Gunung Jerai calling out loud...

From Kangar, I took the bus to Alor Setar, Kedah... Then only can I get a bus towards Sungai Petani through the town of Gurun where lies a point to get on top of the 4,200-feet plus high Gunung (mount) Jerai.

The peak of Gunung Jerai beckons... I actually overshoot the point where a climb could be made by several kilometres. That means I have to find a bus heading back to Alor Setar while the time then was almot 6pm, a bus which is only available every half an hour or so...

Luckily a local youth saw my predicament and decided to sent me there by bike. Thank God... Otherwise I don't know what time I'll get a bus. Besides, I didn't know the exact point where I should embark... For all you know, I might just overshoot the destination again with time running out and dusk approaching!

There, the point where I should have embarked from the bus. Should have seen the obvious signboard but since one didn't know the actual location, one might soon tire while keeping a look-out from inside the bus and thus miss the signs...

Now, one of the reason I chose this point is that you can take vans straight to the mountain top. There are several routes to take up Mount Jerai including from Merbok and Yan... Have a look again at The ancient valley of Bujang in Merbok and Yan again... The call of Gunung Jerai... . But only this one have a rather proper road all the way up accesible by motor vehicles. I thought I want to save time and energy you see!

As it turns out, I could still catch a van going up. Only problem, I was the only prospective passenger left as it was already way pass 6pm... I must charter a whole van for at least RM50. Otherwise the fare could have been splitted with other passengers, down to about RM5 per person...

Now, I have always been a budget traveller... RM50 just to get up a mountain by van to me is waste of money... So what next? Just guess, haha!

One thing is for sure... I MUST get up Gunung Jerai. The first time I went on top was 10 years ago on my trusty big bike, the bike which at the moment is not functional as it is in need of repair and I don't the proper budget yet to spare which should cost at least RM2,000. The second time was by van 2-3 years ago, I can't remember went exactly. So what do I do? I decided to walk... Never mind that it would be a 13 km trip up the winding mountain road alone... Never mind that I was actually very tired having been on the road for the last 2 weeks or so.

Never mind it was getting dark... Never mind it was Malam Jumaat, the night before Friday, a night most Malays believe is the night where unseen forces and creatures roam free ghost and such... And Gunung Jerai is a place reputed to be full of such things! I just walked on... The call of Gunung Jerai was just too loud to ignore! I might be able to brush it aside while in Merbok, so in Yan but this time, I just had to have a go no matter what...

There... Visibility began to be drop as the last thraces of sunshine disappeared...

And the next day, I found myself waking up in nice lodge. What the heck?

The view from the room I spent the night... Not bad!

The resort on top of Gunung Jerai...

OK... What happened was I walked for more than 2 hours covering a distance of 8 km by 8.30pm or so, still 5 km to go to get to the top when a car passed by and I managed to hitchike. Even then, the car didn't want to stop at first... Not many cars would stop for a hitchiker much least in the jungles of Gunung Jerai reputed to be rife with mystical powers, not forgetting ghost and such.

It's only by God's grace that the driver in a car filled with 3 people felt pity that there's a man walking alone up the mountain at night with a big rucksack on his back. At first, he dismissed me as some sort creature one shouldn't even attempt to find out what but then God inspired in his heart to show pity and turn back to have a look. There!

Another view from the resort...

The actual summit of Gunung Jerai is still a distance away as can be deducted from this picture...

Still, this resort is very close to the summit which is situated rather high up as could be seen here...

A plaque about Gunung Jerai...

This is what it says... Read it yourself ya... Enough for me to point out that it says Gunung Jerai stands at 1,217 metre high from sea-level...

Another look at the land below...

This is actually a mosque... Hardly used but still a mosque just next to the resort.

I didn't realise what it was when I arrived as I couldn't see through the dark... Just the outlines and I didn't know what building it was... Otherwise, I could have saved money by lodging in the mosque, hah! :]

I wanted to get to the top. So I left the resort and saw this point on the route up. I felt a certain thug in my heart and decided to explore... See the electrical posts there... I saw a path heading into the jungle and took a walk...

After a while, I saw a clearing with a this man busy reciting some prayers... What the heck???? Is this a real man or is this one of the "creatures" of Gunung Jerai? Never mind, I let the man be... After all, I'm do different from him, human or not, as I like to explore areas said to be mystical and full of mysteries... And more than once I have been passed as some sort of "creature out there"... So there... Next! :]