Last Sunday we awoke to a cooler morning – we have had a lot of rain recently (usually as part of spectacular afternoon storms accompanied by thunder and lightning) so the temperatures have been more bearable. This is relative though – it still gets up to 31-33 degrees most days, but not up to 37-40 degrees as it did during the recent dry spell. We decided to try the walk up Bukit Kledang. Bukit means hill in Malay and this particular hill is the highest at 800m of all the many hills around Ipoh. You can drive all the way to the top if you like and we can do so when you visit so that you can enjoy the view. We parked the car near a waterfall and then walked up the rest of the way. There are walkways that take you away from the road and many covered rest areas where you can take a breather on benches in the shade. The higher you get, the cooler it is and the denser the vegetation. We heard birdsong but did not actually see many birds. We also heard some reverberating calls presumably made by monkeys, although again we didn’t see them. We didn’t go all the way to the top where there is a broadcasting tower. Instead we found a beautiful spot to sit and gaze through the tall trees into the greenery beyond, having rounded the hill so the city of Ipoh was no longer visible. We made quick work of the walk down, the temperature having risen substantially. It was good to get home and stand under a cool shower!