For all the outdoor places that I knew in my years of active nature appreciation in my region, this has to be the best of the best kept secret (no longer) that I, from time to time, revisited when I need to reconnect with Nature. This is a special place because of its relative inaccessibilty to popular tourism, meaning that it is not inscribed in the tourism map. Another thing is that accessible yet untouched nature is so rare these days that any gems like this needs to be protected for our own sake - which won't help if it is blogged but sensing the near end of greatness, it has to be shared by all before it is all gone, just like the once magnificent Jelai before 'development' came.
I started visiting this area when I was an active angler in quest for new sites back in the 1990s...much has since changed with inroads being built into the most remote of villages that once only accessible by the great and awe-inspiring fork of 3 rivers: Ulu Jelai, Telom and Serau. The Telom is a mighty river that doesn't allow swimming because of its headwaters coming from very polluted sources in the Cameron Highlands. The only option is now the Ulu Jelai - which in turn has its sources from the Ulu Jelai Kecil and Bertau. Already, this last bastion of 'perfect' river is feeling the heat from chainsaws cutting nearer and nearer to her sources. Certain days, the water can get murky because of logging concessions in the upper streams of Ulu Jelai Kecil, recently even more accessible by the opening of route C156, thus allowing even more access to lorries laden with logs to cut through this lasts of the great Malayan jungles. As we swoop downstream from Kampung Samut to Kuala Medang in our motorised canoe, patches of open forest already started to appear, sending glaring heat and light through the timeless cool greens that dominates the galleries-river banks of this ancient ecology. I couldn't help but wonder how long these will withstand the onslaught of greed...
a barbet feeding on figs at Kuala Medang
green banks, just like ever
huge clump of Tiger Orchid on a riverine tree - a common sight along the river, an indication of its state of ecological health
orchids
river bends like this are common along the Ulu Jelai, with huge trees fringing its banks, forming tall galleries of quiet coolness and a permutation of a million shades of green
Locals fishing on a raft. Observe the rice pot on the bamboo raft...
How long will giants like these remain? We saw eagles quite frequently among tall branches along the river
part of Jeram Dong
visions of tranquility
Jeram Dong (Dong rapids)
our moored boat ride
Kampung Samut after Pos Betau
Heavy bunch of bananas
Butterflies congregating on the sand banks of Jeram Dong
local anglers camp along the sand banks, making their tents from wild ginger fronds, bamboo and sticks
two swallows pondering over the Jelai River at Kuala Medang
