Even if this is a beach, but if you are used to long and white sandy beach near the sea… I think you will be disappointed. You will not able to find it here.

In my opinion, it is a good place for picnic as there are lots of facilities…  here is some of the photo that I take when I visit it.

Pantai Morib

It is not too bad, the place is very beautiful from outside (I didn’t went inside due to the time constraint – no dinner yet at that time )

I think I will make some more trip there to see more detail. In the mean time, here is some ‘over view’ on how it look like from the road side.

From my observation, there are few entry to this location. One of it is here:

Here is the ‘trees’. The place is surround by these trees.

You can see that the traffic is bad. Lots of people going there… btw the parking fees is RM10 per entries even the entries to that place is free.

These taller trees is located inside the place, but still can be seen from the road side.

Another view

The view from other entrance… trees that surround the place.

Zoom of one of the trees

This is the second entries (less traffic jam, compared to the other one..) Possibly not many people aware of it.

I think I will visit this place again in the future, to have more detail inside of this location.

By the way, here is some detail from star newspaper about this location.

Shah Alam’s i-City comes alive with a burst of colour for CNY

TOURISTS and locals alike will be delighted by a dazzling light showcase at i-City in Shah Alam this Chinese New Year.
Nicely done: Heng (centre) being briefed on the decorations by Eu (left) as i-Berhad deputy executive chairman Datuk Lim Kim Hong looks on.

The i-City, a retail and commercial hub with advanced information-communication infrastructure in Section 8, has installed millions of LED lights to brighten up the night.

“It will be a convergence of an oriental flavour with a digital twist this Chinese New Year,” i-Berhad chief executive officer Eu Hong Chew said.

“Visitors are welcome to an auspiciously themed park to take a breath of fresh air and enjoy the aura of a pure vision of peace, prosperity and good health,” he said.

Eu added that the showcase promised to be an ideal family tourism destination in Shah Alam.
Lighting up the night: Visitors can expect a visual treat at i-City this festive season.

The high-tech township’s CityPark and CityWalk will boast the most lights.

Dozens of digital maple and pine light trees make for a colourful forest that delights the eyes.

At one end of CityPark, visitors will walk between rows of Chinese cherry blossoms and spot LED peacocks and other creatures of the forest at a nearby pond shrouded by the digital lights.

Walking under the CityWalk section, visitors will be wowed by rows upon rows of red lanterns lending the place a traditional Chinese New Year atmosphere with a modern twist.

Deputy Information, Communi-cation and Culture Minister Senator Heng Seai Kie said RTM’s Galeri Perdana documentary show will be running a 15-minute segment on i-City’s digital lights showcase.

“i-City is providing a new experience for all Malaysians. Now, we can feel that new technologies can not only be used for multimedia and communications but also for celebrating our various festivals and holidays in Malaysia,” she said.

Visitors will also be treated to other exciting activities lined up by i-Berhad throughout February.

>From Feb 6 to 8, the Million Lights, Million Hearts photography competition will be held at i-City followed by a Get to know i-City Dinner for SMEs organised by the Klang Hokkien Association. The Selangor state Chap Goh Mei festival celebration will be held on Feb 27 while the Klang Chinese Chamber of Commerce will be holding a charity dinner to raise funds for the Haiti earthquake victims.

Source: Star newspaper

There are lots of seafood restaurant located in Kuala Selangor. However, my favorite one is the one located next to the river. The view is very nice and the price is not very expensive. You can enjoy the nice view while waiting for your food. The afternoon breeze is refreshing and the dusk view is very very nice from the river.

Other than getting seafood, there are lots of shop selling seafood products and the price is cheaper compared, say in Kuala Lumpur. In the morning, the fisherman will coming back from the sea and you can get some good bargain at the fresh fish there.

Here is some photo that I manage to take during my last visit.

p/s: All the sunset photo is taken inside the restaurant itself… nice view is it

Compared to last year ceremony, I think there are more people that join it this year… I manage to snap some photo to share.. This year, I mange to take more photo because my batteries is full…

Btw,  there are some Klong Yao (long drum) team that head the march. they will play the klong Yao and sing. Some people will join them and dance… seem like they all have a good time enjoying themself.

The loy kratong ceremony is very grand in Thailand. However, from what I have heard, this year the celebration is not as grand as years ago as this year the sister of the King passed away and people is mouring over the loss.

Hopefully next time I will be able to visit the celebration in Thailand and share the photo with all of you here.

I manage to take some photo, but not all of the functions today.

However, before I go further, some of you may not aware of what is katina ceremony is, I get this information from the net and it describe what is katina:

Katina Ceremony
By Ven Panditha M. Dhammagavesi

First of all I would like to draw your attention to the history of observing VAS (rainy) retreat. Secondly, about the Kathina ceremony and finally, the benefits of performing it.

For the first twenty years of establishment of The Order of the Sangha (Sangha community) the Buddha did not have to lay down any kind of disciplinary rules for monks, because the Sangha community was not so large, they were not too old in the Order and also their main intention was to eradicate defilements to lead a pure life. With the increasing of the Sangha community some of them entered The Order with the intention of obtaining material gains. Some of them did not know what they should or should not to do for their spiritual upliftment. Therefore, there was a need to implement some rules to correct them and show them the right way to practice for their welfare and also for the welfare of those who would enter in to the order.

Most of the monks did not stay in one place for a long time. They would travel from place to place, from village to village, from suburb to suburb practicing meditation, preaching and teaching, encouraging and stimulating people to engage in Dhamma. They did not stop travelling even during the rainy period of the year. During that time there were some other religious groups as well. One of them was Nighanta natha puthta and his disciples. They went to the extreme of practicing Ahimsa.i.e. they considered even grass as a living being and therefore did not walk about on grass for fear of killing them. They stayed indoors during the rainy season without walking anywhere so that they would not cause death or harm to any living thing. Under these circumstances Buddha and his disciples were accused of travelling during the period of rainy months. Taking into consideration this accusation and recollecting the actions of previous Buddhas, he advised monks to go into retreat during the rainy season starting from the day after the July Full moon.. Those who could not commence the retreat on this particular day due to unavoidable circumstances were advised to commence it following the August full moon. Each and every higher ordained monk is supposed to observe rainy retreat whether they were invited to do so or not by lay people and no matter where they live. The rainy period usually lasted for three months.

Monks are not allowed to use more than three robes during the Katina retreat.(The three robes are the inner robe, the outer robe and the double robe) When they get more robes they should be kept in the store.

On one occasion Vishakha Maha Upasika (The chief lay lady disciple) expressed her desire to offer a special piece of cloth to each monk and invite monks for Vas observation. Buddha accepted her invitation. Since then we have been following that custom. That is why people these days too invite monks to go into retreat and this is called Vas Aradana. This is done by offering a special piece of cloth at the beginning of the rainy period. From the beginning up to the end of this period monks are provided with food, domestic facilities, medicine and so on. These three months are very important for both monks and lay people because they could do more and more meritorious activities such as participate in dhamma sermons, dhamma discussions, meditation programs and Pirith chantings.

During Lord Buddha’s time a group of thirty monks went away from the place of retreat where The Buddha was to spend three months. At the conclusion of the retreat they returned to visit the Buddha. On the way they had to face heavy rains. They were in trouble. One of them got extremely wet. It was a very hard time for him. Some how they visited the Buddha. Seeing the monk whose robes were very wet the Buddha advised them to accept an extra robe as a KATHINA. The extra robe was always given to the one who needed it. (There are some rules to be observed by monks when using the kathina robe) If devotees offer a piece of cloth to monks in the name of kathina, the monks have to make a robe with that cloth on the same day. Lay people could do it as well. Offering of Kathina robe is considered as one of the greatest meritorious activities. Also whatever is offered on Kathina day, the same merit could be obtained by donors. That is why people make various types of
offerings on the day of the Kathina.

One of the stanzas chanted during Kathina glorifies the greatness of merit which one gets from performing Kathina. Even this solid Earth, or a solid rock or a piece of diamond could tremble, shake and break at times. However. the merit obtained by offering of kathina robe could not be nullified by any thing until one achieve the ultimate goal Nibbana. That is why

it is called KATINA. One of the disciples called NAGITHA expressed the glory of doing it. As a result of offering kathina robe to the MAHASANGA he was never been born in lower places (like the spirit world and the animal realm) and for the last thirty eons or KALPA he had been born in higher and blissful realms like the divine or human. The merit thus obtained was very helpful for him to realize the ultimate truth.

It is clearly mentioned in Buddhism that if one commits a GARUKA KAMMA which means serious unwholesome deeds such as:

1) Matricide
2) Patrricide
3) the Murder of an Arahant
4) the Wounding of Buddha
5) the Creation of Schism in the Sangha,

one has to undergo the unpleasant results during this life or in the next life immediately after death.

Even the merit of offering of Kthina robe cannot help such a person to avoid the suffering or bad karma. However the merit, the positive power of offering Kathina could reduce the negative effects of other minor bad deeds. Furthermore, one could be blessed with happiness, long life, good health, a good complexion, physical strength, and wisdom in this life and in the continuing lives in the cycle of rebirth until we achieve Nibbana.

Here is some photo that is taken during the ceremony:

Some of the ropes that the devotee donate to the temple

The chief monk starting the ceremony

Katina Tree. It made from banana tree and the devotee donate money and stick the donation money to the ‘tree’

Another view of the Katina tree

The devotee praying

The environment is very nice, there are lots of large trees in this park, the waterfall is beautiful/impressive and the river is very nice and cool. lots of kids (and adults too) bath in the river and the waterfall.

I think this is a must visit for someone that stay in Kuala Lumpur area, sinceit is very near to the city center. If you drive, I think it will take about 30 minute from the city and it maytake a little longer if you take public transport like buses. Some of the buses that you can take to go to this place is Metro bus no 43. This buses will go to Rawang, but it will pass by the place. You can inform the bus driver that you want to go to Kanching and he should able to let you know when to take off the buses.

Kanching recreational forest is actually part of 478 hecter of Kanching Forest Reserved. It is located very near (and I think physically next) to FRIM, Templer Park and also Commenwelth Forest Reserved. This place located 7 km from Rawang city center and 23km from Kuala Lumpur.

Some of the activities that you can do here is camping, picnicking, tracking (or jogging – in the morning), bathing or just relaxing.

I found that the most interesting part about Kanching Recreational Forest is that it have 7 ‘layer’ of waterfall and each of them will have their own pond which visitor can take a bath in it… the water also crystal clear and very cool.

Some facilities in this place is the bathroom (20 cent per entry), a ‘resort’(just open, you can call to 03-55132000 or 012-284 3956 for enquiries) and spacious parking lots. The payment to enter this park is RM1.00 per person (above 12 years old) and parking fees is RM2.00 per entry.

Few weeks back I drive through road from Rawang town toward Batang berjuntai. When you use this route, you will passed by the Selangor Fruits Valley, a ‘park’ which is full of tropical fruits and trees. It belong to the state and it cover a large area. The Valley contain of 809 hectare of land which 101 hectare is starfruits plantation. If i m not mistake this is the largest starfruits farm in the world.

The Selangor Fruit Valley is open to public and we can visit the place and also shooping for some tropical fruits during the seasons. Unfortunately, it is only open during week days and will close during week end.

If you want to visit Selangor Fruits Valley, do bring along some bread, on the way to this place, there are reserved forest and lots of monkey live there. The monkey is very tame as it is used to be feed by the passer by. It is fund to see them and the greenary of this place.

There are lots of people that went there. Each of them will bring the kratong to ‘release’ it in the nearby lake, the Taman Tasik Jaya.

The ceremony start with the chanting by the monk and followed by the loy kratong ceremony. I manage to take some photo but not much of it as my camera is out of battery

I heard that tomorrow, there are one more ceremony which will be organize by PESILA at a lake in Kepong area (a lake nearby MRR2).

There are many belief about the loy kratong ceremony. Some people believed that it is a way to avoid bad luck, some belief that this ceremony is to make a respect for the river while some other belief that it is to show a respect for Buddha.

Here is some photo that I take during the visit:

The canopy walk will only operate from 9.30am to 2.30pm. It is not everyday that they open (I forget which day is their rest day, sorry..) but they will operate during weekend, except if the weather is not good or they do some maintainence work.

Based on one of the instructor at the entry point, they just do some maintenance in the fasting month this year, where they change some cable and also repair the third ‘rest station’.

I would like to share the photo to all of you here. Enjoy!

I visit the place about noon and there are not many people if compared to morning. But, I will have to wait for about 30-40 minute. It is school holiday, so many school will bring their student here.

At the entrance of the canopy walk, there are some map and information about the trails. The payment to enter this canopy can be made here as there are some instructor at the entrance to tech you how to walk. She will cover about the space that each person have to take, how many person that each ‘rest station’. By the way, the ‘rest station’ is actually a platform that they do on top of a big trees. It is only a small platform and you will still feel it moving when the wind coming to you.

There are many corner of the canopy walk. The photo below is the first corner. If you are a first timer, you may feel a bit nervous as it will be ‘moving’ when you reach this point. However, the tip is down look down (it is high.. if you afraid of high, you might not able to move on if you look down)

On the ‘resting point’ platform, there will be an information board about what kind of animals some might able to see from the platform. But during my visit, I didn’t see anything special though

The photo below show some people are resting on the platform. There are limitation of the number of people that can use the platform at one time. The first platform can hold 4 person, the second which is the largest platform can hold 8 people and the last platform can hold 4 person.

The photo below show the view of the third platform, this is actually the lowest platform, compared to the first two.

What you can do here?

There are many activities that you can do here in FRIM. One of the activities is to relax. The environment here very nice, the air is very fresh and the scene is very green. It is not very hot and in a windy days, you will feel very fresh. It is a good place to release, you can forget about the busy life of the city and just relax here.

I also found that this place is a good place, actually a beautiful place to take wedding photography. During my visit, actually saw some wedding photography session is taking place… some photographer also will bring their model here to take the photo.

Jungle tracking is also one of the activities that you can do here. I think if someone is from Kuala Lumpur city and would like to experiance a good jungle tracking, FRIM is one of the best place to do so. The jungle track here will be sufficient for most of the jungle trackker and there are lots of beautiful flora and fauna can be seen here. If you are lucky you might able to see some of the animals like monkeys, deers, lizards and many more.