Sungai Lembing - Kuantan Pahang

Sungai lembing is an ex-mining town, about 30 minutes drive from Kuantan Pahang. You can take the karak highway from Kuala Lumpur and take the exit in Kuantan Tol. Total journey is about 3 hours and 30 minutes.

In the 70s, the younger generation move to bigger cities like Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan when the tin mining industry going down the hill. Leaving behind two rows of shop houses made from wood and zinc, a typical building style for the chinese miners.

Today nobody would believe Sungai Lembing is a favourite place for local visitors especially those from Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur and our neighbour Singapore. 

First of all, this mini town of Sungai Lembing is very clean and beautiful. The main road is very narrow but there are huge trees in the road divider. The wooden shop houses on both sides are very old and only two storey high.

There is no big shopping mall, fancy hotels, fast food restaurants or even a petrol station. It is a perfect get away from big cities for a 2 day 1 night stay. Here, you can't find a 3-Star hotel but only home stay and small resort. 

Few things you must do in Sungai Lembing. Firstly is to climb the Panaroma Hill early in the morning, I mean very early like 4 - 5 am morning. Many people from Johor Bahru start driving at 1.00am and reach Sungai Lembing town at 4am morning. The hawker centre already start serving breakfast to the moutain climbers very early so you don't worry about food.

To climb to the hill top is approximatey 1 hour, simply because it is still very dark and tourch light is a must. There are proper stairs and hand rails along the way to make the climb easier. Nevertheless, many people still grasping for breathe and stop frequently along the climb.

Once you reach the top, you will find the sweat and pains worthwhile because heaven is very close you! Yes, it is like heaven and a perfect place for photograpger like me. You can see the milky white cloud engulf the mountains and leaving behind the mountain tips. When the sun rises and shed the amber light on the cloud and mountain tips, it forms a perfect scenery for shutter bugs.

There is a morning market on Sunday so you can do a bit of walk and shop after the climb. If it is a holiday then be prepared for the long queue of food because the crowd is surprisingly big. (Much more busy than Petaling Street!)

Second activity is to do cross the hanging bridges across the river. There are all together 5 hanging bridges located along the river. The locals use the bridges very frequently and sometimes ride on the motorcycles to cross the river. It is also a good place to take photograph.

Thirdly is to visit the local Museum which is within walking distance and located at the hill. It tells you the history of Sungai Lembing subterrannean Tin mining. In fact Sungai Lembing was the biggest and longest underground mine in the world! Check out via Wikipedia.

Biking or riding ATV is also fun thing to do in Sungai. You can rent the bicycle or ATV at the shop in the town and go around the inner village.

Lastly is the waterfall nearby which I do not have the chance to go. I heard from the local, the waterfall is good place to go and you can see the rainbow appear easily. Well, I definately come back again to Sungai Lembing (to take better photos!).

I like this scene but not satisfy with my photography skill

Early sun rise

View from other side

Peace of mind when you look at it 

I call it heaven

You are not alone at the hill top

The wooden shop houses in the town

The huge tress at the centre of the road

You can rent bicycle and ride in the village

I am surprised the back yard is clean although looks old

School library

Old wooden and zinc house

Old is gold!

After the climb you can visit the Sunday morning market

One of the hanging bridges

These shutter bugs are with big lens and camera

See the models with umbrella!

The motorcycle can pass the bridge too