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Saturday 3 November 2012

*Belum Rainforest Resort: Part 2 ( Royal belum Excursion Package)


This post is a sequel to my earlier post:
Belum Rainforest Resort: Part 1 (Resort Review)
click to view

Our excursion started on Day 2, after breakfast. Our tour guide Zaki and the boat pilot Frankie were already waiting at the jetty. We were touring as a foursome: the two of us, a French woman and her teenage son.
These are Elizabeth and her son. First on our itinerary was to see the Rafflesia which is the largest flower in the world.
It took some time before our boat reached this place. From the docking area, it took another 20-25 minutes' steep hike into the rainforest before we could see the flower.
We finally found a Rafflesia perched on the slope. I was expecting to see a huge flower but this looked rather small and it was the only one in sight.
There are probably bigger ones in other parts of this forest. Anyway, the species with the largest flowers are not found in Belum.
Quite a number of these Rafflesia buds were sighted though.
The descent back to the boat was a lot easier. From here we proceeded to our next destination.
On the way, the 2nd section of the bridge came into view.. This section connects Banding Island to the east (Kelantan).
The lake is beautiful and I really enjoyed the cool morning breeze as our boat cruised on.
A tilapia farm we saw on the way
Some parts of the lake were extremely calm.
The lake is huge and we ran out of fuel twice. The boat had to stop to refuel.
Our next destination was to see the elephant trail.
Our tour guide Zaki trying to get the boat docked.
From here, it was another steep hike into the forest to see the salt licks.
This is a salt lick.  Just as human needs to supplement their diet by taking minerals & vitamins, the animals in the forest need to to do that too. They have to regularly consume the soil in the salt lick for their well being. There are approximately 60 salt licks in Belum. 
I was hoping to see the wild elephants but what we saw were just elephant tracks and fresh elephant dung. Tracks of wild boar and other animals were also sighted around the salt licks.
The various destinations in our itinerary are not close to each other at all. It took about an hour's cruise on the lake to get from one place to another.
Our next stop was the Orang Asli settlement.
This village by the lakeside is inhabited by only thirty Orang Asli.
With the Orang Asli children.
Our last destination was the Sungai Enam Base Camp. From the place where our boat docked it was another half an hour's hike into the campsite.
There are some basic facilities here, such as washroom, tap water and accommodation units (with minimum amenities). 
There is a map showing the track up a waterfall
The waterfall is 4-tiered. This photo shows the 1st tier. We were too exhausted to climb to the 4th tier.
Lunch was pre-packed and included in the excursion.
The chicken and the sandwich was rather bland but a hungry man could not be choosy.
This is a lantern bug, seen while walking up to the camp.
Flora & Fauna are aplenty here.
After that last destination we cruised back to the resort. We started our excursion at 9.30am and reached the resort at 4.15pm.
Our French companions enjoyed this excursion but I only enjoyed the boat ride and the scenery around the lake. I have been to several Orang Asli villages, hiked into rainforest, seen many Malaysian waterfalls and even rode on elephants into a jungle so this excursion didn't really excite me. In fact I find it a little exhausting.

HOUSEBOAT TOUR:
The resort also owns a houseboat. Even though I did not go for the houseboat package I can furnish you with some information as I toured the houseboat while it was docked at the jetty. 
The maximum capacity of the houseboat is 16pax.
This is far from a luxury boat.
One of the rooms look like this. There are 2 twin double-decker beds with a small table, no attached washroom.
This one has 4 twin double decker beds, also no attached washroom.
This is the shared washroom. The cleanliness is certainly found wanting.
This room comes with a queen bed and attached washroom. (the only one with attached washroom)
And the pilot...LOL
The activities in the houseboat and the booking rate. Booking is based on per boat not per pax. 



















14 comments :

sirikit said...

Thanks for the detailed photo of the houseboat. It's definitely helpful.

Anonymous said...

Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is magnificent, let alone the content!

Anonymous said...

I really like your blog.. very nice colors
& theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for
you? Plz reply as I'm looking to construct my own
blog and would like to know where u got this from. kudos

Lily... said...

2 years. Thanks for the compliments.

Lily... said...

Created by trial and error. Anyway, thanks for liking it.

LeoCW said...

Stumble onto your post while searching for Belum forest. Very good illustrations and details.

Would like to know how much is the foursome boat ride...

Lily... said...

Hi Leo, my 3D2N stay came as a package which include full board and the excursion. I can't tell you how much the excursion alone costs, neither can I remember how much was paid for the package. Anyway the rate would have changed by now. How about asking the hotel?

LeoCW said...

Thanks. Sure, I 'll surely do so.

Lily... said...

The swimming should be ready by now. Enjoy your stay !

LeoCW said...

Foursome boat ride is RM400.

Lily... said...

Thanks for the latest info. It would be a help for my blog visitors who wish to know.

Anne said...

Thanks Lily for the description on Belum. Very informative. About the Houseboat, is it very shaky when people walk on it. I'm just wondering whether it would be nauseous when 15 people are walking around in the Houseboat. Thanks!

Lily... said...

Sorry Anne, for the late reply. The lake in quite calm, unlike the sea so the motion on the boat would not be that unbearable. Anyway if you are sensitive, it's good to bring some giddy pills along.

Anne said...

Thanks for your reply!

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