Tag: small town

Kerling Hot Springs

Met a Chinese family swimming in the river and they asked me where I am from. I told them KL and they asked: “How on earth did you manage to find this place?”. They said even though they are locals, they got lost getting here the second time around.

Since it is a weekday, the place is almost deserted. I was told on crowded weekends, it is also visited by locals mostly. Nice that the locals have their own secret and very remote hideout for recreation and picnics. Maybe not (so secret) anymore.

I went to look for the hot springs on another side. It is channeled into a pool and inside was sweet Sheela with the coy smile, and splashing hot water Kollywood-style. She’s also a local and works in an office in Batang Kali.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f11, 1/400 sec.

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.

Good Wishes

Wonderful that today is an alignment of Asian festivals. Happy Tamil New Year, Happy Thai New Year or Songkran and Happy Vaisakhi (or Baisakhi), the important holy day for Sikhs.

Saw these statues of a family at a Hindu temple in Rawang, a town on Federal Route 1. Will see if I can also drop by at a Sikh temple that is on-route later.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 400, f7.1, 1/400 sec.

Rain Or Shine, The Show Must Go On

One of the things I decided from the get-go was to proceed come rain or shine. It would be impossible to find a continuous stretch of sunny days with the vagaries of our weather.

If it shines, the camera will absorb the colours. If it rains, I get to capture the wet landscape and activities. After all, this is documentary photography and I will go with the flow.

For this cinema in Rasa town, the show didn’t go on. Sad to see a building from 1957 left dilapidated and forsaken. Even sadder to see what looks like an equally old tree by its side; beheaded.

Rasa is the first town on the route that hit me as a dying town. Many of the buildings there are from 80 to 100 years ago but are are left abandoned. I have to find out why.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f7.1, 1/200 sec.

Ulu Yam In A Nutshell

Chinese folks from elsewhere go to the Ulu Yam area for one main reason. To try the famous Hokkien ‘lor mee’ there. It is a dish of yellow noodles cooked in a sourish vinegar broth. Although the dish originated in Ulu Yam Lama, several other restaurants at Ulu Yam Bharu serve it.

Apart from the now third-generation original shop in Ulu Yam Lama, the other popular ones are Aik Koon and Hock Lay in Ulu Yam Bharu. The former was closed when I was in town looking for food, so I settled for the latter. Fermented acetic acid isn’t exactly my cup of tea; so I asked for another recommendation besides lor mee. The head waitress suggested their signature dish of Shrimps In A Coconut, which she claimed is their creation.

The prawns are cooked in coconut juice (coconut water) and not santan (coconut milk). As a result, the mild curry prawns have a very distinctive fragrance and unique sweet taste. It comes with a tom yum-like dip that is spicy and sour. Excellent fare and reasonable pricing from Hock Lay Restaurant.

Waitress is also talkative, informative and cooperative. She helped me move my food and gear to a darker and cooler corner after I finished photography at a brighter side. Although this dish has no pork in it, the restaurant is not halal. Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/250 sec. The nearest decent hotel is The Leverage Business Hotel in Rawang. Available from MyCen Hotels at http://www.mycen.my/