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Title: Heaven on Earth
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 12:31pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.0, ISO Equiv.: 200
Dipping my legs into the ICY COLD water.
Title: The Riverbank
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 1:24pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/11, ISO Equiv.: 100
These stones were purposely put into the river to 'generate' stronger flow of water.
Title: Foot Fetish
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 12:28pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 125
A 'carpet' of crystal clear water flowing through my foot. Look like a thick layer of white jelly :)
Title: Cry Me A River
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 12:50pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
Another close-up shot.
Title: The River
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 12:57pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/11, ISO Equiv.: 100
The river is long and winding. The best spot to lie down and enjoy the icy cold water is at the 'end' of the forest - roughly 1.5 km from the main entrance.
Title: The Stony Path
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 12:51pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/14, ISO Equiv.: 100
Positioned my camera tripod CLOSE to the river in order to capture this shot.
Title: 'End' of the FOREST RIVER
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 1:34pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 160
After walking for almost one hour, I reached the 'end' of the forest river. The surrounding area was windy, serene and beautiful.
Title: The Beginning
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 1:28pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 200
The beginning of the river was gentle and shallow.
Title: AAAH!
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 12:25pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/7.1, ISO Equiv.: 100
The river water was ICY COLD! No worries about leech...there is none :)
Title: Labelling
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 2:18pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/4.5, ISO Equiv.: 200
This type of tree is highly sought after for joinery, furniture, high class interior finishing, flooring, decking, panelling, partitioning, mouldings, skirtings and fancy doors.
Title: Shades of GREEN
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 11:45am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 200
Chanced upon this green plant along the forest river.
Title: Fungal Infection
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 11:23am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.6, ISO Equiv.: 400
This plant was 90% infected with white patches of fungus.
Title: Chempedak Trees Artocarpus integer
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 11:16am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.0, ISO Equiv.: 280
The forest look like a fruit plantation. There are loads of durian and chempedak trees. Be careful and avoid getting hit bull eye by the falling durians! It was the chempedak season. I bought a RM8 chempedak from a roadside stall. It was fleshy, sweet and tasty!
Title: Time to take a Rest
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 12:40pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/5.3, ISO Equiv.: 280
A great place for family outing and overnight camping. The facilities in the forest river include toilets, BBQ corners and changing rooms.
Title: Fallen
Location: Sg. Chongkak Forest River, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: 6 July 2009, 1:29pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/6.3, ISO Equiv.: 100
This picture was taken at the 'end' of the forest. This tree was chopped and dropped on the riverbank.
I consider myself an avid ‘photographer’. Since late last year, I participated in numerous photography forums - photoforum, thephotoforum, shutterasia, photokaki and vazaar. I contributed some of my pictures to these forums hoping to get critiques and comments to improve my skills. Lately, I stumbled upon a place known as Sungai Chongkak (Congkak) Forest River while browsing through some forum posting. I did some research about the place and decided pay a visit.
I started my journey at 9:00 a.m. I drove my car following the recommended routes (Jalan Kuching - Jalan Loke Yew - Lebuhraya Cheras/Kajang). It was a two hours bumper to bumper ride. I was trapped in the early morning rush. The condition of the traffic was worsen by the presence of heavy duty vehicles hogging the road.
Sungai Chongkak (Congkak) Forest River is easy to locate. After paying RM1 at the Cheras-Kajang toll plaza, you’ll see a big blue signboard on your left directing motorist to the nearest exit for Sungai Chongkak. The Congkak river is another 25km drive from there.
As usual, I was the first person to arrive. I bought a RM1 entrance ticket and quickly unpacked my camera tripod to snap some pictures. The river water was ICY COLD. Instead of wasting my time trying to snap more pictures, I decided to walk all the way to the ‘end’ of the river.
This forest river is a PERFECT place for camping. There are over five different camping sites in the forest. The place has chalets, BBQ corners, changing rooms, toilets and comfy picnic areas. Honestly, it was a boring place to me. I was expecting to see a natural forest with endless green horizon. The place look like a ‘dusun buah-buahan' (translation: fruits plantation). The forest is surrounded with chempedak and durian trees.
I reached the end of the forest after walking for nearly one hour at a moderate pace. I spent another one hour sitting on the riverbank to enjoy the scenery. The water is cleaner and fresher over here. Later, I saw a used condom lying on the bank of the river. It still has traces of semen in the rubber. YUCKS!!! I guess some lovey-dovey couple made love on the secluded area.
I decided to call it a day and walked back to my car. It was 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon. On my way back to Kuala Lumpur, I saw lots of roadside stalls. I stopped my car and bought a medium-sized chempedak, a lemang buluh and a small cup of rendang daging. It was quite pricey. The three items cost me RM20. Fortunately, the chempedak is sweet, fleshy and tasty. The lemang smells like heaven and taste really good with the rendang daging. Again, my mom gave her THUMBS UP for these delicious food :)
Overall Sungai Chongkak (Congkak) Forest River is a nice place for family outing and group camping. Congkak river is long and winding. Unfortunately, I have to say the place is mundane and boring. The gentle flow of icy cold river in a fruit plantation failed to amaze me.
Sg. Chongkak Forest River - Getting There:
The Hulu Langat road is usually slow every day due to lorries and narrow lanes. If there is no traffic, expect to reach Sungai Chongkak Forest River in just under an hour. With traffic add another 30 minutes.
Visit the following website for comprehensive direction:
http://www.nature-escapes-kuala-lumpur.com/sungai-chongkak-forest-river.html
Fees & Facilities:
Entry Fee RM 1 per person (under 12 free)
Car Parking RM 2
Motorcycle Parking RM 1
Campsite RM 10 per night
Tent Rental RM 15 per night (4-6 person)
Canopy Rental, from RM 130 ++
chalet
Small 4 person Chalet RM 60/80 per night
Medium 8 person Chalet RM 60/80 per night
Large 14 person Chalet RM 100/120 per night
VIP 12 person Chalet RM 130/150 per night
Open Hall (50 person) RM 100 per day + entry fees
Assembly Area (40 person) RM 40 per day + entry fees
For reservations and further information contact:
Tourism Selangor Sdn. Bhd.
Lot P7, Jalan Indah 14/12
Seksyen 14, 40000 Shah Alam
Tel: 603 5513 2000
Fax: 603 5513 6268
Email: info@tourismselangor.org
Website: www.tourismselangor.org
More Info?
Read these articles before you travel:
http://www.nature-escapes-kuala-lumpur.com/sungai-chongkak-forest-river.html
http://naturetracker.com/content/view/67/27/
Sungai Congkak Forest River - Google Maps:
mylo-not far from sungai congkak is the Semenyih dam , lot of photo opportunity there also.
nice shot and i love the way you narrate
@xplorer,
Gee...thany you again for your kind compliments.
Will visit Semenyih dam in near future.
Cheers!
mylo
Very good and vivid shots.
@Roger,
Thank you and welcome to mylo photo blog.
You have a nice travel blog! Same passion - love of travel.
Cheers!
mylo