“It’s 7.30am already? Doesn’t look like it..”
Not in this sort of weather.
With the sky filled a bland, gloomy grey, we contemplated the dangers that would arise in Sungai Pisang if the rain continued to pour. And we knew through experience that it was not a risk worth taking. But then we remembered an alternative.
Templer’s Park was only a 20 minute drive away from our meeting point in Gombak, and with the absence of large rivers it would be a safer place for us to carry out our mission. Oh yes, this month we set out to do our part in keeping our country clean.
Weirdly, the moment we arrived at Templer's Park, the weather turned absolutely brilliant. No matter, we wasted no time and started eliminating the blemishes that ruined mother nature's complexion. Styrofoam cups, fast food packaging, plastic bottles - you name it, boy did tourism mess the place up!
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| "I missed a tin can on the opposite bank? Rubbish."said En De. He laughed alone. |
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| And that was BEFORE we started trekking. Unbelievable. |
Soon we realized that we underestimated the amount of rubbish by a long shot, and thankfully old-timer Razak took the initiative to restock our fast depleting supply of rubbish bags.
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| If you look closely in the background, you will notice a tree that looks terrifyingly similar to a human being. |
Still occupied with the goal of cleaning up the place, we reached the glorious waterfall at the end of the trek. It was hard to believe that it was an hour's trek when it felt more like 10 minutes. For those of us who have not been to a waterfall, it was time to get our feet wet (pun intended).
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| Invisible man brought his children along. They weren't very photogenic. |
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| 5 boxes of chocolates went missing that day. They were never recovered. |
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| With all the rubbish collected, a shower only seemed appropriate. |
At the end of the day, we were stunned not only by the amount of rubbish collected, but also by the amount of irresponsible people out there. We are blessed with a remarkably beautiful country that citizens elsewhere dream of. Yet, there are so many Malaysians out there who take this for granted, belittling or even ignoring the effects of the rubbish they so instinctively leave behind.
We might have won the battle today, but we haven't yet won the war.
What we are doing here goes beyond the bags of rubbish we amassed.
We are sending a message, showing you a glimpse of the destructive power of man (if you haven't already know), and urging you to do your role as an earthling in keeping the environment clean for future generations.
And you don't even have to go out and gather your own bag of rubbish.
Just don't leave any behind.
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