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| Birthday picnic at the top of Mount Brinchang |
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| Satisfied Birthday hikers |
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| Rainforest canopy walkway in Tanam Negara! |
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| James looking not so big in front of this grandma rainforest tree |
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| Typical view of a valley of tea plantations in the Malaysian Cameron Highlands |
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| The Petrona Twin Towers in sprawling Kuala Lumpur |
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| Typical Cameron Highlands view |
My 31st birthday was passed pleasingly in the wilderness of the cool (by Malay standards) Cameron highlands. After a breakfast of my treasured home made granola, lovingly prepared before leaving Victoria, James and I were fueled up and packed some picnic lunch fixings for a hike up mount Brinchang. Our confused start didn't last long, as we soon found ourselves on a well marked trail through dense and mysterious jungle, full of plants only recognizable to me because they resemble some of my indoor house plants back home! We wandered our way for hours on a trail where we saw not another human, by where we continuously commented on the variety, abundance, and complexity of life in the Malaysian jungle. The forest floor is a mat of small and large roots from all the plants that create an intricate web of support for one another's existence. Because there is continuous leaf fall from the plants in tropical climates (instead of the autumnal leaf drop many of you are used to in more northern climates) the forest floor is continuously blanketed with organic matter-it is so thick that each footstep feels cushioned and you can see the floor rebound at the relief of your weight as you take your next step. If any forest is good for your joints, this is the one! And every forest is good for the soul. I felt so recharged as we trod through this forest-scape of thick vines, tropical big mama trees, banana an bamboo stands. It appears as though this forest grows from the ground up, and the sky down, as plants vining up others return down to re-root an start their journey skyward again. We passed over streams and waterways with sand and boulders being carved away by the sharpening action of the monsoon rains, with greenery creating little archways around said stream, it feels as though you are in a secret fairy garden. Like some magic forest creature will peak at you from around the next green dripping vine. As though the little fairy spirits live under the safety of the green canopy, and travel down the tunnel created by these plants to visit other forest spirits.
Ah yes, sweaty we were when we reached the top! We continued on our decent into the famous tea growing area
of the Cameron highlands. The intricate plantings and prunings making
all the hillsides appear as a honeycomb network from above. We wandered
our way by the weekend traffic attempting to get to the tea shop to
sample some tea, an we sat our weary bums down for a cup ourselves.
Average tea I'd say, though I'm a bit of a green tea snob, so I'll admit
I may be a bit tough on the Malay tea growers...
Our
journey continued as we hitched a ride with a friendly couple back into
town as the rain started to fall, hard, and we feasted on some tasty
Indian food for birthday dinner (and at 6 Malay Ringet per plate,
roughly $2CAD, we felt lucky and satisfied!)
A super sweet day, spent just as I could have wished.
We
spent just one more day in the Cameron highlands and I so enjoyed
witnessing James in his playful remembering of times past, and in his
ceremonial letting go of that past, as we were staying at the boarding
school where he lived out life for four years of his young life. I was
regaled with stories of silly games, favourite play spots, characters
that cared for him, what had changed, and what looked exactly the same,
as we cherished our time in the little pocket of rainforest that left
big impressions on a once young boy.
On
wards! We journeyed to Tanam Negara - translating to National Park in
Malay, it's a protected area roughly in the centre of peninsular
Malaysia. Our journey was a bus boat combo, my favorite part for sure
being the 2.5 hour long boat ride up the River Tembling, to a village
called Kuala Tehan. We settled into the tiny village, with the abundance
of squawking chickens, local vibes, and got ourselves some mega saucy
rice noodles on a floating restaurant. We plotted our next day, another
jungle hike, and a walk on the famous canopy walkway through the forest!
Me oh my it was cool. I've never been that high in the forest, and it
was magic to see these lungs of our earth from such a different vantage point.
As we questioned the inspection standards and building codes of
Malaysia, we strongly heeded the advice not to jump or sway on the
suspended bridges and to always walk 10 meters away from anyone else. We
did live to enjoy the high heights, and ate our picnic lunch with feel
dangling well off the ground and pants tucked into socks--we'd been
warned about the forest leeches ever excited to latch onto human ankles
for a blood meal! Up we went to Bukit Teseren, to gaze out into the
greenness of the precious remaining Malaysian jungle. I could almost see it breathing in and out,
cleaning the air, and the vibrant life that it teems with. (I don't
think I've mentioned anything yet about the endless roadside palm oil
plantations, visible on every bus ride, and on the very border of the
National Park. It is a highly unsustainable industry, if you haven't
already learned about it look here, and also, remove palm oil from your
diet, it is in most processed foods!)
After
a thorough leech check at the local swimming spot on the river, we
carried on back to our newer more posh digs, complete with extremely
cheeky monkeys, whom, caught me naked as he opened our window screen! I
hooted and hollered as I aimed to keep the monkey from running amuck in our bungalow,
or stealing my sunglasses from the table. Feeling locked into our
bungalow for fear of the mob of brave monkeys outside, we sheepishly
called reception, told them of our predicament, and then I got to laugh
my head off as James proceeded to open and close an umbrella multiple
times, with much vim and vigour, as if it were a dangerous weapon! It
totally worked, as the monkeys were scared away by the big black
umbrella! We took the umbrella on our walk though there was nary a rain
cloud in sight....
That night in the jungle we went for a night hike
with a local guide. We saw green tree snakes, mega huntsman spiders,
termites, oversized millipedes, and very loud cicadas. James tried, with
the guides instruction to try and coax a scorpion out of its hole. He wasn't successful, but the guide certainly was, and a 10 centimeter long black scorpion came grasping out of its home!
The
dichotomy of where we bused to next was dramatic-off to Kuala Lumpur, a
city of 1.5million but with buildings tall like its neighbours in
Singapore. We got an AirBNB on the 31st floor of modern condominium in a
posh neighbourhood, with the famous KL tower (the CN tower sister)
viewed directly out the window. And beyond that we travelled onward to
where I write to you from now, in the colourful, riverside Malaka. A
smaller, cuter city just south by two hours bus from Kuala Lumpur, with a
river running through this town, with hip cafes and restaurants along
the river walkways and glitzy tacky trishaws to cart around backpackers
and Malay tourists alike. James and I found some tasty banana leaf
Indian eats and a funky hostel to lay our heads at before heading back
to Singapore tomorrow, anticipating our flights to Australia.
With
a mosque around the corner, the call to prayer on the loudspeaker will
likely wake us in the wee hours of the morning. Near the mosque is a
Chinese temple (a Malay unique blend of Taoism, Confucianism, and
Buddhism). And near that prayer and gathering place for the Chinese
Malay, there is a Hindu temple, for the Indian Malay. Unlike any other
country in Southeast Asia I've been to, I'm curious about the way these
three main sub cultures of Malaysia coexist. The things I've read lead
me to believe it's relatively harmonious, an amazing feat considering
the religious and political climate of our strange strange world today.
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