights in an Airbnb place right in the center of the city which allowed us to explore large parts of town by foot. We went up on KL Tower to get a great view over the city on our first day. At night we went for a walk through Petaling Street in China Town to get some streetfood and dive into the multicultural atmosphere of Malaysia. The next day was filled with KL Bird Park and Butterfly Park before having some great Malaysian food for dinner and some drinks on the rooftop bar Helipad Lounge where you get a stunning view of night-time KL. Of course we also visited the famous Petronas Towers as well.
Our second destination from there was Cameron Highlands where we stayed for two nights. The cooler climate was a blessing after the humid heat in KL and it allowed us to enjoy our time there even more. We went hiking on a few of the great jungle trekking paths to experience the highland rainforest first-hand. The feeling in the jungle is hard to describe. The vegetation is so dense and the ambient sound is fascinating, I could just sit there and soak in all the calls of the birds, insects and the sound of the wind in the canopy. In the evening we visited two of the scenic tea plantations that cover whole hillsides with rows and rows of low tea bushes. Especially in the late afternoon sun, this makes a really nice view.
The next day we spent driving all the way to Kuala Besut where we boarded a speedboat that would get us to the larger of the Perhentian Islands, Perhentian Besar. We spent some great five days there and enjoyed the diving and snorkeling. This part of our holiday was the most relaxed and the natural beauty of the beaches, the ocean and the island made it really easy to kick back and relax.
After all this chilling it was time to get more active again. Our second last stop was Tasik Kenyir, the largest hydroelectric dam in Southeast Asia. Our hotel was not only close to the lake but actually floating on the lake. We were picked up by a small boat to get us and our luggage to the hotel and we were surrounded only by nature there - nice! On our first day there we decided to drive to the nearby Sekayu waterfall which is a popular weekend destination for Malays. Most people stayed close to the parking area where the river is flowing slowly and the area is flat but we were there for some more adventure. You can follow a jungle trek along the river that takes you higher and higher up the hill and deeper into the forest. As soon as we left the paved path we were ambushed by hordes of leeches longing for our sweet sweet blood. While walking we were constantly checking our shoes and legs for these small critters and somehow managed not to get bitten. Along the way we found some great waterfalls and places to take a swim and a place to cool off was badly needed. Our clothes were drenched in sweat and the water was also a good place to hide from our blood-thirsty friends. The next day we took it a bit slower and hired a boat to drive us around on huge lake Kenyir. There we also visited some smaller waterfalls, a local spice garden and a butterfly park before returning back to our floating hotel. In the evening we went on a small walk along a nearby road in order to find some hornbills. These large birds with their majestic beaks are relatively common in the area and we got lucky to see some flying and sitting in the trees. Their habbit of sitting in the highest trees in the area was not helpful but it was still a cool experience to see them in their natural habitat.
Our last destination was Kuala Tahan which is a small town on the edge of Taman Negara National Park. These 4 000 sq km of mostly untouched rainforest are home of some of the oldest forest in the world. Without any major climate changes like an ice age in the area, this forest already exists for about 130 million years and is home to wild elephants, tigers, leapoards and thousands of other animal and plant species. Our last two days we spent in the jungle, exploring some parts of this stunning nature. We did not see any large game of course but just all the weird little plants and insects we encountered were fascinating. Some older elephant droppings was the closest we got to any large animal in there. After that we headed back to Kuala Lumpur where our ways parted and we got on our plane back to Bangkok to continue our cycling adventure.
All the best wishes from Thailand,
Keep cycling and tail wind,
Vroni, Droni and Joni
