Tuesday, June 16, 2009

On the Highway to KL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qHLqWKoR1g


Traveling to Kuala Lumpur by the Malaysian East Coast Highway can be very boring if one does not appreciate the scenery along the way.
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This is a video I took when I traveled by the Highway to Kuala Lumpur last week. I started off in Kuantan, a town by the coast in the State of Pahang, and along the way I took the video just for the fun of it. But later I decided to share it with anyone interested on how such traveling feels like. I traveled by bus (a coach) and I took the video from the passenger’s front seat.

The scenery can be just one type if one were to look at it in a monochrome. Just green. But as one starts to analyse what one sees, then the picture becomes picturesque. One can see palm oil trees, rubber trees and these belong the Felda settlements, and a many acacia trees planted the Highway owner to give shade as well as probably to keep the soil of the road table from eroding. And one sees R&R where one can stop to rest (if one wants to) and have meals, and also later a beautiful bridge across a wide river, the Pahang River. And some local houses, a couple of villages, Chinese New Villages these are, and a few toll booth where one has to pay toll to use the Highway. One may even see abandoned padi fields in certain spots along the Highway.

Then as one comes nearer to Kuala Lumpur one has to cross the Main Range where the road are now more winding and one can see hills and mountains up front. That part of the Highway is actually now called the Karak Highway. At one spot near the Bukit Tinggi Chinese village one has to climb a steep hill, where the bus overtook a couple of timber lorries, and other buses and cars overtaking us going up the hill. Then one has to go through a tunnel, and out on the other side.

Along the way one may also see electrical transmission towers and communication transmisison towers.

One starts off from Pahang State and ended up in Selangor State after the tunnel. Along the way in Pahang, we came across a couple of road repairs being done where the traffic was diverted. And after the tunnel the Highway has to go down winding steep road elbows which if not taken properly or carefully one may end up in the ravine below. And before one reaches the last toll, the ‘gate to Kuala Lumpur’ one sees an orang asli (abroginese) settlement and may even get a glimpse the Malaysia International Islamic University buildings. And after the last toll, the traffic became heavier and one knows that one is now on the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur City.

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