Kruzer by the Lake - Tasik Chini (17th - 19th June 2006)

a bumper turnout this trip is...a total of 20 bikes, one car and 34 people all cramming into a quaint little nature reserve past its prime but still guarded fiercely by a champion of its cause...

Lake Chini

tasik chini is located in the state of pahang, north of malaysia's great nature reserve, endau rompin. this ride is a return of sorts for both me and dear cos it's the first long trip we've ever done with the kruzers, den known unimaginatively as the Cruisers. the first time we met larry the hairy. also the first ever trip for the ex trip manager, benny. having so many firsts, naturally this is a nostalgic spot for some of us.

handing out the goodies

the boys at yong peng

the beautiful lotuses bloomed all over the lake when we were last there and i only remembered munching away on the lotus seeds on the boat ride. and of course the beautiful pictures taken.

I'm pretty sure there are many new memories brought back this time round not only for the many new members but the long lost old timers.

laa-ry and tricia on their new "baby"

was really excited cos pple like larry and take how bringing their new bikes along and new faces like shamen joining the whole big motley crew for the first time. this is also cy's first as a trip manager handling so many pple. but a job well done ah.

the crew just before the turnoff to Chini

Cy trying to say he's good....

the trip this time includes trekking around the jungle in chini's vicinity, plus a stay in a bare bones sorta place. quite an adventure for an old guy like me. and so the preparation started a week b4 the ride. army insect repellant, mosquito coils, etc were all hastily bought and prepared. I had this inkling that the path be strewn with those wormlike cuddly creatures called leeches but forgotten to bring the salt. anyway, as u would see later, the army insect repellant is another world-class product from singapore.

This ride would take us through the night till Yong Peng on the NS highway, and taking highway 1 up to Segamat and turning northwards on highway12 to muadzam shah and subsequently lake chini.

sunrise along muadzam shah

close to Chini

lake chini is steeped in malaysian mythology. in the still, dark waters supposedly lies an ancient kingdom that the khmer legacy left behind in the 5th century. in fact, some aerial photographs shows unusual formations that depict canals and structures, but they were never verified. perhaps, it's best that such claims stay as they are, adding to the mysteries and wonder when one sits atop a boat slicing thru the still waters into the lotus ponds. the indigenious people living there told of legends that the city submerged itself so that its enemies cannot plunder its gold. sounds stupid to me, but hey! the dumber they are, the higher the probablity that it's true..u decide.

when we reached our guesthouse, it was 830 in the morning, with the sun bearing its harsh rays on us. the guesthouses actually look pretty comfortable to me, with mattresses strewn on the floor and mosquito nets covering the area. the zinc roof would make it pretty unbearable in the afternoon but we would be out trekking, so it wasn't a problem.

at Rajan's Guesthouse

our toilet

my throne

a memorable personality on this ride is the irrepressible Rajan Jones. sounding like a hindi hero from the overly animated bollywood movies, he is anything but that. in fact, when i first saw him when i was exploring ard the guesthouse, he just came out of the toilet in his sarong and scratching his b*ALs.

"ahhh!! welcome! how many rooms do you need?" poor old rajan seemed lost at our early arrival but swiftly got the keys from his humble abode next to the longhouse we were staying.
by the time we unpacked, we were bushed and still managed an hour's worth of sleep.

the day trek was something to look forward to. while the Kruzer slackers were off in their beds sleeping the afternoon away, almost 20 of us gathered at Rajan's Diner further down the road from the longhouse next to the lake. breakfast was served and we had delicious home cooked food from Rajan's wife, an orang asli, in the diner. these simple meals of nasi lemak and hot tea for the next 2 days were simply some of the best i've ever tasted on a tour of such nature.

waiting at Rajan's diner

mamajo ready for the trek!

after lunch was packed, we headed out onwards, not knowing what awaited us.

part of the diverse wildfire found in their backyard

black and white squirrel

the jungle is a place where Asia's diverse wildlife concentrate. the dank, humid air and the suppressive foliage can unsettle the weary and cause panic to those lost in its undergrowth. however, rajan is a champion of the jungle. His passion for the jungle sees him taking long walks at least 3 times a week, exploring and studying the flora and fauna that the jungle provides. he has been studying the orang aslis living in the region for almost 30 years, quitting his sales manager job in KL before relocating here in tasik chini. how ironic that he, an indian, helps them preserve their culture and backyard and educating the masses such as us on the abundance that nature provides.

rajan jones - a man of 65

trek starts

along our walk, we learned about the oil palm and many different wildgrasses and their medicinal properties. it is enlightening, just like a kid seeing a live chicken for the first time, though he's been eating it for years. "Ma, why the chicken got feathers one? we eat one no feathers one leh." doh!!

orang asli climbing up the tree - helping us get water vines!

shamen loves the natural liquid discharge

besides those plants, we also learned about the trees the asli's chop to make their homes, the potency of tongkat ali roots (we ate a little of those..sadly to no effect) and even chopped a nibong palm tree just so we can eat its' "heart", the soft centre of the spinely tree.

the price we pay for learning all these is the ardous long walks, up and down slopes, thru thick undergrowth and at times, balancing on narrow planks. the walk was made more exciting when the leeches started appearing.

Justin's the first

these long skinny creatures survey the air, waving its head (or tail) round in circles on the ground hoping to latch onto its target. One by one, screams sliced the silence through the dense jungle floor, as the girls started rolling up their jeans and pants to find thick blobs of worm stuck on the skin. it gives a slight itch after a substantial amount of blood is sucked and imagine the surprise when you feel a soft bump on your skin...

powerful army insect repellant!

what's worse is that some more leeches find their way up to the same spot after the original one is pulled off. we were pretty lucky no one fainted during the walk but we came close.

call me daddy!

4 hours later, the heavens opened and a torrential rain poured upon us, dropping more worms onto us. William even had one almost crawling into his mouth! ewww....

the lucky thing is that the end of the walk is near, allowing the heavily traumatised ladies a huge sigh of relief. The heavy rains also left many of us drenched and morale sank to an all time low. The tiredness of riding through the night also showed. a boat ride back to our resort signalled the end of it all and we gratefully gulped down the simmering hot tea at Rajan's Diner. More leeches were found i was pretty glad i didn't had any, except for perhaps one that fell off before i could feel anything. the secret? a combination of the amry insect repellant, bygone and probably my constantly moving around, not allowing the critters a chance to latch onto me.

well deserved rest for the orang aslis for their patience..keke

heading back to base camp

when night fell, we staggered to a fire-making demonstration, still groggy from the insufficient sleep. the physics of rajan's firemaking tool was pretty cool (a combination of pressure and friction), but the time spent on crafting his tool and making sure the moving parts fit astounds me. His research into this has probabaly led better way of making fire for the orang asli's when they are out in the jungle and also a bit of time saved. respect for this man is long overdue.

chilling out at the longhouse

early next morning, we were scheduled for a boat ride, but had a blow pipe competition first. naturally, all the hotshots came up and gave a good blow. some were weak, most were ok and one wanted to murder someone standing behind the target, unintentionally of course. in the end, gavin and Cs were tied for first place and a tie breaker was devised. in the end, the best blower won and gavin was crowned the blow king.

children of lake chini looking at the blowers

scorekeepers for the day -tricia and laaary

he sucks

i suck

he blows - pretty darn well too

the boat ride is a most relaxing ride, sitting in the boat, skimming the water surface and looking at the vast stretch of lotus flowers. Tasik Chini is famous for its lotus clusters but it has lost its lustre the last few years. decisions to dam up the seasonal lake was to be its downfall . traditionally, monsoons would flood the lake, allowing nutrients from the land to nourish the swampland and thus an abundance of fish for the native Jakun orang asli.

more children frolicking by the lake

The deterioration had set in when the local authorities decided to make Chini a designated eco-tourist spot, thus damming up the lake without any water control sluice. this hurt the low lying trees which couldn't take the continuous flooding and died. these are the mysterious dead naked trees lining the lake shore. Also, the seasonal fishes also could not make their way back to the lake to spawn, endangering the orang asli's livelihood. It is with a tinge of sadness when rajan apologised for the state of the lake. you could almost feel the despair of the villagers themselves.

waiting for the boats

loading up!

off we go!

lake chini with dead trees

navigation required

orang asli's got nice pressed pants

chini's beauty

nonetheless, we still managed to catch some clusters of lotuses, and the boatmen obliging plucked put a couple of leaves and made hats out of the lotus leaf for the rest of us in our boat!
This is a souvenoir that is hard to forget. the cool breeze in the morning sun is really one of the best way to start your day.

orang asli wading for the choiciest bits

jester hat coming right up

admiring the lotus

making the hats

the 2 clowns

as our stay at rajan's came to a close, he presided over a simple ceremony to give out his custom made blowpipes for the top 3 blowers and the organisers themselves. this was a gesture that is totally unexpected but greatly appreciated.

when it was time to move off, we bidded our gracious hosts goodbye and left witha truckload of experiences and some tire marks.

saying good bye to the rajan hospitality

we'll be back...

the ride back was less tiring given that we had an easy morning of activities. we planned for diiner at a herbal tea restaurant, which serves a mean plate of nasi briyani, at pagoh and this would mean travelling about 150km on the crowded trunk roads cutting across muadzam shah and segamat on highway 12.

the group seemed more confident riding now and the interesting route along J14 an J32, through some kampongs along the highway, make the ride quite an experience for the new riders.

by the end of the ride, Kruzers can be proud of successfully completing yet another trip with new experiences along the way.