National Science Centre, Kuala Lumpur

The National Science Centre, or Pusat Sains Negara in Malay, was opened in 1996 with the goal to promote and excite visitors, especially school-children with learning about Science and Technology.

 

This is generally done with the use of interactive exhibits and fun programmes and activities.

 

 

There are various exhibition halls with different themes and exhibits.

 

 

There is even an overhead aquarium tank with 32 different species of freshwater fish swimming around.

 

 

 

Other exhibition halls include Wonderspark, Pathway to Science and Eureka. In the gardens outside, there is a small zoo and butterfly enclosure and an outdoor water park for children to plunge in.

 

 

There are usually some special exhibitions also on at various times of the year.

 

All in all, it can be an interesting time for kids to spend half-a-day at. It must be noted that the Science Centre is showing signs of its age, and some of the exhibits are under repair or not working.

 



 

The Lakehouse, Pahang

Named after the British Surveyor Sir William Cameron who mapped out the region in 1885, the Cameron Highlands cooler climate made it a welcome retreat for homesick colonialists from the hot and humid climate of the lowlands of British Malaya. By 1931, the road up to the highlands was completed, and bungalows and cottages were built, many in a mock Tudor style to remind the expatriates of their faraway homeland.

 

Foster's Lakehouse by comparison, was a much later development, a residence constructed in the late sixties. Located in Habu, between the townships of Ringlet and Tanah Rate, the Lakehouse was and still is a charming mock Tudor building located on a commanding hilltop overlooking the Sultan Abu Bakar lake.

 

The late Colonel Stanley Jack Foster, a retired British Army Officer, was the original builder and owner of The Lakehouse in 1966. The construction of the building took four years and in 1970, the property started its operations as a boutique hotel.

Between 1970 and 1977, Colonel Foster was running both The Lakehouse and The Smokehouse in Tanah Rata. In 1977, he sold The Smokehouse to a local businessman but continued to manage The Lakehouse till his demise in December 1984. As the colonel's grown up children were not interested in running a hotel, The Lakehouse was then put on sale and in 1989, HPL Hotels & Resorts took over the property and has been managing it since then.

 

Over recent years, Cameron Highlands has been increasingly over-developed for mass tourism and agriculture, with many large and uninteresting hotels blotting the countryside as well as an over abundance of vegetable farms with their visually unappealing sheds and shacks all over the hillsides.

 

Therefore places like the Lakehouse fulfil a need, providing a smaller and more intimate scale of accommodation, a connection to the past as well as preserving a slice of England in tropical Malaysia.

 

 

 

Even if you do not chose to stay at the Lakehouse, dropping by for an Afternoon Tea is a great way to experience and appreciate this quaint little building and just for a moment, imagine yourself as being not in Malaysia but somewhere in England.

 

 

 

 

 

For the quintessential feel of old Cameron's, a visit to the Lakehouse is recommended.

The Lakehouse, Cameron Highlands

Address:  30th Mile, Ringlet, 39200 Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia 

Tel: +605 495 6152  

Fax: +605 495 6213 



Boh Tea Garden, Pahang

BOH is today Malaysia's biggest tea producer. Its story begins when its founder, the then 7 year old J.A.Russell arrived in Malaya with his father. 

Beginning his career in the Straits Trading Company, he eventually became a businessman in his own right, with interests in mining, rubber and construction.

But it was his business venture in 1929 that has left an indelible mark on the country. J.A. saw the potential of tea as an important crop for Malaya which until that time had been substantially dependent upon rubber and tin.

Equipped with a single steamroller, some labourers and several mules, J.A. proceeded to transform steep virgin jungle slopes into the tea garden we now know as the Boh Tea Garden, in the Cameron Highlands.

From these small beginnings, BOH Plantations was born. Today, besides Bukit Cheeding in Selangor, BOH has three tea estates in the Cameron Highlands, Boh Tea Garden, Fairlie and Sungai Palas.

Most visitors to Cameron's would visit the more popular Sungai Palas tea estate which has a modern Visitor's Centre; but the Boh Tea Garden which is the original tea estate can also be visited.

Located in Habu, which is a small township between Ringlet and Tanah Rata, getting there is straight-forward, especially if you are coming up to the Highlands from Tapah. After passing by the Lakehouse and crossing the bridge over the lake, you will come to an intersection to the right. Take this turn to the right (which is sign-posted with the BOH sign) and follow the road to the end. Initially you will pass by some vegetable farms before you come to the sentry post to enter the BOH Tea Garden.

First view of the BOH Tea Garden plantation

The road up is narrow and winding, which is part of the overall experience! At parts, only one car may pass, so be sure to sound your horn at blind corners.

Eventually you will come to the top of the hill where you may park your car and have a cup of tea at the ummph! Tea Shop.

The Tea Shop

If you are up to it, you may also trek up to viewpoint at the top of the hill behind the tea factory.

The sign says it all.

This sign says even more.

The trek up won't take long, but may be a bit strenuous if you are seriously unfit. But if I could do it, most people should be able to trek up the steep slope.

A telecommunications tower stands at the top of the hill.

From the top of the hill, the view to the surrounding valleys on both sides is spectacular, with tea plantations on both sides.

At the top of the hill is this lone solitary tree growing on the rocks.

View of the tea factory down below.

Tea plantations all around the viewpoint.

View towards the Fairlie estate.

View towards Habu.

The spectacular views are a reward well worth trekking up the hill for!

Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary, Pahang

The National Elephant Conservation Centre in Kuala Gandah was set up by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in 1989 and is the centre for its Elephant Unit.

The Elephant Unit is tasked to locate, subdue and relocate elephants from areas in the peninsula where their habitats have been encroached by development. To avoid conflict between humans and the elephants, the elephants are moved to wilderness areas more suited for them to live in.

To assist in the task of re-locating wild elephants, the Elephant Unit has a number of trained resident elephants who assist in the task of calming and relocating the wild elephants. The Centre also has a number of orphan baby elephants who are looked after by the staff.

In addition to the translocation activities, the Centre also has a role in raising public awareness of the importance of the conservation of elephants and is open to the public and tourists.

Kuala Gandah is located in the hinterland in the centre of Peninsular Malaysia and it is only possible to get there by private transport. It is approximately 100km away by road from the city of Kuala Lumpur, and there are no buses or trains that go there.

If you are planning to drive there yourself, it is pretty easy to do and not complicated. From Kuala Lumpur you will have to take Route E8, which is more commonly known as the Karak Highway. This is a scenic highway that crosses the Titiwangsa range of mountains over into Pahang state, passing by the road up to Genting Highlands and the Berjaya Hills along the way.

Once over the dividing range at Karak, the highway becomes the East Coast Expressway  or Lebuhraya Pantai Timur; a straight and flat highway that goes all the way to the coast on the eastern side of the peninsula. Follow the highway until you come to the exit to the small town of Lanchang. Take the exit and pay the toll.

Immediately after the toll booths, you will see this signboard:

Go on straight down the road until you come to a T-junction that looks like this:

Do not turn left, as this will take you to the small town of Lanchang. Instead turn right, following the brown coloured signboard indicating Kuala Gandah.

You will shortly see the above signboard on your left, indicating you are on the right track and that Kuala Gandah is 12km away.

After a few kilometres, you will come across an intersection to your left. This road will take you to Raub and Bentong. Ignore it and continue onwards.

 

You will be driving past small kampung (village) houses and man-made fishing ponds along the way. Several of the kampung houses have signs advertising "homestays".

Eventually you will reach another fork in the road after you see this signboard:

Going right will take you to Deerland, a small petting zoo. Instead continue onwards toward the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre.

Eventually you will come to a small Orang Asli (aborigine) settlement and see this Gate and Guard House. This is the entrance to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre.

Drive in and park at the ample car park bays provided. The whole journey from Kuala Lumpur should not take you more than 1 hour and 30 minutes. As this is a government conservation centre and not a commercial enterprise, there are no entrance fees. However donations are always welcome.

Head towards the main administrative building in front. At the reception counter, you will be asked to sign a waiver form, which basically indemnifies the department against accidents should you chose to participate in any activity with the elephants. You will be given a sticker to paste on your shirt, which basically allows you to participate in the bathing with the elephants activity.

 

In the past, when you visited the Sanctuary, you could actually go riding on the elephants. You could actually also ride on the elephants into the river for the bathing activity. Due to complaints by animal rights groups, these as well as the elephant performance activities have since been abolished.

The routine nowadays follow a set schedule. If you arrive in the morning between 10:30 am to 12:00pm, all you can do is to observe the elephants roaming freely within their enclosure.

Most people would chose to arrive at 1pm. There is a video show which explains the objective of the Elephant Sanctuary which runs for about half-an-hour.

The shows run according to the following schedule:

Monday-Thursday : 1st Show (1pm) and 2nd Show (1:30pm)

Saturday,Sunday & Public Holidays: 1st Show (12:30pm),2nd Show (1pm) and 3rd Show (1:30pm)

After the show, you can walk at your leisure over the bridge across the river to the elephant grounds on the other side.

While waiting for the official activities to start at 2:15pm, you can actually buy peanuts, sugarcane or bananas at RM3 to feed the baby elephants who are lined up in pens.

At 2:15pm, the adult elephants are brought in. You can then watch the mahouts ride the elephants down into the adjacent river and bathe the elephants.

This is then followed by a short elephant conservation talk at the interpretive stage where you are introduced to each of the elephants and their background and abilities.

You are then given the opportunity to feed the adult elephants with some of their favourite fruits.

 

Finally, if the river level is not too high on the day of your visit and you have the yellow stickers, you can chose to bathe with the baby elephants in the river.

All in all, Kuala Gandah makes a good day trip out from Kuala Lumpur and can be easily combined with a trip to the nearby Deerland petting zoo.

National Elephant Conservation Centre (NECC)
Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP/PERHILITAN)
Kuala Gandah, 28500 Lanchang
Pahang Darul Makmur
Tel: +609-2790391
Fax: +609-2790398

Ana Ikan Bakar Petai, Pahang

Tanjung Lumpur can be roughly translated into english as "the Cape of Mud". Located at the mouth of the Kuantan river, for a long time Tanjung Lumpur was only accessible by boat from the state capital of Kuantan on the opposite bank of the river.

This all changed with the construction of the Abu Bakar bridge; which connected Kuantan and Tanjung Lumpur by road. Tanjung Lumpur, which has always been a traditional Malay fishing village, soon became the place to go for Malay style seafood with the proliferation of malay seafood restaurants.

Malay seafood restaurants are traditionally simple roadside affairs with the main star attraction being the "ikan bakar" or "grilled fish". Tanjung Lumpur is no exception, and being a fishing village, you know that the seafood will be fresh.

The first restaurant you will come across after turning left onto the road facing the sea is Ana Ikan Bakar Petai. The name of the restaurant comes from the house specialty, the "Ikan Bakar Petai" or "Grilled Fish with Stink Beans".

Now if you are unfamiliar with South East Asian cooking, the sound of the word "Stink Bean" is not likely going to make you salivate with hunger! So lets call it by its local name of "Petai" instead.

Petai in its seed pods.

This strange bean grows in long elongated seed pods usually gathered from the wild.  Within the pods are almond shaped green seeds which have a rather and unusual smell which is so pervasive it tends to linger in the mouth and body up to two days after consumption.

Petai after extraction from the pods.

What makes Ana Ikan Bakar Petai different from all the other Ikan Bakar restaurants in Malaysia, is that Ana's grilled fish is grilled in a spicy sambal sauce which is infused with sliced Petai. But more of that later.

That Ana Ikan Bakar Petai is popular is evident from the line of cars that jam up the narrow road in front of the restaurant.

If you go after 7pm, you will likely not be able to find an empty table - such is its popularity. So you will have to mill around and pounce on a table immediately once it is vacated.

After you manage to get a table, take a note of your table number. Then go and select your fish and seafood from the display area out front and tell them how you want it cooked.

Back at your table, wait for the waiter to come by, order your drink and other supplementary dishes. Don't expect five-star service here, the waiters will eventually come by and take your order in a quick brusque manner. There is no menu, just ask the waiter and he will advise you whats available. Or look at the signboard on the wall for guidance.

For starters you can order either the Keropok Lekor, Kerabu Mangga or the Sata. We decided to go for the Kerabu Mangga and the Keropok Lekor.

Kerabu Mangga

Kerabu Mangga is of course a Spicy Mango Salad. The restaurant's version was okay, but not the best we have ever tasted. The mango slices were not thinly sliced and perhaps not crunchy enough, but the peanuts sprinkled on top was good.

Keropok Lekor

Keropok Lekor is a specialty from the state of Terengganu, and is basically fish crackers. Made from ground fish mixed with sago flour and salt, it is kneaded into long doughy rolls, sliced into bite-sized chunks and deep-fried until it is golden brown. There is only one good way to eat Kerepok Lekor, and thats when it is piping hot! And Ana Ikan Bakar Petai does not fail in this respect. The Kerepok Lekor is served hot and is recommended.

Sata

We didn't order the Sata this time, but it sure looked interesting and different from Sata you can find elsewhere. Sata is another traditional dish from Terengganu, and consists of spiced fish meat with grated coconut, ginger, chillies and onions wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on a grill.

Ketam Masak Pedas

We ordered the Ketam Masak Pedas, or Spicy Crab - but it was just average. Not really one of the house specialties perhaps?

Sotong Goreng Tepung

Sotong Goreng Tepung, or Squid fried in batter, was good. The squid was not rubbery and the batter was light and crunchy. Recommended.

Ikan Bakar Petai wrapped in banana leaves

Unwrapped, with petai visible!

The undoubted star of the show was the Ikan Bakar Petai. We ordered the grilled stingray, and the portion was huge. The stingray was wrapped in banana leaves, which we slowly unwrapped. The aroma of the grilled fish as it was unwrapped was intoxicating. The grilled stingray was moist and juicy, infused with a secret spicy sambal sauce with the sliced petai generously mixed in with the sauce. This was undoubtedly one of the best Ikan Bakar we have tasted, if not the best. It was that good!

Ana Ikan Bakar Petai is so popular it has opened up other branches, with one in Bangi, near Kuala Lumpur. But the one in Tanjung Lumpur is the original, and if you are in the area of Kuantan, this is the one you must go to!

Ana Ikan Bakar Petai

Address: Tanjung Lumpur, Kuantan, Pahang.
Tel: +6013-998 9175