Penang, Malaysia 2007 Hiking to Pantai Kerachut

The Pantai Kerachut trail is a little more difficult than the Monkey Beach trail. I only brought a half liter of water, I would have used 1 liter if I had it. The hike to the beach took me about an hour and 30 minutes with stops. The forest service estimates the hike at 3 hours.

This trail was virtually jungle all the way to Pantai Kerachut which is another beach. I think this beach is much nicer than Monkey Beach. You cut thrhough tropical forest over hills. the first kilometer of the hike was all up hill. I met a nice Indian couple when I got to the top that took a picture for me. I was soaked from sweat when I got to the rest point at the top of the climb. I met another couple on the way that were regulars of that hike. They told me to take the left hand trail when I got to the t in the trail. It is a more beautiful way to go. They were right. That route took me through extremely dense forest. The sky was obstructed by forest for most of that part of the trail. At one point I stopped to listen to the sounds around me and it felt like I was in Jurassic park. If you go to Penang and have one day to do anything you want, do this trail. The trip to the beach is beautiful as well as the beach. The next time I take this hike will bring at least 1 liter of water and maybe food so I can stay and relax a while.

Jungle trail. Notice the lack of light at 11:30 AM.

This is near the top of the first climb. This climb went straight up for about a kilometer. I was dripping wet by the time I got to the top.

This is the highest point of the hike. It's a great view of tropical forest. I needed the rest when I got to this point.

This is looking up through the forest canopy. Tall trees and blue sky.

This is video of the forest. The took the video for the forest sounds.

The beach at Pantai Kerachut. Beautiful, but no swimming. There are a lot of large, dangerous jellyfish.

Penang, Malaysia Dec 2007 Hiking to Monkey Beach

Before taking this trip I did a little research about stuff to do in Penang. I discovered that Penang has a national park with a couple of hiking trails.

On my first full day I decided to drive to the national park and check it out. I went fully prepared to do some hiking (water, shoes, and camera). There are 2 main hikes in the park, Monkey Beach and Pantai Kerchut. I decided to try the easier hike which is Monkey Beach. The Monkey Beach hike skirts the coast line all the way to Monkey Beach. The hike is estimated to take about 2 hours. I took a more aggressive pace and did it in an hour. The hike is mostly shaded since it is all forest next to the coast. I actually saw some wildlife on the hike back from the beach. One of the main things I wanted to see was monkeys, I didn't see any at all during this hike, but on the way back from the beach I saw a couple monitor lizards.

The main park office. You have to check in here and tell them where you are going.

This is the main trail entrance to hiking in the park.

Monkey Beach!

The lizard! This monitor lizard is about 4 feet long.

Penang, Malaysia, Dec 2007 Right Hand Drive!

This is from my most recent trip. I went to Penang, Malaysia. This is a great place, people are extremely nice and the food is great. This is the first trip outside the USA that I decided to try and rent a car. What an adventure! Malaysia cars are right hand drive like in the UK. It took some getting used to. I only drove on the wrong side of the road twice.

Beijing, China 2003 Great Wall

This is a picture of my first time at the Great Wall. Notice the tower at the top of the hill, there were 5 of these we climbed up. The view from the very top tower was amazing. You can see the wall on all the peaks around you and in the distance Beijing. I spent the better part of 2 years in Beijing, there was never a clrearer day than the day I took this picture. The section of the wall here is at Badaling.

Beijing, China 2003 Grandma

This photo is from my first trip to Beijing in 2003. It was freezing. I took a trip to the Ming Tombs and Great Wall (more on that later). On the way to the tombs we stopped by a jade factory to see how it was cut and polished. On the way out of the place I saw the woman walking the baby. I couldn't resist taking the shot because of the stroller.

Tokyo, Japan 2002 Nakamise Shopping Street

This is from my only trip to Japan. This is a shopping street near the Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa District. I was so amazed by the number of people and all the color. I'll be headed back to Japan for vacation in 2008. I hope to have a nice DSLR by then to take some good "people watching" pictures.

Lucern, Switzerland 2002 Pilatus

This is another old picture. My wife and I took a vacation to Europe. This is apicture of a farm house on the slope of Mt Pilatus. I think they were dairy farmers, there were cows all over the place. If you ever get a chance to go, definitely take the cable car to the top! Beware though if you are afraid of heights.

Seoul, Korea 2001 DMZ

This is my first attempt at a blog entry!
This is a picture at the DMZ in Korea of a tunnel the North Koreans dug to try and invade the South. I was able to walk all the way to the wall that was built to prevent the North from coming through. I don't think I would take a second trip to the DMZ, it was a little depressing.