A crowd of 31 participants braved the early 7.30a.m Saturday morning to gather at our meeting point at Gombak Putra LRT station to begin the meet. Despite the overcast weather, that did not deter the spirit and excitement of our participants to get out there and get down and dirty (literally) in our hike up Bukit Kala.
Introduction session
Usually as part of Raleigh tradition, we would kick things off a round of self introduction, ice breaking and a short briefing about the activities ahead of us but as soon as we got to the site of the hike,it started to rain and things had to be cut short thus we began our hike into the village to meet our Orang Asal guide, Mr Raman.
The hike up to the village itself was challenging on its own, there was no room for error in this hike as we had to cross small rivers, creeks, wooden bridges and most importantly a dark and wet tunnel which set the participants in the right mood for adventure. Upon reaching the village, it was almost as if we were transported to a whole other planet. It seems so still and silent on its own, untouched by the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur despite it being an hour away from the city only.
Crossing the small wooden bridge
The roof of this hut was weaved by Team Charlie from May 2011 IW
According to Mr Rahman, in the particular village that we were in, there is a small settlement of widowed Orang Asal women and their children. They were self sustaining as they had their own crops and clean water.
Mr Raman was also our Orang Asal guide when Raleigh came to help clean up the waterfall and also when Team Charlie of IW May 2011 came to do build huts as a part of their PIWP. In fact, the roof of the hut that we were gathered under in the village was weaved by Team Charlie.
As the focus of our monthly meet is basic jungle skills sharing, we were given a brief before the hike by Mr Raman about the dangers of heading into the deep forests. Hikers must keep their thought, heart and speech pure when heading into the forests as we are to respect Mother Nature and the spirits of the forest. Mr Raman also imparted a lot of his knowledge on how to not get lost and how to trace back your trail in the jungle to us urban city dwellers. Under the unrelenting rain, participants were then split up into groups and we began our hike into to forest.
Our hike began under the cover of the rain and it was adventorous from the beginning on with the steep terrains and muddy grounds. Halfway through the hike, Mr Raman taught us how to start a fire in the jungle with the help of the wood around the forest and with the help of a lighter. We then carried on with our hike to the top of Bukit Kala.
Mr Raman demo-ing how to start a fire in the woods
Bravo to our participants who despite the rain, mud and rocky terrains, managed to complete the entire hike up to the top of Bukit Kala. Due to the overcast weather, we couldn't get a clear view of the Kuala Lumpur cityscape but the sense of achievement when we got up to the peak was enough to compensate it.
Like any other adventure, it has it ups and downs. Lucky for us we were caught in the rain and got lost several times BUT it is the spirit of adventure and perseverance that kept us going through the day. The purpose of this month’s meet was to show us that we shouldn't be complacent with what we have in the city and that we need to get out there and embrace Mother Nature!
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