I made a day trip up Kedah Peak on Sunday. The locals call it Gunung Jerai. It's the highest point in Kedah and sea-farers still use it as a navigational landmark when they go out to sea.
Actually, I hadn't planned to be there at all. My original plan was to visit someone in Gurun to take a look at his orchids and to learn from him. I had heard that his collection was impressive but when I went there, there weren't many that were flowering. But yes, it was still an impressive and varied collection.
For example, don't you think these three varieties of Oncidiums look interesting? Certainly, they are far, far more exciting than the staid, yellow version in my house.
And maybe, you'd marvel at this peculiar orchid whose flower smells positively like chocolate. It's only a small plant and the flower is tinier than a five sen coin.
Anyway, at the spur of the moment, my friends asked me to follow them to the Sungai Teroi forest reserve. I agreed but I didn't bargain to drive up Kedah Peak. This forest reserve is about 1,200 metres above sea level and on a clear day, you should be able to see the coastline and Alor Star. When you take a look at this panaromic view, you will understand why Kedah is known as the rice bowl of Malaysia. As far as the eyes can see, it's one flatland green with cultivated padi.
How best should I describe Kedah Peak vis-a-vis other hill resorts? Genting Highlands is of course the most developed (btw, its founder Lim Goh Tong died this morning, 90 years old), Cameron Highlands is totally commercialised, Fraser's Hill is rural with an English charm, Penang Hill is touristy amidst nature and Maxwell Hill is isolated and bare.
Kedah Peak is certainly no Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Fraser's Hill or Penang Hill. I would place it a notch above Maxwell Hill because though it is just as isolated, Kedah Peak is not bare and it is readily accessible by car from Gurun. The only concern I have is that the access road can be very narrow at various places with 10 to 12 sharp hairpin bends. Navigation up the hill can be challenging at some of the narrow stretches especially if you meet a lorry going down or coming up.
Kedah Peak is well known for this orange-coloured tree, the
pokok kelat gelam (Eugenia cerina). What's unique about this tree is its dry, paper-like bark. When peeled, it comes off easily. If you ask me, it's not unlike peeling the skin off someone that's suffering from psoriasis except that the scales are silvery and the bark here is orangey.
There's a stream running right through the forest reserve and there's a well containing the clearest natural spring water that I've ever drank.
The Kedah government is trying to promote Kedah Peak as a tourist spot but it is a pity that the efforts put into this place are so amateurish. Can you imagine that a swimming pool was built right here at the forest reserve yet it is bone dry? Perhaps it held water in the past but it is empty now. It has been empty for years. I would suspect that the government expected visitors to use the facility but in this type of climate where the day-time temperature can dip to 20 degrees Celsius at times (remember, this forest reserve is 1,200 metres above sea level so it is very much cooler than the lowlands), how many locals would have wanted to brave the temperature and swim there? There are picturesque bridges across the Sungai Teroi at this place but one was in pretty bad shape. There doesn't look like any attempt to repair it.
The whole place looks rather abandoned but there are the occasional visitors. A few metres above the forest reserve, some construction work is in progress. I hear the main guest house is being refurbished. It remains to be seen how much effort the state government will put into publicising it next year or will it eventually end up as the private playground of the Menteri Besar and his underlings?
If you are lucky, you may bump into the caretaker of this place. He may be kind enough to unlock the nursery and allow you to peek at the plants there.
Here is a rare plant, the Rothschild orchid which is native to Sabah. The buds on this specimen were still closed when I visited. Perhaps in one or two weeks' time, it will bloom in its splendour but I don't know whether I'll be visiting Sungai Teroi again to see it.
