We left Penang at noon on December 12, 1995 and began our trip to the mainland part of Malaysia via Penang bridge - the longest bridge in Asia.
In September 1985, Penang was linked to the mainland by a bridge that is Asia's longest and the world. s third longest. Until then the only link to the island was by ferry. The bridge measures 13.5 km and was built at a cost of RM 800 million.
We made a stop on the bridge to make some pictures for memory. Here I am with my friend Anton standing at the central part of Penang Bridge.
We were on the way two hours when we reached Ipoh. We had not interests in this city and went through it without making a stop. The weather was hot and air-conditioning inside the car saved us from being languid with the heat. We had to reach Cameron Highlands before darkness and made brief stops to fuel the car and get some food.
Cameron Highlands hill resort, a tourist destination situated in the state of Pahang is over 5000 feet above sea level. It is famed for its large scale tea plantation, flower nurseries and vegetable farming. The climate is cool at night, around 25C. Recent rapid development has made the resort lose its tranquility. It can be reached via the town of Tapah in Perak by long winding roads and takes about 2 hours.
We reached the place we needed when it was already dark. We set the screen and lighted it. We spent several hours collecting insects. Most of the moths attracted by light were from Geometridae. One was from Uraniidae - Nyctalemon menoeticus. But most spectacular captures were beetles also attracted by light. It was a couple of Chalcasoma caucasus. Another was strikingly beautiful capricorn beetle Batocera victoriana shown at the picture to the right.
We kept those beetles alive and brought them to Vladivostok. Now these amazing beetles are stored at the collection of Youth Entomologist-Collector's School.
That night we spent at a small, very comfortable and cheap hotel Kowloon. Next day we continued our trip to Kuala Lumpur. On the way we stopped in Tanah Rata - the main administration town in Cameron Highlands. But I still remember other moments from that day.
The first thing was our meeting with durian. Durian is an exotic fruit, which according to Mr. Goh "smells like hell but tastes like heaven". Its smell was so awful and disgusting that we did not believe Mr. Goh and refused to taste.
Next meeting was
much more pleasant. We made a stop at the river and came to the water.
Suddenly a brilliant flash flew before my eyes. I turned my head and was
struck by exciting view. Dozens of Trogonoptera
brookiana males were puddling at the far bank of the river and
some more butterflies cruised above the water. At first I was paralyzed by
that view but after a couple of minutes I took my net and chased the
butterflies. It afforded admirable experience to me and up to
this day I remember those adventures with great pleasure.
Our next stop was in Tapah. We expected to have lunch but I could no more eat local food and just drank Coke. Alex felt himself bad, while Anton was cheerful and hungry. He could eat anything. As for me, I felt overdosed with spices and just wanted to have some western food. But there was plenty of fruits and I was saved with bananas. >>