ATTENDING THE WEDDING RECEPTION OF PUAN HJH HALIMAH AHMAD'S SON

I was invited to a wedding reception of Puan Hajah Halimah Ahmad's son today. Puan Hajah Halimah in an ex-colleague of SMK Taman Universiti and she is now holding the post of the Principal there.

I arrived quite late at the event which was held at Taman Desa Skudai Community Hall. Fortunately, there were still a few friends who either were still there or arrived later than me. I guess event like this could be one of the best places to meet old friends.

"GUA BATU" IN BANTIMURUNG NATIONAL PARK

15th OCTOBER 2017 ~ At the end of the trek, there was this cave called "Gua Batu" [translate: stone cave]. This would be one cave I wouldn't go into on my own. To get inside, you had to rent a torchlight at the entrance or else you would not be able to see a single thing.

The place was real dark and wet. One would need to walk carefully as the floor was watery and slippery. There would be water dripping on you from the ceiling, and the air was damp which produced a kind of unpleasant smell.

Luckily there was a group of people, local Indonesians, who went at the same time so I simply stood and walked close to them. They were however happily taking photographs with as many poses as possible at different spots of the cave.

There were a lot of stalactite formations as a result of water activities for long, long years.

There would be smaller hole which would lead people to another chamber of the cave but one had to crawl on bend down to pass through it.

There is another cave that could be visited there called "Gua Mimpi" but I did not go. One reason, there was a guide waiting at the entrance expecting for people to pay him for the tour inside the cave.

[MY MAKASSAR TRIP MAIN PAGE]

BANTIMURUNG NATIONAL PARK IN MAKASSAR [PART 2]

[CONTINUATION OF PART ONE]

After the first section of the national park nearest to the entrance, and where a huge crowd were there to enjoy the cool water of the streams and waterfalls, I continued exploring. There was this concrete trek that led to a spot I was not sure of. So I just followed the path and I met only a few people walking.

There were no more waterfalls along the trek but a lazy river with bluish/greenish water.

There were even numerous stalls along the walkway in the forest just in case people wanted to stop for food or drinks.

And then there was this another small waterfall, but there was no one in the pool.

Bantimurung National Park is well-known for being a natural habitat for various species of butterflies. There are a Butterfly Museum and Butterfly Park here too.

Outside the entrance, there were stalls selling different sizes of dead butterflies and various other insects which had been preserved and framed.

Other attractions of the park are the caves (and I went into one of them), and the aforementioned Butterfly Museum (inside the national park) and Butterfly Park (located further away at the junction of the main road).

[MY MAKASSAR TRIP MAIN PAGE]

BANTIMURUNG NATIONAL PARK IN MAKASSAR [PART 1]

spot the giant monkey

15th OCTOBER 2017 ~ On the third day of my stay in Makassar, I decided to venture out of the city once again to Bantimurung National Park. I was still with the guide cum driver who happened to be an Uber driver I met the day before.

Visitors had to buy tickets to get into the park. There were separate tickets for locals and foreigners - and there was a vast difference of prices between the two. I however was give a ticket for a local as I looked very much like one from Makassar, or Indonesian.

the mosque inside the park

the accommodation

people doing aerobics

I was there on Sunday morning so people were already flocking the site. Picnickers were there with family and friends, enjoying the cool water cascading from the waterfalls. The place was large and there were many spots for people to swim or just get wet.

I was there just to observe - and not to join the big crowd.

There was also a trek for visitors to go further into the forest.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

[MY MAKASSAR TRIP MAIN PAGE]