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By: venoth nathan
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| Saturday, 17-Apr-2010 00:00 |
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Day 2 - Candi Muara Takus, Kampar, Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia.
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Candi Muara Takus
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This morning, though I set the alarm at 0530, I only woke up at 0620 and had to get ready fast as they were coming to fetch me at 0700. Because of the delay, I had to skip breakfast at the hotel. Only had my instant 3 in 1 coffee which I carry in abundance with me whenever I travel anywhere.
My friends finally arrived at 0715. We set to drive across the Pekanbaru district and crossed the border in Kampar district after a 24 Kilometer drive. This crossing of boundaries was marked by a huge arch. One thing was remarkably noticeable, after the border crossing, there seemed to be pineapple stalls everywhere on both sides of the road. Maybe the soil here in this district is suitable for pineapple farming. No other fruit stalls were available anywhere here.
Another obvious sight here was all muslim women, in fact almost all women, were fully dressed in the tudong, that is the head scarf. I guess the majority religion here is Islam. But unlike other parts of Pekanbaru or Indonesia for that matter, with Banda Acheh as an exception, Islam and its rules were strictly followed here. Every women, from young children to old ladies wore the head scarf with no hair and skin exposed.
After the pineapple farms and stalls, we then passed villages filled with paddy fields on both sides of the road. Paddy grows in abundance in this area. At this point onwards, the pineapple stalls disappeared completely. Then we crossed a huge iron bridge built over the Kampar River. Suddenly i saw a signage which says welcome to Kabupaten Islamiah Kampar. Only then I understood the significance of the head scarves. That signage means welcome to the Islamic District of Kampar. In fact their motto was to progress, educate and live Islamically.
Then passed through a small village town which is called Desa Penyasawan.
As the journey progresses, we got closer to Bangkinang Town and the villages and infrastructure gets bigger and more modern. Bangkinang is the biggest town in Kampar District in Riau, Sumatra. After Batu Belah town, there is a junction and we headed towards the Bukit Tinggi road.
At the point onwards, you would pass a scenic town called Rantau Beringin. As the names suggests, its a hilly town with the beautiful Kampar River running parallel to this town.
This journey is filled with hair pin curves and we had to stop for a while as the one of the group needed to vomit..hehehe.
Just at the end of this town, we passed another beautiful lake called Danau Rusa. Just stopped here for less than 5 minutes to catch the breathtaking views and continued our journey.
Shortly after this place you would see the signage which tells you to turn right.
This is exactly 110 Kilometres from my hotel. Please be informed that with the road conditions in Indonesia, its good if you could do 50 Kilometers in 1 hour. After turning in, we continued driving but just could not find the place. Then we asked some locals and they mentioned it was another 8 Kilometers inside. Wow, that means another 30 minutes drive. There was a huge sigh from everyone in the car when we heard the numbers. Unlike Malaysia, 8 Kliometers could be done in 5 minutes i guess. Most points of the road here, we were only running at 10 Kilometers per hour speed. Then we passed through many small villages namely Desa Tuo and many others. Then exactly at 12 Kilometers from the main entrance, we turned right and entered Desa Muara Takus.
We paid an entrance fee of IDR 4000 each. Approximately we arrived at Muara Takus at 0955. and from the last turn it was another 4 Kilometers in. Walked around the area and did some study at the place as well. Magnificent place. I wonder how the would have built the place in those days. Engineering levels and thoughts were so great with every detail taken into account including the wear and tear, drainage inside the Candi and so forth. This is just the remains of the entire complex left by the Buddhist Empire, Sri Wijaya. The sad thing is that even the locals there did not know that it was built as a Buddhist Tempel Some even asked if it was a grave. Can you imagine that.
After walking around the place, we left at 1030. Out next destination was Gua Tujuh Serangkai which is slightly out of Kampar district and comes in Rokan Hulu District in Riau, Sumatra.
Please find a detailed account on the Candi Muara Takus courtesy of The National Library of Indonesia:
Temples in the island of Sumatra are not as many as those in Java. Because there are lot less volcanic rocks in Sumatra, all temples found in the island are made of red bricks, and that is the reason most of the temples have been discovered in virtually ruined condition. Apart from being damaged, most temples in Sumatra are located quite far from urban areas, which contributes to the low number of tourists visiting the area. In Simangambat near Siabu in North Sumatra, ruins of SHiva Temple was found. Little is known about this temple. It is assumed that the temple was built around the 8th century. Further researches and excavations are still required to find out more about this temple.
The big and famous temple in Sumatra is Muara Takus, located in Muara Takus Village, Tigabelas Koto subdistrict, Kampar Regency, Riau Province. Upstream, Kampar River diverges into Kampar Kanan and Kampar Kiri Rivers. It is on Kampar Kanan riverbank that Muara Takus village is situated. Muara Takus Temple is mostly constructed wit red bricks. Unlike the other temple ruins discovered in North Sumatra, Muara Takus is a Buddhist Temple. The temple is probably closely related to Sriwijaya Kingdom, which also indicates that the temple once functioned as a port. This is possible considering that Sriwijaya people were great sailors who were capable of sailing far from the source of the Kampar River. I-Ching mentions in his account that Muara Takus area was probably Sriwijaya's capital, or at leats a port city that had once been the center of Buddhist study, a place where traveler's from China, India and other countries learned.
Generally, the only access by land transportation is through Pekanbaru - Bukit Tinggi route stopping in Muara Mahat. Muara Mahat has a small road that leads to Muara Takus. Muara Takus Temple is the only historical heritage in the form of a temple in Riau. The Buddhist Style temple is evidence that Buddhism had once flourished in that area. Yet, archeologists remain uncertain as to when this temple was built exactly but estimated to be somewhere around the 8th Century, therefore this temple is much older that Candi Borubudur in Yogyakarta.
There are two arguments relating to the name Muara Takus. The first claims that the name was derived from a small river named Takus which is a tributary of Kampar Kanan River. The other theory says that Muara Takus comes from two words of different origins, 'Muara' means estuary and 'Takus'. The word 'Muara' has a clear meaning already, a river that empties into an ocean or bigger river, while 'Takus' is derived from Chinese words 'Ta' (meaning big), 'Ku' (meaning old) and 'Se' (meaning temple or shrine). As a whole, Muara Takus signifies a big old temple that lies on an estuary.
The main building is called Tua Temple. This temple has a dimension of 32.80 m x 21.80 m and is the biggest building within the compound. It is laid out to the North of Bungsu Temple. There are stairs on its east and west sides, which probably used to have Stuphas. Statues of sitting lions are placed on the lower parts of the stairs. This building has 36 sides and consists of Base I, Base II, Body and Top. The Top has been damaged and many of the stones have been gone.
Tua Temple was made of red bricks and tuff. Restoration of this temple has been carried out gradually due to financial constraints. In 1990, Base I on the east side was restored. In the fiscal year of 1992 / 1993, restoration was continued on the west side (Base I and Base II). The entire volume of the building is 2,235 m3 comprising of bases (2,028 m3), body (150 m3) and top (57 m3). The building stands 8.50 meters high.
The second building is called Mahligai Temple. This temple is cube shaped in 10.44 m x 10.60 m dimension with 28 sides and stands 14.30 m high on an octagonal platform. The base has multiple ornaments of lotus and its center has a spire that resembles the shape of a phallus (Lingga).
In 1860, Cornel de Groot, a Dutch archeologist, made a visit to Muara Takus. He could still see statues of sitting lions on each side. Now the statues have disappeared. On the east side, there is a square terrace in 5.10 m x 5.10 m dimension with stairs in its front part. Mahligai Temple has a volume of 423.20 m3; consisting of base 275.3 m3, body 66.6 m3 and top 81.3 m3. Restoration of Mahligai Temple began in 1978 and was completed in 1983.
The third building is called Palangka Temple, located 3.85 m to the east of Mahligai Temple. This building is made of cast red bricks. Palangka Temple is the smallest, and has niches in different stone arrangement compared to that on the wall of Mahligai Temple. Before restoration efforts were carried out, the temple base was buried one meter into the ground. Restoration of this temple began in 1987 and was completed in 1989. Restoration was carried out only on the temple base and body, because the top had already disappeared when the temple was discovered in 1860. To the north, there are stairs that have already been damaged and it's original form cannot be recognized. The temples base is octagonal, 6.60 m long, 5.85 m wide and and stands 1.45 m from ground level with a volume of 52.9 m3.
The fourth building is called Bungsu Temple. This temple is laid out to the west of Mahligai Temple. The building is made out of two types of stones, tuff for the front part and bricks for the rear part. Restoration of this temple began in 1988 and was completed in 1990. The efforts have successfully restored the temple to its original form, a square building in 7.50 m x 16.28 m dimension. The top is not restored because it's original form is unknown. The temple stands 6.20 m from ground level after restoration, with a volume of 365.80 m3.
Illustration made by J.W. Yzerman, TH.A.F. Delprat and Obziter (Sinder) H.L. Leijdie Melvile, indicates that above that red brick structure, there are 8 small stuphas encircling a big stupha. Above the tuff structure, there is a big stupha. On the east side, there is a stairway made of tuff.
In addition to those buildings, in the north or right in front of the gate of Tua Temple, there is a mound of earth with two holes.
This place is suspected to be a crematorium. One hole is used for loading the corpse and the other is for retrieving the ash. This facility is included in temple maintenance because it is still within the temple compound. Gravels from Kampar River are found inside the mound. Several other buildings, suspected to be in close relation to this temple, are also found outside Muara Takus temple compound in a number of locations around Muara Takus village.
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| Friday, 16-Apr-2010 00:00 |
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Day 1 - Pekanbaru, Riau, Sumatera, Indonesia.
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Pasar Bawah, Pekanbaru.
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The street outside Pasar Bawah, Pekanbaru
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Pasar Bawah, Pekanbaru.
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Pasar Bawah, Pekanbaru.
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Pasar Bawah, Pekanbaru.
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View of the area from top floor of Pasar Bawah
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The time now is 2100. I just finished packing my stuffs for the trip tomorrow evening as I may not have time to pack these tomorrow as I have some meetings to attend in the earlier part of the day in Kuala Lumpur and would have to rush to the airport after that. This is caused by Air Asia. I initially booked the flight which departs Kuala Lumpur at 1930 but then earlier this week, I received an sms stating that the time has been changed to 1700 and yesterday, just before I did the web check in, I received another sms stating that the time has been rescheduled again and this time to 1500. What unpredictable schedule. What if I had a meeting scheduled in Pekanbaru, I would definitely be late and this is not the first time such thing has happened with Air Asia. Anyway, since they are still the cheapest way to fly there, I would just have to swallow the bullet I guess.
As for this ticket, it had only cost me RM 113.00 inclusive of all taxes. Thats really cheap. As always, I had made the arrangements over there with my friends company again, P.T Era Anugerah Wisata (Era Travel & Tours P.T.) . The contact for this company is eraanugerahwisata@yahoo.com or eratourservice@yahoo.com and you may speak to Imelda or Era. You could quote my name as well. I gave them the recurrent business not only because they are my friends but also for the fact that they proved themselves to be reliable, cheap, honest and planned things well for me. They actually understood my needs well and made arrangements accordingly. And definitely, I shall be doing more business with them in the future as well. Cheers to them. For a change, I decided to try Jatra Hotel instead, the most up market hotel there. I guess a days stay is somewhere around IDR 650,000 or so. Thats not bad for a 5 star hotel which is built in the middle of the most happening mall in Pekanbaru, somewhat similar to our Boulevard Hotel in Mid Valley.
One of the main itineraries when I am there this trip would be to visit the Candi Muara Takus and Gua Tujuh Serangkai which I was not able to visit the last time around. I was told again that both these places are quite far from each other as well as far from Pekanbaru City. Both these locations are located in Kampar district in Riau State. I very well should be able to achieve these two places this trip as on day 2 of my stay there, I am planning to leave the hotel at 0600 to head to these locations. I was told that there is a beautiful waterfall as well in the caves area. Hope to take some good photographs as well.
Earlier this evening, I went to the money changer to get some Indonesian Rupiah. Wow, the rate has just been going up without stop. Earlier last year, sometime in February 2009, 1 Million Indonesian Rupiah would have cost me RM 260.00 . When I called my money changer last weekend to book the cash, he mentioned that the rate was 361. And today when I went, he mentioned that the rate has gone up further and today it stands at RM 365 for 1 Million Indonesian Rupiah. Such a drastic increase over the last one year, especially after the last Indonesian Presidential Elections. I guess, the present Indonesian government must be doing something seriously right to be able to boost the currency to this level at such a short span of time.
Tomorrow, I would leave directly from my meeting place via the KTM Komuter to KL Sentral and from there, take the bus to LCCT in Sepang. I hope to update this blog from KLIA LCC Terminal.
After my meetings this morning and afternoon, took the KTM Komuter train to KL Sentral from Sungai Buloh Station. The journey took 25 minutes point to point. Upon arrival in KL Sentral, went down one floor to the bus terminal and took the Aerobus to KLIA LCC Terminal. Aerobus is my usual yellow bus which I use to go to KLIA. The main reason is just that the ticket is the cheapest among all (RM 8.00 only) and the company is reliable. There is another red bus which belongs to Air Asia which is available too, here the fare is RM 9.00 .
The bus journey took 1 hour to KLIA. After the usual check ins and immigration checks, i quickly landed myself at the Dunkin Donuts at the departing terminal for a late and quick lunch. One thing i observed is that there was a major difference between this time and all my previous trips. That being there were many Air Asia Security Personnel walking around and these were not the standard security personnel. These guys were in full suit with ties but wore a vest clearly stating the word security at the back. Feels like there has been a security breech or perhaps a sabotage attempt. Hmmm, not too sure, but confused. Especially, during my trip from Chiang Mai last month i remember seeing some technical guys on board the flight and attending to some repairs suddenly as and when there was some noise and to add further, recent emergency landings which Air Asia did, somewhere i cant quite remember, but it was published in the newspapers.
On board the flight was good and for gods sake, Air Asia did take off on time this time. As usual, there was no Indonesian Embarkation card on board and in Pekanbaru, it is a very big deal as you may not even get it from the immigration and they would later force you to give some corruption. Why cant Air Asia stock up on these necessary things? Everybody knows how difficult it is to handle things over there. Very simple answers would be given that is "im sorry, we are out of cards". And yes, I forgot to mention, there were also some cockroaches creeping around in the flight. FIrst time i saw it on board a flight.
Upon landing, luckily I got the last available card. Pity those people who did not get the immigration cards, all of them had to see the officer in charge in private in the room. Then, somehow, the sim from Telkomsel which I bought in February could not be used this time, unless for receiving calls only. Then i had to buy a sim. I bought this just at the airport itself, as you walk out. It cost me just IDR 30,000 which comes with IDR 10,000 air time.
Upon landing, i was fetched at the airport by my friends and driver and we headed straight for the Pasar Bawah to do some shopping on some Pekanbaru souvenir t-shirts. SInce I was late and I was worried that I may not get the time over the next two days, decided to do it today itself. Got a couple of shirts for IDR 50,000 each shirt. I think its the standard rate there but a good rate. However, please bear in mind that the Indonesia sizes are small and check you size for sure before buying. My other problem with that t shirts was also because these shirts have a straight cut and that is a problem with my tummy  . Therefore, I always have to buy a size bigger.
After my shopping, went to the hotel for some rest. Checked into the room. Great hotel, beautiful view and amenities. Just relaxed in the room for about 2 hours then went out to Mega Store in Pekanbaru Mall. Just did some window shopping and then went to have dinner within the mall itself. Its a nice bistro with cheap food around the range of IDR 10,000 up to IDR 25,000 per meal, BUT, the weird part is that, when the waiter confirms the order at your table, you would need to pay first and only then food is served. At first I thought that this was only for me because they did not trust a foreigner but apparently from my observation, this treatment was equal for everyone. Taste wise, I would rate the food 7 out of 10. I had the Cheesy Chicken Steak. Then confirmed the next day departure time with my friend. Initially we had planned to leave at 6am but then I felt like having a longer nap and hence told them to come at 7am.
Then back to the room and knocked off at 2300. Hope I can and will wake up at 5.30 am tomorrow so that I could have the breakfast as well in the hotel.
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| Sunday, 11-Apr-2010 00:00 |
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Che Wong Native Tribe Village, Kuala Gandah, Pahang, Malaysia.
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Che' Wong Native Tribe Village, Pahang
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Che' Wong Native Tribe Village, Pahang
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Che' Wong Native Tribe Village, Pahang
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Just within walking distance from the Elephant Sanctuary, lies the Che' Wong Native Tribe Village. Che' Wong Tribe is one of the minority tribes in Malaysia, in fact it is the smallest tribe among the many that live in the forests of the Krau Forest Reserve in Pahang.
In total there are about 25 houses here in this village, mostly made of bamboo and rattan and built on stilts with just one living quarters, some have two. You will see that there is a visitor centre where visitors may learn about the traditions and history of this tribe. Also there is an Maybank Account number where you could channel your donations for this tribe.
Recently, there has been an effort from Genting Group in uplifting the livelihood of this tribe as reported in the New Straits Times on 3rd of April, 2010
. Please find the news article below:
Genting gift to Orang Asli2010/04/03By T.N. Alagesh
TEMERLOH: After operating in a wooden hut with attap roofing for more than 15 years, the Orang Asli community at Kampung Kuala Gandah near here will soon have a new handicraft complex to market their products and conduct cultural activities.The new RM200,000 complex, courtesy of Genting Malaysia Berhad, is expected to boost the Orang Asli's spirit to display and sell their fine handmade crafts to visitors.
State Tourism Exco member Datuk Shafik Fauzan Sharif said the construction of the complex was timely as it would help more than 200 Orang Asli from the Che Wong tribe here to sell their products, including jewellery made from seeds as well as baskets, boxes and pouches made from pandanus leaves.
"Tourists to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary nearby can also visit the complex to witness the cultural shows and buy the handicrafts," he said at the groundbreaking for the new handicraft complex at the Kampung Kuala Gandah, Lanchang, Orang Asli settlement here recently.
The ceremony was performed by Lanchang assemblyman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin and witnessed by Shafik and Genting Malaysia Berhad executive vice-president Kevin Sim
Village headman, Bak Raja Tek, 72, said besides marketing their products, the new complex would also allow them to hold cultural shows to entertain visitors.
"People can now come to the complex to watch the dancers performing Sewang, our traditional dance. The villagers will also have the opportunity to mingle with visitors."
An elated Bak Raja said he was grateful to Genting for funding the construction of the new building to replace the existing huts.
Villager Sabariah Kupang, 26, hoped that more tourists would come to watch their cultural shows.
"The villagers will be more comfortable performing inside the building rather than on the wooden floor, which has a very rough surface.
"Tourists can enjoy the show and buy the handicrafts as souvenirs," said Sabariah, an expert in weaving mengkuang mats and baskets.
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| Sunday, 11-Apr-2010 00:00 |
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Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary, Lanchang, Pahang, Malaysia.
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Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary
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All sitting and having ice cream at the entrance.
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All sitting and having ice cream at the entrance.
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We arrived here at 1330 from the Deerland Park. Upon arrival, the place was already filled with visitors. I estimate them to be at least around 300 people in total, most of them were foreigners. The entrance to this place is free of charge and the park does not even charge any fees for the participation in the activities but limited to 120 pax a day, therefore you must be very early to come and register or call a day or two in advance and do your bookings. Otherwise you would be issued with the Red Passes which means limited activities. This means that you could observe everything and could participate in the elephant feeding but cannot ride the elephants and swim with them in the river during the elephant bathing sessions.
However, as mentioned earlier, we only got the red tags as well. We were told that it ran out by 1100 this morning. Upon arrival, we just relaxed at the shop in front of the park having some ice cream for the hot weather. Then, at 1400 we walked into the park. The nature in the park is in a very scenic setting. With a small stream running through the park. Toilets are well established and very clean.
The activities started at around 1415 starting with a few elephants at display and the followed by the elephant bathing session, feeding session and then the elephant riding session. We were informed that there currently is 19 elephants but they had only brought out 5 elephants for the activities. All the other elephants are still under medications. These elephants were either stranded and lost from their pact or captured for relocation into the Malaysian rain forests. This is a noble effort by a group of officers who had got together and are partially funding this place using their own money. The rest of the funding comes from donations. The events cycle ended around 1630 but we walked to the information and registration counters for the short movie screening which was scheduled at 1545. At this same venue, there is a small information centre on the Asian Elephants.
The screening was about the capture and relocation of two elephants from this centre which was done by Natural Geographic Channel. The show was only half an hour and it ended at 1615. After the screening, just bought some souvenirs and left the place to the Aboriginal Village which was just near the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre. We left at 1630. Below is a short write up of this place from their official website.
The website is www.myelephants.org
Please find the reading as follows:
Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre, or popularly referred to as the Elephant Orphanage Centre, is located within the bio diversified rich and protected Krau Game Reserve and was set up in 1989 under the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Malaysia (DWNP), manned by the Elephant Capture & Translocation Unit (ECTU).
The Teris River acts as a natural border between the reserve and Che' Wong Orang Asli Village, the last tribe of its kind found in Malaysia. The name Kuala Gandah is, itself, taken from the small stream running near the electric compound enclosure which houses the elephants during the day from 0830 to 1400 before they are transferred to the roofed holding area.
Prior to this arrangement,the ECTU was a mobile operating team since its establishment in 1974 with a temporary base at the Jengka Pusat plantation where a huge area of jungle was carved to make way for the planting of oil palm and rubber trees and given to poor families to work on a s a means of eradicating poverty amongst the rural folk and to rid of subversive hideouts during the communist insurgency days in the 1970s.
The clearing of the jungles created consistent confrontations between the wild elephants and the settlers. The unit remained there until 1981 before it moved to Kuala Lompat on the north easters side of Krau Game Reserve.
However it must be noted that cutting down of the forests here are done for the overall benefit of the people of Malaysia within the poverty line and compared to any other countries in the world - Malaysia has the best record in forest preservation and reforestation.
ECTU's dedicated and never ending function is is to the continued protection and translocation of wild elephants and humans, into bigger and safer jungle reserves land while educating locals on the correct steps to protect their farms whilst supporting wildlife conservation.
This unit is one of its kind in the world where the possibilities of being charged or trampled by enraged elephants happens every 2 to 3 weeks every month. It is a thankless job where only a very tine percentage of the general public is aware of the existence, dedication and sacrifices these magnificent make every month in order to provide a win win situation for both the wild elephants and the human planters.
Currently there are 32 full time and 6 contracted staff working, living in and near the center completed with housing facilities. Water is supplied and piped in from the upper reaches of the cool, clear and clean Sungai Batu Waterfalls which lies within the gazetted Protected Areas of the Krau Game Reserve while electricity supply is on a 24 hour basis.
If you are driving from KUALA LUMPUR by private vehicles - look for signboards to KUANTAN and you will be on the KL - Karak road
which is part of the East Coast Highway! ALL tolled highway signboards will ALWAYS be in GREEN colour!
LOCATION TOLL FEES SPEED LIMITGOMBAK TOLL PLAZA
RM 5-00 per car OR useTAG & SMART TAGlanesThere is a BHP petrol station 1.5 kms on your left AFTER this toll plaza .
Speed limit is 90 kph all the way PAST Genting Tunnel UNTIL Karak Toll Plaza
WATCH OUT for police speed traps!!!
BENTONG TOLL PLAZA
RM 3-00 per car or useTAG & SMART TAGlanesSpeed limit @ 90 kph UNTIL Karak Toll Plaza - DO NOT TURN into Karak - keep on driving on the highway that reads Temerloh /Kuantan on the signboard!
Continue driving towards KUANTAN
KARAK TOLL PLAZA
Pick up toll card or useTAG & SMART TAGlanesSpeed limit @ 110 kph - watch out for CROSS WINDS!
There is a rest area about less than 10kms on your left.
PLEASE TURN LEFT INTO
Lanchang - Raub - Kuala Lipis exit
RM 2-80 per car or useTAG & SMART TAGlanesTurn RIGHT 200 metres AFTER paying the toll fees at the LANCHANG Toll Plaza towards RAUB
BE ADVISE that parts of this road passes through villages where villagers, domesticated animals & motorbikes sometimes can be seen crossing here and there unannounced!
You will see a signboard on your left to RAUB - DO NOT TURN LEFT - Keep on driving STRAIGHT continuously
The road will become smaller and you will notice droppings of water buffalos on the road, school on your right, village houses, fishing ponds left & right, twisting roads and jungle covered hills. with a telecommunications tower on a hill.
THIS IS 013 & 019 COVERAGE AREA!
The road will become smaller - drive CAUTIOUSLY as there are blind spots along this road until you reach a bridge flanked with 2 huge man-made elephant tusks with a guard house on your left. Please park accordingly on your left BEFOREthe bridge.
Otherwise, just ask a local where KUALA GANDAH is!
ACTIVITY SCHEDULE
1pm , 1-30pm & 3-45pm - Video Documentary show @ the Visitor Registration Office
2pm - The elephants will be led away to the holding area for grooming &
handfeeding where visitors will be invited in the handfeeding session.
PLEASE do not approach the holding area until ALL the elephants have
been safely secured by the staff on duty!
*2-30pm - Overland elephant rides followed by an EleFun time with the
elephants in the nearby river!!!
4pm - Leave some donations - The sanctuary closes @ 5pm!
PLEASE - give the staff & elephants a break by not
coming over on Fridays - thank U!
* depends on the number of visitors for the day!
Only the FIRST 100 visitors will be given yellow stickers!
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| Sunday, 11-Apr-2010 00:00 |
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Deerland Park in Lanchang, Pahang, Malaysia
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Deerland Park, Lanchang, Pahang, Malaysia
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Just arrived at the park, the main entrance.
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Signage at the entrance
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Finally, we arrived in Lanchang at 1200. Actually, we passed the deer park first but headed straight to the Elephant Sanctuary to register ourselves for all the activities, but unfortunately, the daily limit had exceeded and we only got the red passes which means observation only and not able to participate in the Elephant Rides. Hence, it was just 1210 and the activities at the Elephant Sanctuary only start at 1400, we headed back to the Deerland Park which is just on the same road but you would reach that place first before the Elephant Sanctuary. It was around 5 minutes away from this place.
Reached the Deerland at1220. I bought the entrance tickets, it cost me RM 5.00 per person. Please remember to mention that you are a Malaysian if you are one and mention that you come from a far away place and not from Kuala Lumpur, or else you would pay city dwellers price for the tickets
Deerland Park, Lanchang, Pahang
. The tickets which we received had a price of RM 10.00 printed on it and I guess that must be the rate for foreigners.
This place is not just an ordinary Deer Park. We have to walk through the semi trekking kind of tracks and reach the various enclosures. They house many different animals here like deers, snakes, rabbits, Sun Bears and many more. Even some endangered birds are available here. In the deer variety itself, they have more than 4 variations of species. And the best part, you could feed these deers and it is a lifetime experience. Imagine an entire herd of deers surround you for food. Some even hop on you and if your footing is not stable, you may even fall back. Beware that sometimes these deers just to get your attention to feed them, may bight your clothes but they mean no harm. Once they see that the food in your hand is exhausted, they leave you.
Then, comes the next attraction of the snakes, birds, skunks, and the Sun Bear, another endangered species in the world. I do not think we could get any closer to that bear anywhere in the region touching it and patting their backs.
We left this place just in time for the activities at the elephant sanctuary at about 1315.
Below is a short write up on the place courtesy of Malaysia Central.com:
Deerland Park Deer Sanctuary is located in Bukit Rengit, Lanchang about 140 KM from Kuantan, Pahang. It is a 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur or an hour from Genting Highlands
Deerland Park, Lanchang, Pahang
. It is interesting and fascinating during the deer feeding sessions as you can touch the wild animals that have been tamed and trained to allow humans to go near the the deers and touch them.
The parks animal world offers other attractions such as peacocks, ostriches and a sun bear. Across the deer sanctuary, Nature Garden is on al elevated walkway and an awesome sight with its variety of herbs and plants such as Tongkat Ali (local Viagra), Kacip Fatima and 40 other medicinal herbs which can be found in rain forests. Visitors can also go camping or join a guided tour to learn basic jungle survival skills. Deerland Park is situated within the Kuala Krau Wildlife Reserve, which overlaps across Raub, Jerantut and Temerloh.
Animal World opening hours are from 1030 to 1730 (Saturday to Thursday). The park is closed on Fridays. Visits to Nature Garden are by appointment only.
Entrance Rates are RM 5.00 for Adults and RM 3.00 for Children. Foreigners pay double the rate. Group rates are also available on special requests.
For Accommodation and Meals, Bukit Rengit Institute Conservation Biodiversity is 2KM's from Deer Park. Room rates are RM 70 for an air conditioned room and catered meals are available upon requests. Please book ahead as there are limited rooms available. The contact number for bookings is +6(09) 276 2009
Contact Person: En Abdullah at +6013 967 6242 or deer_land@hotmail.com or kraunaturepark@yahoo.com.my
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| Sunday, 11-Apr-2010 00:00 |
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Stop Over At Lanchang Rest Area, Pahang, Malaysia.
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Lanchang Rest Area Along the East West Highway
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Lanchang Rest Area Along the East West Highway
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Lanchang Rest Area Along the East West Highway
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Last night, while having dinner at the food court in Kepong, we suddenly decided to go on a day trip to Lanchang to visit two special places which we always wanted to visit but never got the opportunity to do so, namely Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary and the Lanchang Deer Farm. Another reason why we suddenly came up with this decision was also because my parents came down to my place and we just wanted to take them around.
Both the above places are located in the same town of Lanchang which comes under the state of Pahang. The decision being made, we all got up early and were ready by 0900. We left the house at 0930 headed straight to the Shell Petrol Station here, unfortunately the station ran out of stock. With the little petrol we had in the car, we head straight towards Batu Caves to join the Karak Highway, the oldest highway in the country. Along the way, luckily we managed to find another Shell Petrol Station and filled up accordingly. With the distance required to travel, 20 liters of petrol was sufficient. We entered the Karak hhighway at sharp 1000.
Luckily, the highway in now extended right up to Kuantan. The stretch from Gombak to Karak is the same old highway. We had to pass two toll stations, first at Gombak where we had to pay RM 5.80 and the next at Karak where the toll charge was RM 2.00. Then we connected to the new Kuantan highway and took the transit ticket there. The old highway stretch is a very dangerous stretch with narrow ways and hair pin bends, please bear in mind the speed limit is 90 KMpH all the way until you connect to the new highway where it resumes to the norms of 110 KMpH.
We arrived at the rest area at 1115. After the drive, especially with my parents, we decided to take a short break. Also, because I did not know of the food availability in Lanchang. Therefore, we decided to take some light snacks and refreshments here at this rest area.
Bought some fruits, cakes and drinks and the resumed the journey at 1130.
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| Sunday, 21-Mar-2010 00:00 |
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Day 2 - Dinner At Hawkers Centre, Sunway Damansara
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Spicy Grilled Stingray
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Dinner at hawkers centre, Sunway Damansara
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Dinner at hawkers centre, Sunway Damansara
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Our next stop was to have typical chinese dinner at the Hawker Centre in Sunway Damansara. Great cheap street food available here at a very good price. I just got to know that Tune Hotels (Air Asia Hotel) is opening up here in Sunsuria Avenue and this would be starting from 1st June 2010. If anyone stays at this hotel, it would great for them as it is close to cheap good food around this area.
Well, after the long day, we headed back home. Just rested a while and then my parents headed back home to my hometown. Good quality time spent together. Looking forward to more soon.
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| Sunday, 21-Mar-2010 00:00 |
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Day 2 - Movies At GSC, IOI Mall, Puchong
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Just parked at IOI Mall
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Just parked at IOI Mall
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Walking around IOI Mall while waiting for screening.
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After the afternoon lunch at Alamanda, we moved on to IOI Mall, Puchong. There did some basic shopping as the sale was going on. Then we headed for the movie at 5.45 pm and it ended at 8.30 pm. The cinema is not in such a great condition like 1 Utama, perhaps because it is one of the oldest cinemas built during the early GSC evolution days. Also caught up for some tea at IOI Mall.
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| Sunday, 21-Mar-2010 00:00 |
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Day 2 - Lunch at Black Canyon Coffee, Alamanda, Putrajaya
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Had an late rise today since we slept at 3.00am last night. This afternoon, took a drive to Alamanda, Putrajaya. There we strolled around the complex and then went for lunch at Black Canyon . Actually, we wanted to have at the Rasa Food Court but since the place was full and there weren't tables left, we had to try the other retaurant. Food was good here and the price very reasonable. A lunch set for 4 cost us RM 45.00 with drinks. From there, we moved on to Carrefour in Alamanda and did some basic shopping for parents.
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| Sunday, 21-Mar-2010 00:00 |
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Day 2 - Happy 67th Birthday Papa
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Papa's 67th Birthday Celebrations at home
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Papa's 67th Birthday Celebrations at home
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Papa's 67th Birthday Celebrations at home
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Back home from our eating spree earlier today. The time we arrived home was almost midnight. Then, at sharp 1200 midnight, we celebrated my father's birthday by cutting the cake. Just a small family gathering at home. Then sat together and watched a movie at home. We being busy with our daily lives, it is important that we spend some quality time with the family like this. Hope to spend more time like this in the future.
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