Penang Hills and Trails - Titi Kerawang Express
Completing the Loop

This is one of a series of pages on walking the hills of Penang, click here for the index. This is a Grade 3 walk, it's not long but it has a middle section that requires experience and the consequences of losing the trail could be unpleasant. There is a sketch map at the bottom showing the route followed. Click here for a list of the known PBA rain gauges.

Please visit my Penang buses page for information on accessing the starting point.

Two days earlier we had climbed all the way from near the Tropical Fruit Farm to Bukit Laksamana and on round a huge loop to finish at Titi Kerawang, a monster of a hike. Today, Yuehong asked for a much shorter walk as she had a visitor due and needed to be in town for a dinner in the evening. Since there was no way I was going to join them, that meant coming back on the 14.30 501 from Balik Pulau with me enjoying a full stomach, which in turn meant we needed to join the 13.10 501 from Teluk Bahang so we could eat in Sungai Pinang after the walk. Hence I organised a quick march using all the experience gained recently in the Titi Kerawang area and Yuehong responded by not once querying my pace or decisions.

We dropped off the 10.30 501 just over the summit and mindful that Sunday's initial climb had left something to be desired, I made a special effort to follow Peter van der Lans' advice and keep in close touch with the water pipes.

It certainly meant we were following a better used path, but there again it was not always easy going although parts were excellent.

The plan was to race up without stopping for posed pictures, but despite the infinitely better conditions the camera had other ideas and kept sulking. I'd gladly ditch it and buy a new one but the Tiger brewery needs my business more.

Compared to the previous time, we had shaved an astonishing 30 minutes off the time to Rain Gauge 23 (RG 23). In fact, that meant we could now adopt our normal pace and still be in with a good chance of meeting the bus. 

The yellow sign heralded the approach to the branch point and Yuehong recognised this fallen tree as she had spent 40 minutes sitting on it last time waiting for me and Rexy to complete our survey.

Any other time and it would be a case of "You have to be joking!" but there's hash markers all over the place here.

Well, the last time they came this way was two years ago so it's not surprising that the trail is less than perfect.

In no time we were at the point where the ridge starts to descend, the boundary marker and red flashes are key here. Rexy and I had gone down a bit further on the trail to the left, but today I knew that counter-intuitively we needed to go 'off piste' to the right.

It didn't look too promising but the principle was to keep the jungle to the right and the ferns to the left, the boundary markers told me I was right.

When it all got a little bit too overgrown we ducked into the jungle but Yuehong was much happier when we re-emerged although to be honest I would have been happier to stay in there.

We blundered out and down the overgrown rubber terraces. Having got to a point where I wasn't too sure what to do next, I noticed I was standing on a concrete path. Halleluiah!  Which way to go? Simple it has to be right and down, even thought the way looks blocked. Soon it became slightly clearer and recognisable as the path we had used before (Laksamana Link).

I suspect Yuehong was sceptical but she knows it is better to bide her time before letting fly. Indeed we were shortly on familiar territory and it was time for an energy boost. Each to their own, Yuehong finished the breakfast fruit and I opened a can.

It's a gorgeous path, sensibly graded with glorious views of the upper Titi Kerawang Falls. There are several junctions but the glory of them is that it doesn't matter which way you go as long as it's down.

We came out opposite the Bao Sheng Durian Estate entrance at exactly the time our bus was due to leave Teluk Bahang, a wise precaution as we only had 15 minutes to wait before it appeared. We spent just over an hour in Sungai Pinang with Yuehong showing her appreciation of the hike by laying on a mini-banquet for me. To be honest, this walk is not for the average hiker but for those few of us who are curious about Penang's hills and trails it was a most rewarding experience. I'm not too proud to admit that I am still learning about them.