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All excited over our island excursion.
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| Rested and happy |
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| The buggies are used to ferry guests around the resort |
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| This banner together with the resort's online website is a throw off for eager guests. Operating with only 20 staffs and only for group bookings, Claudine had a hard time securing the rooms until 2 weeks before the trip! |
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| Some of us on the way back after the boat ride @ resort entrance |
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| Infinity pool |
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| West Temenggor Lake Bridge |
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| That's us in the pool |
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| Lake view, approaching the boat house |
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| One of the villas |
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| Balcony view from the villa |
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| Hafiz happily taking our photos |
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| Canopy Walkway |
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| Canopy Walkway |
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| There's even a short jungle trail ! |
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| Another villa |
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| Dipping in the infinity pool |
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| A splashing good time with view of West Temenggor Lake Bridge in the background |
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| A royal good time ! |
After a night of merriment in Mr Lim's room which includes beer, singing and dancing, we met again this morning for breakfast. Stepping into the restaurant at the stipulated meet up time of 8 am, Claudine was shocked everyone had started before her! Despite the free and easy agenda which includes sleeping in, everyone had risen early, eager and hungry to start the day!
Due to Covid 19 pandemic, the resort was running on low occupancy. A breakfast spread was set before our table specially for our group to avoid cross contamination whilst the usual bread, eggs and cereal counters were open. There's no worry of food rationing as the staffs will happily replenish our platter upon requests which works out really well to avoid wastage of food.
After breakfasts, we took our bikes out to explore the island. Clearly, our bikes were stressed out from yesterday's climb as Henry's chain broke immediately upon exiting the resort!
Returning to East Temenggor Lake Bridge, we rode past and beyond Jeti Awam Pulau Banding. Heading north of the island, we followed the tarmac road passing by a quaint looking cafeteria with spectacular vantage points of the lake.
Venturing further beyond, we came upon a seemingly unmanned water treatment plant with its gates wide opened. The only deterrent was a signboard depicting a trespasser falling backwards, shot by an armed man wielding a shotgun! Oooooo.....SCARYYYYY!!!
Just before the road narrows to a single lane tarmac, we came upon a smaller jetty with floating pontoons. Beyond that, the road narrowed and narrowed before disappearing altogether, replaced by dirt and gravel tracks. We had not gone far on this stretch when 2 men on a motorcycle caught up with us. They explained the track was once used by hikers but has since been abandoned due to landslides. They were on their way to another secluded jetty.
Abandoning our mission altogether, we back tracked to Jeti Awam Pulau Banding where we boarded a boat for a round island excursion upon LC's arrival. LC who did not join us earlier had resourcefully roped in the help of the resort staff. Riding pillion on a motorcycle without a helmet, she was whizzed over even before our iced teas were finished !
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| West Temenggor Lake Bridge with view of our resort |
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| View of the island in the center, flanked by both bridges. The red roof on the left is the Sri Banding army camp, located on the mainland for the purpose of safe guarding the entire area |
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| East Temenggor Lake Bridge, view of the mainland |
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| East Temenggor Lake Bridge, view of the island |
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| Going under the bridge |
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| The floating jetty |
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| Call 019-4083304 for a boat booking. We paid RM150 for a boat which could accommodate 12 of us comfortably. |
Pulau Banding is actually a man made island on Temenggor Lake, both by products from the construction of Temenggor Dam for hydro-electric. The necessary flooding of the area uprooted 3 orang asli villages living in the surrounding area. If you travel by boat, you can still spot dead tree trunks, half submerged in the waters.
Returning to our resort, we were again treated to a sumptuous lunch. No holiday is proper without an afternoon siesta to which we eagerly added into the agenda.
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| Hafiz, our tour guide explaining kelulut or stingless bee to us |
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| The hive |
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| Natural wound healing plant that can also stop bleeding |
When we met again, we participated in a short tour around the resort before our much awaited kayaking and rafting session. It was hilarious to see the competitive sides of each individual, slowly unravelling as they familiarized themselves with the oars. Mindy kept urging everyone on a dragon boat race. When Team VT almost caught up with her raft, she went into a frantic rowing session. Egged on by Kelvin who shouted instructions, "Left, Right, Left, Right...." we couldn't help bursting into laughter when she was the only one rowing oblivious, that Jasmine and Kelvin were just enjoying a free ride!
After our boating session, we proceeded to the infinity pool for a dipping session. Thereafter, another stuff face session followed by another night of merriment in Mr Lim's room.
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| With Musa the hotel manager |
Photo credits :
Amy
Mindy
Cindy
Chooi
Henry
Simon
KH
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Belum Rainforest Resort Houseboat
Amoi, captain, leader... tqvm. This is my highlight of the trip. Belum Rainforest Resort - the gateway to nature. Awesome scenery, freshest of air. Great food. Wonderful co of team mates. Super friendly staff. Love the boat ride...what a blast. I wouldn't mind coming here again.
ReplyDeleteThe write-up and pictures are superb. Excellent job Claudine.
Agree! I will definitely make it back to Belum Rainforest Resort and perhaps try out their villa. But it is always the great company that counts....especially you!
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