Monday, August 15, 2016

Kuala Selangor 2D1N Road Trip (Part 3)

It takes me some time to draft this post as I am caught up with some plannings lately (which I'll share when the time comes so stay tune yeah).

Here goes the last part of the Kuala Selangor road trip with the bros!

On the night after the firefly tour, we decided to go back to our hotel since there was no late night entertainment other than a mamak stall nearby. We grabbed some drinks from 99 speedmart and walked across the street back to our hotel.



DAY 2
Taman Alam Kuala Selangor/ Kuala Selangor Nature Park
After a good night's rest, we began the day with a light breakfast and head off for our little adventure at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park. Little did we know that the nature park is located across the road. We easily found the entrance to the nature park where ample parking space is provided. Anticipating a crowd, it took me to surprise that apparently we were the only group of visitors. Quickly, we bought our tickets priced at RM4 each. The young volunteer from Malaysia Nature Society, I suppose, briefly explained the trail that is approximately 3km and the animals which we hoped to see.

We were welcomed into the nature park with canopy of trees soaring high. There were troops of monkeys that came in our way along the trail. From our experience, as long as you do not attempt to attack them, similarly they won't. Also, as you discover a new species of plants or animals, there you will find a signage that shows the species of the plant along with some description, which I find incredibly useful.




The trail is carpeted with small rocks, causing it to be uneven, henceforth it is advisble to wear a good pair of sport shoes as you will be expecting lots of walking. Most most importantly, use a good amount of mosquito repellent or you will fall as prey to the hungry mosquitoes.

Walking to the end of the main trail, you will come to a T-junction. We opt to go for the watch tower. This watch tower will make a good spot for bird watching. However, we are not into it and I doubt that it is not the right season to observe the migratory birds so we proceeded with our nature walk.


View from watch tower

View from watch tower
From the nature park phamplet, you will find that the brackish lake system serves as a habitat for the birds to roost, feed and nest. We personally saw eagles and a stork (I think).





Further in the forest


Do not miss out the extended mangrove pathway as there are lots to be discovered such as snakes, crabs, molluscs, mudskippers and not to forget the mangrove trees. However, with destructed ranch and waste disposed at the mangrove forest, there has been a stark difference from the initially well kept walkway if you ever come across the pictures from the Internet. Undeniably, there is a dire need for awareness on ecology preservation and conservation of natural resources.










It took us less than two hours to complete the trail. With it being educational to us, city dweller, I would strongly recommend the nature park, especially to all nature lover.

Here are some vistors' guide from the phamplet which you may find helpful.






Lunch
After the nature walk, we dragged ourselves back to the hotel for a quick bath as we had to check out before 12pm. As planned, we wanted to have some seafood porridge at the infamous Sin Hai Ping Seafood Restaurant but it was closed. We sought for an alternative restaurant and spotted a seafood restaurant serving similar dishes. It is located diagonally opposite to Sin Hai Ping and right next to PAS Service Centre.

This restaurant with discoloured signboard and old school interior will not look appealing to many but the crab bihun served blown us away. On top of that, it was reasonably cheap!

Crab Bihun (for 2 pax) RM50
Definitely one of the best crab dish I've ever had. The portion was large with lots of bihun and two meat crabs.

White promphet prorridge RM16

Lala fritters RM12
I won't reccommend the fritter as it was on the greasy side and the lala was quite small (almost invisible)

Total bill: RM78



All in all, the road trip was nothing short of fun and laughter. We will definitely have a third one soon before we part our ways for studies.





Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Kuala Selangor 2D1N Road Trip (Part 2)

DAY ONE

After stuffing ourselves with all the goodness (and greasiness) from the seafood and having a brisk walk at Pasir Penambang, we stopped at the local fish market. Being ourselves, both my friend and I were engrossed in the array of fresh and cheap seafood, ranging from prawns, crabs, cockles to a wide range of fishes. You can name any seafood to your preference! Since we were staying overnight, we decided to pay a second visit to the market on the next day.





Being ahead of our schedule, we made our way back to the hotel to have some rest, where the boys napped and rested till evening.

Bukit Malawati
The tram service up Bukit Malawati did not operate on a weekday so we had a short drive up the hill. If you would like to take the tram or would like to enquire, the tickets are sold at a cafe next to the 99 Speedmart behind Melawati Ria Hotel.

The drive up the hill was made difficult by the tourists who thronged the road to feed the monkeys. You can easily purchase bananas from the vendor to feed the adorable monkeys.



this picture taken on the cannon brings back so much memories from our Penang Trip last year




the baby monkeys are actually golden brown





Dinner
Bagan Seafood Restaurant/ Restoran Seafood View Port
It was easy to spot the restaurant which is located along the same stretch of road as the temples in my first post. I decided give this restaurant a try as it was ranked #1 on TripAdvisor. The two tier seafood dish which I saw on TripAdvisor grabbed my attention.

However, we opted for a lighter dinner after all the fried seafood that we had for lunch. Also, we would be able to choose our choice of seafood by leaving the two tier seafood dish out. It was a wise decision after all as we had our dinner while enjoying the sunset. Don't ever miss the breathtaking view!

Iron Plate Bamboo Clams was the best! (RM15.50)

Curry powder clams (lala) (RM15.50)
 We had no idea why it was named "curry powder" as it was obviously served in a clear broth and this dish was slightly not up to our expectation. There was not much of sweetness in the broth,


Coconut tom yum prawns (RM28)
p/s please excuse the poor quality pictures as we were too desperate to relish them seafood

 In whole, the meal was satiable, simply because the sunset made up for the flaws in the dishes.

Total bill: RM 63.90 (totally worth it all)



Here are some shots before the sun sets :




Absolutely stunning


Firefly Tour

It was magical. And a dream that came true.




one firefly spotted among the bushes

The fireflies adorn the bushes along the river and sparkle like the fairy lights on a Christmas tree. How pretty can they be? As we cruise along the river, we were mesmerized by the beauty which left us at awe. Not to forget that the cruise ended perfectly with my friends spotting the cluster of stars in the night sky.


The ticket priced at RM16 was totally worthwhile. As safety were concerned, we were also provided with life jacket.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Kuala Selangor 2D1N Road Trip (Part One)

Having completed my two-month internship, I had some thought of picking up a part time job but how to not go road tripping(s) with them bros? So here we go - on our second road trip together. We decided on Kuala Selangor because it's at close proximity to PJ and we can only afford budget travel (most students are on the same boat).

Who says that you can't have fun in our home country? I am certain that there are many hidden jewels yet to be discovered.



DAY ONE
I met up with my friend at his place around 8.30am to print the hotel booking voucher and load my belongings into his car. Then, we went to Damansara Kim for breakfast and we were set to begin our adventure.

It took us around one hour to reach Kuala Selangor although it was a weekday morning. The traffic congestion was not as bad as we expected it to be. Waze has to be one of the greatest app to us. We managed to find our hotel without much hassle.


Stay
Melawati Ria Hotel

Okay, we aren't particular fussy over our choice of hotels. Firstly, we are on a budget and we rather spend the money on food. Secondly, if you ever look for a hotel around Kuala Selangor town, there are less than ten choices on Agoda. Thirdly, we are just going to stay for one night, just one.

Overall, the hotel is decent as we were provided with what we need - clean bed, average toilet and water dispenser. We were allowed to check in at 10am as our room was ready by then. Upon request, we were allowed to change to a second room as well because the first one smelled awfully disgusting (thanks to them bros who approached the receptionist aunty). The second room was more spacious and most importantly, there is windows in the room. Windows = fresh air.

We paid RM81 nett for a Superior Triple with a double bed and single bed, perfect for the three of us (two guys, one girl) by placing our room booking on Agoda.


Out and about

The drive to Qi Jian Xian Shi Fo Zu Gu Miao Temple was rather short as it was just a stone's throw away from our hotel.



 And walking distance from this temple is the Monkey God Temple.

how adorable can they be

Spotted right behind the Monkey God Temple


Lunch
Jeti Seafood Restaurant

You can't miss out Pasir Penambang at Kuala Selangor.  
It is the place to have some finger-licking-good seafood, grab all your high-calories crackers (be it prawn, fish or sweet potato), taste the local fishcakes and to snatch the fresh and cheap seafood!

How are we going to resist seafood?


Clockwise from top to bottom:
- Deep fried squid (sotong) coated with salted egg (RM12)
- Cheese mantis prawn (RM4 per prawn, RM24 for six prawns)
- Soft shell crab (RM9 per crab, RM 54 for six crabs)


the salted egg squid was the bomb

Having visited Jeti quite frequently, I can vouch for its reasonable and scrumptious dishes. But we feel somehow surprised that we were charged RM9 per soft shell crab as opposed to the RM4 written on the price board at the entrance.
Lesson learnt: double check the price with the waiter before ordering.

Total bill: RM 99.22


Pasir Penambang
There are a few other seafood restaurants at the same area which I'll talk about later. You will also find a number of shops selling salted fish, dried prawn, crackers etc etc. To me, the highlight of the place is no doubt the crackers and fishcakes.
After walking passed River View Restaurant and Jeti Restaurant, you'll find a shop selling fresh fish which price is hiked up due to its strategic location. Avoid this place if you can. Further down, you will find some shops selling almost the same things but there are two shops where you can buy them fishcakes in different forms: sandwiched between beancurd (fu chok), with boiled eggs, in tofu puff or just plain fishcakes. They are sold at RM11 for a three packets, which is a steal to me.
In addition to that, you can grab a botte of Umbra Juice with salted plum at RM3.