Taman Negara #8 - Night Walk.

Through a path at the back of Mutiara Hotel, we came to a building where we were to see a documentary on Taman Negara. But this is peak season and there was a long queue. So we hand around in the gallery reading interesting facts about the National Park. We also took the opportunity to form a circle and introduced ourselves to the other members of the group.

This is a simplified map of Taman Negara and Gunung Tahan. See Kuala Tahan somewhere near the center; that is where we stayed from where we took our boats to all the other locations for our activities. Looking at it, we realized we have covered only so little and there is a lot more to discover.

This poster explained the origin and history of the National Park – Taman Negara. It was first gazetted as Gunung Tahan Game Reserve before being called King George V National Park by the British.

This is a list of the protected animals in this forest reserve. This is necessary as there is an illegal trade in wildlife and many of the animals are also on the endangered list.

Then came our turn to go into the air-conditioned hall smelling of sweat (due to the number of sweaty audience) to watch a documentary of Taman Negara. It was interesting but the dark cool atmosphere after a heavy dinner proved too alluring for some to doze off.

We started our walk into the dark after the show. We walked on metal platform built over the track. It is good in the sense that we will not trip over roots or stepped into muddy holes. But we were also making so much noise that we will drive away any animals in the vicinity.

Each of us was armed with a torch but there really not much to see. It was more a casual group walk.

Every now and then, the guide will stop to point out something to the group but because we were traveling in a single file, only those near to him can hear his explanation.

Basically what we could see are just a few insects not disturbed by sound and maybe even attracted by the lights.

This is a stick insect hiding under a large tree leave. No price for guessing how it got its name.

On the top left hand corner of this picture (light green), you can see a large insect that was disturbed by us and took flight into the safety of the high branches of the trees.

Sometimes our light caught a light shining back at us. We are not sure what it was, whether animal or insect but no one was game to push into the undergrowth to find out.

Here we were shown some luminous mushrooms that glowed in the dark. A huge dragonfly, three or four times the size of the city cousin flied and entangled on the guide shirt before taking off again.

It did not take many steps before the dark will close in and swallowed you up which not even the flash can illuminate. And our weak torchlight is just a pathetic beam good enough only to show us where to plant our feet.

We climbed into the watch tower to try to hopefully catch sight of some large mammals. It will be too much to hope for to see a tiger. It was so dark that looking out the observation deck, we just saw a sheet of black.

But with the combined torches, we did make out a large deer feeding in the water hole in the distance. It lifted its head to look all those lights shining from the tower. I did not know what it was thinking but it did not take off. I set my camera on night mode and hopefully took a shot. When I viewed it, only the a branch illuminated by the torches was visible proving our eyes is much superior to our camera.

After that, we walked back to Mutiara without any interesting incident. We took our boat which again churned up the muddy water to send us back to our hotel for our first night in Taman Negara and for me a long awaited bath in icy cold water.

We did not see any tiger but on the way back to the room, I spied this tomcat trying to impress this demure female cat. When I looked back, he had succeeded and was rubbing necks with her. At least someone will be happy tonight. Hope it did not make too much noise celebrating its love. We need our sleep for the next morning…

To be continued...

Taman Negara #7 - Taman Negara Sunset.

The food was ready by the time we got back to the restaurant. That was just great for I was so hungry that I could eat a horse, or at least a leg of a horse. That food was not great but pretty decent for the price we are paying and the quantity is large enough to fill our stomach.

On the way back to our room, we spied the amusing sign on this toilet – “Don’t Go Here – Snake Inside”. This is understandable as there are not enough bathrooms to go round and there is a long wait during peak hour unless you want to take bath with a snake.

As we will be going jungle trekking at night, I decided not to take a bath. It will be slow going as eight of us were waiting for his turn. So I took the opportunity to hunt around for photo shoots. I took this shot on the high bank looking down at Sungai Tahan partly concealed by tall ficus tree with their overhanging roots.

Another shot of the Sungei Tahan showing the Ficus leaves.

At times, today the sky was a clear blue but most part of the day it was cloudy. But as I looked for the sunse, I was not sure where was west as I lost my orientation with jungles all around. I believed this was west and that is the light of the setting sun just above the tree lines. It was not much of a sunset but it was still something to remember by. I have no time to just wait for perfect moments.

When I look around, I was surprised to see an even brighter spread of orange and gold at the opposite end. Which is the real sunset? It only took me a second to ponder before I trained the camera at it. Who cares as long it is beautiful, right?

The river reflected back the sunset gold but the greedy jungle absorbed it and would give nothing back.












My attempt to capture attracted other photographers with much better gears. This photographer took up position in front of me and clicked away. He seemed quite pleased with his effort. I asked him how was his shots and he proudly showed on the LCD screen.

The Caucasian with his girlfriend was not too pleased with his shot though. He lamented that it did not look great without the tripod stand. It was not a great sunset but it was the only sunset during this trip for it rained the next day. I will take less than perfect pictures over nothing any day.

The light faded but new lights came on. The floating restaurant took on a new look, looking sexier in half light. It has just the right alluring look to welcome you onboard.

Over at the other bank, the dim lights of the restaurant looked trapped by the dark. Everywhere lights were failing and the jungle rose up to consume everything.

It was time to return to the hostel. A white cat with jade green eyes rimmed by yellow lids questioned our presence before her equally white kittens drew her away.

The night now ruled the Earth. Boats and lights swimming in the ink black river illuminated by shimmering lights.

We crossed the other bank to go The Mutiara, the only five stars hotel in Taman Negara with suite costing up to RM1,000 a night. We had our torches ready for the night jungle trekking.

The river can rise many meters during the rainy season. This sign near the entrance of the hotel marked the record it achieved – a staggering 74 meters!

Nights are especially dark here. This was a shot of the river bank from which we came and the white streak is a boat coming in to moor. A serene scene punctuated by boats in a hurry.

Armed with torches, the group took a photo before setting off to search for our jewels of the night...

To be continued...

Taman Negara #6 - Eeeeh! Leeches!!

As we regrouped before setting off, our guide discovered that a leech has bitten him through his socks. He just casually pulled it off. The girls became paranoia and started checking their legs. First there was a loud scream from one of the girls and she started to jump up and down. Alex who brought along a concentrated salt solution sprayed on it until it dropped off. This was followed by another piercing scream as yet another found she was bitten. Even though the salt solution caused the sucker to drop off, the blood kept oozing out freely. Some of the girls were really freaking out and started checking their body having all kinds of creepy feelings and hysterical screamings at imagination. They started checking one another. Actually, it was kind of amusing. When they settled down again, we set off into the woods again.

This plant has rough hairy leaves which the forest people used to polish their rings.

Blue ferns can be seen growing on the ground, its color standing out from the other green plants and the brown of the earth.

We eventually came back to the Batek village again and saw these Batek children performing a flower dance for me. Wonder where they got that yellow flowers for we did not see it anywhere along the trek.



This boy was peering intensely into the yellow flower. What were his thoughts?

Even the Batek are not immune from modern influence. See some of their huts are covered by the blue plastic sheets to keep off the rain. And this lady is carrying plastic containers.

If not hunting or gathering for food, they just while their time away. Whether this is good or bad depends on one’s outlook of life, I guess. But they seem contented with their life which is more than can be said for many of the city folks.

After a short trek, we came to the river again waiting for our boat to pick us up. Along the way another guy was bitten by a leech, a tiger leech this time which unlike the water leech that bit the girls in the cave; has a painful bite. These suckers that can detect you by vibration (e.g. footsteps) and carbon dioxide given off by nearby hosts and will aggressively pursue you. Our friend found one inside his T-shirt so maybe the girls were not so jumpy after all. We gave that one a salt water bath too and sent on its way to leech heaven.

Our boat came and we took off for our hostel. This boat and its owner is leisurely hanging back waiting to pick up his passengers.

We passed this scene which for some reason reminded me of Brokebreak Mountain.

As we passed by this floating boathouse, the children shouted to catch our attention. Then one after another they dive into the water. Unfortunately I was not quick enough to catch them taking the plunge.

Nearing our destination, we saw this fisherman getting ready to cast his nets. I quickly got my camera ready. I always got a thrill whenever I can catch a fisherman casting his net.

Caught him in the act.

The net dropped forming an arch over the water (like a giant jelly fish) before disappearing under. I hoped he had a good harvest. We are now very hungry having worked up a healthy appetite. It was time to eat.

To be continued...

Taman Negara #5 - Into The Ear Cave.

Before we enter the house of bats, we took a picture as proof in case anyone did not re-emerge from it. The Ear Cave is so named because it is shaped like an ear. Like one too, once you enter it gets progressively narrower till it is just a small channel into the inner ear. But even more like an ear, you went in one direction and came out the other. :-)

Last minute advice – “keep your head low, don’t bump into things though I know all of have thick skulls; talk soft, don’t wake up the dead; it is slippery, watch out for the sharp rocks; if it is too slippery, God gave you a backside for a reason; if it is smelly, hold your breath until you came out the other side; if you are not dirty when you come out, we all know you cheated and double back.”

With those words swarming our heads, we climbed in and plunged into instant darkness. The feeble beams of our tiny torches seemed to be sucked in by the darkness and eaten up. Don’t let some of the pictures fooled you. Only when the camera flashed could we see with any clarity. See the three tiny lights in the picture, they were made by torches – not very bright was it? Immediately in and the low ceiling forced us to bend double to walk like a hunchback.

Sometimes we have to climb down and other times we have to climb up. Luckily, there were ropes strung at strategic points in the cave to help in the climbs.

In the semi-darkness, you could just about see several feet in front of you and the general appearance of the cave wall while further away or deeper caverns are shrouded in complete darkness. I did not know there were bats in this cave even though they are just feet away until I used the camera to illuminate the cave.

Take for example this photo. Even with the flash you could not see beyond the rope.





If you grabbed too far, you may end up with grabbing one of the bats instead which are just inches away. They were around us everywhere except we couldn’t see them – we were like they said “blind as a bat”.

They may just be on top of our head and we would not even realize as this picture showed.

Something spooked the bats, probably our loud voices having woke them up from their slumber and they started flying. They flew in erratically in complete darkness yet managed to avoid slamming into anything. We now have to climb up towards a break in the cave where light and jungle greens were visible.

The path we have to climb is the area through which the bats were flying. We have to just hope that their radar is good enough to avoid crashing into us. “Mayday! Mayday! Bang!!”

Well, there were no flaming hits so we made to the next chamber which is all the way down. The first section was easy enough, just have to make sure we had a secure hold.

The second section proved to be more tricky. It was steep but also very smooth and wet and a bit dangerous to try to stand and walked down unless the shoes have a good traction. It is safer to slide down with the buttocks. Four Englishmen were standing here obstructing the traffic, debating on whether to proceed and go back and wondering aloud where this leads to while others just moved round them and continued below. It is kind of strange they way they carried out their conversation as if none of us understand their language. So I volunteered them some information and told them that there is only one way to go – forward. There are still many people coming from the back as we were almost at the head of our party. One of them said to the other “There – there is your answer” and followed us in.

However, we could not proceed far when we had another traffic jam. After sliding down the slippery slope, we have to crouch and crawl through a watery channel. We could not see what was ahead and had to wait until the path was cleared. You can imagine what can happen when this cave became flooded. Incidentally, the Ear Cave is closed during the rainy season for obvious reason.

It seemed the cave got narrower as we went in. This is a slit between two huge boulders and only a medium sized person could squeeze through. One of the participants (not of our group) had to turn back for there is no way his extra large size is going to squeeze through this gap.


There are more tight spots ahead. At the end of the long channel, there is a hole through which you have to push yourself upward with the strength of both your arms. It is not a large hole and our guide told us in an earlier trip, one guy was stuck there for three hours before being rescued. Our guide told us that the cave is getting narrower over the years as the earth movement hemmed the cave in.


But once we pushed yourself through it, sunlight again greeted us and we found that we were at the bottom of a deep narrow ravine. Using our arms and steeping on places of the rocks where there are footholds, we pulled ourselves upward.

“I did it! I am out of the cave!” she seemed to say as she flashed both a beaming smile and the V sign.

Those who have got out helped to pull the others up.

“Look! My front is pretty clean.”

“But my back – well, I did use my buttocks!”

This group of girls said “Hey, we also want our front and back taken.” So I shot their front.

But when they turned their backs to me, they suddenly felt shy and dispersed before I could get a proper shot. Girls!


As we were about to depart, I saw the four Englishmen coming out from another path. I was puzzled and asked them how come. They told me they were tired of waiting for the queue and double back where they came from. I thought – what a pity! So near yet so far. I would have regretted and always wondered what it was I missed, for want of a little patience.

To be continued...

Taman Negara #4 - The Trek To Gua Telinga.

We continued our way through the jungle when we came across a point where two paths forked into different directions. This reminded me of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” where it said – “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.” Well, in this case, we took the well worn path for we would not dare to take the one less traveled by and end up lost.

Road sign in the jungle pointing to us the right direction.

In single file we marched on, sweat soaking our shirts. It rained here the last few days and the ground was muddy at some stretches slowing down our walk. It was unusual to rain this time of the year but the weather had been upside down all over the world, it seems.

These black jungle termites took advantage of the wet cool weather to troop through the ground looking for food. You would not find their white urban cousins doing that in day time even under the shades of trees. They are not as hardy. These jungle termites are dangerous, their bites are poisonous and can give you painful swelling for up to a day. They are however important for the health of the forest chewing up dead and rotten trees to rejuvenate the forest.

We stopped by this tall tree which if I’m not mistaken is called Pokok Kering. Its sap is used by the aborigines to make vanish.

Trees in the original tropical jungle grows straight and tall making for the sky. Every trees fighting for the precious sunlight. Here sunlight is filtering down from a break in the dense foliage.

It is time for a group photo under the giant Tualang tree, the third tallest tree in the world. This huge baby is only about a thousand year old. They can grow up to more than four thousand years old and more than 80 meters tall. Such a giant would take more than 20 people to link their arms round its trunk. It is an amazing tree.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep” and a little scary too to be wandering off by yourself.

We were surprised to see such a bright colored bean growing on this tree. They also grow much higher up in clusters on tree branches. Our guide told us they are edible but this is not ripe enough to be eaten. These pods can be opened for the edible beans within. They made a wonderful contrast from the homogeneity of the green, brown and grey of the forest.

The group came to an abrupt stop as there was a traffic jam just ahead. There was a puddle of mud that we have to figure out how to negotiate. Our guide laughed at us. He said after the cave, we would not care about getting our legs dirty and would just be stepping through the puddle.

We finally reached the mouth of the cave. Everyone stopped for a breather and waited for the traffic to clear a bit before going in. All of us armed were with a torch for it will be dark inside. We will be entering through this entrance and exiting through the other end.

It was photo session as group after group took the opportunity to pose before the fading sign. Here our pretty smiling ladies revealed their best smiles to the camera.

This guy is standing at the edge of the mouth of the cave staring into the abyss wondering when to make the plunge. It was dark and damp; and the fetid smell of the bats’ guano was emanating from it. After a moment’s hesitation to get our bearing, we plunged into the depth…

To be continued...

Taman Negara #3 - The Batek Forest People.

Once we dropped our bags in the room, we hurried down to river; everyone raring to go.

The bank where the houses are built consisted of two levels, we were at the highest level. The reason why they are built so high up is that you will amaze by how high the river can rise during the rainy season towards the end of the year when the monsoons starts. It is also the reason why all the restaurants at the river are all not on permanent legs but are floating.

We made our way down this rickety wooden stairs with missing steps which swayed precariously under our combined weight. Over the next few days, we will be climbing up and down this stair several times a day. But we did not break it, we left it for some else to do it. See the single strand of flimsy wire that is supposed to be our guide rail but we still hand on it for support and to some it seems like for life.

One after another, we planted our foot carefully taking care not to tumble down like Jack & Jill and brought the others down in a chain reaction.

Our heart started pounding when through thick foliage and flowering plants, we saw the river where Sungei Tahan joined Sungei Tembeling. It was like we have found our long lost love if you know what I meant. This is what we came for and the view did not disappoint.

There was a wide stretch of sandy beach, and a number of floating restaurants all lining just off the shore greeted us. You do not have to worry about getting a decent meal any time of the day or night.

This restaurant ran by our tour company is the focal point of all our meetings and starting of our activities as well as our meals. A narrow plant is all that connects it to the beach. One wrong step and you will have an early drink.

These are our trusty boats that will take us to all our activities. As all round us are dense tropical jungle that are almost impassable (at least to non-jungle dwellers like us). The main and in many cases only mode of transportation is by the river boats.

This is our first boat ride and you can see the excited expressions. The powerful motor kicked to life and pushing us off to our first adventure.

The river is quite busy with many boats traversing to and fro between destinations. The boats traveled quite fast and sometimes it appeared a bit recklessly. But these are experienced boaters who do not like to take it slow. Amid the sleepy jungle and languid river, the only things roaring to life are the fast boats.

We passed by interesting scenes and I kept my camera busy. I liked this shot which I called ‘waiting’; for it will make an interesting story. The man is waiting for a fish to bite, what is the lady waiting for? Write your own story.

This picture shows how lovely it is taking a boat down the river. Clear blue sky overhead, a wide river, fresh air, dense forest on both banks. Our tour guide took the best seat of the house, at the front of the boat.

As all activities starts at the river bank, boats are busy ferrying passengers to the various points.

We arrived at ours to go to the “Ear Cave” or Gua Telinga.

After a short walk, we reached a Batek forest people village who just happened to camp off this track having moved in recently. They are nomadic people who never stayed long in one place. They lived off the jungle and once the surrounding area is exhausted, it is time to move. A death or sickness in one of their member may also cause them to move as they are highly superstitious people. Our guide is explaining to us the lifestyle of these gentle people who took life each day as they come.

There are only less than a thousand of the Batek (which meant original people in Malay) left and they are mostly concentrated in Taman Negara. They are shy people who kept very much to themselves living a way of life thousand of years old. When we came across them, we felt like we are intruding into their world which is the truth.

To be continued...

Taman Negara #2 - The Arrival At Kuala Tahan.

Woke up at 5 a.m. and decided there is no point in trying to sleep further so put on the music and moved at a leisurely pace. But once Alex and MongShe picked me up, the mad rush began. We fetched Lay Yee from her house and on the way got a call that JenShyi has arrived in Klang station from Kedah after an overnight journey of 9 hours. From there, we shot to meet up with Alex's friend who was kind enough to drive us to KL. We were lucky that the traffic was exceptionally smooth that day. Could it be because the dramatic increase in petrol price the night before is having an impact? Our pick-up point was in Puduraya from where we were transferred to Chinatown after a hearty breakfast in KFC. We departed from Chinatown at 8.45 am. Other members of this group arrived at the pick-up point from various places, at various times by various means.

In Lanchang, we had a stopover for what we call a sing-along. That is better sounding than a piss-stop. Caught this black bumblebee with a bright yellow crown stealing nectar from the banana plant.

We are again on our way. It is about a 4 hours plus journey.

We stopped in the Chinese restaurant in Jerantut, a town that owed much to Taman Negara as a stopover, for our lunch. Considering that this is a tour group lunch, the food is quite decent and adequate.

We took two large tables but as many in the group do not know each other, conversation is a bit stiff as the ice has not been broken yet.

But hunger is a language everyone understands. So when the food came, we all dig in but still politely ensuring everyone has their equal share.

We thought we were going to drive to Kuala Tembeling and from there to take a boat to Kuala Tahan so was a bit disappointed when we learned that it will be a bus trip instead. The roads were getting more hilly and winding as we approached our destination. At one point, there was a landslide that occurred only days or weeks earlier. Much of the land we went through were already cultivate with Oil Palm. Civilization has caught up to the fringes of the jungle.

We arrived at this Persona Village Resort where we dropped a family who came on their own. While the living accommodation here is better, I do not think this is a good place to stay as there is no atmosphere.

We have arrived. Everyone crowded round the tour guide asking for direction.

There was a school immediately to our left as we alighted from the bus. There were many sayings drawn on its wall greeting our arrival. I liked the last one – “It makes no difference where you came from but a great difference where you’re going.” There were 22 of us and we came from all over the country. From as far North as Kedah and as far South as Johor. And we all knew where we wanted to go – to Taman Negara and have fun!

Once that is settled and we knew where we are supposed to be headed, we took our belonging and looked for our chalet.

This is Kuala Tahan and the gateway to the Taman Negara, the National park.

All the chalets and individual bungalows (concrete base and wooden walls & roof) were built following traditional Malay architecture. They were all situated along the river which is the center of activities and transportation. The pricier units are closer to the river or overlooking it. We went for the budget units, the whole package of which cost us only RM350 per person - a real bargain for 3 days/2 nights.




Along the way, we saw a family relaxing by one of the benches. This young boy seemed like a seasoned player. Cool confident face and deftly handling the cards. Later, I caught him sleeping with his legs hanging up. Even a King Gambler must rest, I guess.

I brought along quite a bit of snacks worrying I may go hungry but there was even cendol in our very doorstep! Just bring along some money. You can buy everything you need including freshly fried "goreng pisang" with the banana just plucked from the trees - D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!

We reached our chalet and has to decide how to split 22 in three rooms with almost equal numbers of males and females. With a bit of give and take, we managed to figure out this complex mathematics and determined who sleep with whom and who to sleep on top of whom being bunker beds. Everyone was given the pleasurable experience of sleeping with strangers.

To be continued...

Taman Negara #1 - The Happy 22.

(Misty mountains viewed from the boat speeding along Sungai Tembeling)

Although I grabbed the offer without hesitation, I was also a little cautious about accepting the invitation to go on a trip to Taman Negara. I wondered whether I was fit enough with my Achilles heel and my suspect back. But come on, if I do not risk it now when am I ever going to? I am not getting any younger and though my spirit burns ever bright, my body is more prone to protests these days.

(The exhausting trip did not wear these out it seemed, they can still lift a leg in Kuala Tembeling)

I would like to travel in a bit more comfort but is my lecture to my staff about the need to constantly go beyond our comfort zone a lie? And so eight to a room it is and I will blend in but not with total abandon as I was by far the oldest in the group and almost double the group’s median age of mid-twenties.

(Shooting rapids and having water fights between boats)

How I envy their youth and their carefree laughter. It such a pleasure watching them hugging life with abandon. Ha, there goes that word again – “abandon”, the opposite of which is “restraint.” A smile crept up when I thought of these two words. Some old sticks may think I live my life with abandon, some young friends may think I live mine with restraint. I know I live mine with passion and I was passionate about this trip to the oldest tropical forest in the world, behind the restraint :-).

(The view from the peak of Mount Terisek at the Tahan range with Gunung Tahan partially hidden by mist and clouds)

(The group at the top of Mount Terisek)

Taman Negara, the National Park – 4,000 over square kilometer of virgin jungle; is the green heart of Peninsula Malaysia. It spread over the 3 states of Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu. It contained 300 over species of birds and one-third of the flowering plants in the country. There are also large mammals but we are unlikely to come across any of them with the amount of noises we are always making. The monkeys may mistake us for cousins but none came to chatter, probably shying away from the poison darts of the Batek forest people who camped near the river during our visit.

(The Happy 22 saying a sad farewell to Taman Negara)

This was the Happy Twenty-Two. If they did not look too happy, that is because this is their farewell shot at the end of the trip. In the upcoming posts, we will take you with us on our adventure through the oldest tropical forest in the world. See ya.

To be continued...

Kluang Sunrise.

I left my companions in Paloh and headed for Kluang along a road I had not driven before. I woke up early the next morning and when I looked out the window, saw the first ray of the new sun. I reached for my camera but the shot was less than desirable because the hotel window was heavily tinted blue.

I did not have my slippers with me and I did not want to change to my long pants. So in my leather shoes and in my Bermuda shots, I peeped through my hotel door. Seeing no one around, I oddly attired ran to the hotel lift.

I pressed the button for the highest floor - 19 if I am not mistaken. When the door opened, I still have to climb two level of stairs to reach the roof. I was gambling on the door to the roof not been locked and I was lucky. And there was no one around. I was at the roof and the highest point in Kluang town. I have the roof and the sunrise all to myself. I wondered then how many Kluang residents have seen the sun rising up from the distant hills. I breathed in the crisp morning air and felt the rush of cold air filling my lung. I took out my camera and took this series of Kluang sunrise shots just as the sun was breaking out.

The hills was still darkly silhouetted in the background and dense clouds formed another dark layer just about it. But there was a break in between these two dark masses and where the sun rays struck the sky was like a sea of molten gold. It was beautiful. I could not help feeling pleased with myself, risking ridicule to enjoy this beautiful view. Apollo must have deemed fit to reward me with this wondrous sight.

The sky was changing by the minutes. The shifting clouds played a large part in the change and it covered up or dispersed to reveal the sun.

Depending on its action, the scenery can changed from being pensive and moody to cheerful and promising. I enjoyed every minute of it and felt a closeness with nature. I was calm, contented and strangely fulfilled.

Sometimes the rays would shot out through the break of the cloud and it made one think of God. I enjoyed the feeling that most of the town was still asleep but I was alone up on the highest point surveying the town sleeping below.

The distant hill was covered by a layer of mist at its foothills giving it a dreamy look.

There were a number of flags planted around the building. They were still wet from last night's rain and hanged down by the weight and the absence of breeze.

I walked round the roof and took in the scenery of Kluang. I have made a number of trips here before and always to see someone close. But I had never been close to the town itself - until that day. Now I shall always remember the morning when I was alone with the sunrise on the roof of Kluang.

I have not realized the beauty of Kluang which I was seeing for the first time. But having seen it once, I will never look at it again the same. We now shared a secret between us.

As the sun rose higher, it was getting brighter. I had to be getting back as the chance of discovery was much higher now. Also, I had to get ready for an early breakfast appointment. I did not know exactly how long I was up there, half an hour or more?

When I looked up into the sky, the black and gray has now turned blue. But they were partially hidden by white clumps of cotton spread over the entire sky. The golden yellow is now turning to a lighter shade of yellow as the day took hold.

Reluctantly, I pulled myself from the scene and headed for the stairs. As I crossed through the open doors, I could not resist turning to have a last look at the beginning of a glorious day.

Paloh Trip #3 - Small Town Charms.

Paloh, the movie had a grand plan. It wanted to be an art movie and it wanted to do well in the box-office. It dealt with a serious subject of the last days of the Japanese occupations in a small Malaysian town. It threw in inter-racial romance between a Chinese communist sympathizer and a Malay policeman. It tried to question one’s loyalty to parents, love and country; and what if one loyalty conflicts with another. It tried to elevate freedom on the pedestal. It has the biggest budget for a local production in its day. And it all fell apart and bombed louder than the fireworks in the movie. It tried to be so many things and it ended with nothing. It just so happened that on the day I returned home after this trip, “Paloh” was shown on TV and I could not keep my eyes open for 10 minutes. Yes, it was that bad. So unfortunately, what Paloh is most famous for is a bad movie. This is the police station where most of the scenes are shot.

As the policewoman drove her scooter out of the station, we caught her on camera.

This is the two Lees mini-market where you can get your necessities of life. More colorfully decorated than many supermarkets.

Life is slow in a small town and that is the beauty of it. A book in hand, a comfortable rattan chair facing away from the street (to cut distraction, I guess). One leg over the other, not a care in the world – this is a good life.

A typical small town scene – a motorbike parked in the walkway of the wooden building that is shuttered by wooden board by late evening. Next door is another Indian barber shop; just the place to go if you want to get your neck slapped.

The Indian barber can gave you a basic cut but if you want to fancy curly hairs, you will visit a Chinese Hair Saloon. But I am not sure if you want that style shown in the billboard.

And on the balcony of another building, family and friends gathered to have a friendly chat and watched the occasional vehicle crawling by. In a slow town, everything moved at snail pace and they are loving it.

Fancy fast food? How about trying it in this shop with wooden stools and red lanterns hanging overhead? It is cheap and good but the soup is too hot any finger licking.

Every small town will have at least one fruit stall. Bananas, coconuts, jackfruits, watermelons and starfruits waiting for customers on a rainy evening. It was not durian season or I may make an emergency stop to have my fix.

But even small town cannot resist the ravages of time. It must has been a long time since this old style cinema played its last show. It used to be the centre of attraction but it is now only nostalgia for those sat with it in the dark and saw magic when the light came on. They called it a theatre then and for some reason “Capitol” is a very popular name for a theatre. Today they are called Golden Screen and Tanjong Village, beautiful soft sexy young things but oh so cold and plastic. Something pulled at my heartstring every time I looked at one of these fallen angels for I too have loved them before. And love them still, even in their sorry state. But this one has been claimed by a loud, violent cyber-café and it was my tears that wet the street.

I asked the Indian deity under the tree but it replied with a riddle – “What is your faith?” “Where is your faith?” Don't know what he is talking about.

So I dropped into a friend’s house and was greeted with bouquets of wild flowers. Just looked at the size! You can find them these in the city too but at one quarter the height. Anyway, they are destined for the cooking pot not the flower pot for they have medicinal values. We city folk only know how to take aspirin.

And a feast of 7 home cooked dishes awaited us for such is the hospitality if you stayed for dinner in a small town.

There were loud Indian music blaring in the street and people were contorting in a happy frenzy. We received an invitation to join even though we were strangers. Hospitality is readily extended to friends of friends. This is a story of a small town. Made me wonder if I make a mistake staying in the city.

Next: Kluang Sunrise...

Paloh Trip #2 - Rain, Temple, Church, Well, Dogs, TV & Poison.

Our drive took us to the most popular Chinese temple in Paloh. We did not stop to go in for a look for we only has that short evening to see the whole town and already the gray sky was getting grayer by the minutes. We peeped through the moon gate into a clean and well kept interior. This temple is especially popular during the Chinese New Year when residents from afar will make a pilgrimage and thronged into here for New Year blessings.

This is the front of the temple and the main gate way into the compound. Note the church next to the temple. This is the beauty of Malaysian culture. Go into any reasonable size town in Malaysia and you will find Chinese and Indian temples, churches and mosques reflecting the multi-cultural and multi-religious mix of the population. With a bit more tolerance, this could be the showcase to the world.

A stone lion guarding the gate. For those who have read my post on Sultan Abdul Aziz Gallery, you will know by now whether this is a male or female lion.

A sunken stone cross cast into the cement in the front of the church next door

Love this spiky plant at the front of the church that is reaching for the sky.

There are a lot of dogs in Paloh but they were quite tame and did not simply barked when we drove slowly by. I have a strong dislike for noisy barking dog but love the gentle ones. This white dog (later I also came across a completely black one) got up from its lying position and stretched itself. It then walked over to our car and peered longingly through the window. I was sure it would have sniffed me in embarrassing places if I was out in the open.

Don’t underestimate this unassuming looking well for it was the only source of water and savior of the town in severe drought when the pipes run dry. The villagers will come here to draw water. Saw the excavator in the background. There were at least five dogs seeking shelter from the rain under it.

I took a look into the well and it was not crystal clear for sure; with mosses, lichens and ferns growing on the side. But I guess when there is no water at all, this too will look appealing.

The evening deepened further as we drove into town. This was the older section of the town with wooden buildings and zinc roofs. Noticed that the TV antennae are even taller than the houses. This is to enable them to catch receptions from Singapore. Did not know that they can catch the TV shows this far north. See the totally black dog in the picture looking like a panther in the failing light.

We passed by this shop advertising Anchor and Tiger beer on the top and poison with the skull and the word “RACUN” (poison) prominently displaced on the door. How inappropriate or appropriate according to your point of view. In the next post, you'll see the rest of the town and the famous Paloh Police Station.

To be continued...