DAY 3 – ROYAL BELUM – TEMENGGOR …… Last Day

Waking up in the morning, body was aching and legs were stiff as rock. Maybe, it is just the old body acting up again after some serious stuff yesterday. The creaking and the tweaking of the old bones doesn’t stop and you often wonder how they could stay together for such a long time. Hmmnnnnn… the miracle from God , I guess. It was our last day in Belum Eco Resort today. Though I was sad as I had to leave a very beautiful place, I take heart that this place will always have a very special place in my heart. I guess, when you are connected to a good resort , you feel a certain loving connection to the place and Belum Eco Resort makes you feel that way.  It is odd and strange but it is very true for me. saying goodbye to this place was really hard as I have enjoyed every moment I have here.

The morning atmosphere is awesome; the light breeze, the sights and sounds of the jungle greets you as you wake up your sensors each morning. Sure, it is a man made lake but money can’t buy that tranquility and peace that you seek or felt. Yeah, money does bring you to such a place but you cannot produce tranquil and peace because only Mother Nature does that well and well enough. To me, Belum Eco Resort may be deemed as too run down or needs a face life but I believe if you take away the prejudicial rustic look and feel of the place, you take away the essence of its purpose as a simple and peaceful nature setting place. What lacks in the accommodation ( no air-cond and the modern comforts ), they made up in serving great food, good staff and pleasant hospitality. I have no complaints at all. I find the place incredibly mysteriously surprising and very livable as far as I was concerned. Maybe, I am a simple person with simple needs and probably a rod, a reel and a parang/machete are all I need here. Wishful thinking , right? 

The other thing is spending the time with the people on this trip. I have really learned a lot from the people on this trip. Robin & Jaclyn are a young couple but they are truly fun, lively and humorous. Robin’s infectious laughter and funny ways does lighten up the day any time while Jaclyn is young, vibrant, adventurous and sweet. Always caring and always  in concern, this couple makes a good combination of joyous fun. Good couple to have for any occasion, really. To be honest, you learn a lot about a person’s character when you see someone fish, actually. Over the days, I have learned a lot from Robin and Jaclyn. I have learn what it means to lead and to accommodate people like they do.  I pray for God’s rich blessing be upon their lives. May God hears and grant them their earnest dreams and desires of their hearts. Robin is playful and mischievous at times but it takes Jaclyn to tone him down while Jaclyn is a rather down to earth person with no nonsense attitude which is pleasing for a  couple.

Then we have Fook Meng and Joo Li who are very decent and equally humorous people. This couple are dotting parents to young Sophia Joy. I guess, I am blessed seeing both Fook Meng & Joo Li taking the initiative to expose and introduce Sophia Joy to the adventurous lane of nature, outdoor activity and enjoying the simpler things in life. I was initially very surprised that Fook Meng even make it to his room because there isn’t any air–cond in the room. I could have sworn that maybe, just maybe, in my simplistic mind that Robin could have “conned” Fook Meng into believing that the rooms are air –conditioned. Probably, Robin conveniently forgot to mention to Fook Meng that air-cond comes on only at 1.00am onwards in Belum Eco Resort!!!!! But Fook Meng is a true blue gentleman and adventurer all the way. He tries very hard in all his adventures and you could see that he loves doing what he does. He takes a lot of pride in what he is doing and doing it well. The important part is that he tries to be a good example to his daughter and that’s very commendable and honorable thing to do indeed. Joo Li is also a very adventurous person but she is really a very careful mother. Always quick with a witty line or remarks, she definitely brightened up our days during the trip. I guess, she doesn’t take risks but she is game for a joyful time in nature and that makes her a truly nature champion at heart. There is so much good that oozes out from this couple, actually. 

Capt Edwin and Lorna are the nature champion in this environment. Years of experience with OA people and their environment have taught this couple to share their volume of experiences with all of us. Witty, humorous and laid back, it was a real joy to able to spend time with this couple who are not only caring but loving as well. I have much respect for both Edwin and Lorna for their truly respectable and caring ways. Their ability to adapt to the environment quickly helped us all feel relieved and at ease. Never shy from giving kind words and encouragement, we are truly blessed. Truly blessed to have them in our travels especially with Edwin’s tales of travels in his shipping days! Edwin’s vast experience in nature surroundings and Lorna’s easy ways makes it all such a delight for the dynamics of the group as a whole as it was like the older passing the experiences to the younger people. 

Lastly, I am blessed to have SLing and SYuen to share my delight in nature and the beauty of Mother Nature. Years of camping trips in the RR ministry and numerous outdoor activities have helped them realized that “ if you can’t beat him, then might as well join him.”  I felt blessed that both SLing and SYuen could last the pace and activity plus the places that we stayed over the years. Sure, SLing is very particular over the places we stayed especially the toilet facilities and so on but over the years, she has supported my pure madness over nature trips and activities. For that I am so thankful and grateful in many ways. As for SYuen , I see a lot of me in her. She is an adventurer, caring and loving. Her gentle ways with children is a delight to my heart. I am just blessed to call her my daughter and my friend. I am so glad and blessed that God gave her to me to be my daughter. 

As the breakfast was served for the last time that morning to us, all I could think of was that it was sad to see the holidays coming to an end. Though I was having bitter sweet feelings of things, I truly have enjoyed the holidays with family and great friends. I could not have asked for more for what God has blessed me with. I thanked the staff of Belum Eco Resort before heading towards the houseboat. I have made it a habit to thank everyone who had blessed my life and the staff of Belum Eco Resort are no exception for they have truly been a blessing to our group.

I often wonder if Royal Belum-Temenggor Forest Reserve would remain this beautiful in years to come. The fact is that I do not know the answer but the fact remains that the proper authorities and the responsible parties are to ensure that this last surviving paradise is preserved and talked about in years and generations to come. I often feel very passionate about the places I have been but more often than not, I have seen these places being turned into money –making paradise and soon, pollution, greed and unscrupulous ways will rob this paradise bare and left to rot. I pray that God would restore and preserved this paradise for generations to come, to see, enjoy and honor the place. 

Honestly, it sucks BIG time when you know that your holidays are up! I really wish I could spend more time at Royal Belum –Temenggor Forest Reserve as I wanted to see the elephants , the birds and even the insects. So much to see, so much to learn and yet so little precious time indeed. 

The comfort I take away from this experience is that this place is truly beautiful and it is such a privilege in this lifetime of mine to see the Rafflesia Azlanii flower, enjoy a hike up to Sg.Enam waterfall, mingled with the OA people in Kg.Chuweh and fought a good fight with the Tomans! Nothing can replace the experiences and the memories of sharing that experience with 9 other beautiful people. 

What and where next? Your guess is as good as mine………………….Cheers!                

DAY 2 – ROYAL BELUM-TEMENGGOR.….. Woo hoo! Toman! – Part 3

Upon hearing what Ah Man said to us, Robin & myself headed straight to our fishing rods. As mine was the closest to the pontoon, I reached out for my fishing road, untied my rod and handled the rod immediately. As I started to reel in the rod, I could feel the hard tugging and the powerful lunge of the Giant Snakehead. It darted off to the left but I had not set my reel on drag and so it was making me move but I did not want to snap my line or my rod. I handled it for a while and made sure the leash on the fish was short and it was unmistakeably a Giant Snakehead fish.

Just then, I heard Robin exclaimed, “ Uncle Ivan, I have a fish too! “ That was the most resounding affirmation of joy ever! Two blokes, each having a fish on the line! As I held on to my fish on one hand, I was trying to reach out for the net but there was none to be found. Frantically, I searched around for a net to scoop up my fish while feeling very happy as Robin fought his Giant Snakehead. By the look of it and out the corner of my eyes, I knew that Robin’s fish was way bigger than mine. I was so happy inside for Robin as it is always an angler’s dream to have his/her partner get fish together and celebrate the fun together. I was prayerfully thankful to the Lord for providing us the fish. That’s why I say it to you, prayer works. Just be humble and let God allow His blessing to you.

I remembered lifting my fish over first before getting help from one of the OA workers to help me get Robin’s catch into the net. So, we had two fish in the net. Woo hoo! After some silly celebratory dance Robin and I made together with firm congratulatory handshakes, I took the hook off the fishes. By this time, our group members were around and we managed to get some photographs together – Robin and I. We were truly elated, very happy and all tiredness of the day just escaped us for that moment. Even our boatman, Awang was there to congratulate us and told us of bigger sizes of the Giant Snakehead species. 

As I realized that the group members had not tried Giant Snakehead dish before, I was thinking if I should keep this two fish for dinner.  Looking at the size of it, I knew that both fish would provide enough meat and a decent dish for the 11 of us in our group. As if in telephatic mode, I shouted to the chef from the pontoon while he was way up at the café area if he would be kind enough to prepare a dish for us with the fishes. His immediate response was “ You are the guest! Can!” in Cantonese. Mission accomplished then! 

So, as the fishes were put in the net and carried off by the OA worker for cleaning process, I have asked the worker to weigh the fishes before sending them to the chef for our dinner. I then checked on my line and noted that the wire trace line was badly stripped while there was some main line caught in it. I had to cut it off and that’s when I noted that even the hook was no more sharp or rather the edge of the sharp hook was snapped off. Such was the brute force of the Giant Snakehead.

Still dazed by the bumper harvest of fish, the OA worker returned to inform me that Robin’s fish weighed in at 2.2kg while my fish was weighed in at 1.8kg. That’s good enough for me. I was clearly elated and happy that finally, both anglers have fish to show. I would have been happy even if I do not have fish to show, anyway. It has been such a bonus to be able to fish here itself and to get a fish to take your bait was truly the ultimate joy, I guess. I informed Robin of the statistics of the fishes and he was smiling ear to ear, man! Proud of him for bringing in the heaviest fish of the day! I decided to stop fishing as we were out of frog bait that day.  

I then went on to check on the next rod which was nearer to my first rod. As I pulling up to check on my bait, I felt a quick lug on the bait and a powerful run by a fish. To my complete surprise, there was another Giant Snakehead on the line. This one was a young one which I believe to be in the region of 1kg in weight. It was smart at first by trying to shake off the hook but it was stuck between its’ razor sharp teeth. I had to get it out before it escapes. It then turned ferocious and fought me the whole way. By then I had shouted “ Another fish on the line! Another fish on the line! “. This caught the attention of SLing and she gave me the thumbs up. That was encouraging! Others soon gave me congratulatory encouragement. There were four Mat Salleh guests on the pontoon and they stopped as they watched me battle the fish. Lousy hairdo or not, I’m gonna take this fish down, baby!

After much reeling in and fighting the fish, Robin scooped the fish out of the water and ended my nice battle with the fish. Smaller and slender in size, the razor sharp teeth are unmistakeably deadly. Easily could have chomped off the live frog and make mince meat out of my fingers if I mishandled it. After some photographs, I released the fish into the belly of the lake to fight another angler another day. I guess, that is the most humane way to do it and to replenish the fish stock as the fish grows up in the lake. 

After a while, I sat down reminiscing what had just happened. I had three Giant Snakehead ( one for dinner and two released ) and Robin had one Giant Snakehead. ( the biggest one and dinner definitely! )   

Happiness and joy fills my heart at that moment. I could not have asked for more. I thanked the Lord for His gracious blessings indeed. I felt like I won the World Cup, yunno, It was that unmistaken feeling of accomplishment. Most importantly of all, Robin had a fish too and the biggest and heaviest one. To me, we come together, fished together and get fish together was important for me. 

That night, during dinner, Borhan brought out our Giant Snakehead fish slices with ginger and spring onion dish. The taste? Heavenly! Heavenly was the word. The chef did a marvelous job on the fish and what smooth but firm texture indeed. The taste was surprisingly good and there was no muddy taste nor smell either. That’s a big bonus and a big plus!

I personally thanked the chef of Belum Eco Resort for cooking us the dish and making the dish tasted so nice. It was really good and ends good for a day we have had.

It had been a very tiring day for all of us but to get rewarded with good food and great tasting fish was the icing on the cake as far as I was concerned. I thanked the Lord for a great day from the rising of the sun to the setting the sun. It has been a rich learning experience and what a day it was for all of us. 

That night, I slept like a log and SLing jokingly told me that I had the widest silly smile on my face that night ……… and  I wonder why……………….hahahahahahahahhahhahahahaaa…….

DAY 2 – ROYAL BELUM-TEMENGGOR.….. Rafflesia Wonder – Part 2

Upon reaching the resort pontoon, Ah Man, the resort supervisor informed me that there was some activity to our fishing lines. This caused a lot of excitement to Robin and me. Upon alighting off the boat, we immediately attended to our fishing line.

Robin was the first to reach his line and when he reeled in his line, it was noted that the fish had snagged the line near the pontoon walkway near the flight of steps to the café. Boy, it was disappointing to lose a fish that way. As he retrieved his line, I noted that he had not used a wire leader line on this occasion. So, it was easy for a huge fish like Giant Snakehead a.k.a Toman to snap his line especially with razor sharp teeth of the fish. I could feel his disappointment of not landing the fish but I guess, things like this will happen.

As we walked back to the pontoon where we had kept our fishing gears and bait, I walked to my fishing rod and I immediately noted that the line was taut. My heart leapt and missed a beat as I know from experience that there is a fish on the line. As I reeled in my line, I saw that distinct head and body markings of a Giant Snakehead. Woo hoo! The fight was on and I shouted , “ I’ve got fish!  I’ve got fish! “ I must say that I looked like a bloody lunatic on the pontoon; uncombed white haired and grinning ear to ear as I fought the fish and brought it up. Yup, the fish mangled my line badly  but it survived. After some photographs, I released the about 1kg fish into the lake.

Yeah, the feeling was good and I immediately thanked the Lord for good catch. I had asked Robin to use one of my tied rigged wired trace line to his line and he was game for it. We both prayed that we would have fish that day and as we casted out our bait. We prayed that we would get some good size fish to eat for that day! I tell you this, when you pray earnest enough, God will answer and grant you that favour! It is proven and I will you that story later though.

Lunch of fried rice, sausages and fruits were served.  It was really delicious and tasty. In fact, all the meals served by the chef of Belum Eco Resort was above expectations. The dishes were very good. Compliments to the chef, really. My only regret was that I did not get his name but I know that his 30 years experience as a chef elsewhere does shine through very nicely through his dishes. Really good and great dishes indeed!

After a short rest, we were off to Rafflesia flower site at Royal Belum National Park. Along the way, Awang told us that there were many sites available for rafflesia flower sighting. However, we were extremely lucky as there was this site whereby the rafflesia flower just bloomed about 2 days ago and there was two rafflesia flower at the site. Elated and excited, we were off to the site immediately. It was about an hour ride from our resort and the tiredness from the morning hike and waterfall trail begun to take its toll on all of us. 

Rafflesia, a native of rainforests of Thailand, Malaysia and in the Indonesian Archipelago, is the largest flower in the world. Interestingly, the Rafflesia is a parasitic plant. It has no roots, stems or leaves, only a humungous flower. In addition, it only seems to parasitise the stems of Tetrastigma vines, which are members of the grape family, Vitaceae. Rafflesia is the world’s largest, the heaviest, the rarest and the one of the most stinkiest flowers in the world. It grows to 1 metre wide and weighs about 10 kgs.

Rafflesia flower has a small lifecycle of 5-7 days. Rafflesias have their stamens and pistils fused together in a central column, producing a corona, or crown, in the shape of a ring. The reddish brown colors of the petals, are sprinkled with white freckles. The smell attracts the carrion flies and then pollination occurs. After 9 months of maturation, Rafflesia plant opens into a cabbage-sized bud. The sexual organs are located beneath the rim of the disk.

There are three species of Rafflesia flower found in Royal Belum-Temenggor Forest Reserve. They are Rafflesia Kerrii, Refflesia Cantleyii and Rafflesia Azlanii. We had the honor to see two lovely Rafflesia Azlanii in bloom that day.

The Rafflesia Azlanii.....

The second Rafflesia Azlanii

We were relaxing in the boat when we arrived at a slopey banks somewhere. We were told that there were many sites of rafflesia flowers but this place was the nearest to our resort. So, after going through a very calm small river, we arrived at the slopey banks. We started climbing the almost 40 degree angled steps terrain upwards. After some laborious efforts and battling cramps, we made it to the top. There to greet us was one beautifully bloomed Rafflesia Azlanii in front of us and another beautiful Rafflesia Azlanii on the right side. What a privilege indeed to get to see two bloomed rafflesia flower which is a rarity,actually. 

Awang went on to explain to us on the flower roots and the numerous rafflesia buds found at the site. He also gently reminded us to be very careful not to step on the roots of the rafflesia flower nor disturb any of the buds. To me, it was that precious and important that the next generation of our young ones would be able to see this beautiful flower. 

I am a firm believer that our flora and fauna in our jungles today are slowly and surely being driven to extinction by over population, human greed and robbing of the Mother Nature resources. This is one living example that tourism can sometimes do more harm than good. Too many people crowding the site and soon, the flower dies and it is another 9 months wait before it blooms again. What if it doesn’t bloom? Do we scrounged another site for it?  Yes, it fuels the economy and the pockets of the people but at what expense? 

More often than not, the flora and fauna loses out to the greed of the people who are constantly in need to make money and to exploit the natural resources for their own selfish end. I am aghast and disgusted when people fail to see that their money making ways are killing our Mother Nature. I am beginning to see algae appearing in the lake and that is not a good sign as algae will soon choke the lake ; making the lake lacking in oxygen and killing the water life around it. I am also told that the gaur and seladang had been poached to near extinction while tigers ( only 23 tigers left according to a NST article in 3 August, 2019 ) tapirs, elephants, water shrew and sun bears are virtually dwindling as we speak and much closer to the extinction bracket. 

The one species that had gone extinct in our land is the Sumatran Rhinoceros. Isn’t that sad?  Many more will perish if poaching flourish in our land. We should support, write letters of protest and give support to various organizations who are fighting the extinction of our flora and fauna. It is vitally important or else our children and children’s children will only see the remnants in a zoo or worst still, just read about it. As we finished off our photography session at the rafflesia site, we immediately came down from the hill top and headed towards our boat. I managed to speak to Awang about the conservation works for the rafflesia flower. 

Awang informed that there are a couple of sites and researchers are doing their best to raise awareness of the sensitivity of the rafflesia flower. He even informed us that great progress were made but usually the researches and conservationist efforts were hampered by the arrival of tourists and the tourism industry as a whole. He further explained that it was a Catch 22 situation whereby you have the biggest flower attraction in world and you want to show it to the world and yet you’ve got to balance it out so that you don’t kill the flower by the acts of unsuspecting tourist or blatant acts of disregards from the tourists/guests. 

When I suggested educating the public of the do’s and don’ts, Awang said that it was difficult to tell the tourists/guests as people tend to want to touch/feel and smell the flower. Couldn’t agree more with his answer, actually. All along the way, I pondered on this matter as it pricks me inside that plants and animals are slowly going into extinction from our nature parks. I truly believe in a real concerted effort to save our animals and truly there is a need to save them.

As we have ended our rafflesia flower site early, Awang suggested if we would like to go for a swim nearby. We were game on and Awang took us to a shaded spot after we told him to move away from the nearby swim site as it was hot and a resort nearby looked deserted. With a quick turn, Awang brought us to a lovely shaded place and a nice rockface swimming area. Everyone jumped in to the water except for Fook Meng and myself. 

I guess, when we asked Fook Meng why he wasn’t in the water, he simply muttered “ Adventure overdose! “. That as the most honest answer ever as it had been a real long and energy sapping day ever! I guess, eventhough Fook Meng wasn’t an outdoor person, he really tries very hard and he would do his best whether in hikes or physical challenges. Hats off to you, Fook Meng!  Actually, I was as bushwhacked as Fook Meng. I was tired – physically tired after a long day. Yeah, I wasn’t fit at all; that I must admit. No excuses, just plain tired and I do not want to experience cramps in the water! 

There was so much fun in the water especially the children, Sophia Joy and Ethan. I find both children to be privileged as they get to enjoy the beauty of nature at their age. Looking at Robin, Jaclyn, Joo Li, Edwin , Lorna, SLing and SYuen in the water and Fook Meng on the boat, I felt very happy for them. I felt very blessed having them as my family and friends. These are light- hearted people and humor is virtually in their veins as we laughed a lot and cared for one another. I felt so blessed with their playful antics, teasing and  simple ways. Truly happy to have spent some great days with them. 

We then packed up and headed towards our resort after the swim. By this time, my hair was in all sorts of places and I do feel like the Birdman from Alcatraz ,man. Yeah, hair was puffed up on one side , almost 80% in white and burnt like some roasted pork from Ipoh la. Again, the breeze and the surrounding view were breathtaking. I remembered asking Awang when the others were swimming, if he knew the depths of some places in the lake. He told me that some places are about 100 feet to 300 feet in depth while most places are between 30-40feet. That’s deep,man! We joked around as Alif and Awang smoked the rolled up “rokok kerai” or sometimes known as “rokok daun”. 

As we reached the pontoon at our resort, the first thing Ah Man told me and Robin is that our fishing rods were bent and had screeching sounds were heard………………  

DAY 2 – ROYAL BELUM-TEMENGGOR …..Kg.Chuweh OA Village & Sg.Enam Waterfall – Part 1

Our "A" Hut room

Today, I woke up very early as I wanted to catch some fresh air and enjoy some lovely view today. Somehow, I wasn’t able to sleep well last night probably due to the new surroundings and the constant drop of tree branches and small buah terap fruit on the roof. Most importantly of all, it soon dawned on me that this morning would be packed filled with activities and it would be a strenuous day today especially with young children and not-so-young bodies like mine! Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa………… 

My room....

The outer deck view...

The morning mist....

The morning view through my camera eyes....

On the way to Kg. Chuweh

I could have sworn that during the climbing up of the flight of stairs from the pontoon to the cafe and from the café to the room, my stomach, heart and spleen exchanged places that they are all cried out,man! What more is going happen today? I wonder……

Then as I stretched myself at the patio of my hut, I really enjoyed the morning breeze and the thin wisps rise of the small clouds from the lake surface. 

Arriving at Kg. Chuweh

The calm waters and the thin rise of water vapor makes the scenery from where I was standing such a captivating scene and I was calm. I was in my element when I heard an audible voice, “ Woi, for goodness heaven sake, you are half naked on the patio! Go and get yourself cleaned up and get ready! “ Yup! Back to reality, I guess! 

At the banks....

Today, we were all pumped up as we have three activities lined up that day. It was a trip to Orang Asli village in Kg Chuweh, waterfall hiking at Sg.Enam and Rafflesia sighting at Royal Belum. On the way to the café , I met up with the resort workers comprising of one Jahai tribe worker and two Temiar tribe workers. I greeted them and they returned that pleasantries with me. After a good breakfast, we were down the flight of stairs from the café to the pontoon where we met our boatmen for the day, Awang and Alif in two separate boats. Robin and I checked and set our lines for the day. Disappointingly, there was nothing on the lines.   

The scenery....

Capt Edwin, Robin, Jaclyn, SLing and myself were in one boat skippered by Awang while Fook Meng, Lorna, SYuen, Joo Li, Ethan and Sophia Joy were in another boat skippered by Alif. Awang is a local boatmen who knows the places well especially the waterfall area as he brought many people to these places. Pleasant young man , informative and very skillful in what he was doing. Our first destination was Kg Chuweh , the Orang Asli settlement. We were told by Awang that the villagers have moved from their traditional huts and moved into PPRT type of long house beside their old settlement. 

At the centre of the village..

SLing with the big fallen Merbau tree...

This village comprises the mixture of Jahai and Temiar tribe. Long known as hunter gatherers ,many of the young people had left their village to seek a living elsewhere while the older folks are left behind at their settlement. This was typical of most OA village actually. We were also told by Awang that most adult had left for their fishing grounds in the early mornings and probably on their way to Gerik Market to sell their catch of the day.

At Sg. Enam....heading towards the waterfall....

Upon arrival at Kg Chuweh, we managed to climb the slope steps and got on to the home. We stopped by at the so-called makeshift “dewan” cum hall and met up with the Batin of Kg Chuweh. He was reserve a little bit by our presence but nevertheless lightened up as Capt Edwin and Lorna spoke to him.  There were souvenir blown pipes and tree roots such as Tongkat Ali for sale by donation at the hall. The rest of us distributed food stuff to the children around the village. Simple yet robustic lifestyle was noted on the village front. Houses made from bamboo and flooring of bamboo were noted. The children seemed happy enough while the older folks including the women were seen resting in the house or tending to the children. After some photographs, we headed out to our hiking trail onwards to Sg.Enam Waterfall.

Apa tengok tu?

As we moved along the lake heading towards Sg.Enam, we were informed that we would have to trek to our waterfall destination. It is about 1 hours in and 1 hour out kinda thing. With children around, I was a little apprehensive a bit at first  but we prayed that we would be safe and blessed along our journey. Throughout our morning boat ride to our destination, the view was beautiful and calming. The submerged trees and shallow pockets were a real challenge to the boatman, Awang but he maneuvered around them expertly though. Moving along a small river, we reached the thick bush landing strip as Awang tried to move the boat as far in as possible so that we do not have to hike too long and too far. That was very considerate of him but alas, the river bank was shallow and was in the low tide mode. So, we have to trek through the bushes amidst elephant trails of punched out holes on the ground.

SYuen leading the children for the hike...

At the lower waterfall pond area...

Lorna, SLing & Jaclyn...

Moving on to the waterfall

There was a lot of excitement and adrenaline pumping enthusiasm that morning and rightly so. To me, it is always a rich experience wadding trough the bushes and river side terrain as you will never know what you will get and what you will encounter. I was only afraid for my heart to stop beating as I enjoy the trail, honestly but I am still alive! Thank God for that!  Awang led us through the trail followed by Robin and the rest. As usual, I was at the back of the pack as I guess, I am accustomed to it and trying my best to help Sophia Joy to get used to the adventure. Both Fook Meng and Joo Li are sporting enough to allow me that opportunity to lead Sophia Joy through the trail which was good, actually. 

Made it to the waterfall

Giving encouragement and helping Sophia Joy gives me a lot of joy and happiness as memories of helping the young people in the Royal Rangers ministry comes flooding in easily. Now, these boys and girls of the Royal Rangers ministry are themselves young fathers and mothers to their children. Oh! How I have grown so old nowadays! Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa…….. 

My moment at the waterfall

Spidey moment at the waterfall.....

Capt Edwin & Ethan...

As I walked through the grassland along the river banks, I kept my eyes on SYuen and SLing too. SYuen is a product of the Royal Rangers Ministry success. She was able to take care of herself, waded through the grassland and helped SLing along the way. I am so proud of her and so proud of how the commanders of the Royal Rangers ministry had poured their experiences and expertise to make her what she is today facing the hike and the journey in life too. Along the way, we noted that there were a lot of punched hole in the soft grounds signaling elephants walk ways and there were also fresh elephant dung along the river bank. It also signaled that elephants were nearby too. We managed to get a glimpse of fresh tiger tracks. 

Our walk back....

Awang told us that it was probably a few days old but upon looking at the tracks, I knew it was fresh and probably early morning of the day. I believed Awang did not want to alarm nor raised a panic mode to us and thereby, giving us an answer that the tracks were a few days old. By experience, this was fresh and I was immediately very alert all the time for the group. From then on, it was alert mode and so did the rest. There was one time when we heard some loud falling of trees sound but Alif, our another youngish boatman, immediately told us that it was just a tree falling down. Again, probably not to alarm us but to Robin and myself, it was definitely some wild elephants around who did not wish us to disturb their grounds. By this time, Alif was quick to usher us away from the area and moved on to another path quickly. I thank God that we managed to wade through the river bank and then onto the ascend to our waterfall.   

This is the part where my limbs, stomach, heart, kidneys and spleen would exchange places but thankfully, it wasn’t that bad of a climb, actually. I’ve had worst, to be honest. Sure, it was still a challenge for me and so it was for others too but I was glad for SYuen and SLing as all the walking and climbing up Bukit Beruang Hill and Hutan Rekreasi Ayer Keroh somehow worked in their favour. We soon reached a small waterfall area that had pushed the limits of the womenfolk and the children. From here on, the men, Robin, Edwin. Fook Meng and myself walked on further to Sg.Enam Waterfall.  After another 30 minutes of hike, huffing and puffing our way to the top, we reached the waterfall. This was only the first rung of the 6 rung waterfall. We decided that this was as far as we wanted to go as the waterfall was superb. With rushing waters cascading down the years of channeled & crafted out rock groove, the water was fast, invigorating and a welcome “massage” to our weakened bodies but not our spirit. Very proud of my friends, Robin, Edwin and Fook Meng for pushing, encouraging and helping each other to get to this place. We had a lot of fun here and the place was just so beautiful. 

Amidst the lovely setting jungle, steep terrain and big boulders, clean, fresh and cold water flowed through.  That’s the beauty of nature, I guess. What an honour and blessing to have enjoyed such magnificent view and experience nature’s goodness to us. All your troubles seemed to take a back seat when you are here amidst the waterfall and it’s rushing waters. This is life, man. Enriched by the insects sounds, chirping birds and the rustling flow of water, I could have sworn that life worries stopped for awhile as you experienced paradise for that one moment in your life. Blissfully happy is how I would describe my feelings at that moment. Nature is very close to my heart and I would be happy to die here for all I care! We then decided to walk back to our families and joined them at the small waterfall area/pond. After spending some time at that place, we decided to head back as lunch was awaiting us in the resort. 

We started trekking back to the place where we had parked the boats. Somehow, the journey back to our boats was much faster. However, this time around, Awang took us through the river walk instead of the river bank grassland. We never knew that the walk along the river would be drama filled and eventful time for all the men. It was hilarious as we got ourselves stuck in the soft ground and gripping mud of the river. It was as though the river wanted our legs, limbs and shoes! Yeah, I must say that the river walk back sucked all my energy to zero, man. It was hard to climb out of the stuck mud hole but luckily with great help from friends around, I was able to get out of it. For me, it wasn’t that bad though I was up to my thigh stuck in the mud at one time. It was only when I took my foot off the shoes that I was able to pull myself out of the hole and then pull out my shoes! It was hilarious through and through but very energy sapping indeed.   

My whole body and legs felt like jelly after struggling at the mud bank in the river. It was tiring and I could feel cramps starting to ravage my thighs and legs but I kept a brave front indeed. Guess, that’s the idiotic way of mine – keeping a brave front. Hahahahhaahaaaaaa……….I guess, others would have felt it too but they too could have kept a brave front too. Kudos to them for roughing it out and staying sane despite the epic battle against …….the mud! 

Really, I could have sworn that I would have let fly some 4 letter flowery adjective words, some flowery Hainanese, Cantonese or Hokkien words & phrases  and probably more had it not been these nice, sane and gentle people around me. Hey, hey, there are children amongst us and so I had to be civil, right?

After a good wash-up as advised by our boatman, Awang, to wash away the unwanted dirt and to clean ourselves, we boarded our boats and headed towards our resort as lunch awaits us. 

Our adventure continues………………..