Tag: Taiping

Kuala Sepetang and Taiping

21st May 2023

Today didn’t start off very promising with low clouds, rain and thunder but as the morning progressed the weather cleared to a warm, sunny afternoon.

Thunder and Rain

Because of the possibility of rain we first drove to the Charcoal Factory at Kuala Sepetang. It appears that you are just allowed to wander round freely. It was interesting to watch one person loading 40kg logs into the kiln, carrying them from stacks of them outside to neatly fill the kiln with several thousand of them, each standing on a brick. He must have the stamina of an ox.

Loading Charcoal Kiln

Loading Charcoal Kiln

The entrance to the adjacent kiln was being being bricked up in preparation for firing.

Bricking up the Kiln

The kilns take a month to complete their work, about a fortnight of firing, then sealed up to finish the job for another fortnight. The charcoal is exported to Japan. The wood arrives by boat along a narrow tidal creek, it is Mango tree hard wood from plantation timber approximately 30 years old.

Creek Where Timber Arrives

We learned all this from a Chinese fella in one of the factories (factories is a bit of misnomer they are just giant blackened sheds). He was saying that he is no longer a guide and just does odd jobs because he doesn’t speak Mandarin only English, his dialect and Bahasa, the modern Chinese kids don’t want to learn many languages and dialects any more so they only learn Mandarin.

Charcoal FactoryCharcoal FactoryCharcoal FactoryCharcoal Factory Monkeys Charcoal Factory

After visiting the factories we drive to the fishing village for food.

Port Weld Kuala Sepetang

Talking to the lady in the shop she organised a boat trip to see the Eagles and the fish farm just for the two of us. It was only an hour and we saw lots of the Eagles swooping on the fish stirred up by the boat as well as holding a baby puffer fish. I was very pleased with it, most boat trips last far too long, it only cost RM60 ($20)

Port Weld Kuala Sepetang Port Weld Kuala Sepetang Port Weld Kuala Sepetang Port Weld Kuala Sepetang Eagles FeedingEagles FeedingPort Weld Kuala SepetangPort Weld Kuala SepetangPuffer FishPort Weld Kuala SepetangPort Weld Kuala SepetangBoy playing with Archer FishPort Weld Kuala Sepetang

Driving back to Taiping we headed for the Taiping Lake Gardens where we parked and spent a few hours exploring before returning to the hotel pretty worn out. In the park you could hire bicycles, tandems as well as pedal boats on the lake.

Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens Taiping Lake Gardens

Tanah Rata to Taiping

20th May 2023

Today we descended from the cool of the Cameron Highlands to the normal Malaysian heat.

After a hearty breakfast we started the journey down from the highlands and were very fortunate to travel most of the way without anyone in front or behind us so we made good time.

Arrived at Kuala Kangsar where we had intended to visit a few interesting places. It took ages to get to the first stop because a bridge had collapsed (ironic) so had to find a way through a residential area on roads designed for a bicycle – so narrow.

Finally arrived at the Victoria Bridge, a relic of British rule, it is an old single track bridge very much reminded me of the bridge near Oatley in Sydney.

Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge - Kuala Kangsar Victoria Bridge Sign

Construction took three years and was completed in 1900, it was blown up in WWII but repaired by the Japanese. It was replaced by an adjacent concrete bridge in 2002.

Nearby was a snack bar type of place so we had a Durian Chendol each.

Next we drove to the Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah only to find it was closed for major renovations so was only able to take a few picture outside its walls.

Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah Galeri Sultan Azlan Shah

We also knew from its website that Muzium Diraja was also temporarily closed so decided to push on to Taiping and our hotel. We arrived about 3pm which was actually perfect for checking in.

In the evening went to the food court next door to the hotel for some food. To be honest I was not particularly impressed by the local food, it wasn’t very spicy and it was all like Chinese soup – I am not fond of soup of any kind.

Hotel Beverly Food Court