Recently, we covered a hike to Taman Botani Negara (TBN) that left us gasping for breath. That heaving hike was interesting ‘up to a point’. And I promised to share with you about another attempt up TBN, this time by Bukit Bayu.
It was only two of us as we set off on an early morning weekday hike. It is particularly strange that what precedes a hike is at times the mental anguish in finding the location and the entry trail to the hill. One can easily see the hill from the road but it needs only a wrong turn, and suddenly, the hill goes ‘hilang’ (missing).
It took us a good 20 minutes of driving about before we found the entrance at Bukit Bayu. Not a car was in sight. What was most annoying was that we were there 20 minutes ago. At that time, we asked the guard at the condominium if there were regular strollers walking into the jungle area. He said there had not been anyone for the last month. And we took off, finally returning to this point – this time, there were 10 cars parked at the roadside!
We started off and explored the outer entrance 100 metres before the forest, and found it uncertain. From where we stood atop the road, we did not see an opening trail. But getting “down” to the rocky patch from road level was dicey. This is where danger truly starts. If one tripped, it could go three ways. One, pick up yourself and dignity and carry on. Two, minor or severe bruising or lacerations. Three, severe injuries to the epidermis, dermis and/or subcutaneous tissue or tears, fractures or broken bones. Clambering down the rock debris is not to be taken lightly. Neither is walking across the piles of rocks and stones. This is clearly a precarious obstacle.
After carefully walking across the rocks and stones, some very sharp, we found the entry point. It was at this point we found that someone had laid some wooden planks for hikers to walk on but the ground was heavily soaked. If we failed to have waterproof hiking shoes, we might have been dealt the most uncomfortable of experiences in walking with wet socks. This gets you thinking about the type of versatile footwear you need for some uncertain hikes.
As we inched past the planks, we met with a small wooden planked bridge. The walk further into the jungle was relatively easy and an elderly person in their 60s would have found no resistance. As we were about to trail off left into the forest, we saw some smoke and heard human noises and a dog barking. Not too far off in the distance was a sort of ‘mini-settlement’. We recalled from our previous TBN hike of the four female hikers having told us of an Indonesian kampong (village) toward the bottom of the hill at Bukit Bayu. This was it! My friend was not keen to go nearer and she said it is dangerous. But I am keen on an adventure, and have mini-mastery in the language of Bahasa Indonesia. She said it was not enough to save our lives. I thought that these are not savages or cannibals, yet she refused to go with me, threatening ‘hike abandonment’ if I remained stubborn. I gave in rather mildly…
A sign on a tree was marked, “Tower Sapu Tangan” as we started to gain ground, walking deeper into the forest trail that started to take its toll on our legs; brows dripping. The steep climb was not what we expected, having been told previously by that four females in our previous TBN hike, it was a relatively easy walk. Nothing of that sort we thought as we stopped to rest at intermittent periods. Possibly, we were not fit or had underestimated the steep ascent.
The trail was slightly damp in some parts and there was a gentle cool breeze that enveloped the forest. This hike was beginning to be very comforting as the air was fresh. We passed a tree and naughtily crawling upward on its trunk was a jungle creeper attempting to besiege the almighty tree. Along the route, there were once ‘great generals’ of the forest that had fallen to their deaths – since serving as an obstacle or aid along the forest trail – as we clambered over the dead trunks.
It was energy-sapping as we reached and stopped at a clearing amidst the jungle. It was a familiar place with the wooden constructed bench, and wonderful, cool breeze as a reward of our efforts. But I had not visited the Indonesian kampung as my mind raced into a missed adventure! Drained of every ounce of energy and possibly, the will to continue, I decided to enjoy the cool breeze. Hopefully, this might change my mind not to descend.
We trailed further upwards to the Tower Sapu Tangan to conquer it and to prove to ourselves we had it within us to physically get to the top. And we saw a nest of ants that has viciously taken over a tree. The colony looked like a species of termite ants that had spilled crude oil on the tree trunk – it was jet black and looked awful. I am so glad I am no tree! We did not want to lose sight of our key objective: to see the lake. And the best viewing time was fast approaching at about 11:30 am to noon where the reflection from the sun showed off the magnificence of the lake, and surrounding trees. We quickly made our way back to the clearing area, and took a left turn toward Station D. The descent was not the easiest of hikes. It was steep! It was slippery! It is also a trail that meandered from left to right and back again! What we least expected was a murder of motivation. There were a few trees that had fallen, and completely blocked off the trail. Yes, the trail to the lake!
We looked for an alternative route. There was none. We could have bashed though the jungle, but we did not have a parang (machete, cleaver) that would have allowed cutting through the thick forest. Imagine having toiled and worked your muscles and to find a Great Barrier Leaf cutting off access to the lake. This is certainly a barrier we least expected. We reckoned the previous night of blustery showers felled the trees. There was nothing we could do except to turn around. We could not check off this sight of a brimming lake off our list. What made our hike more painful, physically and mentally, was the steep undulating climb we had to endure. It was tough indeed. Very tough.
We walked away from the forest, feeling defeated at missing out in our objective of seeing the lake. As we kept walking mindlessly, knowing we might not be back in a while, we merely looked forward to ending our hike. We had to walk across the stones and rocks and that slight pain to our soles, despite the fairly tough shoes we wore, added to the misery of our failed lake sighting.
It is every hiker’s interest to feel that some mini or major achievement can be met in any hike performed. It is every hiker’s interest to feel some mini or major reward. And while we can say we have yet to see the iconic Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, our mini reward was seeing the Great Barrier Leaf in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Though not an achievement, we felt we needed some form of personal appeasement. Mini hurrah!
