Gua Tempurung 2014

After 44 years, I finally set foot in Gua Tempurung. As is often the case, we tend to miss a lot of our local attractions and end up paying thousands of dollars visiting far flung places overseas instead. We  often hear of Mulu Caves or Batu Caves but Gua Tempurung's name never really struck a chord with potential visitors. Quite why so I can never tell, except that it is one heckuva cave worth your time. Well, better late than never I say.

Get ready for some 1,300 steps along metal ladders that will take you to the far end of the cave. Legend has it, the cave has 2 magical white pythons resident within Peninsular Malaysia's largest cave system. This is a thoroughly entrancing cave, complete with whistling wind corridors, amazing stalactite stalagmite formations and crystal clear underwater river.

KRU filmed Vikingdom to take advantage of of this stunning cave, but unfortunately it was not enough to save the movie :p

The main entrance to the cave - visitors will descend into its belly before ascending to the end of the cave

Steps galore - some 1300 worth

What does this look like to you?

Every Malaysian should go!

Tracking Langkawi Island : Langkawi Sky Bridge Aerial Video

This is a world class suspended sky bridge that is 410 feet long and located high up in Gunung MatCincang at 700+ m above sea level.

Although the video looked serene, the flying conditions were atrocious with really high winds and clouds constantly rolling in. This is one of those places where recovery of fallen gear would be nigh impossible!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoLTDREUF80

Flashback 2011 : Town of Manong, Perak

Nuvi owner wrote to us asking for his town of Manong to be mapped. And we obliged.



Manong is situated along the Perak River and is shielded by a mountain range. The name is taken from a girl named Sarbanom who rebelled ("derhaka") against her mother.

A hamlet called Manong

Manong is famous for being close to Pulau Semat - an islet on the Perak River itself. Legend has it that before the Sultan of Perak can take the throne, he has to wet his feet at 7 rivers found all over Perak. Pulau Semat is one such location and the ascending Sultan would make his way from Manong to the little islet.

The island itself is mythical for another reason: Makam (grave) Sultan Tajol Ariffin is located on this island and tradition requires his grave to face where the sun sets. Instead it faces the rising sun. As such, this islet is known by locals as "pulau keramat" or a mystical island where 4D punters would flock in search for lucky numbers to buy. Mapio anyone ..

Further up the road, there is Laksa Pak Ngah, a favourite eatery amongst the locals. Next time you travel to Perak, take a trek along unusual roads and you may find an interesting village steeped with mystery and intrigue

Manong map and all POIs along the way was mapped in MSM NT 5.21 back in 2011.

Upping the Stakes - mini review

If you had dabbled with your Dad's tent when you were young, you'd be acquainted with the traditional steel tent pegs. They are sturdy and heavy that the joke was it can be used to nail a vampire behind its head to kill it. Tents found at Tesco, Aeon invariably come packed with these. And they are fine - long, robust and heavy. They do the job, you can hammer them in any kind of soil, even tough, rocked filled hard packed soil. Just bang it in! Sometimes they bend but it's steel - can always bend it back like Beckham.

Weight : >20grams per generic piece. In each tent bundle, they will often give you 10 stakes (10x20gm = 200gms), but for this comparo I will use 8 = 160gms

In Malaysia, there are some alternatives for those wanting to shave weight off their backpacks. Introducing the MSR Mini Groundhogs (RM11.00/pc), MSR Carbon (RM20/pc) and generic aluminium (RM7/pc) (2013 prices).

From top to bottom : MSR Mini Groundhog, MSR Carbon, Generic aluminium

As expected the carbon stake weighs in at only 5gm per piece

MSR Mini Groundhogs is not too shabby clocking in at 9gms

Generic aluminium @ 13gms including cordage.

 

Weigh-In (8 stakes)

Using steel pegs as the benchmark @ 160gms (RM0.00 - they come free)

1. MSR Carbon = 40gms (less 120gms, 75% weight savings) @RM160.00

2. MSR Mini Hedgehog = 72gms (less 88gms, 55% savings)  @RM88.00

3. Generic aluminium = 104 gms (less 56gms, 35% savings)  @RM64.00

I have used the carbon stakes and honestly, I do not like them. By their very design, you need to stake it in at an acute angle to prevent your guy lines from slipping. You could make a simple knot but that's just too much work.

The Hedgehog and generic aluminium : honestly not much in between them. They are strong, sturdy and can be pegged into any soil. Hedgehog has a 3 fin design vs 2 of the generic. The only problem these two have is when staking into soil that has pebbles or rock underneath. Whereas the traditional steel pegs can easily circumnavigate around the rocks with a little bit of force, it is not so easy with these two. You may have to adjust your staking points a few times.

Both have notches, so your guy lines can be snared by them easily. Unlike the carbon stakes.

My choice? The hedgehog, for its 3 fin design, ultralight and being super strong. The generic is fine but you don't really need a peg that big or long in most cases. At least I havent personally found a need to have a stake as long. When you are going for ultralight, the minimalist design of hedgehog fits the bill and does the job with aplomb.

Note! The hedgehogs are shiny beautiful out of showroom - but after first use, they become smudgy and scratchy. The hedgehogs comes standard with any MSR tents - they will give you 6. You really need 8 to be safe, so buy another two separately.

OP Series Mininet - expand your backpack storage by 18 L!

There will be times when you need more space out of your backpack to stow more gear and supplies. One common way is to make use of straps or bungee cords - often this is limited to the location and number of anchor points on the backpack that you can use.

When it's full, it means Full Stop

OP Series Mininet hopes to solve this very problem. It's simple yet ingenious solution. You can attach the hooking points ANYWHERE on your backpack without causing any damage or tearing the fabric of the bag - and create an additional 18L of space.

The magic lies in the custom center ring - sufficient for fabric to pass through

Insert the custom center ring anywhere INSIDE the backpack

Attach the carabiner on the OUTSIDE

The results? This. You can even use this for any imaginable bag possible and not limited to just backpacks. The net adds 12in x 12in coverage on the bag and yields an additional 18L space with cords that have a tensile strength of 300lbs.

Price paid RM90 (2014).

MSM 2014 NT v6.70 is released

http://www.malsingmaps.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=24436&start=70#p210176

Tracking Perlis : Gua Kelam

Sure, I have heard of Gua Kelam the name - but never been here myself until recently.  I ended up wishing I knew of it much much earlier. This is a beautiful park - it has 2 cave systems and the park at the OTHER end of the caves is a park worthy of your time and visit : you will be amazed that this is in Malaysia but not much is publicised about it.

Picnic spot at the Cave entrance

Pack snacks and budget time to spend on the other side of the cave

Cave system 1# is now closed - a tram used to run and enables the visitor to punch out on the other side of the limestone hill. The tram is now broken down and some millions obviously wasted. So we're left with cave system 2# which is an elevated gangway that cuts through the hill whilst being suspended above the underground river. All lighted up with railings so it is safe for little children as well - this facility and the park spaces will cost you a princely sum of RM1.00 (2014) only. It is a short walk through the cave which opens up to this :

One of the many wakafs you can set down for a picnic

Like a little hidden paradise

Pack lunch, a hammock with an afternoon to spare - and you're all set. There are toilets and changing facilities should you decide to swim in one of the creek network. There's a deer farm and the mystical Sintok Tree (Pokok Ajaib Sintok). At last count (we literally lost count), this single tree has it roots creeping up to more than 32 other adjacent trees! You could say it is a spineless tree. Indeed.

Get your kids to count how many trees that this parasitic tree has decided to creep upon.

DISCLAIMER - please DO NOT do the following:

Fully equipped with proper gear, supplies and torches - we sought out the second cave system. It was not difficult to find and the egress was located somewhere higher up against the limestone hill wall. Inside - there is absolutely zero light so reliance is solely on your (hopefully very reliable) torchlights. What's inside is a network of caves - complete with concrete paths, steps, rest areas, railings, multiple junctions and lightings which leads you to the end of the line of the tram. Of course none of the lights work now. As we moved further into the cave, it got warmer and before long we were sweating buckets. The trek ends where the tram rail meets. We were tempted to trek out along the tram rail but decided to backtrack to avoid tangling with the Park Rangers.

now disused pathways

secret stairway to the underground river

If you're in Perlis - don't brush off a visit to Gua Kelam : you must go!!

Is it far? In Perlis, everywhere is just "15 mins away". So wherever you are in Perlis, it will take you no longer than 15 minutes to get to Gua Kelam. Really!

History has it that Gua Kelam was previously used a rice trail or a smuggler's run where supplies made its way to and from across the Siamese border.