Tuesday 3 December 2013

A day trip to Kuala Selangor.

One day trip in local! Yeah, having a relaxing trip to Kuala Selangor was our desired planning.
 
Kuala Selangor is one of the great tourist attractions of Malaysia. It is a coastal town at the river mouth of the the Selangor River. There are many attactions in Kuala Selangor. Firefly Park, Nature Park, Bukit Melawati , Fishing Village and some seafood restaurants in Pasir Penambang are famous places.

The fireflies is the biggest attraction of Kuala Selangor. Anyway we didn't plan to go there for the trip as my kids were scared to be in the dark on the river. We decided to go to Bukit Melawati and Pasir Penambang. Well, that was the time for my kids to go somewhere new and hung out where I could find my own favorites.

We took Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway(LATAR Expressway) to get there. It is only an hour's drive from KL. There are 3 toll plazas along LATAR Expressway. All 3  toll plazas charge the same rate. Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels (except taxi) have to pay RM2.00 per toll plaza. In total, we paid RM6.00.

Getting up to Bukit Melawati can be done via the tram ride or walking on weekends. During weekends, cars are not allowed up the hill, there would be trams that run up the hill from the foothill. We got no chance to take any tram there because the day we visited to Bukit Melawati was a weekday but we were allowed to drive up to the hill.

Once we arrived the entrance of Bukit Melawati , my kids were waiting impatiently for the sightseeing of new places. Our first impression of the starting end was the fresh and greenish environment. A lot of rain trees were planted around the hill slopes. Oh, a nice recreational park.

recreational park


Driving up to the highest point would take to the place where most visitors congregate.The first thing we saw was the silver leaf monkeys. There were many silver leaf monkeys hanging around on the road. Ha ha! we "greeted" by those monkeys. Most of the silver leaf monkeys there were very approachable. We saw a few visitors buying food from a vendor there for feeding those monkeys. What was fascinated me was the orange-haired baby monkey. It is the offspring of the silver leaf monkey. The silver leaf monkeys are Bukit Melawati's most popular attraction. You can see those monkeys not only on the hilltop but also some other places around the hill. Usually, you might see the silver leaf monkeys sitting quietly among the trees, along the bridge or railings, around park benches and roadsides. They are not aggressive.

silver leaf monkeys


Second attraction of Bukit Melawati is the lighthouse which stand "proudly" on the highest point. Visitors are not allowed to go into the lighthouse. We could only take the photos from the outside. This lighthouse is the town's famous landmark. It was built in 1907 and it is also known as the Altingsburg Lighthouse.

Altingsburg Lighthouse


Next to the lighthouse is  the Historical Museum of Kuala Selangor District. It is free entry. If you want to know the information or histories about Kuala Selangor, it is highly recommended to have a visit there. In front of the Historical Museum, there are many ancient cannons and a lot of huge trees which provide shelters from the sun.

View in front of the Historical Museum of Kuala Selangor

 
In front of the lighthouse is the viewing point. From the top, we had a spectacular view of the plains right up to the seaside. We enjoyed the panoramic view of  the Strait of Malacca from the peak.


View of the Strait of Malacca


Opposite the Historical Museum of Kuala Selangor is the Baitulhal Bukit Melawati. This is the place to sight the new moon to determine the beginning of Ramadan and Syawal.

Baitulhal Bukit Melawati


We spent nearly three hours in Bukit Melawati. Later, we headed to Pasir Penambang, a Chinese fishing village. Pasir Penambang is famous for its fresh seafood. There are many seafood restaurants in Pasir Penambang. Majority of the seafood restaurants here are Chinese seafood restaurants. Apart from seafood restaurants, there are a few Chinese temples in the village. One of the Chinese temples there named Qi Jian Xian Shi Fo Zu Gu Miao or in chinese it is called 七剑先师佛祖古庙 is a unique temple. The design is so special. There is a cave looking structure built on the top of the temple.

A Chinese temple named Qi Jian Xian Shi Miao in Pasir Penambang


There is a cave looking structure built on the top of the Chinese temple


While we were hanging around  outside the temple, we chatted with a lady who stayed nearby the temple. She is a very kind and helpful person. She showed us the way to get to the coastal housing area of the fishing village. As my kids had been longing to see the fishing boats and the life of fishing village,that was a good time to bring them along.

The coastal housing area is just few minutes walking distance from the Chinese temple. We walked along a narrow lane beside the houses and reached the place where fisherman parked their fishing boats. Here we had witnessed the life of the fishermen living in the houses built on stilts.

fishing village

A few fishing boats parked along the Selangor River.


The evening was approaching, the east was dim ...... it seemed to tell us that it was the time for dinner. It was right! Our next desired destination was a seafood restaurant. There are two large seafood restaurants located by the river which nearby the Chinese temple. One is called River View Seafood Restaurant and the neighboring seafood restaurant  is called Jeti Seafood Restaurant. We came into the Jeti Seafood Restaurant. This restaurant has a spacious wooden platform built on stilts and extended towards the river. Since it was a weekday, the restaurant was not crowded. There for, we had a free choice of tables to sit at. We chose a table which right facing the river. Here, we had our delicious meal while enjoying the beautiful scenery. We liked the feeling of having dinner by the river. Although the restaurant was not air-conditioned but the cool breeze was blowing and blowing......quite pleasant. We stayed at the seafood restaurant for about one and a half hours. We were not only enjoying the evening scenery but also the beautiful night view of the river.


sunset at Kuala Selangor



night view of Selangor River

After dinner, we bought a few packets of prawn crackers and some dried seafood from the shops nearby the seafood restaurant. They were considerably cheaper than other places in Kuala Lumpur.

After that, we departed from Kuala Selangor back to home with sweet memories. We were tired but happy.......





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