Did you know that Karak highway isn’t the only route going from KL to Genting Highland? Long before the shiny toll way was built, there was an older road from just behind Batu Caves going to Genting via a little town called Ulu Yam. That road is still there, and remain my favorite way to go up to the highland retreat if time is on my side.

There are a few reasons:

• The scenery is beautiful, especially when you drive by Batu Dam lake.
• the winding road makes driving a pleasure
• coconut shrimps at ulu yam!

Okay, maybe mostly about the coconut shrimps..

Sammy liked it!

The first time I went there was on the new year eve of 2006 with the MR2 club. Wait, I just realized that’s more than 2.5 years ago… Anyway, I went there again a few months ago with Sammy (her account) and of course, we ordered the coconut shrimps, and a plate vegetable to go with rice.

We had actually ordered the lala as well but I must applaud the honesty of the shop keeper in informing us that lala wasn’t very fresh that day and advised us against ordering it.

prawns, slurps slurps

Coconut Shrimps is basically a curry dish where by they stuff a lot of prawns cooked much like the asam prawn style into a fresh coconut. The curry mixed with coconut creates a unique taste that is both spicy, sour, and slightly sweet of coconut taste; very unique and rather tasty. Onion, garlic and chili padi makes up part of the ingredients too.

Ulu Yam is some 27 kilometers from batu caves

There was plenty of prawns in that one single coconut and we thoroughly it. The ingredients were fresh and curry flavorful. Even the simple fried vegetable dish was rather delightful too.

If I remember correctly, that meal was less than RM 35 for the two of us. Value for money, and great tasting too. Give it a try if you’re up for an alternate way to Genting. GPS coordinate might not be spot on, but it won’t be far off.

Address:
14, Kampung Baru,
Ulu Yam Baru, 44300
Ulu Selangor, Selangor
GPS: 3.427212, 101.659948
Tel: 03-6075 1826, 012-228 2546

Tags:  asam-prawn,  coconut,  sammy,  seafood,  ulu yam

Posted by KY | 29 Comments »

Less than 2 weeks ago, Suan organized a day trip for us, and specifically for the hot chick to the Chiling Falls. This waterfall that is sitauted less than an hour’s drive away from PJ is listed as one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Selangor. Together with ST, Kim, and FA, we had a great time two Thursdays ago.

More pictures at my flickr set

the guardian lion, temple at Rawang

We engaged a guide for this tour, which turned out to be an excellent decision as our guide, Yen, turned out to be very good at what he is doing. After meeting at PJ, we drove to Rawang and first stopped by a Buddhist temple for some prayers and photography opportunity.

Buddhist Temple

After that we stopped by the small town of Kuala Kubu Bharu for a heavier breakfast before proceeding with the journey. The small town reminded me of the Penang of yesteryears, very peaceful and simple. We had some really good wantan mee there.

Just before heading to the waterfalls, we also stopped by the Selangor Dam.

stopped by Kuala Kubu Bharu for breakfast

The Chiling Falls is actually located quite deep inside the jungle. To reach there, we had to track the jungle for over an hour through pretty thick growth in the jungle.

jungle tracking for over an hour

The trail was pretty challenging, we had to cross the river on 5 occasions and the water could be up to chest high. Luckily our guide is very experienced and came prepared with safety ropes. I had to pack the camera in waterproof plastic bag, and hence denied the opportunity to captured some of the more interesting moments whilst crossing the river. It was quite an experience.

hot chick crossing the river

The river falls under government protection and absolutely no fishing is allowed. The river is actually packed with a lot of native fresh water fish that are absolutely fearless to human. We fed them with some bread Yen brought with him.

The guide was a lot more prepared than I thought, he actually had a stove set and made some hot drinks for us from boiling the water from Chiling river. I made a joke that it would be perfect if he had a hammock as well, and to my utter disbelieve, he ACTUALLY have a hammock with him (sans the ropes to tie it around the trees)!

feeding the fish with FA

After hanging out at the main waterfall for over an hour, it was time to make the return journey. On the way back FA actually lost her shoes in the rapids and had to walk over half an hour barefoot. The guide also picked up some trash (such as broken shoes) that were left from the other irresponsible tourists. We then had a very late lunch at Ulu Yam before returning home dead tired.

The magnificent chiling falls

It was quite an adventurous trip and certainly a very enjoyable one. Perfect for a weekend getaway that does not involve going to the shopping malls. Yen can be contacted at happyyen at gmail.com or 017369 7831. He charges RM180 for a group of 2 to 8 person and will supply more guide if you have a bigger group.

Tags:  chilling,  selangor,  ulu yam,  visit,  visit malaysia,  waterfall

Posted by KY | 33 Comments »