What goes up must come down.
On the way down from the top of Janing Barat at Endau, I snapped a couple pictures. One of them is this:
I think fungus makes good subject for photography. I have another mushroom shot somewhere in the archive.
So, where were we?
Oh yes. We were back in Kampung Peta after that boat ride and hiking trip to Upeh Guling and Tasik Biru.
I do not remember anything special that night. All I remember is, there was dinner, a story telling session and a lot of tired people. The whole camp went to sleep relatively quickly. It was not even 2300 if I am not mistaken.
During dinner, a person announced that she was conducting a scientific quest of finding an endangered palm tree species; female palm in particular. She needed to find out how large an area would spores travel. This information is useful for conservation effort as well as the enrichment of human knowledge.
The next morning began, again, quickly. I would have loved another hour of sleep but we needed to start early. I skipped my morning bath as it was too cold to have one. That opinion is not unique to me, that much I could guarantee.
Today, our goal was the peak of Janing Barat.
While all members were informed of the expedition itinerary, I do not think many cared about it until now. One the first day itself, a lot of people, including me, were clueless about the details of the trip, despite the fact that the information was freely available previously. So, when some heard that there would be hill climbing today, a few chickened out, choosing to stay idle by the river and read some book, or whatever they could think of. Not a bad idea really. I myself brought a book with me, thinking that I could finally have some time to make some good progress with my reading list. Unfortunately, time for reading is something of an elusive luxury.
We left those that wished to stay behind and headed to Kampung Peta for a boat ride to Kuala Jasin.
Do you remember the flower that Gary said could switch color from red to white? Well, the flower stayed white. When we brought that to Gary’s attention, Gary insisted that it did not bloom that day. I took it that Gary was joking but after viewing somebody else’s photos on the expedition back in Kuala Lumpur, what Gary said was true.
So, we got on the boat.
Yesterday was a bright day with blue sky. Today, the sky was slightly cloudy and dull while the hills and mountains were covered with mist. It was hard to make out the peaks as the mist hid it among the cloud.
Where does the earth end and the sky begin? Photo by Katrin Schmidt.
The weather did affect me. The cloudy day made me a little melancholy and drifted away, daydreaming, longing for something I did not know what, despite being slightly at peace with myself. I played with the water, loving every moment of solitude that I had. The individualist in me wished the moment to last forever; the moment of being alone.
The dude is contemplating on life. I lost that cap. But Go Blue!
That solitude was interrupted when the boat hit ashore. It was time to get out and hike.
Kuala Jasin did not lose the charm it had the first time we was here 24 hours earlier. The sound of water sculpting the rocks was pleasant. The birds would sing in chorus while the wind and insects providing percussions. Neither Bach nor Mozart nor Vivaldi but harmonious nevertheless.
Another shot of Kuala Jasin.
We gathered at the t-junction that I mentioned earlier. Yesterday, we took the route towards Kuala Marong. Today, it was Janing Barat. I was in the last group that started the ascend to Janing Barat.
Now, Janing Barat is referred to in Malay as gunung; meaning mountain. Just like Tasik Biru, it is a misnomer as Janing Barat stands at 427 meter up, which is about 1,400 feet. That however does not make the ascend any easier for a person that fails to exercise even once a week.
The first hundred steps or so were painfully challenging. I could feel my leg muscles being overwhelmed with lactic acid. The worst part was that I could not take a rest without hurting my ego. Luckily for me however, circumstance was in my favor. In our group, the camp’s only nurse, a female by the name of Dayang had problem with stamina. She stopped quite often to catch her breath and for some water. I was only happy to stop whenever she stopped, cleaning my system of lactic acid.
The trail to the peak is interesting with the trail lying on a narrow plateau. On either sides of the path, one could see how one is walking on the highest point of a cross section of the hill. The slope of the sides was probably stayed typically in between 60 and 70 degree. I definitely would not want to fall sideway.
Observe the slope. This looks downward. Photo by Katrin Schmidt.
As I acclimatized myself, I built some stamina. Slowly, I noticed that I needed less rest though, for some reason, I yawned a lot.
It turned out, there were other people with even lower stamina. Our group, being the last to start walking up, started to overtake a number of fellow hikers. At some point of time, I and the rest of my group overtook Dayang, fastening our pace to the top.
Gary gets artistic. Photo by Gary Phong.
If one carefully observed his surrounding, concentrating not on his breathing, he would notice the interesting floras. At the bottom of the hill, typical tall and hard trunk trees like meranti are prevalent while the jungle floor is filled with undergrowth. Halfway up, palm trees dominate. Farther up, the palm trees still dominate though the floor is something like those in North America — clear and covered only with dead leaves.
Typical view of a not so typical environment. This is somewhere up.
We took some photographs. Some photographers required more time than others and we overtook more people. Soon, the group that started last were leading most of the expedition. Indeed, our group probably was the second one to reach the midpoint and the peak.
The midpoint is a relatively wide open space covered with a combination of tall hard truck trees and palms with a bench by the side before the ground falls to an abyss below. A perfect place to for a short stop. Time for a drink. Time for a sip. Probably for a nap too.
The bench at midway up. That is Azmi, waiting for slow folks like us. Also notice how the palm trees dominate the scenery. Photo by Katrin Schmidt.
In time like this, water is gold. The fact hit me as I realized that I did not fill my bottle with water!
Oh crap. With no choice, wishing not to beg for water from others, I reluctantly economized my consumption. It was déjà vu all over again. That however did not prevent me to enjoy nature.
Roughly ten minutes later, people started to pour in, making the place too crowded. Rested, it was only fair for us to give up space for the others. After a short exchange, we moved on, onward and upward.
The trail so far was between 0 and 30 degree. After the midpoint, the trail took a radical turn. At one place, we had to climb up with the gradient being something in the 70s or the 80s. It was practically rock climbing. For my personally, that part was the most exciting part of the climb.
For about another hour or less, we reached the top. It was a palm trees-covered plateau, nearly 500 meter up. I am not sure how to explain the plateau but I had a feeling of being in a lost world. It was as if I was expecting dinosaurs to roam the plateau. My imagination was running wild.
The atmosphere was very different with no undergrowth and only large wild palm growing liberally everywhere. The wide palm leaves tamed the sunlight and that probably explains the lack of undergrowth.
Making mountain out of a, er, hill? Photo by Katrin Schmidt.
Not too far up, W** S**** and gang as well as Katrin and Christian and our Orang Asli guide, Azmi were enjoying the view. From here, we could see Upeh Guling in the horizon amid the uneven green background with cloud-filled sky overhead.
View on top of Janing Barat. Near the center is Upeh Guling.
With Azmi’s aid, we explored the plateau and found varieties of pitcher plant. There were other plants of course but pitcher plants were the stars of the day.
There were cute pitcher as large as my pinky and there were bigger ones which could fit a few of my fingers at one time. I did insert my pinky into one of that pitcher plant just to see if it would eat me. Carefully, of course since I did not want to hurt it. At the end of that exercise, both of us survived. I especially was disappointed to see my finger was still intact.
Nope. It did not try to eat me.
Also, we were hoping to see tiger’s prints but we did not find out.
Then, it was lunch, Upeh Guling far out there with the wind softly blowing much to my delight.
A short lunch and cat nap refreshed my muscle. I failed to train for the hiking trip though as the whole, it was not as demanding as I had thought it would be. Still, my poor legs were exhausted and the short stop was most welcomed. It was just too bad we could not jump into the pools at Upeh Guling.
With the first goal of the day achieved, we were on our way to the almost fabled Tasik Biru. The entire story about Tasik Biru got me to imagine Lake Lukens, the most beautiful lake I have ever seen.
Lake Lukens. A time long ago when my photography skill tremendously sucked.
Lake Lukens sits a few miles away from the Tioga Pass in the Yosemite National Park. I vividly remember the approach to the water body late in the morning during one summer day. Large trees with little undergrowth characteristically of Californian forest slowly give way to smaller trees and plants, before reddish, field of violet, pinkish flowers that stretch from all the way to an unbelievably blue lake. The sun was high up, dragonflies were flying joyfully, the sky was blue and the water reflected the open sky. That was what I had in mind. The blue dragonflies I spotted at Upeh Guling further brought my imagination higher away, turning Lake Lukens into my benchmark of beauty.
While I could dream of being in the Sierra Nevada, I cannot dream my way to Tasik Biru. I had to physical walk to realize the magnificence of Tasik Biru that I had in my mind. And so, we retraced our steps all the way to Kuala Marong, going downhill.
Recrossing Marong River (?). Notice the stacked rock? No. It is not a sign of somebody having too much time. If you ever go hiking in the wilderness anywhere in the world, take careful note of those rocks because it might make your life a lot easier. You do not want to get lost in the wilderness with all those elephants, tigers and, gulp, leeches! (Photo by L** W** S****)
Now, I wrote earlier that conservation-wise, Kuala Marong is a special place. The reason is that the place is a protected breeding spot for several threatened fresh water fish species. There is a board that informs visitors of the conservation program, which is supported by none other than the Malaysian Nature Society along with one or two other partners of with I failed to jot down in my notebook.
Kuala Marong is where an MNS-supported conservation effort takes place.
Kuala Marong looks like a success story and it is easy to get such positive impression. I stood on a platform, standing no more than 10 feet above the crystal clear water, and saw school of fishes swimming calmly in the river. I do not remember the scientific name of the species but those in the conservation areas is kelah as it is called in Malay. I am bad with fishes but kelah might translate to carp or mahseer.
Threatened species in crystal clear river.
Anyway, after a short lesson in fish conservation, we went ahead to Tasik Biru.
There were several interesting faunae along the way. One of us sounded like a biologist or something close, able to name many plants at ease. I was quiet impressed by him and decided to stay close, learning as I hiked along.
A coral-like plant that I had never seen before.
One of the more amusing observations is an anti-gravity bamboo! Really! This one bamboo was totally detached from the ground. Of course, its branches above might give it the support to it, thus providing the seemingly anti-gravity effect. As for the bamboo itself, it was dead of course.
It took some time to get to Tasik Biru and I played heigh-ho in my head over and over again. And then, there it was, Tasik Biru.
Tasik Biru (Blue Lake) turns out to be green river. If I were alone, this would not be the place I would want to be at. One would never know what lurks in the greenish depth. (Photo by Katrin Shmidt)
If Tasik Biru were a box for sale on a shelf, there would be a small note saying that it was neither blue nor a lake. It is a river, possibly Marong, deep enough to dive from a cliff into, and green, due to how the tree top provides shade and how the water reflects the color of the trees. Many of us agreed that the name Tasik Biru is a misnomer. Regardless, I enjoyed it through and through, though the place has an eerie atmosphere.
The fishes would say, OMG, look out n00b5! (Photo by L** W** S****)
From a cliff, one by one either jump into the river or slowly walk into it for a noon bath. I was not ready to miss out any chance for a dip in the cool water, especially during a hot day. So, I joined those that were already savoring the water.
While in the water, I somewhat panic when I felt something bit me in the back a couple of times. I was ready to rush for solid ground when I realized that there were fishes in the river. Schools of them. Whenever the water is shallow, the riverbed by the bank and the fishes could be seen; it was so clear, which made the experience all the better.
Despite the occasional biting, it tickled more than it hurt. More importantly, the species does not have piranha teeth. So, I carried on with my business, having myself soaked in water, trying to overwhelm my sense of touch, forgetting for awhile all the worries in the world. All that I cared was that, I was there. Tool’s Parabol could be heard sung in my head. We barely remember what came before this precious moment… This body makes me feel eternal, all this pain is an illusion…
The cold was not an illusion. Sooner or later, the coldness started to bite me to the bones. As a person with little body fat, I am unable to keep myself warm for too long when the temperature gets low. So, I got out of water and did what reptiles do, sunbathing. I did not bring a towel with me and that made sunbathing a perfect activity. With the cold wetness, the fierce Sun became a gentleman, a welcoming guest as it was to me during one of those long harsh winters in the past.
It was too hot soon after. I started to feel the Sun burning my skin. That reminded me on how painful burned skin could be and noticing that I was already dry, I prepared myself for our trip back to the base camp.
From Tasik Biru, we found ourselves back to Kuala Marong. Just like Kuala Jasin, the effect of the last big flood was noticeable. There was a suspension bridge that crossed the river and all that is left of it was several supporting pillars.
Marong bridge has fallen down, fallen down, fallen down…
Actually, if the bridge were still up, we probably could have gone to Upeh Guling without getting relatively wet.
From Kuala Marong to Kuala Jasin, a boat ride back to Kampung Peta and finally, to Limpako. And yes, by the road, on the hill, beside the shack, the puppies were still there.
At Kampung Peta, right beside the jetty was a red rose-like flower. According to Gary, in the morning, it was white but I and another person which I shamefully cannot recall the name did not trust him. Gary, probably feeling a little bit indignant in a friendly manner, challenged us to check the flower tomorrow, when it bloomed. So, tomorrow it was…
That means, to be continued.
Anyway, forward a couple of days, back in Kuala Lumpur, I, being a person whom have trouble cutting myself from the past, got on Google Earth to relive the journey. And for those that care, this is where Kampung Peta is in Endau Rompin. We start with Southeast Asia:
The Malay Peninsula:
Johor:
Northeast of Johor:
Southern Endau Rompin National Park:
Kampung Peta and its surrounding:
I do think that Google Earth got the location of Kampung Peta slightly wrong. It is supposed to be on the other side of the river. Nevertheless, nothing could stop me from saying Google rocks.
p/s — thanks to L** W** S**** (the diving into the river photo) and Katrin Shmidt (the eerie Tasik Biru pic) for the permission to use their pictures.
And up the Endau we went.
One of the boats we got on.
Floating on the river was something I thoroughly enjoyed. I, as well as everybody else I think, was mesmerized by the jungle. The tranquility, only disturbed by the clumsy boat engine was something I had not experienced for a very long time. The last time I had such experience was at the Dungun River: an emergency evacuation.
Ignore the racketing motor noise and one would lose oneself to nature, free of limitations of the body. It was as if the soul was leaving the body, socked wet with bliss.
On the boat, looking downstream.
As we were moving upstream farther into the wilderness, I could not help but feel the water with my finger. It was sweetly cold, tempting me to jump off board. It was just too bad that the boat was roofed. While I had the wind gently swept across my face, it would have been better if it were roofless. It was a blue sky but the roof wanted me to savor it instead of the sky. What jealousy is this?
Trees grow happily all around us, protected from reckless development, possibly have outlived many of our ancestors. Possibly, will be outliving us and our children too. Through casual reading over the internet, I found out that the jungle complex is older than that of the Amazon and Congo with 200 over million years rock formation. I am not a geologist and so, I am easily impressed by such numbers.
On our boat were two Danish couples that reside in Kuching, Sarawak. One of them speaks Malay, just like Patricia expect that whenever she speaks Malay, she sounds like a ten year old girl. Her intonation was rather of cute, as with any ten year old girl. She also is quite well-versed with biological jargons that I just shrugged my shoulders whenever she asked me questions about the flora and fauna of Endau Rompin. And then, there were silver leaf (sp?) monkeys jumping merrily from tree to tree. Everybody was excited but I remained calmed, mostly because I was daydreaming.
The water pattern enticed me to daydream, reeling a rollicking me.
MNS does seem to have a lot of foreigners as its members. In fact, if the membership of MNS were to represent a country, I think that country would be Singapore instead of Malaysia. But perhaps, this proves that regardless of one’s background, there is only one environment. If it is lost, we all lose.
Talking about Sarawak, I have been to all Malaysian states except those on Borneo. I must someday set my feet on Borneon soil. That is a promise.
One mountain, or hill, looked like a pyramid. The peak was shaped as such and I thought it was noteworthy. I told Christian of what I thought and he replied, it would be great if we were to be at the top. Indeed.
Beyond the trees, a pyramid-shaped hill, or mountain.
Endau River is a winding river. I cannot remember how many curves the driver negotiated but that made the experience all the better. Sometimes, at one part or another, the current was so strong that it seemed the boat was not moving at all.
At the very end of the boat ride, there were rapids. I was kind of nervous upon seeing size of the rapids because I thought we were going through it. The rapids looked dangerous and I could not imagine how a boat such ours in could pass the rapids without disintegrating into pieces. Readying for the worst, I braced myself. But instead of roughing it out, we hit shore about 100 feet from the rapids. Silly me.
I wished we had stayed in the boat a little bit longer but we needed to get off and start hiking to the next rendezvous point, Kuala Jasin. We were the first boat to leave Kampung Peta and be done with the boat ride. So, we had honor spending the longest time at Kuala Jasin.
The walk to Kuala Jasin was not demanding at all. With the exception of a minor climb at the beginning, the trail is relatively flat and sandy. On both sides are soft trunk plants that look like cassava. Farther down the trail, the cassava-like trees give way to tropical trees like the highly precious merantis of various kinds.
Kuala Jasin is the meeting place of Endau and Jasin River. The rapids make the place a highly attractive place to be at. I myself would not have minded camping here for the night. The magnitude of water rushing through the rapids truly caught my attention as I had not seen anything like it in Malaysia; the rivers run wild.
Endau is joined by Jasin here.
The marvel of nature is inescapable to many and this probably is the reason why there are chalets at the river bank. Given the relative remoteness of the facility, sadly, the infrastructures are left in the state of disrepair, abandoned. The flood that occurred earlier has made the situation worse. An observation deck, which would have been marvelous if we could use it, has collapsed into the river. After the fact, I would rather not see any development here. An observation might be okay but 10 to 15 chalets, unused and abandoned at a remote location no less, are out of the question.
Gary, one of the de facto sweepers, got us back in line once the last of the boat had arrived. Some of us we reluctant to leave so, it took some effort to convince us to leave Kuala Jasin.
Soon, everybody gathered at a t-junction, with a direction lead us to the park HQ, another to Jening Barat, another to Upeh Guling as well as Tasik Biru and of course, the last one back to Kuala Jasin.
So much had been said about Upeh Guling and Tasik Biru, about the legend and stuff. Therefore, it is understandable why everyone was eager to start the hike. Quite contrary to what had happened at Kuala Jasin just moments ago.
Before we embarked for Upeh Guling, we had a roll call, just to be safe. Getting lost in Endau Rompin is not an experience anybody would want to go through. And then, finally, we started marching.
The first obstacle was the Jasin River. This perhaps several hundreds meters away from Kuala Jasin. It would have been shorter if we have stayed true to the river but the river route is too challenging.
It was groin-deep at the time we crossed Jasin while the current was not strong. Still, the rocky riverbed caused some difficulties to some. I almost fell into the river but by sheer skill (ha-ha), I stood firm. And my boots and socks turned wet all over again. At this point, I stopped caring about being dry.
This point is the last point accessible with 4WD. Not too long ago, a bridge was constructed across this river against the advice of the Orang Aslis. Human arrogance ignored the advice and the authority begun building the bridge. It was not long before nature humbled arrogant builders, forcing the abandonment of the project. Till this day, a notice board informing the public of the project still stands while a lone pillar seemingly dedicated to humility.
Expected to complete in February 2007, it has been abandoned. The major flood earlier this year wiped out whatever kind of bridge that was dreamed of by the local authority.
And so, we hiked, and hiked, and hiked some more.
About an hour or so, he had to cross yet another river. The name of the river is unknown to me but it was fiercer and deeper than that one path crossing Jasin. A strong rope was tied from one tree to another across the river to provide support.
Azmi, supervising the crossing.
All went well and the hike continued.
The next point of interest was Kuala Marong. This is a meeting place of two rivers: the one we just crossed and possibly, Marong River. Conservation wise, Kuala Marong is special but I will touch about it in later posting.
From there on, we needed to cross yet another river. While crossing, five or six butterflies, probably Raja Brooke were found frolicking by the bank. As expected, photographs swarmed the butterflies.
After that crossing, people were noticeably quiet. This is not surprising considering that at Kuala Marong, some already had wanted to have lunch. My stomach itself was growling but we pushed on instead, thinking of having lunch at Upeh Guling itself.
Upeh Guling is a large waterfall and from what I gathered from limited resources, I the most well-known of all fall in Endau Rompin. We knew that we were getting closer because the sound of gushing water was outdoing the sound of insects and birds combined.
A member of the expedition, Farah, relaxing at Upeh Guling.
With each step, anticipating grew and finally, Upeh Guling with all of its glory was visible. The size of the waterfall was only clear to me after as we climbed up higher. If one would fall into the fall, death could be guaranteed. The name of Upeh Guling itself is associated with death.
Years of erosion produces mind-boggling landscape.
An Orang Asli legend has it that long ago, a man by the name of Upeh was walking somewhere near this fall. While exchanging glances with his fiancé, he slipped, fell, rolled over and over again to his death. In Malay, guling means rollover. Hence, the name. The legend further says that whoever found the skeleton of Upeh, he or she would be full of luck. I for one am unsure how one would be lucky to find such ghastly remain.
It was a hot day and the water was cooling. Upeh Guling tempted us to take a dip but with strong current, Azmi prevented us from doing so, citing safety precaution. Nevertheless, we had our much needed rest. While I was getting ready for lunch, I discovered two leeches were already having me as their lunch. I pulled two fat leeches off my foot.
You creep.
While laying down on one of the rocks, I noticed dragonflies!
Possible, my best photo for the trip.
And more butterflies!
Oooo… donut. I mean, butterfly.
After lunch, I, as well as many others, took a cat nap before moving on to Tasik Biru. Transliteration would render Tasik Biru into Blue Lake. But as we would later find out, the word lake is an exaggeration and so too the word blue.
p/s — thanks to L** W** S**** for the permission to use the first picture (the boat) in this entry.
People say early bird gets the worm. Others would say the second mouse gets the cheese. Sunday started slightly earlier than Saturday and way too early. With sleeping bag warping around me and my backpack as a pillow, the coldness tempted me to stay asleep. It was 06:00.
A few others however were busy preparing for a new day and that made me restless. It was not so much the noise that disturbed me but rather, it was the atmosphere. It was infectious and caused a civil war inside of me. In the end, I had to wake up and left slumberland for a whole new day. Just like how the spring revolutions across Europe brought liberalism across the continent, from the British Isles, to France, to Germany all the way to Russia, and eventually, the world, the early birds brought consciousness throughout the camp.
As a group, I always find it amazing how a small minority could affect the will of the majority. I am quite sure that the majority will were quite the opposite of the now awakened minority. It was cold and the majority wanted to continue sleeping, despite knowing we had to start hiking by 08:00. Just like me, during winter in Ann Arbor, told the alarm to give me five more minutes before surrendering to reality, the majority probably wanted another hour.
If the low noise failed to move the sleepy heads, TH’s scream of pain woke me. He slept to my left and it was impossible to ignore him. I later found out that some insect went into his ear and started biting from the inside. Urgh, ugly. The problem was solved after a drop of oil was inserted into his ear, suffocating the insect. And if TH’s screaming failed to wake the rest, the sun did the job.
The morning turned brighter as each second passed. In the jungle, well before 07:00, one did not need to bring along a flashlight to move around. Unfortunately, the availability of light did not introduce heat and it was still cold for bath. Many skipped morning bath and relied on yesterday’s dip in the river as an ersatz substitute.
As how combustion engine needs time to come up to speed on a cold winter, my engine needed time and I took my time, had breakfast slowly, half asleep. By 08:00 though, I was ready for a brand new adventure. But my socks and boots were still wet. The socks especially, where bloody, no thanks to leeches. I had a fresh pair of socks with me but no dry pair of boots, I just wore the wet socks and boots.
On me were a Nikon cap, a stylish goggle as a sunglass that was the envy of everybody (yeah, right), a backpack filled with water bottle, camera, cell phone, wallet and lunch, West Quad t-shirt and an expensive short which would look like a rag cloth by the end of the trip. And yeah, the wet socks and boots.
If I had a dry pair of socks along with boots, it would not have mattered. To get to the place we planned to go which were Upeh Guling and Tasik Air Biru, we had to cross several rivers and the first one was right at the doorstep of our camp, the Limpako. And I could hear Christian complaining again, uttering, probably, the same exact words he had uttered yesterday during the hike night.
From the camp, headed back to our vehicle. For today, we needed to drive to Kampung Peta, an Orang Asli settlement by the Endau River. If you remembered carefully, our car was stuck in the mud and was, in all particle sense, abandoned for the purpose of this expedition. We were advised to rather not drive our car but take a ride instead in one of participating 4WDs. Patricia, Katrin and Christian got onto Paul’s truck and I hitched on *** ****’s 4WD.
Me and gang. From left, Mervyn Liew Wing-On, Yeoh Suat Hui, me and Tan Lee Sah. *** ***** is behind the camera. Awas gerak langkahmu ooooo…
There were five people in the vehicle, including *** ***** and me. The other there were Mervyn Liew Wing-On, Yeoh Suat Hui and Tan Lee Sah. On *** *****’s vehicle were several stickers: three of them were MNS, the Sierra Club and the Appalachian Moutain Club. That probably proved that he is a real hiker, unlike me, which is just a poser.
There were slight problem at the start as even 4WDs had issues with the muddy road but with little patience, luck and cooperation, all 4WDs, seven of them, were on our way to Kampung Peta.
Typical road view. This part of the park is tarred. The poor road leading to the park probably discourages visitors size, which is good for conservation effort.
The way to Kampung Peta is scenic. Firstly, the road is pretty much like Cameron Highlands except on a smaller scale, with little gorges on one side and little hills covered with tropical floras on the other side. Our view was limited to what the trees would let us see, which was not much to start with. But as we were done climbing, we reached an opening where the trees were less dense and soon, the opening turned into an Orang Aslis’ orchard. To the right, on the horizon were spectacular mist-covered mountains.
Misty mountains. Not quite Lord of the Rings but quite impressive nonetheless.
All of us, all seven 4WDs stopped by the road side, armed with cameras, got out and started a photo-galore event. On the left, a little hut by the side of a hill. It took some time to satisfy the photographers in us but we had to move on. And so, into the vehicles we went to continue with the journey.
Humble hut by the side of a hill.
Not too far in front, sat a couple of puppies in the middle of the road, unmoved by the incoming 4WDs. We were amused at the audacity shown by the puppies and had to slow down to pass them without incident.
Half an hour probably passed before we reached Kampung Peta. Just 5 minutes of the village is the headquarters of the national park. The HQ however looked suspiciously quiet with no proof of life. Nevertheless, looking outside from the 4WD I was in, the structures looked well maintained, possibly, unlike in Putrajaya.
As a Malaysian, it is quite embarrassing to see defected federal buildings so early after completion. The physical states of the buildings could signal the rot of our country. Daylight corruption goes unpunished, uncouth lies said and spotted but not unsaid, probably representative of our government.
As the 50th anniversary of August 31, the first day of free Malaya, comes closer, I am quickly becoming disillusioned with the current state we are in. I could have picked that Green Card long ago but for some unknown reason, I refrained. I am beginning to feel I had made a mistake so huge. True, I said take heart but I cannot take heart every second of every day of every year, forever. Patience is a virtue but it has limits. Hope erodes each day and I quickly wanting to save only myself and abandon the rest.
The residents of Kampung Peta probably have not heard of 300 despite living in a spartan village. But they live in concrete instead of wooden houses as I had expected earlier. Their life is more modern than what I had in mind. Yet, still spartan with limited utilities. Nonetheless, Spartans dined in hell but we dined in heaven.
The village sits beside the Endau River, about 30 feet up from the water level, on a cliff. To be precise, it is located at the outer side of a huge meander. For this very reason, the village suffers erosion problem. In 10 or 20 years, I would not be surprise if the river would shallow part of the village. Slowly but surely, the Endau River keeps pounding against the cliff, threatening to erase the village out of the map. But maybe, this particular part of the river would turn into a horseshoe first and not threaten the village.
The Endau River from Kampung Peta. Notice the cliff. Also, notice the white trunk which is a coconut tree. Previously, a sort of line could be drawn from the tree to the other side outside of the picture and that was ground years ago. In effect, you would not be able to see the upper part of the cliff.
During the last great flood, believe it or not, despite sitting high above a cliff, the village was flooded about half a foot. The Orang Aslis had to temporarily away until the flood finally subsided. While all that occurred, our Prime Minister was on holidays in Venezuela, seemingly oblivious to the suffering of the people. Even I, whom have been accused of being too cold due to my free market principles, understand the scale of the disaster. In the face of possibly market failure, the government failed. The government does have a role in our society but the government failure during the market failure forced me to reassess what role the Malaysian government could play.
During a briefing conducted at the HQ of the Malaysian Nature Society at Jalan Kelantan, not too far away from the National Museum and the Parliament, Gary told us how the flood devastated the economy of Kampung Peta. They lost everything and are currently rebuilding whatever they had. Their economy primarily depends on tourism but Endau Rompin, due to its wilderness, does not look like a place many would venture too. Only the more adventurous individuals would come here, leaving the comfort of civilization behind.
From the village, we got on a boat ride upstream, farther into Endau Rompin…
p/s — thanks to *** *** ***** for the permission to use the first two pictures in the entry.