Continuing the once a month overseas trip, we went to Johor for 3 days in July 2023 (24 to 26)
Started early at 600 am towards Causeway, and headed for Pulai to do a short hike up the mountain (Gunung Pulai, 600 plus metres) before check-in at first night accomodation at the Rainforest Treehouse…
Arrived around 730am, nice and early, but…gate was close on Monday!! (this is for the hike along the road that leads to the top)
Luckily, we met two locals who were doing the jungle trail and asked if we could follow them…(as we could not locate the trail to go up). After a bit of looking, they managed to find the first opening for the trail and we were on our way up a rather steep jungle trail (marked with tape along the way, so you will know if still on the right path)..
After this short walk up (to sort of no where, as the they were just taking a short hike) and resting a while, we came back down…and then followed them up onto another trail up (this time, near the sign that says “do not enter” in Malay very near to the main gate).
After a while, Chien stopped heading up as it was rather steep and rested while we continued to head up for a little more…had a nice chat with the couple while we rested, before heading down to meet up with Chien again (around 10am)
With some time to spare and getting hungry, we headed to the nearby town of Pekannanas for breakfast, walked around a bit (went to Mr DIY and bought some stuff, it was such good value)
And then we headed back towards Pulai where the Rainforest Treehouse was (just 400m away from our hiking start point earlier)
This is an interesting homestay that also serves as a school and had a cafe (closed on Monday too) and we were the only guests for that night, haha … Except for some volunteers (a Swiss girl and another guy) who were there for free board in exchange for ding some work (5hr, help out 8n kitchen, or maintenance of the place etc)
Meals was simple and healthy (mainly vegetables, beans and eggs, with rice and soup) and communal (we ate with the staff, volunteers and the teachers)
Our room was the one above the library and bright and airy, (equipped with fan and lights and mattresses) quite high up from the dining/main area and it was a sweaty climb to reach….three showers and toilets are located a short distance away from where we stayed
Next morning after breakfast, we had a short tour of the upper parts of the place above where we stayed (site of the original treehouses which are now mo longer usable)
We visited the waterfall after this short tour of the premises…
had lunch at the homestay
And then headed for Kota Tinggi …this was once a very popular town for local tourists, being near to the Kota Tinggi waterfalls. However, we learnt from our guide the next morning that it is now closed permanently, as the waters have become very muddy due to developments taking place nearby.
It was an overnight stay for us in Kota Tinggi, in order to go for the guided trip to Panti Nature Reserve. After dinner at the Red Diamond Seafood restaurant, we did some grocery shopping near our hotel and slept early for our trip early the next day.
It was rather quiet at Panti although we did manage to see some small birds and hear the call of gibbons and hornbills..
We left Kota Tinggi after a quick lunch and then went to Johor Baru, Mid Valley SouthKey for a late lunch and more shopping before reaching home around 7pm…
all in, a nice little break!!
While I Live, I Learn 