Day 3 – Kukup and home
The original plan for the morning was to visit Kukup Island National Park. But lazing around seem like a pretty good alternative. 
So here I was, reading Aravind Adiga‘s Between the Assassinations. The assassinations refer to Indira Gandhi’s death in 1984 and that of her son, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1991.
Took a few shots of the surrounding Kelongs. In case you are wondering, Kelong is a malay word for house built on water.
Day 2 – Kluang to Kukup
We arranged with one of the cab drivers who sent us back yesterday to pick us up this morning to Gunung Lambak. We bought some breakfast at the entrance of Gunung Lambak.
With this second hike of Gunung Lambak, I came to realise that the routes up Gunung Lambak are in the shape of the figure 8. At the bottom of the mountain, there are two ways up to the midpoint near a pavilion. The path on the left (facing the mountain) nearer to the resorts is easier than the path on the right. Then from the pavilion, there are another two routes up to the summit. The path on the left (facing the mountain) is a steeper hike than the path on the right which passes through a “Selamat Datang Ke Gunung Lambak” gate.
Day 1 – Arriving at Kluang
The driver arrived at my place 8am sharp and we went about picking the rest from 5 separate destinations with almost military precision. It’s nice to travel with punctual people. 
By 9am, we were at the causeway. It can get slightly busy to be crossing the borders at this hour to Malaysia. But I figured that it’s a good balance between waking up too early and avoiding the busiest hours.
As our ride was a Malaysian registered commercial coach, we had to alight from the vehicle, go through the customs and board the vehicle again. Using a private vehicle would allow us to cross the customs without getting off the vehicle. However, a private vehicle need to use the private vehicle lanes versus the dedicated bus lane. The private vehicle lanes are usually more busy and can come to a near standstill when returning on Sundays. So there are pros and cons on the use of different type of vehicles.
Another consideration was the use of the causeway versus the second link. The second link is slightly further with higher fees but is usually not as crowded as the causeway. I did checked with the driver when making the arrangement and he told me he would be using the causeway. I respected his choice and did not question further.
After clearing the customs, we stopped by Queen Park Restoran for breakfast.
Introduction
Looking to get out of Singapore for the upcoming Hari Raya long weekend, my friends (ex-colleagues) and I decided on a trip to Malaysia. Even though I have been to many short trips to Malaysia, this would be the first time I am organising one.
The main goal of the trip is to have a fun and relaxing time. My friends are not keen hikers but I figured that a variety of activities including an easy summit like Gunung Lambak in Kluang would be interesting. Zenxin farm visit and local walkabout are other planned activities for Kluang. We would be spending the night at the highly-rated Rail Hotel.
Thought this is a good article to share.
NOBODY DECIDES to travel halfway around the world to spend weeks or months of their life undermining a local community. But voluntourism – like that famous quote about the paving on the road to hell – often comes close. The debate about the practice, like most things in life, is far more ethically nuanced than many organisations facilitating such experiences often let on.