How Bird Watching Turned Into Plant Watching At Lake Kenyir

Posted by : foongpc | Monday, January 11, 2010 | Published in

ADVERTISEMENT


On my second day at Lake Kenyir, me and my friend had to wake up early at 6.30am as we were going for the bird watching tour scheduled at 7am.

Since I was not used to waking up so early even on working days, what more during the holidays, I set my handphone alarm at 6.15am the night before. Well, I wanted to brush my teeth and do my big business before my friend wakes up!

Turned out that my Mariah Carey song alarm woke him up as well, haha. He was amazed that I am such a huge Mariah fan that I even used her songs as my alarm bell. Well, anyone who wants to travel with me will have to put up with that, I suppose. Haha!

By the time we reached the resort lobby, it was already 6.45am. We quickly took some photos.





We were not sure how we were going to have our complimentary breakfast as the coffee house only opened at 7am, which was the time for our bird watching tour to start.



There would be two more people - a Singaporean couple - joining our tour. However, we waited until 7am and still no one came! Our tour guide arrived soon after and told us that the Singaporean couple woke up late and asked us to wait for a while. Both me and my friend were pissed off because if we had known they would be late, we would not have woken up so early and we could have gone for our breakfast!

Anyway, my friend and I decided not to give a damn and went for our breakfast instead of just standing there waiting!

Surprisingly, I found the breakfast to be much better than the buffet dinner we had the night before. But I did not have the time to take photos and to eat properly because halfway through eating, the tour guide came to tell us that the Singaporean couple had arrived and we were ready to go. What a nuisance!



I will post more photos of the breakfast food in my future post as we had a more proper breakfast the next day and I had more time to take some photos.



I think we (especially my friend, I'm the more forgiving one, haha!) were really pissed off with the Singaporean couple we did not even bother to say hello or even talk to them throughout our entire bird watching tour! LOL

We hopped into a van together with our tour guide. While the van driver drove, our tour guide explained to us what birds we were likely to see.

The van would stop at a few places and we would walked along long stretches of road in search for birds!



Unfortunately, we did not see many birds during this outing. Maybe it's just our luck or maybe the birds were fast disappearing.


Our tour guide adjusting the binocular for us to view the birds.

We witnessed people catching birds! I even took photos of a pretty bird being captured.



Look how the bird tried to bite the man's hand!



It sure looked angry being captured! Poor birdie! How could people be allowed to capture these birds?

No wonder we could not see many birds that day! They were fast going extinct!

This would surely affect the tourism industry at Lake Kenyir. When we asked our tour guide why he did not report these people to the authorities, he just smiled. Well, if this goes on, his services will no longer be needed!

So with not many birds to watch, we ended up watching plants and bugs instead, haha!


A huge bug I snapped on my camera


Tree with two-coloured leaves

My blogger friend joked that we would have seen more birds in the parks in Petaling Jaya and I thought he was right! In fact, I think I can spot more birds in my house compound. Haha! Anyway, if you really want to see birds, go to KL Bird Park.


Don't know what flower this is, just snapped a photo of it!


Green plants are just so soothing to the eyes!


Do you know what flower this is?

I had wanted to place more photos of our bird watching tour here but most of them contain the pictures of my blogger friend so I am sorry I can't share them with you. He requested for privacy and I have to respect his request.

So after spending the whole morning walking long stretches of road without many birds in sight, we called it a day.



Even though it was somewhat a disappointment not to mention a waste of my RM50 (yes, that's how much I paid for this tour!) I had an enjoyable time chatting with my friend. It was still fun nevertheless, so no regrets here at all!

Coming Up Next : My Scenic Walk Along Lake Kenyir

FIRST COMMENTER

(86) Comments

  1. Anonymous

    was wondering how come no post from you today? :)

    January 11, 2010 at 4:50 PM
  2. Anonymous

    Maybe the birds woke up late like those late-comers..haha.

    Anyway, those people latecomers should have been left behind as tours are supposed to run according to schedule and not hold up those who woke up on time!

    January 11, 2010 at 4:53 PM
  3. CheaHSan said...

    Well well well heard of "no fish prawns also can" but never "no birds bugs also can" haha

    January 11, 2010 at 5:22 PM
  4. CheaHSan said...

    Wow your first pictures looked sleepy and after breakfast the day brightened up can even see the plate was so so clean. Perfect early morning shots.

    January 11, 2010 at 5:27 PM
  5. Song To Remember said...

    I guess watching plants is worthy enough than nothing interesting to watch right? i enjoy your great photos.... it seems that i am watching discovery channel here^^ or reading a Natural Geographic Magazine here

    happy 2010 foongpc
    TV MARATHON
    SONG TO REMEMBER
    JUST BUZZING
    PICTURES OF MY LIFE

    January 11, 2010 at 6:18 PM
  6. இ Baŋäŋaz இ said...

    Looks like you are facing a number of disappointment, first the check-in, then the Tembat Restaurant@Tembak buffet, and now the birds & the bugs no bees. Anyway too soon to say further maybe the good things would surface later. Looking for more exciting and scenic hopefully not cynical walk along Lake Kenyir.

    January 11, 2010 at 6:37 PM
  7. Anonymous

    was your fren's bird worth watching? huhuhuhu

    January 11, 2010 at 6:49 PM
  8. Pete said...

    Ha ha, all the birds migrated out of the country already!

    January 11, 2010 at 7:00 PM
  9. lina said...

    maybe the tour should change their time so that they won't inconvenience punctual people when there are others who tend to wake up late.
    Or the guide should wake you guys up to ensure punctuality. :D

    January 11, 2010 at 7:10 PM
  10. [SK] said...

    let me guess.. your alarm tone must be "boy, why are you so obssessed with me.. why you wanna sex with me~~ ".. hahaha :D

    January 11, 2010 at 7:27 PM
  11. [SK] said...

    aiyoh!! that breakfast is nice leh.. sausage, pancakes, baked beans.. all that i like!! but no bacon meh??

    January 11, 2010 at 7:28 PM
  12. [SK] said...

    and you know what?? having breakfast in such a nice place, nice view.. it's just so heaven!! i can spend three hours there..

    January 11, 2010 at 7:28 PM
  13. [SK] said...

    so finally, did that SG couple appeared before or after you finished your breakfast??

    January 11, 2010 at 7:29 PM
  14. [SK] said...

    oh?? you couldn't see any birds because all the birds are gone caught by the people?? how sad..

    January 11, 2010 at 7:30 PM
  15. [SK] said...

    not bad also, without the birds, you can still watch the plants and the bugs.. so did you got refund for the bird watching trip??

    January 11, 2010 at 7:31 PM
  16. [SK] said...

    maybe it's because you guys are late for the bird watching time!! haiz.. all to blame the SG couple, hahaha~~ show them your face!!

    January 11, 2010 at 7:32 PM
  17. [SK] said...

    so really not even a bird to see?? even a crow or a sparrow or a pigeon?? alamak~~

    January 11, 2010 at 7:33 PM
  18. [SK] said...

    you know what?? i think i'm luckier, because everyday i'm able to see birdsssss!! albeit only the black crows lah, hahahaha :D

    January 11, 2010 at 7:33 PM
  19. [SK] said...

    aiyoh.. just share those photos lah.. you can just mask-out his face mah.. right?? we want to see more photos.. :)

    January 11, 2010 at 7:35 PM
  20. [SK] said...

    but come to think about it.. i guess we ALL are more interested to see YOUR face.. hahaha!! :D

    January 11, 2010 at 7:36 PM
  21. Tekkaus said...

    Mei Ting was waiting for you post today? meaning that you'll post every Monday lar? :p

    January 11, 2010 at 8:45 PM
  22. Tekkaus said...

    Wow! Have to wake up that early? But I guess it must be worth it huh! But 6.30am is a little early. Hahaha :D Do big business?

    January 11, 2010 at 8:49 PM
  23. Tekkaus said...

    Ouh...your friend didn't know that you are addicted to mariah Carey? LOL :D

    What? If I wanna travel with you gotta put up with that MC ringtone? I'm gonna bring my hammer!

    January 11, 2010 at 8:50 PM
  24. Tekkaus said...

    Wow! The scenery is quite beautiful. Ouh...there's even a swimming pool? So you didn't have a dip in the pool? :p

    January 11, 2010 at 8:51 PM
  25. Tekkaus said...

    So 2 more singaporean are supposed to join you guys lar? :p Hahahaha That's why. Sometimes the early birds woke up and still there are no worms to eat. They have to wait for the other birds. :p

    January 11, 2010 at 8:56 PM
  26. Tekkaus said...

    But that turned out to be a blessing in disguise right? :p You guys got to eat your breakfast.

    Yeah! From your pict...the breakfast did look ok ler. Not bad! Not bad at all.

    January 11, 2010 at 8:57 PM
  27. Tekkaus said...

    What? Why on earth these birds are being caught in the 1st place? You should have stopped him Foong. :p

    January 11, 2010 at 8:58 PM
  28. Tekkaus said...

    That looks more like a dead bug to me. The tree looks weird. Haha :D I mean the leaves.

    What have to pay RM50? I don't wanna go to Kenyir anymore.

    January 11, 2010 at 9:00 PM
  29. wenn said...

    instead of looking up for birds, u looked down at bugs and plants..hehe

    January 11, 2010 at 10:48 PM
  30. HappySurfer said...

    Foong, that bug must be saying, "Leave me alone! Just becoz you got up early doesn't mean I have to as well." LOL! RM50 is pretty stiff.

    January 11, 2010 at 11:49 PM
  31. HappySurfer said...

    That table after your breakfast shot is cute. For a moment, I thought it was a giant pancake. haha...

    January 11, 2010 at 11:50 PM
  32. HappySurfer said...

    So sad about the bird-catching. And he let you photograph him?

    January 11, 2010 at 11:50 PM
  33. Merryn said...

    Hehehehe... I no friend you (to that Spore couple!) :P

    January 12, 2010 at 12:21 AM
  34. Merryn said...

    The view and the greeneries.. are just so soothing :)

    January 12, 2010 at 12:22 AM
  35. Superman said...

    Maybe those birds also waiting for other birds to wake up and fly together. Kekeke. You so adventurous will go bird watching. I guess I will not wake up so early for that. I am too lazy. The little bird is sure fierce. Luckily the little birdy don't have teeth. But nice photos you got there.

    January 12, 2010 at 12:40 AM
  36. RoseBelle said...

    A 7:00 in the morning tour is a wee bit too early. I heard from friends that go on regular tours that when you choose a tour package for vacation, you really don't sleep cos the itinerary begins very early in the morning. One friend toured the city of New York and she said she was up at 6:00 every morning somtimes skipping breakfasts. That's how bad it was for her. I still love the scenery of Kenyir so perhaps the amount of money you pay is for the memory and the relaxation too.

    January 12, 2010 at 1:30 AM
  37. khengsiong said...

    Hmm... now I see why people going to Lake Kenyir. This is an interesting place.

    But not sure if it is worth it to spend so much on accommodation...

    January 12, 2010 at 8:35 AM
  38. eiling lim said...

    It must be nice to have Mariah waking you up every morning yeah? hehe

    January 12, 2010 at 10:55 AM
  39. Cloudia said...

    We have the same yellow flower here in Hawaii. Sad to see the birds captured! But I love your words and pictures...


    Aloha, Friend!


    Comfort Spiral

    January 12, 2010 at 1:53 PM
  40. vialentino said...

    wow...wonderful kenyir trip....how come not much birds to watch?

    January 12, 2010 at 3:00 PM
  41. Unknown said...

    id love to have breakfast with that view, everyday! :)

    late - yr friend must be pissed off cos the couple (singapore or otherwise) is not respecting you both. and like one commenter said, that might be the reason for not so many birds to watch?

    anyway, i think u r right. kl bird park would be a good place to see birds. i should go visit :)

    January 12, 2010 at 4:50 PM
  42. iamthewitch said...

    Aisay, RM50 for a bird tour with no birds! What a waste... well, of course, at the end of the day, it's the company that counts eh? :)

    January 12, 2010 at 5:03 PM
  43. Ken Wooi said...

    haha.. i guess there are more beautiful plants out there than birds.. =P

    kenwooi.com

    January 13, 2010 at 12:04 AM
  44. Che-Cheh said...

    Too bad there were only a few birds. At least you enjoyed your time with your friend.

    btw, have you finish posting about Guilin?

    January 13, 2010 at 12:36 AM
  45. foongpc said...

    mei teng, haha I was a little busy that's why posted late. The birds woke up late? Haha!

    By right, the tour guide should follow the time punctually and not wait for those who were late.

    January 13, 2010 at 12:59 AM
  46. foongpc said...

    cheahs@n, haha! The plate was clean because it was wiped clean by my hunger : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:01 AM
  47. foongpc said...

    feed your mind, so busy? Well, it's OK, school and studies come first. Happy 2010! : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:02 AM
  48. foongpc said...

    song to remember, wow really? That's a huge compliment, thanks! : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:03 AM
  49. foongpc said...

    marites, thanks for dropping by! Wishing you a great 2010! : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:03 AM
  50. foongpc said...

    bananaz, I won't really call them disappointments actually. Anyway, I'm not the kind of person who get disappointed easily. I enjoyed it all even though things didn't turn out as I wanted. Oh yes, things got better later on, so stay tuned : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:05 AM
  51. foongpc said...

    anonymous, I don't watch my friend's bird.

    January 13, 2010 at 1:07 AM
  52. foongpc said...

    pete, that bad? And go where?

    January 13, 2010 at 1:07 AM
  53. foongpc said...

    lina, haha! You know that will never happen : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:09 AM
  54. foongpc said...

    SK,you like this type of breakfast, don't you? Actually the breakfast was not bad at all!

    Yes, coupled with the nice view of Lake Kenyir, I had nothing much to complained about!

    The Singaporean couple appeared while we were in the midst of eating our breakfast! How inconsiderate! Haha

    No refunds, but I have no regrets since walking on those long stretches of road was quite fun anyway. And I have good company so it was OK.

    Haha, actually we saw quite a number of birds, but I could not take photos as they were too far away and could only be seen clearly using binoculars.

    You are indeed lucky to see birds everyday, even though it's only black crows! Haha! I think I'm luckier cos I see more than just black crows in my garden everyday! LOL!

    Want to see my face? Just meet up with me lah : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:13 AM
  55. foongpc said...

    tekkaus, haha! You guessed it right - I post every Monday, well almost. Sometimes I don't but usually I do.

    Yup, I do big business early in the morning! Haha, a bit difficult to do actually cos too early. LOL!

    Hammer my phone? I'm going to kill you first! LOL!

    The breakfast was not too bad and the view was good!

    Dead bug? Probably, haha!

    Well, you don't have to go bird watching at Kenyir. There are loads of other things to do, so I still highly recommend Lake Kenyir for your holidays! : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:17 AM
  56. foongpc said...

    wenn, haha yes if no birds, then of course look at plants and bugs. What else to look at right? : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:18 AM
  57. foongpc said...

    happysurfer, haha, maybe that bug didn't say anything cos like Tekkaus said, it's dead!

    Yes, RM50 is a little expensive for me.

    The table is a giant pancake? Haha! That would be cute!

    Yes, the bird catcher allowed us to photograph him.

    January 13, 2010 at 1:21 AM
  58. foongpc said...

    merryn, haha, yes no friend the Spore couple! : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:21 AM
  59. foongpc said...

    superman, haha maybe. I don't normally wake up so early during holidays but I guess it's nice to go bird watching cos I don't usually do that. I was lucky to be able to capture the photo of that angry bird : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:24 AM
  60. foongpc said...

    rose belle, that's why I don't like to follow tours during holidays. I don't quite like the idea of waking up early every morning! Prefer my holidays to be more relaxed. Yes, I love the scenery at Kenyir and it was worth visiting! I enjoyed the place a lot! : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:26 AM
  61. foongpc said...

    khengsiong, it is worth it : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:26 AM
  62. foongpc said...

    eiling lim, indeed, haha : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:27 AM
  63. foongpc said...

    cloudia, oh you do? That's cool! Yeah, I felt sad for the birds too. Glad you like the words and pictures! : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:28 AM
  64. foongpc said...

    vialentino, I guess we were just unlucky : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:29 AM
  65. foongpc said...

    quachee, yeah, me too! : )

    Yeah, the Singaporean couple were indeed not respectful of our time. We could have woken up later.

    January 13, 2010 at 1:31 AM
  66. foongpc said...

    iamthewitch, yes it's the company that counts : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:32 AM
  67. foongpc said...

    kenwooi, you are right, haha! : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:32 AM
  68. foongpc said...

    che-cheh, yeah too bad, but no regrets : )

    No, Guilin posts still have many more posts to come, so stay tuned : )

    January 13, 2010 at 1:33 AM
  69. fufu said...

    wow... nice! malaysia's largest lake ??? erm well poor birdie >< why font you stop the man from catching the bird???

    January 13, 2010 at 5:08 AM
  70. LifeRamblings said...

    i'll definitely avoid bird watching when i vist Kenyir. there are already too many birds to watch here.:)

    January 13, 2010 at 8:17 AM
  71. Ayie said...

    too bad nothing really much to see but you enjoyed still so that's more important

    January 13, 2010 at 8:59 AM
  72. jam said...

    What a pity to have seen birds being captured during a bird watching trip! Report them to WWF Malaysia!

    January 13, 2010 at 11:35 AM
  73. foongpc said...

    fufu, I don't have the power to stop him! : )

    January 14, 2010 at 12:18 AM
  74. foongpc said...

    life ramblings, haha yes forget about bird watching if you go Kenyir!

    January 14, 2010 at 12:19 AM
  75. foongpc said...

    ayie, yes I enjoyed it despite not many birds : )

    January 14, 2010 at 12:19 AM
  76. foongpc said...

    jam, maybe I should : )

    January 14, 2010 at 12:20 AM
  77. Hanging lamps said...

    This gives ya' the "Wikipedia" version/description of it. So with the two responses so far you'll know exactly what and where it is.

    January 14, 2010 at 10:02 PM
  78. eastcoastlife said...

    RM50 for a bird watching trip!? You could have hire a cab and go on your own.

    January 16, 2010 at 11:29 AM
  79. CH Voon said...

    Now I know why the couple piss you off! Hahaha

    January 17, 2010 at 3:58 AM
  80. CH Voon said...

    Hahaha they really kacau nia… expeciall your nice breakfast wakaka
    Oh… not good to catch the birdie! Bad man!

    January 17, 2010 at 3:58 AM
  81. CH Voon said...

    Ops… I will never go there to see bird anymore! Not bird but bug hahaha
    Har… still need to pay rm50… never mind … la..

    January 17, 2010 at 3:58 AM
  82. foongpc said...

    hanging lamps, Wikipedia version? Haha, not sure about that! Thanks for dropping by! : )

    January 17, 2010 at 10:54 PM
  83. foongpc said...

    eastcoastlife, haha, don't think so cos we were not familiar with where to spot birds! : )

    January 17, 2010 at 10:55 PM
  84. foongpc said...

    CH Voon, yalah interrupted my nice breakfast! : (

    Yeah, not recommended to go see birds at Kenyir, better go KL Bird Park, I think it's cheaper and many more birds : )

    January 17, 2010 at 10:58 PM
  85. mNhL said...

    Hi foongpc, 1st time here. Heard you from many other bloggers. you are kinda famous out there. hehe...
    Just went to the KL bird park the other day and I just love it. To be honest, there are not so many species, but still consider ok la. Will add u into my blogroll. hope you don't mind.

    January 20, 2010 at 1:45 PM
  86. foongpc said...

    mNhL, thanks for dropping by here! I'm not that famous actually, haha.

    Well, I think KL Bird Park have more birds than Kenyir! LOL! Thanks for adding me : )

    January 23, 2010 at 10:49 PM