The weekend before the Chinese New Year 2010 was quite special: instead of the regular house cleaning activities, I went boating and visiting indigenuos people with friends from afar.
It was the first time at this nook of the country for Stephanie, a friend who works at the Embassy and her parents James and Annie who came visiting. The initial plan was that we would take a boat ride up the Telom River to enjoy the rapids and spend the whole morning and afternoon picnicking at Pos Lanai by the small clear-water tributary of the Telom called Sungai Seluar. As luck would have it, the first 15 minutes up the Telom turned out to be a nightmare: first we were pummeled by rain water as the motorboat has no roof (heavy and roofed boat is not possible for they have to scale series of rapids upstream). After a few precarious turns which seemed like we were actually going full force against the first wave of swelling from upstream, the boatman called it quits. It had been raining upstream the night before and we were boating over the swelling river that carried debris from the rainwater - including rolling logs! For a moment, I seriously thought we might be going for some very choppy ride as the boat felt like a fallen leaf on flowing water but when the experienced boatman calls it quits, he means serious business (real danger). The view of the thundering water really had me worried for a while and I was happy the boatman had our safety in mind.
Plan A bis: Go up the Ulu Jelai Kecil and picnic at Kampung Samut in Pos Betau.
I spied the clearer water of the Ulu Jelai Kecil on the way up to the Telom and was telling my friend that it could be on our next itinerary but never imagined it to be immediate...the sky cleared on our descend from Telom but its water was raging like an angry monster. By comparison, the Ulu Jelai Kecil was calm and serene and most inviting to our weary minds. One turn at the meeting point just before reaching the jetty at Kuala Medang and we were off to our new destination. The ride was extremely pleasant sauf for the painfull derrieres and backs as the boat was devoid of any reclining facilities as well as only rudimentary wooden floorboard for seats. The incredible sight of the virgin jungle leaning over the serpentine river more than make up for the pain(s). Common riverine trees like the Neram in gigantesque proportions gently lean over the river making tunnels and galleries of natural beauty greeted us at almost every corner that the boat made upstream. Ferns, orchids, figs and rhododendrons dangled from branches covered in mosses and lichens and sudden darts of electric blue from surprised kingfisher made the whole scene like a page from Discovery Channel. I felt like an aventurier discovering the New World.
After 1 1/2 hour upstream, we arrived at Pos Betau where the Belida River and Ulu Jelai Kecil meet. We went slightly further upstream the Ulu Jelai Kecil, through the opening of a huge fallen tree that blocked the entire river and voila, we were at Kampung Samut...
At the village's jetty where 2 bamboo rafts were moored, children were enjoying themselves at the river and our arrival was greeted with much curiosity as well as fun. We asked for permission to visit the village and the gentle Semai man who greeted us welcomed the idea. James and Annie had never seen how rubber was sourced and we asked for permission from the man who took us to his plot of rubber plantation adjacent to the village where someone was in the process of tapping the trees. Unlike the more commercial plantations in Felcra smallholders' where modern equipments are employed, the Semai's ingenuity and symbiotic relation with Nature shone and impressed everyone. Instead of using plastic receptacles for collecting the sap, empty coconut shells and recycled tins were used. Instead of the metal tongue used for guiding the flow of tapped sap into the bowls, dried leaves were used. Simple solutions to simple problems. 100% ecological.
We gladly shared our picnic with everyone and were in turn given a special serving of chargrilled tapioca freshly dug from the garden and smoked Kelah. The fruit season was over but a few lingering rambai stalks did not escape the attention of our host. His young son and friends climbed up the incredibly straight and almost branchless tree and in no time, we were tasting rambai as desert. As the day grew warmer, we wanted to finish our trip in the river and we invited all the children to join us, much to their delight...
It was the first time at this nook of the country for Stephanie, a friend who works at the Embassy and her parents James and Annie who came visiting. The initial plan was that we would take a boat ride up the Telom River to enjoy the rapids and spend the whole morning and afternoon picnicking at Pos Lanai by the small clear-water tributary of the Telom called Sungai Seluar. As luck would have it, the first 15 minutes up the Telom turned out to be a nightmare: first we were pummeled by rain water as the motorboat has no roof (heavy and roofed boat is not possible for they have to scale series of rapids upstream). After a few precarious turns which seemed like we were actually going full force against the first wave of swelling from upstream, the boatman called it quits. It had been raining upstream the night before and we were boating over the swelling river that carried debris from the rainwater - including rolling logs! For a moment, I seriously thought we might be going for some very choppy ride as the boat felt like a fallen leaf on flowing water but when the experienced boatman calls it quits, he means serious business (real danger). The view of the thundering water really had me worried for a while and I was happy the boatman had our safety in mind.
Plan A bis: Go up the Ulu Jelai Kecil and picnic at Kampung Samut in Pos Betau.
I spied the clearer water of the Ulu Jelai Kecil on the way up to the Telom and was telling my friend that it could be on our next itinerary but never imagined it to be immediate...the sky cleared on our descend from Telom but its water was raging like an angry monster. By comparison, the Ulu Jelai Kecil was calm and serene and most inviting to our weary minds. One turn at the meeting point just before reaching the jetty at Kuala Medang and we were off to our new destination. The ride was extremely pleasant sauf for the painfull derrieres and backs as the boat was devoid of any reclining facilities as well as only rudimentary wooden floorboard for seats. The incredible sight of the virgin jungle leaning over the serpentine river more than make up for the pain(s). Common riverine trees like the Neram in gigantesque proportions gently lean over the river making tunnels and galleries of natural beauty greeted us at almost every corner that the boat made upstream. Ferns, orchids, figs and rhododendrons dangled from branches covered in mosses and lichens and sudden darts of electric blue from surprised kingfisher made the whole scene like a page from Discovery Channel. I felt like an aventurier discovering the New World.
After 1 1/2 hour upstream, we arrived at Pos Betau where the Belida River and Ulu Jelai Kecil meet. We went slightly further upstream the Ulu Jelai Kecil, through the opening of a huge fallen tree that blocked the entire river and voila, we were at Kampung Samut...
At the village's jetty where 2 bamboo rafts were moored, children were enjoying themselves at the river and our arrival was greeted with much curiosity as well as fun. We asked for permission to visit the village and the gentle Semai man who greeted us welcomed the idea. James and Annie had never seen how rubber was sourced and we asked for permission from the man who took us to his plot of rubber plantation adjacent to the village where someone was in the process of tapping the trees. Unlike the more commercial plantations in Felcra smallholders' where modern equipments are employed, the Semai's ingenuity and symbiotic relation with Nature shone and impressed everyone. Instead of using plastic receptacles for collecting the sap, empty coconut shells and recycled tins were used. Instead of the metal tongue used for guiding the flow of tapped sap into the bowls, dried leaves were used. Simple solutions to simple problems. 100% ecological.
We gladly shared our picnic with everyone and were in turn given a special serving of chargrilled tapioca freshly dug from the garden and smoked Kelah. The fruit season was over but a few lingering rambai stalks did not escape the attention of our host. His young son and friends climbed up the incredibly straight and almost branchless tree and in no time, we were tasting rambai as desert. As the day grew warmer, we wanted to finish our trip in the river and we invited all the children to join us, much to their delight...
A cicada at the jetty. When I was a child, I was told that the chant of cicadas signales the onset of the dry season. No surprise then to see them at this time of the year.
The jovial bunch...
Up the rambai tree...
a bunch of rambai fruits
A Semai house
The house of our host...
Dangling plants over the river
Scenic ride upstream
A view of the rapids
A picture of perfect serenity
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