Yes! Vacation!

Yes! I finally had a real vacation! After a year of slaving away in the office, in front of countless computer screens, I have finally earned the opportunity to go for a long vacation! 

This time, it's in Tasik Kenyir (Kenyir Lake), a Malaysian destination. 

Being a person who's not very interested in general knowledge, I had lots of misconception about Tasik Kenyir. I thought that it's situated in Pahang, a round lake, with a mass accumulated volume of water in the middle of plain grasslands.

Apparently, I was greatly mistaken. Tasik Kenyir, is actually located right in the middle of Terengganu. It is not a big lake, like Lake Toba in Indonesia, where a huge volume of water accumulates in the volcano. Rather, it's like a small sea, where many rivers flow into it.

The rivers used to flow out in all directions. However, in 1985, the government decided to turn it into a dam, to generate electricity for the nation's supply. So, they sealed up all the exits, and turned it into a lake. Hence the term 'man-made lake'. 

According to the locals, Tasik Kenyir is twice or even three times the size of Singapore. It would take around 2 or even 3 weeks to circle the whole lake by boat. But, according to Wikipedia, the size of Singapore is 710km2 and Tasik Kenyir is only 260km2. Theoretically, the lake is only about 30% of the size of Singapore, not twice its size. Either the locals are misinformed, or one of the authors of Wikipedia mis-typed the information.

The lake is used to store water during the monsoon season, from the months of September to February. In March, when the water level is at its highest, the dam is opened and the rivers come to life. It is thus best to visit Kenyir Lake in the months of March and April, where the whole lake looks really green, with the mud virtually invisible.

Today, some of the rivers have extended into Taman Negara (National Park) in Pahang. The locals are extremely grateful that the lake was constructed. It has not only helped to divert the flooding of the residential areas, it has also helped churned income for Terengganu state as a popular tourism spot.

Lodging

There are altogether 15 resorts around Tasik Kenyir, with varying levels of comfort and facilities. When I told my boss that I'd be camping at Tasik Kenyir, she thought that I'd be setting up a tent in the middle of the jungle, constructing bonfires, cooking Maggi Mee and catching our own fishes for supper with our bare hands. 

In actual fact, we were staying in a simple chalet at Musang Kenyir Resort. In the room, there was a Queen sized bed, a double decker and an outdoor bathroom. We even had a balcony, facing the lake! It was great! 

Thank God we didn't have to cook our own food. The owner of the chalet cooked really good, healthy, nutritious meals for all of us. Each meal consisted of vegetables, chicken, fish and soup.  The meals were so traditional that I had totally forgotten all about it. It was like tasting dishes back in the '80s. We had dishes like fried fish with ginger and soy-sauce, steamed fish with sambal, steamed chicken with cili-padi, ginger and salted fish, steamed tofu, ayam goreng kunyit and baby kailan.

The fishes of course, were fresh from the river. However, it didn't have any of those muddy river taste at all. It tasted really delicious. There were talapia and ikan patin. Yummy! No ikan kelah though. Probably 'coz it's a protected species. Definitely a far cry from our meals in Mulu where we had instant noodles for breakfast and fried rice with garlic for dinner.

 

 The Chalet

  

 Musang Kenyir Resort - in a secluded spot of the lake

 

View from the Verandah

The Food

Boats & Waves...

The resort that we stayed in is situated at the top left corner of Kenyir lake. Direction - North West.

To get there from KL, first we flew to Kuantan, and drove 240km to Kuala Terengganu, where we spent a whole evening touring the town. The next day, we travelled to the jetty, another 50 minutes from Kuala T'ganu. 

The journey was long. But, it was a transition from the city to the countryside. Scenes of grey brick buildings, gas stations, house pets  gradually distanced and faded in sight, only to be replaced by green hills, fruit trees, healthy brown cows and merry, little lambs. The best part was the phones lost its coverage, with every step inched towards the lake. By the time we arrived at the riverside, there was totally no coverage at all! Yes! Cut-off from the outside world!

Setting foot on the river banks of the TNB bridge jetty, is like entering a whole new world. Stepping off from the hard, steel metallic floors of the car, and onto the soft, cool mud, with a whiff of fresh, green grass early in the morning, is sufficient to remind one of our natural ecosystem. Mosquitoes buzzing around our heads, crickets chirping, frogs croaking, and swinging monkeys on the trees were a well harmonized orchestra, creating music that resonated through the woods. 

To enhance the experience, a small perahu that could only accomodate 5-6 persons at any one time, was awaiting us by the river. We stepped into the rusty-red laterite soil, and sat in this simplest, most basic form of transportation. For a moment, we were transported into the era before the creation of bridges, roads, speedboats and helicopters. It would have been perfect had the helmsman-the person who steered the boat used a paddle to row the boat, and a long stick to guide its direction. That would have been like sitting on the gondolas in the Vienna Channels. 

The heat was burning into our skins. Fortunately, the guy used an outboard motor, installed at the rear of the boat powered by gasoline. Within minutes, the engine roared and we were skidding across the surface of the river, creating waves. 

From the looks of it, steering the boat seems so easy. All one had to do was power up the engine and move it to the left or right. Yet, we witnessed a group of tourists who decided to rent a boat and 'drive' it out on their own for a fishing trip , without depending on experienced hands. 

As they selected on the spot to fish, the amateur stopped the engine all of a sudden. His passengers lurched forward and sideways, and dropped into the waters. The boat capsized, along with important travel documents of the keen, young fishermen. As a result, they had to return to the same spot  (this time, with their life jackets on their backs) with another boat, dived near the area of the incident, to search for the lost documents.Fortunately for them, they managed to retrieve their bag of important papers, thanks to the help of the locals.

Note: Never underestimate the process of a seemingly easy job, not unless you've been through it.

Mode of Transportation - Sampan/Perahu

High Waves Generated by this Small, Little Sampan

Jungle Trekking

A trip to the woods is incomplete without hiking and jungle trekking. Hence, we signed up for a stroll in the woods. Once again, taking the boat, we arrived at the foot of one of the hills, and began trekking through the wilderness to Tanjung Tembat Waterfalls. 

At first, it seemed easy enough. The trees were far apart, earth was dry, and the terrain was flat. As we ventured deeper and deeper into the jungle, the trees grew closer to one another, the earth became wetter. It became harder to identify the paths as numerous wet, brown, blackened leaves and branches stacked onto the less trodden path. Trees were rooted firmly onto the ground, forming natural staircases, easing our journey up the mountains. 

Since it had just rained the previous night, the ground was extremely muddy. It was a nice and cool walk. We didn't even feel the sun shining brightly over our heads as the sunlight was filtered through the leaves. We felt safe and exhilarated at the same time.

Along the way, we spotted circular tracks about 1 feet in diameter, with deep imprints onto the ground. Many times, due to our inexperience, we mistook it for human footprints, stepped onto it and tended to follow those tracks. Unbeknown to us, those were elephant footprints. Thankfully our guide never left us to try out new paths on our own. Whenever we took the wrong path, they'd always call us back. So, we always found our way. 

Every few metres, we would stumble upon huge green, spherical mixture of grass and mud particles, which we suspected were elephant poop. Areas which elephants had passed by, tended to have fallen branches, tree trunks and extremely muddy paths. As a result, we often had to look really closely before grabbing branches and tree trunks alike. Once, the guide in front of me was just about warn me about the sharp, thorned shoots on my left when I grabbed it hastily and shouted "Ouch!" . Too late! I had already touched it. 

Yes. In the woods, we should really look before we touch and step. While crossing the river, I touched a branch for support, only to be stinged by something sharp, and I shouted, "ouch! ouch! ouchs" three times, as tears accumulated in my eyes and flowed steadily down my cheeks. It was really painful. I looked up and saw only a bunch of sharp, green, haify stuff sticking out from a branch. The guide, who stood on a elevated boulder, said, "Aww... don't be a big baby. It's just a young caterpillar. Is it painful? Just put your stung finger on your hair, and rub it on your head." 

Naively, I trusted him and assumed that by doing so, my left ringer wouldn't hurt anymore. Yet, the pain did not reduce even one single bit. In fact, it seemed to spread through my upper arm. At one point, I even felt as if my arms would go numb! I always wondered what would happen if one were stung by caterpillar. Now I knew. It isn't that bad. As much as I complained of the pain like a little baby, the pain was gone by the end of the day.

Since it had just rained, black, juicy leeches were lurking at almost every corner. Whenever we stopped in a new territory, there was a high tendency for our skin to be poked and blood sucked out by the leeches. Our Canadian friend, who had never seen a leech, was curious about how it looked. The first time a leech hung stubbornly onto her arm, she picked the creature up with two of her slender fingers, snapped a picture of it, before throwing it onto the ground. Upon further advice by our group members, she stepped onto the leech, squashing it flat.  

Suddenly a speculation by one of my colleagues crossed my mind, "If we pour lots of salt onto a leech, will it explode into a million pieces?" Hmmm... I wonder. Did not have the opportunity to try it out through. The next time I feel adventurous and want to jungle trek again, I'll be sure to carry a bottle of salt just to see what happens. Hah!

As we were walking out of the woods, our guide decided to reveal that sometimes, while bringing tourists like us into the jungle, they would occasionally encounter porcupines, tigers, panthers, leopards and elephants. In moments like these, it is always tense. Should they run? Or should they stay put? They are after all, trespassing into the habitat of these animals. "We are the intruders, not them." they explained. Thus, in such situations, they try to be as quiet as possible and not attract any attention to themselves. As such, both parties have been well protected, co-existing in peace and harmony. Amen.

Big Ants, Small Ants, Grouped Ants Moving Together

Waterfalls

The main attraction of Tasik Kenyir is its abundant waterfalls. Upstream of every nook and corner of a river, there is bound to be a waterfall, gushing down with grandeur, zest and boundless energy.

Here, its water is clearest, with lots of baby fishes swimming around your ankles. As soon you dip your feet into the cool river, these fishes will quickly swim to your feet and nibble eagerly on your smooth, raw skin. It's ticklish. The feeling of their sharp teeth and smooth lips will definitely send tingling sensations throughout every nerve of yours.

Mini-Waterfall

 

 

Downstream of Waterfall

Clearwater

Revelations

Language is a funny thing. Although its commonly used as a tool of communication to express oneself, it differs and varies across states, even though it's the same language. People from different states and countries have their own unique ways of communicating in the same language.

During our recent trip to Tasik Kenyir, the Canadians  we were travelling with, found our spoken English tremendously amusing. Malaysians, based on their observation, tend to speak in words instead of sentences. For example, if a person asks, "Can we go out?" 

A Malaysian will answer "Can, can." . Twice. Repetitious. Short. Simple. Straight to the point.

A Canadian will answer, "Yes, if you think it's absolutely necessary."

They also find it funny the way we pronounce words that start with 'th'. Malaysians tend to eliminate the 'h' in words that begin with 'th'. Pronouncing 'three'  as 'tree, 'the' as 'd' , 'that' as 'd', 'think' as 'tink'. Hence when we say 'three bags', the way we say it, it'd sound like 'tree bags' instead of '3 bags', tickling our Canadian friends' funny bones. 

After spending two weeks in Malaysia, our Canadian friends have become partially Malaysianized - adding 'lah' to the end of almost every sentence, e.g. 'can-lah', 'no-lah', 'yes-lah', and '"aiyah! How come you don't know-lah?"  It's pretty entertaining hearing non-native Malaysians saying 'lah'!

In comparison, our Canadian friends spoke 10 times more than us. They can just speak so much, which is pretty amazing to me. These days, it is hard to get even 10 words out of my mouth. These Canadians, on the other hand, spoke as they thought. They spoke with eloquence, spontaneous with a lot of details and analysis. On one hand, I wished I could speak as much. On the other hand, in my current state, I find that speaking is a great effort, especially on non working related topics.

Life is a series of surprises. If everything went as planned, it wouldn't be life, would it?  This trip to Tasik Kenyir has taught me that I should really lighten up and not take everything soooooo.... seriously. Increase my frequency of meeting with friends, entertainment sessions. It starts now. By saying 'yes!' enthusiastically to all invitations to meet up.   *Wink*!

Save the Environment!

When we were young, we were always advised to save the environment. Until today, we are bombarded with messages such as 'Save our rivers', 'Save our earth', or 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'. I've never understood the importance of conserving greens until the day I arrived at Tasik Kenyir. 

The moment one arrives at Tasik Kenyir, the very first thing one will notice are the bald trees, all chopped right down to its very core. It is a pitiful sight indeed. It looks as if these trees - the guardians of the forest - were beheaded for just being caretakers of the jungle. 

When we inquired further, we found out that when the prime minister came to Tasik Kenyir for a site visit, he found overgrown trees with leaves on its billion, zillion branches absorbing all the natural light, casting a dark shadow over the rivers.  Thinking of it as unsightly and deeming it unsuitable as a tourist spot, the prime minister ordered all the trees to be cut down. Naturally, the respective ministry acted on the orders and embarked on a mission of chopping of trees that were submerged in the river.

Today, what's left of these trees are its roots and thick trunk. In fact, these trees are of superb quality. Proof of its strength and long durability were evident. The trees, despite being submerged in water since its birth, are still standing upright, tall, strong and sturdy, bringing to mind a famous proverb 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me'. 

The trees in Tasik Kenyir fetches high commercial value because it is  long-lasting and able to withstand termite attack. It is often processed into furniture and construction material for houses. Hence, logging activities are often carried out upstream of certain parts of the river, speeding up the deforestation process. In certain parts of the river downstream, the water is murky and brown, with lots of foam floating on the surface. It looks extremely polluted and, it just gets hotter by the minute. All for the sake of monetary gains while exploiting some of our natural resources.

I now realize that global warming is very real and it's escalating by the second. Despite our attempts at approaching paperless society, discarding the utilization of plastic bags, and recycling efforts, trees are still being cut everyday. Perhaps, these seemingly futile efforts might make a difference in saving our porcupines, tigers, eagles and hornbills, just like the famous starfish story by Loren Eiseley, an American anthropologist.

Witnessing the drastic sight of deforestation right in front of my eyes, and having experience dfirst-hand the results of it all, I resolve never again to print on papers unnecessarily and support wholesome efforts in saving Mother Earth. After all, there is only one earth. The survival of our human race depends on its continuity.

Decapitated Tree

Trees by the River

Hills, trees and rivers

Foamy River due to Logging Industry Upstream

Murky Waters

Our Precious Resources

Mixed Responses

Being in the woods, isolated and cut off from all channels of communication is awfully relaxing. I just can't help repeating myself. It is where I am able to find my true self, identify my deepest needs, able to decide on my future, purely based on my own desires. 

It is here, in the thick, lush, greenery that I feel close to God. It's a funny revelation, considering how Church is all about getting closer to God. I don't feel closer to Him on any given day these days.  It's probably because in the city, everywhere I go, I see things that are man-made. Even the rain clouds are are planted in the sky by airplanes.

In the jungle, everything amazes me. It is in here, true beauty exists. Whenever I stand by the river, I see huge, gigantic mountains. In the evenings, the colours of the sky mix so evenly and gradually. In the night, crickets, monkeys and owls chirp and chat throughout the night. It is then that I am reminded that God truly exists. For what else could bestow such beauty and serenity upon our land, except for the powers above?

Hence, when Pete Seeger, a 91-year old social activitist, born on the 3rd of May 1919, and still very much alive to this day, said, "Every time I’m in the woods, I feel like I’m in church.", I am in absolute agreement. 

 

Eager to share my thoughts and joy of being in the wilderness, I shared pictures of Kenyir Lake with several friends and family members. When friends of my generation saw the still reflection of the hills on the calm water surface, they were awed. Impressed that such a place still existed. 

My family members, on the other hand, were more taken aback that I found such scenes impressive. They were dumbfounded that I was bowled over by these scenic display of tranquility. "When I was a child, Sitiawan and Kampung Koh (the hometown of my family and my ancestors after they migrated from China) used to look like this." my mother began reminiscing. "I still remember us, as little boys and girls, soaking ourselves in the streams on a scorching, hot day, catching fishes and playing the whole day long by the river during school holidays."

I listened in amazement. "Wow... " speechless as I gathered my thoughts. "We used to have these kind of scenery in Sitiawan? The rivers? The grasslands? The grazing cows?" 

I can't believe it. Ever since I was born in this town, all I ever saw were rubber estates, oil palm estates, schools, single story and double story buildings. No rivers, no lakes, no vast greenery. Somehow, it seemed ... impossible. It is as if, the town existed just the way it was, the moment I set my eyes on it, along with the years I grew up in it. Even if it did change, it was not drastic. As far as I remember, the most major change was the day I noticed bulldozers destroying corridors of shops by the roadside, in their attempts to widen the road. It was a sad day for me. As a child, I liked things just the way they are. Change was, to me, always an intruder. 

And so, when my mom did not even bat her eyelids as I showed her how green the grass were, how tranquil the rivers were, how peaceful, trying to convey how I felt as if I had been transported up to paradise, I just couldn't comprehend it. How is it that my mom, who has lived for half a decade, not be impressed by this? or even longed that she could have this right at her backyard?

In fact, the way she momentarily glanced up from time to time, as I tried to attract her attention, seemed as if it was such a common, daily sight. I suppose, changes in my hometown are pretty gradual, and in her mind, she still sees it the same way as it was fifty years ago. Or perhaps, she has had her fair share of living by the river, and now has embraced the convenience that only town living can offer. A lifestyle that a city-bred like me takes for granted, eager to escape from the solid grasp it has on me, creeping into solitude, searching for my true calling. 

My brother's response was, "Jie (Sis)! U know! We used to catch fishes in the drains all the time! Nothing new at all!" 

Hmm... That is when I found out that I have missed out pretty much on life. My decision to dedicate my life to reading a whole library of books gained me some wisdom and knowledge, but lost in terms of experiences gained.

I am still in my twenties, 27 to be precise. I need to take risks, be courageous and chase after my dreams. Be like a wild horse, galloping freely, roaming adventurously. One is only young once. If I don't start now, when will I start? Try everything, Jean!

For without experience, from whence cometh knowledge? 

I finally figured out why I love being in the jungle so much. It is because when I'm surrounded by thick, protective trees, I feel as if time comes to an absolute standstill. 

For those few precious moments that I hold closely within my heart, I am living only in the present, no regrets about the past, no worries about the future; I am living only for myself, no worries about relationships, no worries about family bonds and ties.

Momentarily, I feel whole and contented. I blend well with my surroundings, gradually losing myself in the harmonious backdrop, drinking in the sound of the silent gushing streams, calming down the rush of adrenaline, flaring tempers within the cool, rhythmic air of the forest. 

I, am now breathing in perfect harmony with Mother Nature.

Ahhh... yes. Being in the woods has that magical effect on me. It takes away all the pain, all the worries and all the sadness, and renews our hearts with joyful beats and magical strength. In a mysterious way, going to the forest is just therapeutic.