Another blast from the distant past...

El Nino 1997 at Kuala Medang

Enter 1997 - at that time, I was still an avid angler and Kuala Medang was definitely one of my favourite haunts. Unfortunately, the extremely prolonged drought of 1997 had its toll on this fragile meeting point of 3 great rivers: The Telom from Cameron Highlands, The mighty Jelai Kecil having for tributaries the Belida and the Ulu Jelai Kecil; and the Serau. Kuala Medang sits at the meeting point of these three rivers and in those days, her banks are populated with bazillion species of freshwater fishes visible to the naked eye.

Then, tragedy strikes as the drought brought Death: for some reason, the people of this quaint village decided to use dangerous and destructive methods of fishing - bombing and electric current. Within one season, a once plentiful river was striped bare of its denizens. Biggest casualties - the once plentiful Kelah, Tor tambroides ( a mahseer). I remember having bought a kilo at RM14.00 back in 1990 but then in 1997 (before disaster) they were still retailing reasonably at around RM30.00 a kilo. Part of this was because there was a sudden surge in demand from the aquarium trade to supply rich town folks with live Kelahs at hundreds of ringgits each, artificially boosting the activities here. Sadly, the locals were too ignorant to realize that they were destroying their own livelihood in the most careless and abundant way. Angling magazines stoking up frenzies about catching the next biggest Kelah as the ultimate angling trophy didn't help either. Finally, the opening of the Betau valley and the accumulated affluence from the Highlands kind of sealed the fate of this once aquatic paradise of Malaysian freshwater fishes. Today, her banks are off limit to fishing but sadly, the fishes never returned. A step too little and too late.

The once clear waters of the Jelai River: at the dock of the late Hj. Mat Adam, a boat owner.

Hauling up a 10-kilo Genderak, a catfish that thrives at the rapids of Jelai River.

The late Hj. Mat Adam posing with the fish - I frequently rented his boats for trips up the picturesque Jelai Kecil just for leisure. It is, in my opinion, more interesting than the trip in motorboats up the Tembeling River to Taman Negara.

A 5-kilo Kelah that I bought from Hj. Mat Adam for the table.

The once transparent waters of Ulu Jelai


Visit this site to help save the Kelah: http://www.kagum.org

map of Kuala Medang: http://maps.google.com.my/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Summer 2006 in Paris: a pictorial journey (part 1)

A pictorial journey of a summer spent in Paris in 2006:

At the Pont de Bercy along the Seine River, at the site of Paris-Plage.

Bercy, the open stadium

Fancy tanning along Paris Plage?

Glass towers of the BNF: Bibliotheque Nationale de France

A Chinese junk - a cafe bar

Tahitian theme for Paris Plage in 2006

Still too early in the morning for any actions...

A floating swimming pool - very original idea

At the Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir

Intriguing bridge, as the author which gives it its namesake...

Hedges trained inside metal cages outside the BNF

Facade of the BNF

An office a the quai (no 13)

Part of the tourisme office of Rive gauche (Left banks)

Notre Dame of Paris from the River Seine

Another pix of the famed cathedral

A church in the Quartier Montparnasse, somewhere near Raspail (time had gotten the better of my memory)

A residential building in the same neighbourhood

A newstand opposite the Montparnasse Tower - the tallest object in Paris

Typical Parisian street (outside the Montparnasse station)

A fancifully designed building a block away from the Montparnasse Station. Reminds me of Gaudi. Notice the words on the dome - Felix Potin (Pot Belly Felix if you translate literally but in fact, he is the predecessor of bulk retailing. This building now houses a big ZARA boutique on its ground and mezzanine floor)

Blast from the distant past

1993 Pos Buntu, Raub

Thanks to technology, photos taken 16 years ago remain accessible, even improved. Back in 1993, Pos Buntu was newly opened to the outside world via a quiet tarmac road. Before that, one had to practically slosh through thick mud and uneven terrain to get there (on motorbikes or 4WD).

One sunny midday, on the way out from the small Orang Asli village (Semai tribe), going up a slope and then down, I was totally surprised by what awaited me...I thought I was the lucky/unlucky witness to the Malaysian Mawas (or Sasquatch) but heck, I was actually totally confused by the vision of the back of a wild boar on the back of a barefooted Orang Asli - on the tarmac in broad daylight! Awe-struck for a moment but quickly regained my composure, I approached the man and asked if I could take a few photos...

Could this be the origin of the word "piggy-back"?

The hunted boar was cushioned on the back of this man with blades of bamboo leaves.

Fraser's Hills Again, on 29 December 2009

The last two or so weeks of 2009 was surprisingly very hot and dry in Raub and it brought out the desire in me to escape to somewhere cool and green. Since Fraser's Hills is so near to Raub, it was the obvious choice!

Fearing that the year-end festive season might bring in hordes of local tourists, I was apprehensive at first but the trip turned out to be wonderful as there was really a minimal amount of tourists around - perfect for a quiet stroll around on foot.

Probably some of the last remaining patches of pitcher plants dangling from a slope. This once plentiful plant is now greatly endangered in the hill station.

A strange but beautiful creeper berry among a pocket of liverworts on the damp forest slope.

A delicate patch of spaghnum moss on a boulder.

A tiny common herb along the slopes flanking the trails...

A wall of orange coloured lichen

A bamboo orchid grown outside of the Temerloh Steak House. Sadly, the once iconic steakhouse is now in a state of ruins and its large ground converted into a hawker bazaar - a very unfortunate and distasteful development to such a beautiful place.

A dusky jungle butterfly posing quietly for the lenses.

Eucalyptus grove at a particular spot just before the Glenn at the end of the golf course. My favourite spot because of the refreshing aroma exuded by the eucalyptus trees...instantly restores tired minds.

A pink creeper of the family Melanostomaceae

Salmon pink flowers of a species of roadside creeper.

Fluffy mauve flowers of a roadside herb.

The Glenn, property of KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu)

Another daisy-like roadside creeper

yet another...

Black-eye Susan! What nolstagia: this creeper (probably brought in to the country by the British) was one of the commonest roadside creepers in my childhood days. We children played police and thieves games using the hard pointed seeds of this creeper as the bullet of our 'weapon' made with a rubber band.

A grasshopper sitting prettily on an upturned leaf by the roadside.

A picture of serenity

A shrub with heart-shaped flowering buds.

A common tree in damp shaded areas that flowers profusely along its branches.

Buzzy lizzies flowering under the evening sun, abandonned but flourishing.

The Scott, a tavern bar in ye olden days but now, I'm not so sure what to call it.