my retreat at belum.

rite, so here i am. in the midst of nowhere albeit next to the highway. west-east coast highway to be specific.

the sound of water cascading from the decorative fish pond and the cool breeze caressing my face are accompanied by the piano music played on the radio in the restaurant.

yes, the dining area is the only place where i can get wi-fi connection and i prefer to sit outside the restaurant and being visited by insects once in a while.

so hello from belum-temenggor pulau banding rainforest resort. situated right at the north of perak state and next to the highway to kota bahru, this is as close as you can get to untouched forest in the peninsular.

i am awed by everything i see here. the green rainforest, so pristine and majestic. so intimidating yet so inviting.

everything is rustic except the resort i am in ;)

the building of temenggor dam sort of 'created' this banding island as it flooded the forests and left whatever high enough still standing for us to admire and marvel.

some ignoramus young adults from the city obviously did not know this and asked some stupid questions in the boat ride today about all the dried up trunks protruding from the lake. i almost chuckled out loud when i heard that question.

thanks to groupon, i have the chance to see this paradise with my own eyes. i only paid rm300 for 2 nights inclusive of 3 activities- night walk, round island boat cruise and kayaking/rafting. well, the total for 2 persons for 2 nights will be rm600 lah. i bought two vouchers from groupon and 4 of us came.

the drive from bidor took us 3 hours. i really did not expect it to be that long. from gerik, one still have to drive 40km to reach the resort. but it was a really green green green drive. green is everywhere and of course, this is the only stretch of road where you will see signs of wild elephants crossing. unfortunately, i did not see any. but i did see otters in my boat ride.

so this is our deluxe twin room. why can't i still get a sound sleep here? this is the 3rd night i did not get a sound sleep. waaa........i want my sleeep!!!!

outside the room. the trolley is really noisy when it is pushed because of the wooden boards. errrghhh....was trying to get a nap in the afternoon but was disturbed by the trolleys.

the hornbill restaurant. breakfast and dinner are served here.

receptionist.

foyer, where i read the day's newspaper. sorry, no newspaper or television in the room

a group of dutch guests we met as we were about to take our photo, so we got them to join in as well. there are quite many foreign tourists here and everyone is singing praises about the place. locals are more common during the school holidays. it beats me that more foreigners know about this place than locals. when i told friends that i was coming to belum, they did not know where it was. what a pity. this place is totally paradise. i am still awed that i am in the middle of this island enjoying the sound and smell of nature.

well, maybe cost might be a factor which deters local from coming but there is a cheaper alternative which is banding lake side inn. it is just before you reach the bridge on the right hand side.

guard house and the steep road on the left heads to the resort.

entrance to resort.

tor tambra bar which is next to sidai restaurant. heard that this is the only bar along the highway but of course, i am not promoting stopping here for a beer before you continue your journey to the east coast. but the restaurant is a place where you can stop for a meal along the journey.

creative and totally au natural

sunset at pulau banding.

the resort's own jetty. that big boat there is actuallly a boat house. you can rent it too but i think it is more than 1 thousand a night but it can fit about 20 if i am not wrong.

this is where we boarded the boat for the round island cruise and kayak/rafting activity.

a nice flat area overlooking the lake behind the rooms. very suitable for picnic.

herbal garden

one of the flowers from the garden.

the only dinner one can get is at their hornbill restaurant and it is buffet, no ala carte. inclusive of service charge, one has to pay about rm35, totally not worth it for small eaters like us. the nearest shops are so so far away and i think the word 'near' cannot be used here. you have to go to gerik which is about 30 mins away through winding roads.

so we went to sidai restaurant instead today and had our dinner there before the kitchen closed at 6p.m. the food there was much much cheaper and it was not bad at all. a plate of fried rice was only rm7. that was more than enough to fill my stomach. it might be a bit early for some, but if you are to have an early night, sleep might make you forget about midnight hunger.

night walk on the first night. everything had been pre-arranged. so no hassle at all. just be there at the stipulated time and you are off.

there were about 14 in our group and 3 guides. it was an easy trail lah.

a headlight provided, one for every 2 in the group. really bright.

there was nothing much to see actually in the night walk. it was just the thrill of being in the forest at night. a few of those urban young adults were really annoying with all their silly screams and silly questions. the walk ended in less than 1 hour but of course we were all soaked in sweat.

luckily there was no rain. double phew!

how many people are needed to hug the tree???

part of the trail

aaah....a 'fan' which followed us back from the night walk. 3 of them had 'fans' while i was fanless. phew.....not the type of fan i want ;) but we have salt so rest in piece you leech.

on the second day, our activities were all on the lake. first to come was the round the lake cruise and second was rafting/kayaking.

one of my favourite pictures of the bridge. love the reflection. the bridge was built by koreans.

pokok tualang which is protected, according to the guide because it is where bees will build their nests.

pulau banding's floating police station.

see those roofs nestled amongst the trees? that is where our resort is. how tranquil the lake water was when this photo was taken.

the bridge from the mainland to pulau banding. there will be another stretch of bridge at the other end of the island. everyone must use the briddge and pass this place if they want to go to kota bahru using this west-east coast highway.

it rained in the afternoon and it also left very fast. before we headed to the jetty, it was all bright and sunny and we were all in jackets and big hats trying to avoid a tan. then at the jetty, the rain just poured. but after 5 mins, it stopped and we were all ready to go in the overcast sky. so off with the jackets and hats and we enjoyed ourselves paddling in the cool weather.

just the 4 of us in the big big lake.

borrowed some games to kill the time in the evening. i was reading newspaper in the lobby while they were playing. only joined them nearing the end when it was almost dark and the mosquitoes were warming up for their rounds.

will leave here after breakfast tomorrow. most probably about 10. am dreading the long hours i have to drive back. gosh, the back is going to be so stiff. lunch will be in ipoh. gonna indulge in something good.

so let me just sign off now. we are heading to the bar for some alcohol and i am hoping i can get an alcohol-induced sound sleep.