..hot spring, ulu la, trengganu..

..sometimes, like last Friday,  pakmat leaves Pantai Irama behind and retreats to the hills..to Ulu La, Trengganu, where there nestles a quaint, two-tiered pools  of steaming hot water catched from little hot springs that gushed through rocks... from a source hidden deep in the bowels of the earth...

..it is cradled amongst some hillocks and forest, where there also runs a small brook, Sungai Air Hangat, with bracing cool water running so clear you can see little fishes darting, just above the sand and pebbles..

...from rivulets such as these, years ago I slaked my thirst when trekking through jungle trails heading towards some aboriginal camps deep in Gua Musang virginal forest..she who was to be my third wife dared me to drink from water scooped with a bamboo cup fashioned by a Tok Batin..her laughing eyes egging me with taunts..but that was another time..another era..

..it is, indeed,  a charming retreat..and easily accessible...from Jerteh, you take the road T5 to Kg. La, 30 kilometers away...which is along the road to Ulu Keruak..past Bukit Payong and Felda Tenang...but the road is  JKR Grade A, and the ride is pleasant..it is only 80 kilometers from home in Bachok...

..from Jertih the scenery quickly changed from urban to fields of padi... and later, after Bukit Payong, shaded rubber trees and orchards.. which suddenly gave way to rows of matured palm trees, Felda Tenang...from Kg. La, a side road newly completed, will take you to the hot spring..the vista that greets you is of the Gunong Tebu Range, of which Ulu La Hot Springs is part of...

..the Hot Spring's Maintenance Committee charges RM2.00 per car per entry, irregardless of the number of occupants..and they did a good to keep the area and surroundings generally clean and the river debris-free.

    ..top pic is the main pool..it is steaming hot and small enough to be cosy..first you submerge your  feet and keep still..after a while upon perspiring profusely, you may make an attempt to sink lower in..like pakmat did...and felt invigorated and zesty after that..the pool is about 10 meters high from the river below..but just below it is the 2nd pool..which is deeper...and less hot..see second pic..of Auji and Cousins...

..from there the spring cascaded down onto the shallow, knee deep river..where children and adults alike frolic...but no matter what they do, the water remain clear..for the river is sandy, with coarse sand and pebbles, free of sediments and mud...

..the feast, prepared by the wives..budu with ulam pucuk daun gajus..a rare treat for pakmat..who most times abstain from budu for its high salt content..trying and succeeding at maintaining my BP at 78/128..Friday prayers was at Kg.La double-storey mosque..it drizzled a little the day we were there, but it did little to dampen our spirits..for it is little pleasures  like these that make us appreciative..of little mercies...