Kota Tinggi Water falls

Day: 17-09-2011

Place: Kota Tinggi, Malaysia

 

This outing started with the planning to go to some trekking place 4-5 days back. Since Puteri Falls in Malaysia takes more than one day, we decided to go to Kota Tinggi which is around 50kms from Johor Bahru. So we started looking at some blogs [1]. On Friday night that is on 16th September, we sat and made a quick plan.

There are 3 water falls near Kota Tinggi.

1. Tengkil falls, [2] looks good but without guide it is difficult find the place. 
2. Pelepahfalls, [3] Which is neither difficult nor easy to locate and climb.
3. Kotatinggi, [4] which is just 15kms from kota tinggi town and easily accessible. Over-commercialised waterfall playground in resort style.

So finally we decided to go to Pelepah Falls.

On Saturday, woke up very very early at 5.30 and left house at 6.30. We reached Woodlands MRT by 6.45am. Then we went to woodlands MRT and caught bus no.950, which took us to woodlands checkpoint. The difference between bus going to woodlands train checkpoint (like 911, 912, 913) and bus going to JB (like 170, 160) is that the latter one takes us just below the immigration point. So we need to walk around 300m since we took the wrong bus 911. It was like a warm up for the trekking.

We had to go through the immigration at both Singapore and Malaysian side. When we came out of all these formalities, it was 8.30. Outside the immigration, there are two buildings, JB sentral and city square. We exchanged Singapore dollar for Malaysian ringitts (conversion rate was 2.43 on that day, So we got 250.3RM for 103SGD).

Next important job was breakfast. We found a very good hotel at the ground floor of the city square. We have fresh masala and onion thosai with not so fresh (still very tasty) chutney. We ate good quantity of food and juice. When bill came to us, we were shocked to see that it was only 8.30RM. I went and paid the cashier a note of 50. He was looking at my face in a strange way. Within few seconds I realized my mistake and the reason behind that look. I had given him 50 note of Singapore dollar. No wonder why he was surprised. I took it back and gave him RM.

As soon as we came outside the hotel, we found a bus, 6B going to kota tinggi. Bus driver charged 5RM each to kota tinggi. It took almost one hour to reach there. On the way we saw many palm plantation. On our half way, we noticed a big mall (name is josco if I remember properly) beside the national highway. 

People were waiting for us as soon as we got down from the bus. From our appearance, they understood that we are going to water falls. We made a deal for 20RM and went by a taxi (so called ‘teksi’ in Malaysia). 

According to the information given in the website, we asked the taxi driver to leave us near the pelepah river which is on the way to Kota Tinggi Falls. First of all, the person does not know English properly. Over that he is not ready to listen to what we are telling. We were told that tigers are living inside the dense forest and it is risky to go to other than Kota Tinggi falls. Before dropping us in front of the Kota tinggi falls, he showed us so called Pelepah River. Since there is no access to public transport there, we took his hand phone number and asked him to come at 4.00PM to pick up.

Entrance to Kota Tinggi falls

From the entrance, we started walking back in search of the pelepah river. After walking for a while, we found a river where mining is under going. The water had become red in color looking like a drainage water.

As we walked back to locate Pelepah Falls

Mining work spoiling the natures' beauty

Very dense and green forest

Except mining, the forest is really looking green with tall and dense trees. One could feel the difference in temperature compared to the city. As we moved into the forest, we could feel the pleasant weather with cool breeze. 

One of the apes family members

Trying to cross the road

Though we located the pelepah river, we dare not to go into that. The reason being the color of the water due to mining work. As we were walking back, I recognized a board which i had seen in one of the blogs. I was embarrassed to know that the direction to Pelepah falls is right in front of the Kota Tinggi entrance. We had already spent around 2 hours in search of this. We were mislead by the taxi driver.

Finally located the Pelepah river..

The water in the Pelepah river is much cleaner and cooler compared to the red colored one. One has to go through a palm plantation owned by some private people. We sneaked beside a bridge and walked in this water for a small distance. As we were running out of time, we decided to return and go the kota Tinggi falls.

Kota Tinggi Water Falls

Though the entry fee is expensive for non-Malay people, it is worth spending some time here. We changed our dress and got into water. Water is very warm and crystal clean. There are few spots where you can sit for long enough time and get massage of head and back. Force of the water is so good that you will feel sleepy after spending some time under this.

Side view

Top View

30Feet falls at the top

From the top most point.

As mentioned in the website, this falls in crowded with kids and family. Though this does not give much adventurous activity, still it is a good spot for one day outing.

Sentosa

Day: 10-09-2011
Place: Sentosa Island, Singapore


Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay (derived from Santosha in Sanskrit), is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year.


There are lots of attractions and activities to do in this small island. (All information is available here).

Sentosa as seen from Harbor Front

There is a boardwalk which connects Harbor Front and Sentosa island, which should not be missed by taking bus to the island. It was a perfect weather to walk and enjoy the boardwalk with cloudy and a bit of drizzle.

Sculpture made of only wires! 

Rail service for transportation

Connectivity between different place is very well accomplished by very frequent conveyances like Sentosa Express, Beach Trams, Fort Siloso Bus, Open Top Bus and Sentosa Bus.

Even bus..

An unexpected dance performance..

 On our way to Under water world, luckily we lost our way. We were walking on a very remote place looking for some information. To our surprise, we found 3 peacocks with one of them trying to impress other two female peacocks. Though there was drizzle, we took a risk and started clicking snapshots.

Giving pose to the photographer..

Not sure whether it is attracting female peacock or photographer..!

Perfect position

This is the first time in my life, i am looking at a peacock dancing in front of my eyes. Moreover this was not one of the attractions of Sentosa and I felt very lucky and proud to be only one of the very few who witnessed this moment. 

One more perfection..!

Side view..

Back view,,

Dance performance lasted not more than 5 mins, just sufficient time to click few photos.

You may go now, show is over...:(

Our main target was to visit Underwater world and Dolphin Lagoon show. We were praying not to rain, as Dolphin show would not happen during rain. To our luck, show was performed. There are at most 5 shows in a day depending the weather. Since we had enough time for the show (7.00PM show), thought of looking at under water world.

Weedy Sea-dragon

Leafy Sea-dragon

Sea Anemones

Rhinopias Scorpionfish

Dolphin show

Dolphin with head up..

Performance by Lagoon

Glass Temple

Day: 14-08-2011.
Place: Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Sri Raja Kaliamman Temple, known as the country's first glass temple located near Johor Bahru in Malaysia. Imagine 300,000 pieces of finely cut coloured glass carefully placed together to create intricate designs.

Sri Raja Kaliamma Temple: Front view

On Sunday evening, decided to go to this temple. Reached Woodlands MRT at around 3 in the afternoon. By the time we finished immigration check at woodlands check point and Johor Bahru check point, it was almost 4.30. Before we came out of the JB sentral, Malaysia Ringettes were obtained at the currency converter shop.

We came out of the sentral Mall looking for a taxi. To prevent from getting cheated, we went directly to prepaid taxi service. It costs 10RM to reach glass temple, which looked reasonable at that moment to all of us.

Entrance to the temple

As we enter...

Kaliamma's Idol

Lord Ganesha on both the sides.

Lord Vishnu, the maintainer or preserver

Lord Shiva, the destroyer.

Lord Brahma, the creator.

We spent as much time as possible inside, but still it took only 45 mins to look at everything inside since it is a very small temple compared to our expectations. As we had enough time, we thought of walking back. This is the time when we realized that this temple is only walk-able distance from the sentral.


There are many shops inside city square and JB sentral. Costs are very cheaper compared to Singapore 

Pulau Ubin

Day: 24-07-2011
Place: Pulau Ubin Island

"Once you step into the soil of Singapore, its overwhelming modernity somehow makes you forget about its beginnings. Coupled with its high energy density conveniences, shiny skyscrapers, green environment, very cool air conditioners placed in between hot and humid weather, Singapore does exceed best in many categories, drowning you with all the good things in an ideal city, providing easy access to anything and anywhere, presenting you with possibilities of the future (if you know what I mean). Surprisingly, to the delight of probing heads and adventurers at heart, Singapore does have remains of the past and what I’m talking about is its living past, somehow untouched literally, that pulls you closer to a better-sounding laid back setting as opposed to its fast-paced lifestyle. That there is still an area in the city-state that is stuck in the past."

So let us travel a few short miles from the central to one of its islands called, Pulau Ubin – Singapore’s last frontier, appropriately far removed from its common definition - ultra-modern.

Pulau Ubin is an island located in the north east of Singapore.This is one of the last rural areas to be found in Singapore with lots of flora and flauna.

The name means "granite island" in Malay. There are many abandoned granite quarries, which were used to make floor tiles long time ago.

We reached Changi Village by SMRT bus. We found the map at that place.

Ferry was waiting for us at the Changi village jetty point. Ferries (so called "Bumboats") are available from 8.30AM to 5.30PM. They charge $2.50 per person and extra $2 if carrying bicycle. We boarded and it took around 20 mins to reach the pulau ubin island. On the way, we found few photos for desktop background.

Bumboat

Since, the Changi airport is nearby, we could find flights every 2-3 mins.

As we entered the island, we could smell the greenery. It was like a typical tropical village with lots of trees. Good thing about this village is that it is preserved from urban development. People stay in wooden houses and preserve rich wildlife and plantation.

Welcome to Pulau-Ubin

As one enters the island, there are huge number of cycle shops asking for the tourists to rent their cycle. Though some websites claim that cycle is available from 3SGD to 20SGD, minimum rent for cycle-able one starts from 5SGD. For 3SGD, one gets only kid's cycle. We took cycles for 5SGD each and started our adventurous journey. (Please note that all the available cycles are geared) Since we had read about the requirement of cycle locks, we took it at the cycle shop with few dollars as refundable deposit.

Floating houses

One could see floating houses on the sea. Few locals stay for many years like this.

 We caught a westerner water skiing. Most of the westerners found here are the ones looking for adventures activities like cycling, trekking, fishing, water skiing, overnight camping, sailing, star gazing and more importantly photography.

water skiing

 In a corner of the island, there is one Chinese temple looks very well maintained though.

Chinese temple

Cycling trails in the heart of greenery

Abandoned Granite Quarry

Can anyone identify the nests?

One of the "musafirs" told me these nests belong to Humming birds. But when I checked on internet, i could not find similar nests.

Nature is the greatest architect...!

Another view of the pulau ubin lake

At Chek Jawa

 Finally at around one o'clock, we reached Chek Jawa.

What's so special about Chek Jawa?
The beauty of Chek Jawa is that several different ecosystems can be seen in one small area. These ecosystems and the plants and animals found there are no longer common in Singapore. They are also fast disappearing elsewhere in the world.

We had taken fruits and snacks with us while going to PU. Cycling for around 4 hours had made everyone to finish whatever we had in a fraction of time. Had a short nap on the rock near Chek Jawa.
At around 2.30, we started walking on the Coastal Boardwalk, which takes into the Mangrove plantation.

Changi Airport

Changi Airport from PU

Give me a nice caption...

Coastal boardwalk in Chek Jawa

Mangrove along the coast

Nipah or Nypa palm trees

Nipah palm is found in south Asia and north Australia. Used to make vinegar in Philippines and can also be distilled to make arrack, locally known as lambanog in Filipino and arak in Indonesian.

From highest point of the island

From Jejawi tower, which is the peak of the island, one could see whole island. This gives nice view of the sea also.

Jejawi Tower

From Chek Jawa, the jetty point is 4.2kms. We started a biking race from here and the biggest challenge was to reach the entrance at optimal speed such that your bicycle chain wont come (for the cheapest of 5SGD, one can't expect better conditioned cycle). Finally everyone managed to reach safely.
This one day outing ended as we took a jetty to Changi village and bus from there..:(


Many more travel experiences to be uploaded very soon...:) Keep looking..:)
Coming soon..
Visit to Johor Bahru, Sentosa (special photos), Kota Tinggi, Kota Kinabalu..etc.