Hill interlude

I had a fabulous time trekking up the hill at Cerok Tokun in Bukit Mertajam two days ago. Took the path beside the dam. Haven't come this way for months and was surprised to see the subtle changes that Mother Nature had made to the surroundings.

The undergrowth had covered the paths until I almost couldn't recognise the way. But once the dam was sighted, it was plain sailing all the way until I emerged onto the road about halfway up the hill. Here are some pictures I took along the way.

First of all, this is the dam at Cerok Tokun. It's filled to the brim with water, due to the regular rainfall we've been experiencing in this country for the past few months. But I do remember a time, not so long ago, when it was almost bone dry.

Two views of the path I took. It's normally a dirt track but at some points, you'd come across big stones that had conveniently placed along the track quite a long time ago to help trekkers ascend or descend the steep slopes.
 

One of the makeshift rest areas along the way. There used to be a platform nearby but it was dismantled quite a while back.

And this is the point where most trekkers will emerge onto the tarred road. This is a panoramic view. Left will lead walkers to the tea house and onwards to the summit while right goes downhill to the car park. I chose the right direction, and it would be another 35 minutes' walk down.

Encountered a funny incident whilst walking down. There was this person walking down about 10 metres ahead of me when he bumped into a friend walking in the opposite direction. His friend was all togged up: headband, sleeveless tees, exercise shorts and sports shoes. You'd know immediately that he had come to the BM Hill for a single purpose: to walk up to the summit or somewhere in between. Yet the first words of greeting from the mouth of this person who was walking down was, "You climbing the hill, ah?" Incredulous. Wasn't it obvious??