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Penang Hills and Trails - Not Malihom |
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This is part of a series of pages on walking the hills of Penang. Click here for the index. This is a Grade 3 walk. There is a sketch map at the bottom showing the route followed. Please visit my Penang buses page for information on accessing the starting point. The Sungai Ara area is new to us (as of February 2013). We had enjoyed an
excellent hike from Jalan Kenari
to Balik Pulau with the aid of a detailed web report of a mountain bike
ride. The same source also waxed lyrical over a trail which ended at Malihom,
a 'boutique' tourist destination although significantly there was far less
detail - There has always been a considerable element of 'thud and blunder' in our explorations, but now we have 'Sungai Ara' cracked, all we have to do is take a 302 bus from Komtar and get off at the Jalan Kenari junction. It's a full 2 hours from home but we don't need to worry about timetables although the 302 buses are anything but frequent. We started our hike at the same time as before (13.00) but this time we left home a full one hour later... I am repeating the pictures below from the top of Jalan Kenari as they are essential viewing for anyone planning to hike in this area.
It all seemed quite simple. We had to follow the road up to the rest area, take the left fork and continue up around a horseshoe to a large house and then up a smaller concrete trail which would become more overgrown. At which point we might have to do a small bash across the col and then down to Malihom and the Teluk Kumbar - Genting road. Easy la! After 20 minutes we took a break and continued up what was clearly the 'main route' although there were quite a few junctions along it but almost none had electricity lines.
Somebody had erected a wooden house which looked from the outside to be near idyllic. Only at one junction did the electricity lines go both ways but the road to the right seemed to just lead to a temple which we could see and was of recent construction.
So on up we went, enjoying the well shaded gentle grades. After a while it got steeper and then suddenly the road finished at a couple of houses where it was washing day. The lady in residence was not unfriendly - unlike her dog which decided it liked the taste of my jeans and left a rip just above the ankle - but clearly she was no hiker and there were no paths beyond. Oh dear, the bikers obviously had more powerful tools at their disposal than we have and there was nothing to do but retrace our steps.
Just before this last climb there had been a concrete path off to the left and since we were well up the hill towards the ridge by now, it made sense to check it out. In such cases, I leave Yuehong with instructions to follow slowly if I do not return in a set time. As taking this path was ultimately successful, please note that the electricity pole carries 'OJK 110'. I set off at a furious pace and found the path twisted and turned up the hillside, alternating between concrete and laterite as it climbed through the abandoned rubber.
I would hesitate to call the route scenic but there was the odd break where other hills could be seen, but without the benefit of any identifying marks such as transmission masts. However, not for the first time, a promising path came to an inglorious end some way short of the hill top with just the signs of the occasional presence of rubber tappers.
Never mind la! A little way back, I had noted that we seemed to be above a col and there was a handy sign that others may have been this way before. I 'parked' Yuehong and found I could get to the col and back in less than 10 minutes and could see what passed for a path downwards. Moreover, I could hear someone working and a dog barking nearby.
Yuehong's smile didn't last very long, let's just say it took rather longer for us to go one way than it did me two ways. When we got to the col, there was a rather surprised 'guest worker' who had obviously come up to see what was making his dog bark.
He was clearly up here looking for rubber trees which were accessible (after a fashion) and still worth tapping. He indicated that the path would indeed lead down to 'civilisation' and we started to descend. I rather hoped that his presence would indicate that we would find a hut and more importantly a concrete trail fairly soon, but I and particularly Yuehong were disappointed in this respect. Let's just say that that parts of it were in better condition than others, there was the odd fallen tree to negotiate and if I had waved my camera more than twice it would probably have been greeted by Yuehong's walking stick.
Actually I have a feeling that she was secretly enjoying my discomfort at once again imposing such a trail on her. At one point I had to wait a full 5 minutes for her to catch up, I didn't dare ask which of her joints was complaining this time. Only later did I discover that she had spotted this astonishingly beautiful terrestrial ginger. After what seemed like an eternity but in actual fact was barely half an hour, I could see a hut below and I left Madam and her mutterings for the last few metres. At this point, although I am anything but a practising Roman Catholic, a small confession is in order. Two days earlier, we had set out to look for the Malihom path from the Genting side and had been totally and spectacularly unsuccessful, not least because I had misidentified the staring point as being on the Teluk Kumbar side of the summit (and not the Genting side as clearly indicated by a roadside notice). However, in discovering this we had investigated three side valleys with paths which we had declined to investigate beyond the first kilometre or so, including this one where the inhabitants had indeed pointed us at the alleged trail which we had now come down.
The inhabitants were clearly unaware that plastic and metal cans do not degrade and the place was an absolute tip. Yuehong danced her version of an Irish jig and we emerged at the Indian temple, known as Vellaipala Arulmigu Sri Muneeswarar Devasthanam. It's actually on a bend of the old road which has been bypassed by a new viaduct.
So it was just a short walk to the new main road (note the Kuil sign) and then a bit further up to a spot where we could reasonably expect to get a 401 bus to stop for us.
By the time we got to Balik Pulau, we had around an hour to wait for the 17.30 501 bus to Teluk Bahang. Not a problem, la. We adjourned to our regular coffee shop; the Char Hor Fun appeared in a few minutes, and best of all the cabinet still had the special coconut and brown sugar buns which are my favourite. There was an instant cold Tiger and I could tell that Yuehong was in a forgiving mood when she suggested I might take another one home. Alas, Moma wasn't concentrating as she should have been and it arrived at the table already opened. So I had no choice but to smuggle it on to the bus and drink it before it warmed up, no mean task as it required considerable concentration on the winding hill road. That was successfully accomplished as, I hope, will be our traverse of the intended Malihom trail in the near future. The only disappointment was that Empat Empat Sembilan Delapan (aka PHH 4498) was once again 'rusak' (indisposed), but it was clear that this was not necessarily shared by the driver who clearly preferred his replacement Scania. I think I can understand his feelings, I don't think I would want to drive a bus that sounds like a crippled and constipated cat along that or any other route. If it suits you, this walk is easily done in the opposite direction. Take a 401 bus to between Teluk Kumbar and the Bukit Genting summit and get down where the old road diverges as shown above. Walk up the valley beside the temple till you reach the hut and follow the 'path' which climbs just to the left as far as the col. Just over the top follow the overgrown rubber levels as best you can on the right hand side, experienced hikers will spot a sensible route immediately. In just a few minutes you will reach the trail described above which you can follow down to Sungai Ara. Enjoy!
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