Enjoy a houseboat tour of Tasik Kenyir
A houseboat journey through Tasik Kenyir transports MALIK RIDHWAN into a world of stunning natural wonders.
LIVING on a houseboat sounds like a great way to enjoy prime Malaysian panorama without the hustle and bustle sound of the city. Indeed, a tour of Tasik Kenyir, South East Asia’s largest man-made lake is the perfect stress-free getaway for those who want to spend some quality time ‘undisturbed’. Why? You don’t get any cell phone connectivity in the middle of nowhere.
Characterised by strange-looking islets, Tasik Kenyir is actually filled with hilltops submerged in water from the big flood many many years ago.
Our Hilton-on-a-boat looks like a sweet floating kampung house rather than a commercial trailer boat, with a 360-degree view of cheerful coats of blue skies.
Complete with 6 cabins with proper pillow-topped beds, cooling wall fans, the houseboat comes with common bathrooms, a fully-equipped kitchen and as well as a TV room with karaoke and Astro!
The icing on the cake? A natural swimming pool in the backyard, frontyard, and sideyard, as huge and limitless as the eyes can see.
How would you feel waking up to this every morning?
Front row seats
After I have freshened up, the sun came out in full force, and so are the rest of my friends. Some are seen draped on the deck sunbathing; most have marked their territory on the lower sundeck, drinking in uninterrupted views of our otherworldly surroundings, as the boat cruises slowly down the lake.
Tasik Kenyir looks like something that happened when God exercised His creative juices and came up with an upside-down jungle. We’re surrounded by hundreds of vegetation-covered domes encircled by spindly tree stumps; these are dead trees from former hilltops and highlands before the area became inundated with water.
The site for the Sultan Mahmud Power Station, Tasik Kenyir was progressively flooded in 1985 after the Kenyir dam’s completion. Though these sepulchral structures are, in essence, dead trees, Tasik Kenyir is more than a watery grave for plants. It’s a fertile breeding ground for freshwater fish, which feed, on the algae growing on dead trees and branches.
For the better part of the 80s and 90s, Tasik Kenyir was a popular draw for anglers and is also known as one of three gateways to Taman Negara. Most importantly, the 340 small islands and its surrounding forest reserves are homes to a number of rare animal species.
Elephants have been seen splashing in the lake. Hundreds of bird species are known to reside here. Endangered species like the clouded leopard have been captured on camera prowling the grounds. As Kenyir’s rich biodiversity increasingly comes under threat from loggers, farmers and hunters are tapping into the lake’s other underappreciated charms to raise tourist dollars that eventually contribute funds towards their protection and survival.
Crowd-pleasing big falls and huge pools aside, the popular Lasir Waterfall also has pockets of tranquil serenity. It is one of the more popular waterfalls in the area because of its 500-foot drop and multi-tiered ponds.
Paradise falls
Climbing a stretch of steep steps double the height of Batu Caves to reach the top, the reward that awaits you is simply rewarding – deep green jungle, massive jets of water plunging into crystal-clear pools and rocky boulders.
With a canopy walk, numerous dip pools and a rope vine that you can swing with, Tarzan style, Lasir Waterfall is spectacular!
Bashfulness melts away and new friendships are forged as everyone strip to their bathers and leap gleefully into the inviting waters.
Those of us, who can’t swim, paddle or park ourselves under jets of water for a hydro massage.
But for now, this place IS paradise falls.
After a few hours of swimming, we’re on the move back to the boathouse to head to Kelah Sanctuary.
Here fishy fishy
What happens when you combine floating house with acres of pristine wilderness and one very big lake? Top-of-the-line adventure, it seems.
Fish spas are so overrated. You go in and pay an unjustifiable amount of money just so these food-deprived little creatures can gnaw at your feet. However, there’s none of that nonsense at Tasik Kenyir in Terengganu, where the massage is au natural and the fish are friendly, not menacing.
Find that hard to believe? Try dipping your feet into the Kelah Sanctuary’s cold, glassy waters. Since this is a sanctuary, fishing is strictly prohibited.
Located at Sungai Petang, one of the 14 rivers that supply water to the dam, the sanctuary is home to thousands of foot-long Kelah fishes also known as the Mahseer fish that will glide up to your submerged feet and give them a good, slippery massage. While it isn’t meant for the faint-hearted, those who are brave enough will find themselves greatly rewarded.
From 100m away, I hear my friends squealing and shrieking. I inch my way down the embankment, bend my head over the cluster of boulders and peer into the deep pool below. Knee-deep in water, my friends are surrounded by hundreds – maybe even thousands – of darting submarine-shaped creatures. Their translucent skins glinting like black diamonds in the sunlight.
As I cast a handful of fish food into the water, the spot where the pallets land immediately turns into a churning whirlpool of frenzied fishes. Emboldened, I gingerly dip my feet in. A school of kelah rushes to my feet to nibble – a ticklish but not unpleasant sensation.
Our new fishy friends must have wandered into, ahem, uncharted territory. Yes, this sanctuary alone is worth every inch of mud and every single leech.
A wonderful world
At night, we gather and talk, had barbeque and marshmallow sessions.
It’s barbeque time! As the guys prepare the charcoal at the pit, the ladies were busy in the kitchen marinating meat. This ended with everyone surrounding the fire burning marshmallows in a story sharing session.
By now, I’ve already figured out that one of the best things to do on these boats is to curl up anywhere and enjoy our front-row seats of Kenyir’s scenery slideshow as the boat puts along.
Which is why, come bedtime, I creep out to the deck with pillow and blanket. There’s no way I’m sleeping indoors when overhead there’s a blanket of stars.
I wake up to the sight of the orange sun creeping up of the shadowy peaks. Acutely aware this moment might never come again, I stay put for another hour, before making my way up the wooden staircase to the deck as we prepared to reach the jetty in Pengkalan Gawi.
One word to describe my adventure – SUPERB! Tasik Kenyir is definitely the perfect place to be as a stress-reliever.