November 2010 | The Princess Diaries

Short vacation 。Langkawi here I come 。again~

Published at 23:16 in * Island chic 。岛游记, * On vacation 。公主游记, **Malaysia 。马来西亚, *Kedah 。吉打, *Langkawi。浮罗交怡岛, ^ Travel 。我们爱旅行, EOS 500D, EOS 550D

I always think that Langkawi is a place for all purposes - romantic getaway, family gathering, friends outing, and even ecotourism. I think that I'm addicted to visiting Langkawi because in just 3 years, I've been there for 3 times.. I know it's not really THAT frequent, maybe some other people do it even more frequently.

I just like being there, everything is just as calm.

Eat, play, love.

And I don't mind to get drunk in Langkawi.

The cable car had earned enough from me... my third time up there.

Mesmerizing at Pantai Cenang behind our chalet.

Went on another mangrove tour.

Visited Tun Mahathir's Galleria Perdana.

Enjoying the sea breeze, sitting by the river bank at Dataran Lang.

Just be there... to find almost any type of liquor.

And... I love Glenfiddich!! One more please?

Hidden Gem of Penang Island - Pantai Kerachut (Part II)

Published at 00:00 in * Island chic 。岛游记, * On vacation 。公主游记, **Malaysia 。马来西亚, *Penang 。槟城, ^ Travel 。我们爱旅行, Lumix FS3

(...continue from previous post)

I love this scenic sunset at the jetty!

The after shower me. It's getting darker and without DSLR images are not that attractive anymore at night... I didn't want to turn on the flash as I'd no longer able to capture the sunset color with myself right in front of the camera.

Foodie time at 7 something. Rice cooked with the Bunsen burner. The rest, mostly instantly good-to-eat processed food. Yet we had a big variety of food, few types of instant noodle, marinated stuffs for BBQ, loads of snacks and junk food, and beverages. Too hungry to snap more photos.

This is how dark it is at 8pm. I didn't see other campers around except us and another foreigner who seemed to have camped there for more than 1 week. Maybe he was there for research. Scary huh? Maybe can hold a Halloween party here. Will be interesting.

After dinner we went to the jetty for games. No more photos as I still haven't get them from our photographer.. I slept few hours on the wooden bridge, then moved to the tent because I really CANNOT tahan the mosquitoes!! (grumble)

x x x x x x x x x x

The very next morning I didn't manage to wake up during sunrise... WELL ANYWAY THERE WON'T BE ANY SUNRISE HERE ok.. You're at the North-West facing the sea. Remember the sunset? Unless you're at the Northern most or Southern most of the island then you can enjoy both the sunrise and sunset.

Now about the Turtle Hatchery. We took a left turn after coming out from our camp site. You will see signs of "Turtle Crossing" on the way. These are the exact places where you will find turtles coming to lay eggs during midnight, if you are lucky. I guess one of the reasons to off all the lights after 12am is not to scare away the turtles.

BLUE! BLUE! BLUE! I'm finding it hard to believe that I'm still in Penang... Compare it with the colors surrounding the Penang Bridge.

Here we are! At the turtle conservation center.

I like this!! Fence painted with stenciled design of turtles.

So looks like some Intel employees sponsored this tutle hatchery and sanctuary.

A little piece of information of biology:
"A sea turtle embryo develops inside of an eggshell that keeps it from drying out but allows for gas exchange. As development proceeds, the chorion and allantois fuse to form the chorioallantois membrane, whice facillitates embryonis "breathing"."

Behind this container...

OMG!! OMG!! Cute little turtles. These were just hatched not so long ago, waiting to be released back to the sea. Made me think of Sammy's Adventure.

Then we went into the center for more information and to see the illustrated hatching process.

Data logger for another batch of turtle eggs.

If my house has this view...

Finally it's time to go back. We were exhausted to hike back, we knew that we would be exhausted, so before we came yesterday, we have chartered a speedboat for the journey back. There are a few special spots to see if you're riding a speedboat back.

The "Turtle Rock". A fisherman's standing on its back.

The alligator head. Can you spot it?

So many people fishing on the rock. Cool.

Till then, we're back to the shoreline.

Next time if you have enough time, consider to depart early so that you can cover another spectacular spot as well -- The Light House (spot E). But that's another challenging task as you can see from the trail guide, it's not just next to Kerachut Beach.

-- end --

Hidden Gem of Penang Island - Pantai Kerachut (Part I)

Published at 20:13 in * Island chic 。岛游记, * On vacation 。公主游记, **Malaysia 。马来西亚, *Penang 。槟城, ^ Travel 。我们爱旅行, Lumix FS3

The down to earth side of Penang Island. A hidden gem behind the vibrance of Georgetown. Pure sea, sand and sun. It's at the North-West Coast of Penang Island, overlooking Malacca Straits.

In order to get there, this is where to begin. The jetty at Teluk Bahang. Nearby is the car park area for visitors. Park, pay and walk towards the Penang National Park entrance. For lazybones, you can choose to take a boat ride here instead of hiking through the jungle.

Pantai Kerachut is actually just a part of the Penang National Park coverage area, there are A,B,C,D,E,F,G spots for stopovers if you really want to finish exploring the whole Penang National Park. See the trail guide, we're heading to F - Pantai Kerachut. And oh yea, did I mention there is also a turtle hatchery and sanctuary too? There's an icon right under the Pantai Kerachut picture! (getting excited.. I was there 10 years ago but there was no hatchery yet)

Bought a ticket each and our journey began!

Directions~ Kerachut Beach. The journey takes approximately 1hr 20minutes. Didn't snap much photos in the jungle as we have a 'professional' camera man assigned with the task.. (but I still haven't get any photos from him yet.. T__T)

After 1hr plus we were finally crossing the bridge of Pantai Kerachut! Sandy beach here I come! It was already 5pm. We departed late because we planned to camp there.

This is the Unique Lake.

"This lake that you observe of this moment is known as meromictic lake. Do you know that in Malaysia, this kind of lake can only be found at Penang National Park? As a matter of fact, the lake is only available at 19 places around the world." (WoW!! I'm so proud to be a Penangite yea~)

What makes it so attractive and unique?
"Meromictic" reffers to the two layers of sea and river water which does not mix with each other. Fresh water is relatively lower in density as compared to the hypersaline sea water.

Can you guess which type of water occupies the upper layer?
This lake is covering an area of 2.77 km square with a maximum depth f 9 feet in full capacity, the lake can provide water to 2,5000 household for one year.

Have extracted the text as above in case you're not able to read properly the small fonts..

A panoramic view of the beach.

Like A Dam. The Meromictic Lake.

"Local proverb says "Once there is a flood, the beach will change". It really explained the formation of this lake.

The natural process of inundating and drawing out water from this lake happen intermittenly. It can be witnessed in the months of April-May and October-November which is the transitional period between monsoon.

During these periods, huge waves and strong wind will move sand to form natural dam. Eventually, the lake will be filling with the sea and the river water that surround it

Similarly, the huge wave and strong wind can crush down the dam, and draw the water out of the lake. This phenomenon can take place several times within this transitional period

Only those lucky visitors may witness this unique event.

Obviously I was NOT the lucky one~ It's dry!!

If you're a lucky visitor, you get to see this beautiful meromictic lake. I enjoyed soaking in it during my last visit (which was 10 years ago!), there were little fish and prawns you can find inside too. Just my luck~

Off to the campsite and setting up tents. I was lucky to have Scouts (and King Scout too) in my group. They did all the tough tasks, including carrying a 20kg backpack (charcoal, food, Bunsen burner, tents, etc...) all the way from the carpark! :P

Not allowed to light a camp fire. Lights off after 12am. That's why most of us didn't sleep here but they slept on the jetty bridge after having enough game session at the jetty.

Little creatures to watch out. I didn't get to spot any.

Yippie! After 10 years I'm back to this beautiful seaside. Now there are even turtles here. Turtle hatchery in the next post. Stay tune.

A tranquil seaside. Unlike the touristy spots. Man I love the seabreeze! This beach is less known by the foreigners, usually the foreigners go to Monkey Beach at the other side.

Our Taiwanese friend. He loves it here.

Colors in the sky when it's almost sunset. Reflections on the fireball on the sea, like a mirror, sparkling as diamonds in the water.

No swimming here. There are more jellyfish than fish that I could find in the water. And they're super big size jellyfish.

Mesmerizing at the jetty while waiting for my turn to shower. There are basic ameneties for campers at Pantai Kerachut, including shower (cold cold water!!) and small kitchen with basins and water supply. But taking a shower there is a terrible experience. Mosquitoes kept kissing my butt! Unless you leave the water running nonstop.