Deerland Park @ Lanchang Pahang

If you have come all the way to Kuala Gandah to visit the elephants, then I would suggest that you stop by the Deerland Park too. You will pass the park  on the way to Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre ( For locations to Kuala Gandah please click here)

Entrance fee is RM5 for adults and RM3 for children, non Mycard holders pay a higher rate. This is the entrance / where you purchase the tickets

And this is the map of the place, although named Deerland, it’s like a mini zoo with other animals too

 

When we were at the deer enclosure, which was quite a large area and I could spot many of them too , a handler was handling out baskets of bread for the visitors to feed the deers ( FOC), so you could get pretty close to them.

 

 I was totally excited seeing the hedgehogs, I couldn’t remember meeting them at the Nasional Zoo, …the handler told us that these were albino hedgehogs..they looked so cute and cuddly..er..i mean spiky

 

I never thought that Ostrich could be so people friendly /camera friendly, I keep on cautioning my niece to be careful just in case she gets a peck from that large beak but Bigbird doesn’t seemed to care, it just want to pose for the camera lah

 

And at a rest area, a handler was draping a python over a ( scared looking) makcik for her photo shoot and not too far away, another handler could be seen with a  parrot in tow and asking the waiting group to stand in line for him to place the colourful parrot on one’s shoulder for ( more) photo shoot. Somebody commented that this was better than Zoo Negara , where you have to must pay a sum take photos with the parrots or the pythons.

 At the sun bear enclosure, it was a surprise that the barriers were so low, couldn’t the bear get over the 3 low metal wires to break free ? anyway, at another location, another bear was on ‘exhibit’ . Mr ( or Ms) bear sitting on a rock with the handler  , and one could sit beside it and scratch it’s back or pet it,  and it was a shock because the handler was feeding it a canned Cincau drink …HUH ? is that a special diet ? after watching this, I start to wonder about are there any proper handling ( nutrition, medication, care etc)  of  the animals in here….anyway, back to the beer, I asked the handler- does the beer has a favourite drink, he said, it doesn’t quite like gassy drinks but does like the cincau drink  for it’s chewable bits and also being non-gassy.

 

I missed the monkey’s enclosure, but my niece came back very excited about it, the handler asked the kids to stand in line and then the monkey jump from shoulder to shoulder. Anyway, I saw these 2 donation boxes at the exit ( also the entrance)

 

I was laughing over the boxes and the ladies at the counter said ‘ ya la, not just the animals need donations, the staff too , this is a private company mahhh’ .

 Overall, the group found it more interesting than the Elephants ! ( I guess it was a too long wait at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre for the interactive  activities to begin ) but I must say that after seeing the sun bear and cincau session , it left a lot of question marks lah …hmmm…

 

Deerland Park opens daily ( except Fridays)

Opening hours 10.30 am – 5.30 pm.

 Tel : 092797249

Elephants @ Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre

If you are interested to get up close and personal with the elephants and do not mind to drive ~1.5 hours from KL , then Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre ( KGECC) might be a suitable place for you.

Suggest that before you go

 1. for those that want to go on the elephant rides – Call up KGECC ( tel 09: 2790391) for reservation a few days before your trip ( especially if it’s a  public holidays or school holidays) , KGECC gives out special yellow stickers for this, ( there is a limitation to the number of yellow sticker given out per day), for the regular red stickers it’s ‘lawatan sahaja, tidak dibenarkan mengikut aktiviti menunggang dan mandi bersama gajah’ – visitation only, not allowed to participate in riding and bathing activities with the elephants

2. Pack your meals if you are fussy about food because the choices are limited. There are some warongs at the sanctuary serving roti and some simple meals, drinks, air kelapa muda are available.

3. Prepare the necessary change of clothes if you plan to bath with the elephants ( yellow sticker holder only)

 We packed food at Restaurant Pelita Bangsar before beginning our journey, we left KL at around 11am, we took a slow leisurely drive ( including water-breaks) and arrived at KGECC at ~ 1pm, I didn’t know that elephants were  so popular, the place was very crowded ( it was a long weekend/ public holiday) , we were quite concerned about availability of the parking space inside, so we opted to park our car a bit further and had to walk ~20 minutes to the Office.

It was a surprise  for me when I told the lady at the counter that I called up earlier to reserve the passes, and the lady immediately mentioned my name..oh ah..i think probably not that many people call them up for reservation guarr ( or she has a memory like an elephant ?)  , but I am glad I did , for I see many families were denied the yellow stickers as the quota for the day had been filled.

We had our tarpau ( packed)  lunch sitting on the grass under the hot sun due to the limitation in rest areas  (there were some areas rounded up with zinc sheets apparently under renovation, which might have been rest areas (?).

After a hurried lunch, we walked back  to the office area for the video presentation , the small viewing room was full ( standing area was full as well), so we walked to the area where the activities  will take place later.

The crowed was loitering around waiting for something to happen, but not knowing when they are suppose to happen, and where the activities will happen ,

Anyway, after standing around for sometime, there were some excitement in the air and some elephants were led to the river by the handlers, the crowd rushed to the river banks, to catch the sight.

 

The highlight of the activities would be the elephant rides, dozens were queuing up for the rights. The mahout will be handling the elephants, and there are no ’saddle’, you get to ride ‘bare back’, The expressions of the passengers were very entertaining : timid kids brawling and refusing to go on, but force by parents to do so, elderly makciks  that held on so very tight to the mahouts that I am sure their husbands would have been jealous if they see that, lithe maidens with extended smiles for the cameras, good looking mat salleh couples in raybans flashing million dollar smiles, not so good looking mat sallehs,  And yet, the elephants plod on, their big heads nodding, their tails swishing and the occasional wail ( objection) when their ears were pulled by the mahout.

 

And while the rides were going on, 2 young elephants were led around that area, and extended curious hands pet the gentle-looking creature, baby elephants look so cute ler..and they are smart too !After the handler handed it a sugar cane, which was a bit too long to be chewed..this was what it did..

 

 

And I also found  out later that it’s not just the  ladies that crosses their legs , this little fella does that  too.. ada gaya horr…

 

 

After the ‘dry’ rides, the crowd were told to get ready for the ‘wet’ rides, where you get to bath with the elephants.

 

KGECC  was set up by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks back in 1989 and located within the Krau Game Reserve. Entrance is free, so please donate generously to support the cause of this sanctuary .

 For more details of KGECC including timetable, please click here :

 For directions , please click here  

Much as I applaud the cause of KGECC, and being the one suggesting  the choice of this destination to spend our holiday, it was pretty hard to defend the ‘wisdom’ of driving 2 hours to Kuala Gandah and to convince my group of 17 pax that this was time well spent.

 NB: Personally, it was a disappointment.  a lot of improvement can be done on the management of this lah if this was to be a tourist spot promoted by the Ministry of Tourism,

there is really a very noticeable lack of information – which could have been solved with a simple B&W leaftlet with details of : the timetable , a map of where the activities are to happen, the cause of KGECC (a plead for donation can be included) some facts about elephants etc would have been nice to take home (unless the strategy is just a laid back, no-we-do-not-want-to-many-tourist to know-about-this-place, then it’s a different story lorr).

Lake Gardens @ Kuala Lumpur

I overheard someone saying that one of the popular Malaysians weekend pastime is :lepak-ing at the shopping complex and enjoy the free air-con. And I wonder why ? could it be that -

 1. there is no better place to lepak

2. save electricity

3. Need to buy groceries / baju raya / others

4. To sample free food/drinks

5. Entertainment – people watching, movies,  browsing at MPH, Borders

6. to get away from mother- in-law/ spouse /Ahlong /maid /yourself

I was at Lake Gardens last weekend. It’s a bit of an amazement ( yeah, I get amazed easily, must be due to small brain capacity) that Lake Gardens is sooo right in the midst of KL, you forget that the Big City is just a breath away as you immerse yourself in the serene green sanctury -all 230 acres  of it. Lake Gardens a.k.a Taman Tasik Perdana was built around an artificial lake and dates back to the 1880s and was once home to a British Colonial officer.

There were people jogging, Taichi-ing, kids on their bikes, kids falling off their bikes, people swinging their arms vigorously, people resting on the benches, people talking politics / complaining about their maids/mother-in-law/daughter-in-law, a group of lepak-ing teens complete with guitar and  picnic basket.

 

          

 

Reminds me of the Predator braids.

 

Look like eyes or not ?

Miniture bananas ?

 There were some interesting looking plants and some that you can probably find at your backyard. Walking along the path towards the bigger lake, there were some crackling sounds ( or whatdaya call noises made by geese ? baying can ah ?)  from a flock of  geese which, frankly sound more irritating than the mindless chatter at the pasar.

Along the way, you will pass the Deer Park, it only open at 10am, so we were a bit too early. There is also a herb garden, and you might learn a few things or two, including this remedy for prevention of pregnancies using a specie of pineapple.

 Other place of interest in the vicinity of the Lake Gardens include : Orchid garden ( you can get some pretty reasonably price orchid plants here too) , Hibiscus garden , Butterfly park, Bird Park ( http://www.klbirdpark.com/ )

Location :

 

 

map copied from http://visit-to-kl.com/visit/Lake_garden.html

a)From Jalan Bangsar, head straight towards KTM Railway Station round-a-bout, turn left towards Masjid Negara

b) From Jalan Mahameru, turn left into Jalan Parlimen. At traffic light, turn right towards the Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens