Janda Baik Trip

Look, unattended bags!

One of my first assignments; to visit Janda Baik (located in the rural areas of Pahang, near Genting Sempah) for ENBE and study various things in nature, like plants & insects in our site. We gathered in front of 7-11 at 7 o'clock in the morning. The bus leaves early to avoid traffic jams, which was ironic, because we got stuck for like an hour or so in traffic.

Janda Baik is not that far from Kuala Lumpur, as the trip should take about 45 minutes (without the traffic jams). Janda Baik has the typical, Malay village appearance, but it's clean, so extra points for that. When people said that the bus ride feels like a roller coaster due to the unstable roads leading to Janda Baik, they're not lying. The bus driver mentioned that he must drive fast as the gears would fail and the bus will start to reverse, if he would to stop in the middle of a steep hill. That was a valuable piece of information, if one day I were to be a bus driver, who knows?

It feels like a roller coaster, so it must be fun.

No matter where you go, you can't escape the tropical heat of Malaysia, even when you're slightly elevated. We grabbed our bags, head to the hall and sat through a brief meeting. Then 3 members from my group (Naim, Max & Joe, if you're interested to know them, ladies) head to our rooms. Our rooms are special, as we get to stay in the chalet (ha! be jealous!) which looks like a traditional 'kampung' house.

A glimpse of a rare Malay cowboy.

After we had lunch, our group head to a nearby river stream to pick our research spot, which was 10x10 meters in size. There were dozens of dragonflies & damselflies around us, so it must be a good spot. We start our research early, because we're a good group kaaaaaaan? Too bad one of our group members, Clement, can't stay with us.

Look, our site!

Even though there's a forest nearby, animals which is bigger than my hand are rarely spotted, most of them are just insects. I got some few satisfying pictures, but we have to leave early as it was raining and the river current got stronger, which can be dangerous as the rocks are slippery.

A dragonfly/damselfly nymph.

Female Ebony Jewelwing, Calopteryx Malucata
My arch nemesis, it's hard to get close to this thing.

On the second day, we gathered in front of the chalet and wait for a truck to pick us up (like cows, moo) so we can go to a lake for raft-making. Sadly, as I don't want my camera to get wet, so there are no pictures during the raft making activity.

So here's a fuzzy leaf!

The lake was extremely muddy, but we still had to get in. Our objective was to build a raft, get someone to sit on the raft and have four people to push the raft to the other side. It was exhausting. Back from the activity, we had lunch and continued our research at the site. At 5 o'clock in the evening, we had more activities, including with our seniors. First, we had to make a human centipede, (not the movie, don't search for it) using items & our bodies, to make the longest line, so men had to lay on the grass (lucky men) and some of them had to lay on hard pavement (unlucky men, including me) shirtless. For the next activity, we had to make the biggest animal that can float using paper. Logically, I think whales are the best choice, but my group made a stingray, so that's cool too. Big surface area = easier to float right?

The seniors...

...aaaaaand the stringray, or a giant roti canai; your choice.

We the proceed to carry our stingray/roti canai to the river and watch it get carried away by the current. Our stingray worked fine, until it got crumpled at the last second, so bigger surface area = easier to float, not so good for resisting rocks.

Teatime!

At night, we had to perform a jingle + cheer for our group. But we stepped up a little, we performed a whole song + a cheer, go Team Ariel! It was fun to see other groups' cheers and all that.

Third day, which is the final day. We woke up early to get some more picture and samples before we head back home. I got stunning pictures on the last day:

Hi!

More dragonfly/damselfly nymph.

Ebony Jewelwing's true colour.

Red Winged Damselfly.

Female Ebony Jewelwing, Calopteryx Malucata
It looks like it's smiling.
:)

"I smile because I know your deepest, darkest secrets ;)"

Male Ebony Jewelwing, Calopteryx Malucata

Water Strider, Aquarius Remigis
A water strider striding on water.

Natural fish spa.

One of the few things that were bigger than my hand.

Damselflies mate in the shape of a heart, literally "making love".

After a short brief, we went back home at 3 o'clock. We stopped by at McDonald's (yay!) and reached Taylor's University quite early, as the traffic was clear. It was an exhausting but fun trip. Now, I must start my scrapbook and infographic assignments!