Getting To Taman Negara Is Half The Fun – Part 1

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Tara

Most people approach the birder’s paradise of Taman Negara from either Kuala Lumpur or the Cameron Highlands by one of the shuttle services. The Cameron Highlands – Taman Negara shuttle is run through Cameron Secrets and will pick you up at your accommodation early in the morning. Either way, you will have a two-part journey – the road trip to Kuala Tembelling and a boat ride to Kuala Tahan just opposite the park entrance.

PART 1 – MINIBUS TO KUALA TEMBELLING

Heading out of Tanah Rata, there is some beautiful mountain scenery to enjoy.

Sadly there is also a lot of habitat destruction. I’m not sure what they are building here but it sure is ugly!

Once out of the mountains, there are some small villages and markets. The driver will make a comfort stop enroute where you can use the facilities and buy snacks.

Lizards have the right of way!

Just in case anyone is planning to rent a car, here are the signs to look out for.

After ~ 3 hours or so, you will arrive at Kuala Tembelling. This river port is where the boats take you to Kuala Tahan through the Taman Negara National Park.

This was our minibus.

Upon arrival you need to check in with the boat counter and pay for your admission tickets to Taman Negara which is across the street.

The Taman Negara ticket office also has tourist information and some nice photos of birds.

Bring your entry ticket back to the restaurant building and get your boat ticket (which is included in the shuttle fee), then relax, have lunch and look around the area. If you don’t have accommodation already booked (we were pre-booked at Mutiara Taman Negara), then they can book something for you.

The food is cheap. Just a warning, there are no toilets on the 2.5 hour boat ride so consider your drinking accordingly!

Afternoon Birding – Tan’s Camellia Garden, Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Tara

After settling in to Gerard’s Place, I asked Jay the owner who is also a keen birder to recommend a place for me to spend an afternoon birding. She recommended Tan’s Camellia Garden which is off the main road just near the road leading up to Gerard’s Place. Entrance is free and it’s a nice, quiet place to enjoy the beautiful flowers and look for some typical highland bird species.

The first bird we saw upon entering was a Streaked Spiderhunter. I took this as a good omen – gotta love any bird who helps rid the world of spiders! I’m fond of Serpent Eagles for the same reason! Go birds!

Jay left to go about her errands and I wandered around. There were some stunning flowers and butterflies so I tried some macro photography, not that I am any good at it!

I think this is a female Black-throated Sunbird.

Random birds as I walked through the garden.

If you are walking from town, look for these two strange “Christmas trees”, the entrance to Tan’s is next door.

Tanah Rata Village

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Tara

The town of Tanah Rata is so small you can easily walk anywhere you need to get to. We left the bus station and were pretty hungry so first order was to find food. It was around 2:30 so at that awkward time between normal lunch and dinner. The town is very attractive and has lots of tour operators.

These food stalls seem to be always open.

The hotel across the street also has a restaurant and a very pretty garden but the restaurant was closed.

So back to the stalls. I don’t remember what we ate but it was definitely cheap and cheerful!

Next step was to get to Father’s Guest House. We had actually booked at their sister property, Gerard’s Guest House but Gerard’s is more difficult to find the first time so the best idea is to go to Father’s and have them call Jay, the owner of Gerard’s to come and pick you up.

After birding in Tan’s Camellia Garden (separate post), I walked through the town again.

The most popular dish is “Steamboat” but I don’t eat seafood so I can’t really report on it.

Instead, I settled for afternoon tea (at 5:30pm) with scones, cream and jam – yummy! The cafe had free wifi so I caught up on emails. I got some takeaway chicken to bring back to Gerard’s as my husband didn’t come with me and preferred to relax a bit.

Bus From Taiping To Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Tara

After a successful birding trip to Taiping Lake Gardens, I was looking forward to our next main birding stop in Taman Negara but first we would spend a night in Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. This hill resort has completely different birds to the rainforests.

I had Sentosa Villa call the taxi driver from yesterday and he showed up in 10 minutes.

I sat in the front seat knowing that as we came down the hill we would pass the trees where we had seen the Long-tailed Parakeets the day before. I was not disappointed. One parakeet was sitting in the tree eating. The driver stopped while I jumped out and grabbed some photos. A 2nd bird flew by and this bird flew off with the other one. A nice but brief sighting!

We continued on to the bus station and bought tickets for the first leg of the trip to Ipoh. We didn’t have long to wait as a bus was already parked there and boarding. Fares were pretty cheap, less than $5 and this was a simple bus, not the deluxe bus we were in before.

Here’s a few shots out the window between Taiping and Ipoh. The bus only had a few passengers.

In Ipoh, we changed to a different bus for the longer trip to Tanah Rata, the main town in the Cameron Highlands.

Was this Kingfisher lost?

Now entering the Cameron Highlands.

Tanah Rata bus station – end of the road.

A Morning Birding Trip To Taiping Lake Gardens

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Tara

After my online research had determined Taiping Lake Gardens to be the best bet for Long-tailed Parakeet in Peninsular Malaysia I was eager to get down there early and start looking for them. It was about a 20 minute walk down hill from Sentosa Villa and of course we had eyes and ears open!

The poor lighting completely fades out the brilliant yellow of this Black-naped Oriole.

First glimpse of what I suspect to be a parakeet.

After seeing some random LBJ’s that didn’t stick around, the cause quickly became apparent with this Brahmiiny Kite keeping a watchful eye.

We kept walking and finally reached the lake in Taiping Lake Gardens.

I don’t know why this guy doesn’t have a long tail – maybe a juvenile but he is definitely a Long-tailed Parakeet. Unfortunately he was on the wrong side of the sun so the colours got washed out. As you scroll down, there are some photos of about 12 parakeets, some of which do have long tails. There are also some random bird shots in as I was pointing at anything that flew by!

The parakeets eventually took off so we continued a slow stroll through the garden and found this White-throated Kingfisher looking for a fishy breakfast. He did a good job of finding some!

The scenery in the park is gorgeous! We found a group of locals who were exercising.

Asian Glossy Starling

Some Cattle Egrets and another Kingfisher on the other side of the park. By this time, we were headed out to find some conveniences and someplace to eat breakfast.

Maccas – always a cheap breakfast and free wifi!

Not sure what these guys are but they were everywhere!

I looked all through the bird book for this very cool looking bird. I wish I had a better photo but one minute he was there, the next he was gone. If anyone can identify please comment below!

We ended the morning with a walk around town, a trip to the mall to get some drinks and snacks to bring back to the hotel, then a taxi back and just barely beat the rain!

Since taxis don’t cruise the streets of Taiping, you have to go to the main market to find one. I suggest getting the driver’s phone# so if you need a taxi from the hotel to the bus station, you can call him. 10-15 ringgits will get you to most places in town.

Planning A Birding Trip To Peninsular Malaysia

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Tara

I want to make the distinction between Peninsular Malaysia (PM) and the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak which would be a completely different experience. PM can be a stand-alone birding destination or tagged onto a trip to Thailand and/or Singapore. The main birding hotspots are easily reached from Kuala Lumpur by bus so we decided to go with public transport and not hire a car. I was especially pleased with this decision when I saw how many toll booths there were on roads leading out of KL!

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

With so much on offer, you have to do lots of research online to find out your best chances of seeing the species you really want to see. I always check trip reports on Surfbirds and more recently added Cloudbirders to that. Xeno-canto has mapped locations where birders took sound clips of many species so that can pinpoint them even more.

I also look through trip reports by major birding companies such as Birdquest, VENT, Naturetrek, Rockjumper and more. The itineraries can provide inspiration for your own or you may decide that it is easier to just join a tour. They are not cheap but they do have excellent guides to help you find a lot more birds.

Independant birders have a lot of resources too. Have a look at these websites.

Malaysia Birding

Bird Malaysia

Birding In Malaysia

HOW I CHOSE MY ITINERARY

I was prioritizing parrots, knowing that there would actually be lots of different bird species in the same habitats. We didn’t have a lot of time – just 6 days. Using the websites referenced above, I decided on these national parks, all of which make for fantastic birding.

Taiping – Long-tailed Parakeets are commonly found in Taiping Lake Gardens.

Cameron Highlands – Beautiful scenery and some cool birds midway between Taiping and Taman Negara.

Taman Negara – Blue-rumped Parrots, Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots and much much more!

These parks will be covered in detail as the report progresses.

HOW I BOOKED OUR FLIGHTS

United Airlines has a fantastic deal on awards between Australia and South-East Asia for 35,000 RT in economy. Since I had burned so many miles on last year’s Africa trip, the best I could do was scrounge enough miles for economy but I did maximize the rules but having a stop-over and 2 open-jaws.

BNE – BKK – CNX

Stopover

CNX – BKK – USM

Open jaw #1 which was filled by a super-cheap fare on Air Asia from Surat Thani to Kuala Lumpur.

KUL – BKK – PVG (8 hour layover) – AKL – RAR

Open jaw #2 ending in Oceania zone so added 5k to each person’s award.

Final cost was 80,000 United miles plus 47,800 Virgin Velocity miles for the final RAR – AKL – BNE to get us home. The Rarotonga stop was for my husband to visit his friends and family.

LOGISTICS

Our budget was pretty well tapped out after last year so this trip had to be done as cheaply as possible. The parks I was targeting are all easily reached by public transport and/or short walks from the accommodation. We used the Starmart Express bus from KLIA to Taiping and regular buses from Taiping to Tanah Rata with a change of bus in Ipoh. In Tanah Rata, we booked the minibus transfer from Father’s Guesthouse to Taman Negara which includes a boat ride from the jetty at Kuala Tembeling to Kuala Tahan just opposite the Mutiara Taman Negara hotel. Finally we used a local bus from Kuala Tahan to Jerantut, then a larger bus to Kuala Lumpur.

There are a few other birding hotspots we didn’t get to this time – Selangor, Fraser’s Hill and Genting Highlands. All are very close to Kuala Lumpur and in a pinch could be a day trip. I decided to save these parks for a future trip when we may be on a One-World ticket via KUL or using Air Asia to get somewhere else in Asia and able to stop over a couple days.

WHEN TO GO

This was a delicate balance of avoiding the rainy season and allowing enough time after returning from Africa and allowing a full year until our big Ecuador/Colombia trip next year to replenish the coffers.

Weather2Travel is my go-to site for weather planning. April was the last possible time to travel and avoid the rains but still save up for the trip. March would have been better but wasn’t financially feasible for us at the time, waiting until Nov would be too close to the upcoming 2016 trip. Always take your personal situation into consideration.

VISAS

The citizens of most countries that are likely to be reading this blog can enter Malaysia for at least a month (or 3) visa free. See details here.

ACCOMMODATION

I booked lodges in Taiping and Tanah Rata on Hotels.com because at the time they were a partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards and I was chasing the free night after 10 paid nights for next year’s trip. The hotel in Kuala Lumpur was booked on Pointshound with me referring my husband so both he and I could get miles. We booked the Mutiara Taman Negara on Rocketmiles to maximize bonus miles and this hotel was the same price no matter where you booked it. Each property will be reviewed in the appropriate section of the trip report.

Getting To Malaysia With Airline Miles, Getting Around By Bus

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Tara

Since I already have a more detailed post on South-east Asia, I will only add some Malaysia specific tips here. The good news is that there are lots of airlines flying here so you have plenty of choices no matter which alliance you participate in. You can get a full list of airlines flying to KUL (KLIA) on Wikipedia. The first step is to identify which airlines that participate in one of the 3 alliances serve the airport in question. You can do this by looking the airport up in Wikipedia and making a note of which airlines fly there and cross referencing with my guides on Star Alliance, OneWorld Alliance and SkyTeam. Since this list is so long, I will only put a snippet here to give you an idea.

You don’t necessarily need miles to get to Malaysia, especially if you are already in Asia or even Australia. Air Asia is an excellent low-cost carrier (LCC) which has a huge network of flights around Asia. They usually have good sales on so it pays to check with them before spending your miles. Here’s some examples.

KUL’s KLIA airport is easy to navigate with everything well signposted. There are some interesting shops downstairs near the bus kiosks as well as a food court.

If Kuala Lumpur is your first destination, you have a choice of buses, trains or taxis to get downtown. But if you are headed elsewhere in Malaysia, you can usually get a bus direct to your final destination. Here are some bus schedules showing departures to our final destination – Taiping. SInce our Air Asia flight from Surat Thani got in around 4pm, the soonest we could get away was that 17:30 Starmart bus. Although you can book buses online, there is no need to unless possibly during public holidays. Just go to the bus kiosk downstairs and they will sell you a ticket on the next available bus.

Malaysia buses are an excellent way to get around peninsular Malaysia. They are timely and very comfortable. They pick up at a specific bay which will be on your ticket just outside the airport at both KLIA 1 and KLIA 2.

The seats rival domestic business class on Australian or USA based airlines with an even better recline. Surprisingly it was half empty – good for us, maybe not so good for the bus company! If it had been full, I wouldn’t have used the recline so much as I would have been in the lap of the person behind me. Since we were pretty tired already, I had no problem dozing off before we reached Taiping, thankfully the driver woke us up when we got there!

I’m trying to show how deep the recline is.

R&R In Koh Samui

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Tara

Koh Samui isn’t a destination for birders but it does make a nice place to spend a couple of days resting up after your birding in Thailand! Although flights here are normally expensive, strategic use of United awards can get you a free trip! So here is a brief look at our R&R time. Especially if you are traveling with a non-birder, it can be nice to work in a holiday between rainforests!

Looks enticing from the air!

Koh Samui has a nice little tropical airport.

Ladyboy show just down the road from our hotel.

Prices at this night bazaar were at least double what they were in Chiang Mai so save your money!

Thai massage is everywhere!

I got a really good deal on the Samui Laguna Resort from Hotels.com which counted as 2 nights towards a free after 10 nights. Perfect location – on the beach and walking distance to everything in Lamai.

Unfortunately not a real bird!

Nice surprise to find a Moroccan Restaurant in Koh Samui – great food too!

Not so nice to see caged Bulbuls in a shop nearby!

Our room came with a breakfast buffet included daily, complete with freshly made omelets.

Getting ideas for my upcoming bathroom renovation!

Long Bangkok Layover Pictorial – Khao Yai Area

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Tara

As described here, these are the photos from our long Bangkok layover between Chiang Mai and Koh Samui.

Bangkok Airways has a nice livery!

Always inspect your rental car and take photos.

Up early in Khao Yai (outside the park proper) birding the grounds of the Balios Resort and nearby. Nothing that would excite most birders – no rare birds but I was thrilled to get a better look at Red-breasted Parakeets (aka Moustache Parrots).

This is where we chased the Red-breasted Parakeets – the empty lot next to the Palio Shopping Centre. They make enough noise!

We had a bit of drama with the car, at one point it wouldn’t start and I was freaking out! We pushed it into a car park and after several tries, thankfully it started but I wouldn’t turn it off all the rest of the way to Bangkok. It was nice to see how pretty the area is since we arrived in the dark. My review of Balios Resort.

This is what you can expect if you drive a rental car. The roads are pretty well marked in both Thai and English. We had no trouble finding the airport although it took a while to find a petrol station to refuel at. It was a public holiday the day we drove back so there were no tolls which was nice!

Closest petrol station to the airport – they take credit cards.

The airport traffic is always crazy!

Car back safe and sound – return inspection.

Car rental kiosks at BKK domestic terminal.

Short Bangkok Layover Pictorial – Dusit Area & Khao San Road

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Tara

As described here, these are the photos from our short Bangkok layover between a flight from ADD-BKK on ET and BKK-BNE on TG.

Bangkok traffic enroute to Dusit and some temples.

Dusit Zoo – don’t come here for the caged animals, come here for the beautiful grounds that attract wild birds!

I want these for my backyard!

Waiting outside for a tuktuk, we finally sighted a flock of Red-breasted Parakeets!

It was mostly nostalgia for my younger backpacker days that made me want to spend the evening here. It’s gotten out of control – seriously, KFC & Maccas?