Fireflies, Cannons and Monkeys
When SK announced to me that Cho (my junior from F6) had arranged an excursion to Kg. Kuantan, Kuala Selangor to see fireflies, I was quite hesitant. My hesistance stemmed from my sister's opinion that it just looks like lampu lip-lap on trees. Her perception is not wrong, it does look like lampu lip-lap on trees! But lemme get to that later. So, we went in 2 cars-- your's truly, my mum (I'm such a good son, and a bad friend), SK, Cho, KiamHoe (Cho's housemate) and Peng (SK's housemate). A nearly 1 hour 45 minute drive. I really hate driving on trunk roads-- the lorries, the constant need to overtake, potholes, slow-moving traffic, lawless drivers near villages, etc... But the roads are so much better now than from when I was a kid. I marvel at how my late dad used to drive up all the way from Kuantan to Hilir Perak using those roads. I remember passing the time by reading every single signboard, counting cars, imagining stuff with the clouds and raindrops on the window and all sorts of stuff. No PSP. No GameBoy. Heh.
Arriving nearly at 5pm, it was obviously too early, so we went off to visit Bukit Melawati. Cho was very convinced that there's an istana there, but the kid we asked to just stared at us in disbelief. Another local we asked for directions told us that it's just cannons and monkeys. Hehe. Oh well. When you're a tourist, do what the tourists do. The placed really reeked of tourist trap. We took a tram up the rocky hill. Stopped at a hillside overlooking Kuala Selangor. A fantastic view. The sun's rays bursting from behind the clouds, touching the flat landscape below. Really reminded of a panel from the manga Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind. Monkeys aplenty there. A strange species. Black with white streaks. And the babies are orange in colour! There was even a new moon observatory there, used to determine the dates of Ramadan and Syawal.
Saya selaku Penyimpan Mohor Besar Raja-Raja, dengan kuasa yang diberikan oleh Majlis Raja-Raja, meng-ISYTIHAR-kan, esok, bersamaan dd/mm/yyyy sebagai....
Nothing much else to see. There's a well and a royal tomb. We went back down and Cho bought himself a wooden sword. Good God. Like the stuff you see in Chinese Vampire movies, only worse because there's the word Bukit Melawati written on the scabbard in silver ink. Yuck! Having an hour before the firefly boat service opens, we went of for a seafood dinner at Pasir Penambang. Don't eat at River View Restaurant. Another tourist trap. We should have known better-- all the tourists we saw from Bukit Melawati stopped there as well. The food is worse than Pulau Ketam, but the price is really cheap la.
FYI, the boat ride costs RM40.00 per boat. 4 person per boat. About 30 minutes. It includes 4 bottles of mineral water. Yay! Anyway, they use a sampan. One can see the fireflies resting on the beremban trees once you're close enough. The fireflies like the sweet excretions from the trees it seems. They light up when resting on the leaves, hence the whole Christmas tree effect. If disturbed, they do fly around a bit, but don't expect a scene from Hayao Miyazaki's Tombstone of Fireflies. Apparently, they're quite weak and can't fly far. I caught a few in the palms of my hands and after a while they seems exhausted and don't light up as bright anymore. Not exactly Duracell material. According to my guide, the business has been running for 30 years now and it is slowly diminishing. Encroachment of villages to the banks are driving the fireflies away because the beremban trees are dying and the smoke and pollution from the villages are driving them away. So go see them before they die out at Kg Kuantan and you will have to go further upstream to look for them. Majlis Perbandaran Kuala Selangor should really buck up and protect the area. Even the information center is turned into a store room for lifejackets and a prayer room. Typical...
Left at around 8.30pm. Missed the exit to Bandar Manjalara, so we ended up in the Batu Caves Thaipusam jam... First time I've ever seen the festival. I never knew it was this meriah and chaotic! Haha. On hindsight, it Wasn't a total waste. Every cloud has a silver lining.
Arriving nearly at 5pm, it was obviously too early, so we went off to visit Bukit Melawati. Cho was very convinced that there's an istana there, but the kid we asked to just stared at us in disbelief. Another local we asked for directions told us that it's just cannons and monkeys. Hehe. Oh well. When you're a tourist, do what the tourists do. The placed really reeked of tourist trap. We took a tram up the rocky hill. Stopped at a hillside overlooking Kuala Selangor. A fantastic view. The sun's rays bursting from behind the clouds, touching the flat landscape below. Really reminded of a panel from the manga Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind. Monkeys aplenty there. A strange species. Black with white streaks. And the babies are orange in colour! There was even a new moon observatory there, used to determine the dates of Ramadan and Syawal.
Saya selaku Penyimpan Mohor Besar Raja-Raja, dengan kuasa yang diberikan oleh Majlis Raja-Raja, meng-ISYTIHAR-kan, esok, bersamaan dd/mm/yyyy sebagai....
Nothing much else to see. There's a well and a royal tomb. We went back down and Cho bought himself a wooden sword. Good God. Like the stuff you see in Chinese Vampire movies, only worse because there's the word Bukit Melawati written on the scabbard in silver ink. Yuck! Having an hour before the firefly boat service opens, we went of for a seafood dinner at Pasir Penambang. Don't eat at River View Restaurant. Another tourist trap. We should have known better-- all the tourists we saw from Bukit Melawati stopped there as well. The food is worse than Pulau Ketam, but the price is really cheap la.
FYI, the boat ride costs RM40.00 per boat. 4 person per boat. About 30 minutes. It includes 4 bottles of mineral water. Yay! Anyway, they use a sampan. One can see the fireflies resting on the beremban trees once you're close enough. The fireflies like the sweet excretions from the trees it seems. They light up when resting on the leaves, hence the whole Christmas tree effect. If disturbed, they do fly around a bit, but don't expect a scene from Hayao Miyazaki's Tombstone of Fireflies. Apparently, they're quite weak and can't fly far. I caught a few in the palms of my hands and after a while they seems exhausted and don't light up as bright anymore. Not exactly Duracell material. According to my guide, the business has been running for 30 years now and it is slowly diminishing. Encroachment of villages to the banks are driving the fireflies away because the beremban trees are dying and the smoke and pollution from the villages are driving them away. So go see them before they die out at Kg Kuantan and you will have to go further upstream to look for them. Majlis Perbandaran Kuala Selangor should really buck up and protect the area. Even the information center is turned into a store room for lifejackets and a prayer room. Typical...
Left at around 8.30pm. Missed the exit to Bandar Manjalara, so we ended up in the Batu Caves Thaipusam jam... First time I've ever seen the festival. I never knew it was this meriah and chaotic! Haha. On hindsight, it Wasn't a total waste. Every cloud has a silver lining.
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Have a good weekend! ;P