sOleiLian

As promised, a new blog entry in November! And yes, a spanking new banner for my blog too! :D As you can see, it’s basically a montage of my travels. Well, that means I’ll have some of those squares replaced with new images from time to time if I happen to travel to new places. So do keep an eye on it always! Who knows you might be the first to spot the change! ;)

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Last Saturday, I joined a friend for a day of trekking at the fabulous Penang National Park in the remote yet picturesque coastal town of Teluk Bahang on the northwestern tip of Penang. Long famed for its beautiful beaches and jungles, the town remains one of my favourite places in the Pearl of the Orient.

It was my first time visiting the nature reserve although I’ve been staying on the island for more than 3 years. And I wasn’t even prepared for a big surprise. I never expected it to boast a fact that not many Malaysians knew about ~ at 2,563 hectares (25.63 sq km), the Penang National Park is in fact the world’s smallest national park! Besides, it’s also home to one of a handful of meromictic lakes in the whole of Asia. Man… I’m lovin’ this isle more than ever! Seriously, where in Malaysia can you get a rich dose of history, culture, gastronomy, urban, shopping, nightlife, beaches, and nature in one compact place like Penang? It’s really a place like no other! ;)

A swing tied to a branch at the earlier part of the jungle trail

Getting ready to cross a bridge!

Entrance is free. All you need to do is to register your name at the counter and you’re all set to explore one of the last virgin rainforests remained in Penang. So all you nature lovers, you shouldn’t give this national park a miss. It’s well worth the trip, I guarantee!

These lil’ guys were everywhere in the park!

Jungle trail cutting through the heart of the forest

Overgrown trees and narrow pathway

There were 2 main trails, and we chose the one that covered Pantai Kerachut (Kerachut Beach) and the meromictic lake. It took us an hour of trekking and hiking to reach there. Our effort was pretty rewarding, as we were welcomed by some truly awesome sights upon arrival. I was especially exhilarated the moment I saw the beach (and one that was practically unpolluted)! Am a sucker for sun, sea, and sand, in case you didn’t already know! :P

The very, very rare meromictic lake!

The bridge, the beach, and the sea

Sand, water, and mud

The elements up close

Look how beautiful and clean these sands and waters were!

Yet another shot! How could one not take any photos when he was surrounded by these stunning views? :P

Sea, sea, sea! Oh my, I’m lovin’ it!

Barnacles on the rocks!

Oh… *knees went weak*

Pantai Kerachut, one very awesome beach I must say, although the sand was not those powdery type I was after!

It was noon, and we decided to get ourselves just a lil’ bit of tan as we forgot to bring along our sunscreens!

Since it was still early, my friend suggested that we took the other trail which would lead us to the famous Monkey Beach. Yet another beach! *ecstatic* So we returned to the same arduous path again, went past sharp cliffs and thick foliage, and finally back to the intersection where the trails first began to diverge.

Saw this lil’ friend on our way back. A bit blurry as the leaf it rested on kept swaying in the breeze (no, I ain’t gonna blame on shaky hands! LOL).

The canopy walk

Red barks

Blue, blue seas

As we’d lost our map earlier on, we mistook the beach in front of our university’s research centre (yes, they have one of their many research labs here on the beach!) as the Monkey Beach. Actually, I did doubt about this as there was nary a tourist here and the sight of rubbish being washed ashore on the beach (despite having finer stretch of sand than Pantai Kerachut) was quite unconvincing. I remembered seeing wonderful images of the Monkey Beach on the net. This really couldn’t be it!

The husk of a coconut. Very beachy (pardon the pun)!

Green, green moss

Next time, we told ourselves. *sigh* And we’ll be back for sure! ;)

c a t e g o r y | passport to nowhere
f l u f f e r p u f f | beaches . lakes . malaysia . parks & gardens . penang . travels

25 sOleiLians