25 Jan - 26 Jan 2010 Gerik

Perak Darul Ridzuan
Gerik
Jalan Toh Shah Bandar 21
Gerik Hotel +60192274676
Clean and spacious double room with air-con for MYR 50.- or US$ 14.60 per night.
Indifferent Malaysian Chinese owner - money matters.


Click below for an interactive road map of the Gerik Hotel in Gerik, which we would recommend, and for directions:










Driving leisurely along Peninsular Malaysia's scenic Lebuhraya aka East-West Expressway through a varied scenery of new palm-oil estates, old rubber plantations and timeless jungles (now in danger of heavy illegal logging), stopping in a number of traditional Malaysian Malay kampungs and relaxed Malaysian Chinese country towns, such as Lenggong, famous for its farmed XXXL-size ikan belida aka giant grey featherback, and making time for some delicious pescetarian and vegetarian local food: (i) buying life patin fish aka ikan patin (MYR 12.- per kg) from a fish farmer and having it cooked to perfection in Liau's delicious temboyak sauce (blending durian, turmeric, chilli, shallots, garlic and salt) at a friendly road-side warung, (ii) learning to add infamous petai (Parkia speciosa), a kind of green, edible beans in a long, flat and beaded pod with bright green seeds the size and shape of plump almonds which have a rather peculiar smell, and sambal ikan bilis to our steamed white rice aka nasi putih and (iii) pigging out on an undisclosed number of sweet and juicy, handball-sized pomelos which were just in season.



“Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” 
“The journey not the arrival matters.”



Visiting the Rainforest Research Centre +60377107066 on Banding Island in the middle of the artificial 15,200-ha Lake Temenggor, learning about the last 500 wild Malayan tigers (Panthera tigris jacksoni), the national animal, in the jungle of West Malaysia and about the ambitious "National Tiger Action Plan" which aims at doubling the number of wild tigers in Peninsular Malaysia to 1,000 by the year 2020 CE; many thanks, Hamiazrim and Faread for all your detailed explanations and interesting stories.



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