Tag: landscape

The Rusty Bridge

I was told there is a nice waterfall and hot springs in the jungles of Kerling. There is a sign by the main road but it turned out to be quite a long road in. The drive started parallel to a railway track, twisted through rustic villages and ended up alongside rolling hills.

With such picturesque scenery, is easy to miss a follow-through sign, if there was one in the first place. At certain crossroad, road split or T-junction you are on your own.

You can either make a wild guess or an educated guess. At one sign-less junction, I stopped by the roadside and waited a bit. Sure enough, two helmet-less village girls on a motorcycle came flying out. They were speed-drying their wet hair in the wind. By following the road they rocketed out from, it should take me to a swimming area.

The deeper I went, the narrower and lonelier the road became. I think most people driving alone would have turned back. Somewhere along the way, I saw a rusty bridge over a river. Was quite wobbly to walk on but its appearance against the sunny landscape today made the stopover worthwhile.

Panasonic GM-1, ISO 200, f10, 1/400 sec.

Beauty In Our Backyard

This is one of my favourite pics and was captured during a previous trip. Autumn at the Sungai Liam Waterfalls in Ulu Yam.

The lonely spot is only about 15 to 20 minutes from Federal Route 1 via Ulu Yam Bharu. It is literally the backyard of Klang Valley.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 125, f5, 1/200 sec.

Slow Down: Kids Crossing

The door-to-door ice cream man brings much joy to the children of a village in Ulu Yam. I stopped him to buy and to chat.

It made me feel silly and guilty at the same time. Silly, having had a so-called artisan elderflower-flavoured ‘ais krim potong’ (tube popsicle) for RM 8 ++ at a hipster mall with absurd parking. Guilty, because I am paying less than a ringgit for an equally tasty Wall’s Solero (imitation) here.

Of course, one can argue that many top malls charge RM15K or more for monthly rental of a cart or kiosk. For this mobile ice cream man, his overheads are petrol, dry ice and sweat. Speaking of petrol, I spent less on petrol getting here than for parking at some malls in the city.

Sucking a popsicle, hearing the breeze flapping the leaves of a banana tree. That’s life.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, 4.5, 1/800 sec.

Bougainvilleas And Dragons

Ulu Yam Bharu and surroundings may have a turbulent past but today it is a sleepy hollow. Not much activities except for people stopping over for food on transit to Genting Highlands. You may want to explore the town and village on foot to pick out hidden gems with your camera.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f9, 1/800 sec.

Route 66: The Other Road To Genting Highlands.

If you see Genting Highlands clearly while driving on Federal Route 1, you know you are near Malaysia’s own Route 66. Few people realise how close the mountain resort is until they see it from this location. This moonlight-like shot was photographed with a 600mm lens and polarizer from the roadside of Route 1.

First World Hotel, the colourful complex on the left most, once held the record as the largest hotel in the world with a total of 6,118 rooms. It was dethroned by two other slightly larger casino hotels: The Venetian Las Vegas + The Palazzo and the MGM Grand Las Vegas.

Klang Valley people are used to accessing Genting via the Karak Highway and Genting Sempah. A proper road (Route B66) was opened in the 1980s to connect Genting via Batang Kali and Ulu Yam. The road is linked to Gohtong Jaya on the eastern end. The Ulu Yam exit also provides an alternative route to Batu Caves and Kuala Lumpur.

Ulu Yam’s claim to fame is not just its connection to the east. It offers more.

Panasonic GM-1, ISO 200, f6.3, 1/2000 sec.