Chamang Falls

I asked the friendly Bentong folk what is next best attraction after Kow Po Ice Cream. Everyone recommended another milky thing. The Chamang Falls. So I drove 7 kilometres on a lonely, winding and scenic route. At the end of the road is a beautiful, long, cascading waterfall with a gentle drop of about 100 feet. Hearing its roar alone, is worth the trip.

I was in the Gunung Tahan National Park area recently and had to take a boat for 45 minutes before trekking another 2 hours to see/hear a similar waterfall. Here, I drove right up to the edge of one. It is a drive-in, walk-in waterfall 🙂 There are ample parking lots, toilet facilities and yet strangely; not one soul was around. Maybe it was late on a weekday, maybe not many know about it. It was eerily deserted.

I have been in the jungle all by myself at night and didn’t feel spooked. I felt a little scared here. It was creepy seeing all the man-made structures around and not a single human was to be found. Like a proverbial ghost town.

Photography notes: A 1/2 second exposure was the slowest speed I could attain without a ND or polarising filter. The slow shutter created the creamy, milky look in the fast flowing water. A tripod was required but since I didn’t want to spend too much time for safety reasons, I placed the camera on a rock.

Chamang Falls

Kow Po Ice Cream Parlour, Bentong

Bentong’s most famous attraction turned out to be the legendary Kow Po Ice Cream Parlour. It is an old-fashioned coffee shop that sells yummy home-made ice cream. The flavours include chocalate, coffee, banana, peanut, vanilla and strawberry. Not a big variety but every flavour contains real, tasty ingredients.

Tried their coffee ice cream and it was like eating molten Nescafe. The banana ice cream is heavenly too. Each scoop is only RM 2.80 and comes with fruit cocktail. Kow Po serves up another simple and forgotten gesture which you won’t find in fancy city outlets. A (free) glass of plain cold water is served along with the ice cream, as it should be.

Kow Po is a family run business for the last 40 years. Every family member is media-savvy as the shop has been featured in countless news articles. The youngest son, Michael Tan, takes an interest in photography and we had an interesting chat 🙂

Although Bentong is in the state of Pahang, it is only about 45 minutes from Kuala Lumpur via the Karak Highway. Kow Po is easy to locate as it is opposite the bus terminal in the heart of town.

Warung Ais Krim Kow Po
2 Bentong Heights, 28700 Bentong, Pahang.
Tel: +609 222 1258

Kow Po Ice Cream Parlour, Bentong