Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

12/30/2004, Malaysia trip day 4: Kuantan - cave, waterfalls

The main event of the day was a tour of a local cave with some Buddhist art and a trip to a local waterfall, all with a local guide.

Before the tour, we went for a little walk.

Akemi took this picture of a typical street in Kuantan.

Panching Cave (Gua Charah)

So, for the afternoon tour, we started by going into a cave.  It was raining very hard.  To get to the cave entrance, we had to climb some very steep steps.  They were maybe a 60% grade, almost like climbing a ladder.  They were brick, uneven, and windy.  Akemi was reasonably comfortable with it, but I thought the whole scenario was quite dangerous.  Despite the downpour, I took down my umbrella so I could hold the rail with both hands and really focus on getting up without an accident.

The cave was vast, expansive, and beautiful.  There were bats everywhere.  There were a few holes in the roof of the cave where sunlight could get in.  The cave itself was spectacular enough to satisfy me.  However, there were both Hindu and Buddhist art in various places.  I guess people go there to worship.  The harmony of the two seems fitting for a country where strong populations of Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus get along well.

The sleeping Buddha is the official highlight of the cave tour.  I think he said it was a gift to Malaysia from Thailand.  It's not all that old (maybe 50 years old or so, I forget), bit it is beautiful.

Smaller figures behind the sleeping Buddha.

There were three of these pots for burning incense.  Akemi, being a Buddhist, lit an incense stick in each of them and did a little prayer.

The sleeping Buddha's head.  I wonder what the patch on the forehead is.  Did some Hindu teenager come paint a jewel on its forehead?  Who knows.

The inside of the cave.  This was taken with a time exposure.

Inside of the cave, with time exposure, again.

Graffiti on the inside of the cave.

A Hindu place of worship.  Not sure what you call it.

Many people wrote their lucky numbers all over the inside of the cave.  I guess that somehow helps those numbers to be blessed so they can be more useful for things like the lottery.  Or at least that's how the guide explained it.

Stalactites on the inside of the cave.  The guide had all kinds of legends about how the formations on the inside of the cave made important religious or other significant figures.

Inside of the cave again.

Another Hindu worship place.

Graffiti.  Says "Hemalatha, Invisible Girls." I haven't the foggiest idea what that means.

Graffiti.  The "Invisible Girls" theme comes up yet again.

One more picture of the entrance of the cave.

Sungai Pandan Waterfalls

After the cave tour, the guide took us to a waterfall.  Usually, he does this tour during the day and you get to go swimming near the waterfall.  But, it was raining cats and dogs, so nobody wanted to do any swimming.  Actually, despite the downpour, some locals were out fishing and maybe even swimming.  It was wet, but not at all cold.

The waterfall.

...and again,

...and again.

Dinner

That night, we went back to our favorite seafood restaurant near the sea and saw our new friend, Anwar.  I took pictures of our food.

Spicy fish.

Prawns.

Spicy cold squid salad.  Yes, it was really good.

A dish with eggs.

At one point, I bit into a hot pepper.  My eyes and nose were watering uncontrollably.  The restaurant people saw me tending to my running orifices.  They brought me this sugar to cool down my mouth.  It worked amazingly well.  I will remember this trick forever.  These people obviously get enough foreigners to know how to deal with them when they get a bite of true Malaysian "seasoning".  And they were kind enough to help without being asked.

In Malaysia, there are cats everywhere.  It is a land of cats.  I guess there are a number of wild cats that come from Malaysia.  Not surprisingly then, they also have tigers in the Malaysian jungles.  Unfortunately, most of cats you see appear to be stray and malnurished.

This cat was eating garbage along a walkway near the sea.

...and again.

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