Penang Hills and Trails - Another Cross Country
Balik Pulau to Titi Kerawang Area

This is one of a series of pages on walking the hills of Penang, click here for the index. This is a Grade 2 walk albeit with a short 'off piste' section.

Please visit my Penang buses page for information on accessing the starting point.

We gently chide our friend Mike Gibby for his preference for hikes along well defined paths which undulate gently, but the fact is that in Penang such creatures are almost as rare as hen's teeth. So once again, he had to settle for a walk with us which undulated rather less than gently. If anyone had told me 5 years ago that it was possible to do a civilised walk from Balik Pulau to the Titi Kerawang area almost exclusively on paths and private roads then I'm not sure I would have believed them. However, during our last visit we had done such a hike and today we would repeat it with a couple of slight additions as we had two cars available which meant we did not need to do the boring bits at each end. We abandoned Mavis at the finishing point and Mike drove us along Jalan Chai to the Chinese temple. We've done the initial part of this walk many times, so I will only say that we walked straight up until we came to this small bridge.

Soon after we turned left, we could have continued straight on but we had used today's route only once before and that coming down. After completing a U-bend we had a section which must have delighted Mike. However, it was succeeded by a short climb.

The path finished and we had to cross this recently cleared area. There's a tiny rough section between two estates and then we were at a small summit. Yuehong loves these miniature oranges but the taste is a bit too strong for a Tiger-drinker-to-be.

I had to warn Mike that the next section did not totally accord with his specification, not only was that a stiff climb (diagonally) ahead but the starting point for it was some way down from where we were. We returned to the main path.

Ahead of Mike is the upper area of Air Puteh where Yuehong and I had fun and games a few days earlier. It must have made a big impression on Yuehong as she shaped to repeat the experience. Now that really would have been the 'wrong kind of walk' for Mike.

We had a short descent before turning right and we saw the sun for the last time.

There's a convenient resting point here before starting up and we were joined by a young man in a 4wD pick up. He had brought supplies for the migrant workers in his family's estate at the end of the road, one of them would come down on a motorbike to make a collection. He explained that while his mother was happy to drive up there, he was not. He was amazed that we knew the area so well, probably better than he did.

To be honest, this section is a bit of a trudge, it's likely that much had suffered a poor clearance as there are lots of ferns and even pitcher plants which indicate a lack of nutrients in the soil. The only junction is near the end of the road, left leads down to Sungai Rusa while we were going right.

It's hardly luxury, but I guess these living conditions are better than back home. Certainly, the workers had a fair stock of food and a gas cooker. The sleeping arrangements didn't look too hot and I am sure the mosquito coils were absolutely necessary. However, there's no electricity supply here and any lighting would come from a battery. 

The old rubber roller was a 'Dragon' brand from Singapore. I have to say that compared to our normal speed, Mike is maybe 50% faster. He's a gentleman though and didn't complain as I split my time between him and Yuehong. Her only complaint was the lack of calories being burned as there was rather less climbing today compared to recent walks.

We came to the top of the (part) maintained rubber and I think Mike expected to carry on up until I pointed out the terrace path to the left. These days Yuehong frequently questions my decisions in these matters but in this case I was pretty confident as we had been here just 9 days earlier. So I had to wait for Yuehong as she made her way down from a higher level. Mike too offered a path up, but I explained that the serious climbing for today was over. 

As before, we were just a few metres away from the end of a concrete path which would get us started on our journey down.

First though, it was refreshment time and the 'Tiger Girl' made her welcome appearance, in return I handed her the box of water melon which is her favourite tipple. Beyond the abandoned house we were on a concrete road.

It was increasingly cloudy and I guess today's view out from the shelter opposite would not have been up to much. We turned left at Yuehong's newly found gate.

A lady worker was relaxing on the path while the men folk had their lunch below. That looked like some kind of tablet computer she was using, these days it's so easy (and affordable apparently) for them to keep in touch with friends and family whether they are in the next orchard or the next country. From here on below the house, the path follows a long series of zig-zags. 

The mini durian season is not yet over, this tree was packed with fruit but sadly for Yuehong there were no windfalls. We went through the exit gate and continued down.

These would have been flowers a month ago, now they are clearly young durian fruit. Of course, only a small proportion will develop completely. We turned right at the hut for the final section and Yuehong struck gold, literally. A ripe durian lay next to the path. It was in no state to sell as a small part was black and had been attacked by insects. However, most of it was perfect, a yellow orange variety with excellent texture and quite good flavour. With a new spring in her step, we soon caught up with Mike who had patiently waited while we indulged ourselves.

By now the light was pretty dire, the waterfall looked impressive after significant rain in the last couple of days, but here's an equivalent shot from earlier in the trip with better lighting. 

We picked up Mavis, collected some mangoes form Balik Pulau and went for lunch in Sungai Pinang. Mike wisely, as it turned out, went home ahead of us. By the time we got to Teluk Bahang some time later, it was raining heavily and some care was needed especially on the approach road to our home where the water was flowing down maybe two inches deep for much of it. Mike enjoyed his walk but did comment as others have done that our walks always turn out to be a little longer than we describe them.