Just after we have arrived at our first stop (1) Lor Selamat at Jalan Macalister for lunch (12.35pm), we got an SMS from Wan Keong. He recommended us to try out the famous Cendol at Penang Road. After we told him of our plan to drive around the island and the sights we are going to visit, he recommended that we should check out the Spice Garden instead. Chok didn't join us for this trip and he is the only one who has been to the Spice Garden previously, as such, we were able to set our next destination (2) Spice Garden. The Butterfly Park is skipped. A new destination is added and it is Balik Pulau's Malihom. Wan Keong told us it is CIMB boss personal resort. This is a place that we looked forward to visit after his review.
The new final destinations are:
(1) Lunch at Lor Selamat (besides Jalan Macalister)
(2) Spice Garden
(3) Fishing village of Teluk Bahang
(4) Telok Bahang Dam
(5) Titi Kerawang waterfall (found this place after driving past)
(6) Malihom in Balik Pulau
It is a cloudy day and after we have arrived at the Spice Garden, we went down to the beach just next to it and observe the high tide. A few guys were fishing on the beach.
Here is the colourful entrance to the Tropical Spice Garden.
It cost RM14 per person and we were told to apply some insect repellent. I briefly rubbed on my exposed skin and check out the entrance surroundings.
There is a beautiful pond next to it.
The many spices that are showcased in this garden are placed at the reception. I love the fragrant smell to the spices.
Here I am hopping around.
The Spice Garden is located next to a hill and we gradually move upwards. There are bridges spanning small streams which we crossed.
And many walls with leaves hanging on it.
Beautiful red flowers (or spices)
A quiet flowing pool of rich mineral water.
More flowers.
While climbing up the hill, we stumbled upon a family of cats. As we reached the top, we saw only 2 cats made it to the top. I guess the other 2 are still somewhere at the middle of the hill.
There is a museum at the top of the hill which showcase the history and the importance of Penang in the Spice trade.
There is a lovely cafe where visitors can just sit and listen to the sea waves.
The walkway back to the reception from the cafe.
There are bamboo gardens in the Spice Garden.
A mini-waterfall where water gently flows down.
My friend told me this is a mega-aloe vera plant.
Check out this swing. There is a safety net in front just in case we lose balance and get swing ahead.
We move on to (3) Teluk Bahang next. This small fishing village is recommended by several of Penang's tourism sites as a place to spend a night and experience fishing village living. The hotel in this area is closed (probably due to too few visitors). When we arrived at the beach, there are a few fishing vessels unloading their catch for the day.
There are nothing much in this village, after hanging around for 10mins, we moved on southwards.
The next stop is the Dam. I read that this is the third dam in Malaysia. There is a large catchment of water and it is very quiet.
Visitors can walk along this long path.
Or just sit by and observe the quiet waters. We moved on after a 10mins stop.
While driving along the mountain road, we came upon the view of the western penang sea.
There is this area after the Tropical Fruit Farm with stalls by the side of the road. People who drove by just stop by the side and approach the stalls by the narrow road.
The bananas look tempting. :P
There are many fruit stalls around. This place is famous for its fresh fruits.
We decide to grab the yellow juicy banana. It cost RM4 for a bunch. Once we took our first bite into it, it is really sweet! We just can't stop and finished 4-5 bananas at one go. There is still a lot left and we decide to hang it at our mirror.
We saw a lot of people hanging around (5) Titi Kerawang waterfall. I asked Eric what it is and he told me it is a waterfall in Malay. We decided to check it out.
The waters flowing rapidly out beneath a bridge.
White waters flowing down.
The waters moving through the different patches of sunlight.
More images of waterfall.
We drove another 30mins after the waterfall till we arrived at Balik Pulau. After arriving at the town, we tried asking the locals whether do they know of this place call Malihom. They are not entirely sure about it. We just drove through the town towards Bayan Lepas, where our hotel is. We were about to give up on Malihom when we saw the sign 'Malihom' by the side of the road.
We U-turned back and drove up the village track, following the signs. It lead us to the top of a hill.
We came upon a few more signs telling us this is a private property. Is that an image of a dog?
More warning signs. (luckily there is no indication that visitors will be shot)
As what my friend call it, the Stonehenge of Penang. This is the entrance to Malihom.
There is a well-maintained koi pond by the side though there is still no one in sight.
More warning signs to come. We decide to walk up instead of driving our car, so we will be less conspicuous.
While walking mid-walk through Malihom, we heard barkings from a dog. Then we saw a black dog coming down. We decide to make our way to our car, but not before we took a few photo shots. After the photo taking, we noticed the dog coming over and we quickly moved back to our car. Here is the image of the dog taken after we have boarded our car. I think it want us to leave.
After we have left Malihom, we decided to check out whether is there any other way to Malihom. We proceeded to an alternate hill road. After driving a bit, we found we were stuck. What follows is a dramatic 30mins which I will not highlight in detail here. I don't think we will want anyone to know what happen next.
A good Samaritan came along and we were saved. Here is an image of the good Samaritan. We were really grateful for his help.
We traveled down the hill and back on the mainroad towards Bayan Lepas. We were really glad to be back in civilization again. Luckily we got back in time for the 7.45pm movie session at Queensbay.
