Road Trip to Crocker Range (3): Tambunan

So we continued our journey after Keningau. We drove all the way for about 45 minutes along the Keningau-Tambunan Highway. At first we wanted to go to the viewing tower but we didn't know where was the right way to the top of the hill... there were no signboard after we saw one at the roundabout. We have drove for 15 minutes and the road was getting smaller and remote. So we turned back and asked the villagers. When we found one back to the entrance, he said we were on the right track. Well, too late, we decided to head to town for lunch. 

There were not much of choice for food in Tambunan actually... I asked a lady where does she have lunch usually, she said Tambunan doesn't have any nice food and she does not have any favourite kopitiam there. So in the town centre, we walked around to survey approx 5 kopitiams and decided to go back to the first kopitiam. Most of them sell almost the same thing... mixed rice, or order fried rice or fried noodle, that is all. The shops were quiet, only a few people chatting and smoking inside the shops. 

Then we continued our journey to Mat Salleh Memorial. This place wasn't easy to be noticed because This site was used to be the home or fortress for Mat Salleh, who led a rebellion against British North Borneo Company in the late 19th century. Mat Salleh is a Sabahan Hero according to our local history book. There erected a stone structure to mark the site of Mat Salleh's fort, and there is a long display board that tells the rebellion story

 of Mat Salleh. 

 We continued the journey, and travelled all the way to Mahua Waterfall along the highway. The road was getting smaller, sometimes up hill and down hill, about 30 minutes later, we reached our destination. The entrance fee for this waterfall is only RM3 for a Malaysian adult. We took about 5 minutes to walk through the 500metres walkway before we reached waterfall. The park was well maintained with its paved walkway, handrail, bridge and toilet facilities. It was very convenient indeed. There were lots of bees or giant flies around the picnic area... I guessed it was due to the trash left by visitors that attracted so many insects around... I was holding a banana and immediately surrounded by the flies or bees and got stung!

Waterfall view from the picnic deck... there marked the ancient water level of the pond on the wall. 

Waterfall view from the middle of the pond... wonderful view, the water was very chilling and relaxing. It's a hidden gem of Sabah Forests. 

The water was freezing cold!! I just dipped my feet in the water for a while then quickly pulled them out.. Not only that, the water was so clear that some people brought their crystals gems and cleaned them here. I guessed the positive energy of water can cleanse the crystals. I rinsed my face with the cold water... ahhhhh.. so refreshing...

Anyway it's still a very pleasure walk in the waterfall... the park was surrounded by so many huge and tall trees, shady and peaceful. I liked this place very, very much but we got to leave the park as the sky was dark and I wanted to leave before it rained. Hope we can spend longer time in the park.

As we exited the park, I used the toilet at no charge. It was pretty clean and well-maintained compared to some worn out toilets I have been to elsewhere.

Overall, I'll rate Mahua waterfall 4 out of 5 stars for its natural authenticity!

Road Trip to Crocker Range (1)- Rafflesia blooms!

So it was Hari Raya weekend and we have 4 days holidays in a row. Due to no ferry ticket available on Saturday, we had to take a day off on Friday and leave Labuan. This time we have decided to travel the interior Sabah via Papar-Kimanis-Keningau highway through the famous Crocker Range Park. I have learnt about Crocker Range in Geography in school days. Now it's time to visit her!

After having lunch in Keningau Town, we drove all the way back to Manis-Manis Rooftop Borneo Resort which is located in the Crocker Ranger Park, around 1000m above sea level, with 20 minutes drive from the Town. There's an entrance fee RM3/person to enter the Park before we lodge in. We were not sure where was the reception after we passed by some huts, then we finally found the reception right at the cafeteria. We chose to stay in a chalet with RM224/night after promotion 30% less from the original price RM300/night. The chalet was clean, come with a king-size bed, and antique feel.

We unloaded our luggage and rolled on the bed for a while, then daddy rushed us to quickly get ready to visit the Crocker Nature Centre before it closed at 4pm. It's just walking distance from our chalet but we drove there as the sky looked gloomy. Once we reached, the staff told us that Rafflesia was blossoming on its second day. Since it wasn't far from the centre, we quickly walked down the stairs but in plain sandals, not sports shoes! I was so worried with this attire as the steps were getting wet and slippery, and we were carrying a baby with us!

In less than 10 minutes while descending, we saw a Rafflesia bud not far from our track, it was pinkish ,wrapped tightly in a black colour skin, with the size as large as a cabbage. 

We walked through a small section of muddy track, my shoes were almost stuck in it cause I was heavy. Then we found the blossoming Rafflesia! It was our first time witnessing the flower in such a close distance. Then it's camera time, nonstop. 

The flower in the picture above is Rafflesia Keithii, named after Sabah Forest conservationist Henry George Keith. This flowering parasitic plant has five petals, with small irregular shapes of whitish spots distributed on them. In the middle of the flower there is a center column with orange colour thorn-like anthers attracting insects such as flies to pollinate.  While we found the flower was already closed to 4pm, we did not smell any unpleasant rotting flesh odour like described in the book. Another reason was we were at a higher altitude with a colder climate. R. keithii was reported to have intense odour at noon, particularly on hot days. Another species you can find in endemic Sabah is R. pricei. 

Let me quote the cause of Rafflesia rarity from Rafflesia Centre:
One of the causes of the extreme rarity in Rafflesia is its double habitat specialisation. First, the host plants (Tetrastigma spp.) occur only in certain habitats (for example, riparian or riverside forests) and secondly, the plants are narrow specialists on only specific species of Tetrastigma, creating 'double specialisation'. This makes Rafflesia doubly rare.

Rafflesia keithii's bud takes 12 to 16 months to blooming. One reason blooms are so rare is that many buds die before they flourish. The causes of this mortality are uncertain, but may be linked with the host vines's inability to provide support and vital nutrients at crucial times, direct predation by animals like rodents and infection by parasitic wasp larvae. (Garbutt & Prudente,  2006. Wild Borneo: The Wildlife and Scenery of Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan, pg 45-46)

So, we were indeed very, very lucky to be able to catch the blossom of Rafflesia that day.

So we were back to our lovely chalet. This is the outside view of Banyan chalet. 

The interior of our room, attached with bathroom and water heater. No air-conditioning needed as the night was very cold. No wi-fi available in this resort, but we were still able to connect weakly from our mobile data. However, we just put the phone aside and enjoyed the family time playing with Forrest, who was busy discovering this new place. The downside of the bathroom was the tape water was cloudy and yellowish. 

When I was about to get my clothes for a bath, I saw my foot was attached with a little dark patch of mud from the jungle trekking just now. But I soon realised it was my darkest fear when I was in the forest: it was the unforgivable leech!!! I screamed for help like mad, shook my leg trying hard to get rid of the leech, failed, then jumping off the ground while taking off my pants. It was detached from my foot. Then my hubby slowly shook the pants when the leech dropped on the ground. That was the most unbearable fear I had since childhood and the more I fear the easier I got hooked by leech. Lesson learnt: must wear a proper footwear into the jungle next time. 

 So here was the wound.. keeps bleeding. Little Forrest was puzzled with my reaction just now. Have to calm him down and show him what was my wound and leech about.

 So it's dinner time. We ordered chicken chop with rice for RM22 only. The entire Cinnamon cafeteria had only us as guests. So it took about 20 minutes for them to prepare the meal. To our surprise, the meal portion was huge! We just enjoyed ourselves at the cafeteria very much. It has free flow coffee and tea from 8am to 9pm. 

The next morning we got up at 6 to catch the sunrise. It was nice but the sun seemed to rise behind the mountain so we couldn't catch the yolk but yeah get to see the sea clouds from the observation tower just in front of the cafe. Then we packed our luggage and checked out. Breakfast was included in our package so we can choose our choice of breakfast in advance. 

This is the operation hour of the Crocker Range Park Nature Centre. There's handful info about Crocker Range Park as a Biosphere Reserve exhibited in the centre. Some wildlife models and local ethnic groups traditional arts and crafts are displayed too. 

The sea clouds view from the cafe. Down there is Keningau town. 

On another note, our photo had won the best photo in Manis-Manis Rooftop of Borneo Resort Facebook Photo Contest. We won another chance to visit Crocker Range again! 

For more info: 

http://www.manismanisresort.com.my

http://www.sabahtourism.com/destination/crocker-range-park

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keningau

创意市集(一）

好久没回来写中文的部落格了，今天就想拿一些在巴西拍的照片来写个心得分享。

某日，我和来自泰国的安约好去坐落于里约热内卢中央佛明哥（Flemingo)参与最后一天的‘人民峰会’，那是一个与‘里约+20’(Rio+20) 或 联合国可持续性发展会议同时进行的活动，但是却由人民及各种各样的非政府组织组成。 这个峰会不同于正式的里约+20，它是在户外，在没有空调下进行，而且人民可以免通过严格的保安自由进出场所，最重要的是在场的演讲者可自由发表演说（因为来这里的人不认同联合国的谈判过程及议程），集会者可以拉大布条喊口号示威, 还有许多人在那儿摆档口的艺术市集。今天我不想讨论严肃课题，只想分享当下的心情。

下一步。

自从巴西回来后，混淆我的问题包括乱七八糟的生理时钟（11个小时的时差实在是太大了！）。好不容易花了一个星期适应当地的时间后，我又得飞回来马来西亚重新调整时差回来。老实说，真的很不容易。。。在里约，明明觉得困了却是大白天；在大马，夜深了却还很精神，结果天亮后才入睡，醒后已是中午时分...好无奈，精神不振...

但是回想起来在那儿的日子挺有趣的，虽然有时候好“痛苦”，但是一旦问题解决后就没事了。过去23天遇到好多好人好事，正所谓生命中所发生的每一样事情都是好事，我真的觉得我在里约的经历实在是。。。太幸运了。是时候记录它们的故事了，否则对不起自己及十方大众给我的支持。

虽然文字有些不规整，但只要能看。。就行了吧？

星期日是普罗大众的市集日，各种各样的艺术家、普通市民齐聚一堂卖自己的艺术作品。除了佛明哥，我还看过日本人市区的集市。这是艺术市集其中一个摊子，都是卖各式各样有趣的手绘徽章，我特别喜欢地球的那一粒，1-4巴西里尔。

Buddha's Eyes T-衫，想不到也会在这里出现！他们的作品就向我姐那样制作美丽的心灵系列 （http://a-metta.blogspot.com/)，当然也有佛陀系列的衣服。 我还在其他摊位发现卖尼泊尔色彩缤纷的五色旗，香薰等等。一件衣服大概30里尔 （约RM45)。

地图！超喜欢这种古色古香的羊皮纸地图，和我在圣保罗朋友家的世界地图拼图长得很像。好想要一个啦~ 

巴西人要在这个消费昂贵的城市生活，他们也各想尽办法来让自己增加收入，周日集市就是其中一个例子，这也成为了许多家庭的家庭日好去处，在海边逛集市晒太阳，遛狗跑步等，总比大马人爱逛购物商场健康多了。

末了，晚安。

A Gem in UM Campus/校园瑰宝

Why am I going to Brazil? Why Rio+20?

In conjunction with the World Environment Day Celebration in University Malaya, I went to Rimba Ilmu, a botanic garden located in UM where I found a hidden gem here. I joined my friend, Adrian for a guided tour around the garden.

This question has been played in my mind for some time yet I kept avoiding it. Looking at the wide variety species of plants inhabited in the garden I was amazed by the existence of such beautiful creatures in the world. I walked with the hungry mosquitoes while trying to jot down the familiar names that I have learnt at school. Syzygium Aromaticum, Thysonolaena latifolia, Grammatophyllum speciocium, Knema hookeriana, Intsia palembanica, ... and many more, with significant identities, functions, growth characteristics and their adaptation to the environment change.

Wait, adaptation to change?
 Plants, like animals, have the ability to adapt to the environmental and climate change over the time and event takes place. I just wonder in the era of global warming how could we human being adapt to the change. When the ice were melt, when human are living under water, will we evolve with a pair of gills and breath in the sea?

The plants exist way earlier than human being but we are destroying them with a rate faster than anyone could imagine. What have we done to the habitat?
No mention about the loss of biodiversity, we are losing the huge storage of carbon, water, food, soil fertility, and herbal medicine for human and animals.


Because of population growth, we need to consume more, so demand for living essence is increased.
Because of economic growth, we live a better life, and we are able to spend more for a better living quality, so the demand is again, increased.
Because of science and technology, we... can access to natural resources much easier compare to our older generations. Yet, our mother earth is exhausted for the hunger and greed of human being. Yes, for our needs.
Now, do you see the problems?

As a freshman in the environment field, I always feel humble to give my opinion towards the big issues people concern about. I don't know my presence at the congress could give any impact to the world, but I believe, like the saying goes, Unity is Strength. How do things work out from this sentence? I will show you as soon as I attended the meetings in Rio.

Ficus deltoidea, mas chotek

Orthosiphon aristatus, misai kucing

Cissus quadrangula, Patah Tulang

Sesamun orientale, bijan

No name

Euricoma longifolia, Tongkat Ali! (meaning: long and straignt)

          

Fern Tree!

Gelam, a special tree with a layer of insulation

One kind of ginger plant

Johannesteijsmannia magnifica (what a cool name!)

在马大校园里发现一个瑰宝！
说来惭愧，就读马大三年多，知道校园后山Rimba Ilmu有个花园，却不曾好好地参观这个地方（只在展览室游览过而已），今天发现新大陆似的对这个美丽的花园赞叹不已。

里头种植了不少很有意思的植物，都是为研究及培育而种植的。里头有很多古林精怪的名称，挺妙的。

然而，我去此花园的目的却是要见Adrian，一位引导我去地球峰会的学长。没做好功课就要讨论问题当然阻碍不少时间来解释，我也挺不好意思的。当然讨论问题过后我更觉得压力了。好担心我做不好自己的角色。 更重要的是，不能在哪里迷失自己！

第一个要了解的是去此行的目的， 该怎么贡献自己的能力，为那个小组卖力，为什么， 怎么做，和谁开会，这个那个，等等。 单单看了学长的Cancun气候改变峰会就觉得他好了不起。我也不禁打了冷颤。
‘哇，好多的东西得准备！’ 但是，但靠我一个人去哪里，我该怎么做呢？

时间也剩不多了，只好日夜赶工把该读的读，该想得想，该做的做好它。我需要一个队伍，一个智囊团来成就大马人在哪里的使命！

是时候睡了，两个小时后就得去种树了。

Learn about your garbage