A friend named Khamis

After almost 15 years, I met Khamis again , this time on the hospital bed with a stroke attack that immobilised his left arm and leg.Khamis must had been quite surprised to see me visiting him for he had been avoiding old friends as if he didnt want any old friends to know the condition he was now in. I could say that Khamis had been going through bad patches recently after a failed business venture that left him indebted and a failed marriage that disarrayed his family .

But Khamis being Khamis, never wanted to look bad. He said his paralysed arm and leg would soon recover through theraphy sessions that he himself would administer. He said he would ask for discharge and would pursue the business activities he normally undertake. He talked about closing a deal or two from which he could earn big fees.He talked about the connections he had that include a cabinet minister that would help him when he summoned for help.Twenty years ago, when Khamis left the government job, to the private sector and to being a business man, he was dreaming of the good days ahead driving posh cars, residing in suburb bangalow and having beautiful women to date.The reality is very different now seeing his unkempt face, staying in a third class ward of a governemnt hospital and wanting to run away from family members and close friends.

Khamis is 60 years old. He could have hit his chance 23 or 40 years ago when his stamina was strong and the oppurtunity abundant. He had simply missed the boat.Also somewhere in his life he had missed a step through sheer carelesness that put him in the state he was now in.

Maliau Basin

Of all the park in Malaysia, the gem is Maliau Basin in Sabah.This is the best conservation effort in Malaysia deserving the merit as a UN world heritage site. Situated between Keningau and Tawau, this basin is unique in its features, home rare species of plant and wildlife.

The journey from Tawau by 4 wheel drive took me 8 hours to reach Christie Camp. It was alreasy dark when we reached the road leading to Christie Camp. Along the gravel road we could see dears and wild bulls gasing along the track. When we slept at the Christie Camp that night , a bear raided our camp and took along a bag containing food.

The next day we started trekking to Camel Trophy Camp. The first part of the trek was tough as we have to tackle the slope that was the enscarpment of the basin. For 3 hours it was all way up before we reached the plateau. Once on the rim of the plateau we trekked for another 3 hour to reach the Camel Trophy Camp where we spent the night in the comfort of wooden hostel build by Camel international team.

The whole of the following day was spent trekking to the Maliau Fall. The trail was well maintened especially the Jalan Babi, a stretch of trail famous for its new species, where the vegetation is temperate stunted trees with green mosses and algae.The vegation varies ranging from stunted trees to tropical forest with dark canapy that harbours animals like baboon, barking deer and birds. After about six hours of trekking we reached the majestic looking Maliau Fall with its thanderous water falling into deep abyss, creating mist of vapour that hang on the fringe of the troplical forest.

That night after about 12 hours of walkm we spent the night at Ginseng Camp, and due to the camp was often looted by a family of bear, we stook extra precaution to secure our food. The guide was sick that night, shaking with Malaria, and despite swallowing some aspirin, he could recover the next day. Later a helicopter was despatched to take him to Tawau General Hospital. We resumed with one guide who took us the next 6 hours back to Christie Camp.

The experience at Maliau was special because the terrain , the vegetation and the wild life was different from other national park. Even the guide was different because they were very knowledgeable about the forest and make effort to explain Maliau to the trekkers.The camp site was clean and the trek was well cared. To me Maliau was the best managed park in Malaysia ande be the benchmark for all parks.

Rinjani in Lombok

I landed in Denpasar when it was almost midnight.We were the last arriving passengers and I proceeded to the parking lot to look for the van that would take us to Padang Bai, the embarkation port to Lombok. I embarked on the ferry, found myself a seat I could stretched out and was soon fast asleep oblivious to the cold breeze and choppy sea. At sunrise the ferry arrived at Lombok and I took the winding road to East Lombok here Ranjini is situated.

Lombok appeared to me very rural with activities centering around agriculture, mainly paddy farming. The kampung looked clean and the farm well maintained. My journey to Sembalun Lawang on East Lombok was through winding mountain roads and deep revines. I reached Rinjani Information Centre, where all Rinjani hikers must report themselves before the ascent.

The start of the climb was through meadow of long and soft grasses.The landscape was times gentle but sometimes steep.As we climbed higher we got a majestic view of the hills and valley.With such a fantastic scene and cool fresh air, without realising we reached the first camping spot where we spent the night. The next day, we resumed our journey through yet another day of great landscape and steep terrain until we reached the next camping point at the Sembalun crater rim. The rest of the day we enjoyed ouselves looking at the Segara Anak Crater lake with the newly formed Gunong Baru in its midst. Beyond the horizon we could see the blue outline of Gunong Agong in Bali.

I didnt climb to the summit of Rinjani, but continue my way down the slope to Segara Anak. Segara Anak was a holy place for the Hindus and traces of prayer offering littered the shore. The water was suitable for bathing and teeming with fish which was my menu that night. The view was stunningly beautiful and I could spent the whole day appreciating nature's beauty. When the sun rose that morning, I was ready to make my the most ardous task of the expedition, that was climbing the steep rocky slope from Segara Anak to the other side of the crater rim at Senaru Crater rim.After 4 hours of climb, exhausted I reached the crater rim , rewarded with a picturesque view of Segara Anak and Gunong Baru.

The rest of the journey for the next 5 hours, I walked through barren grassland and lush tropical jungle teeming with birds and butterflies. We reached Senaru Village and continued our journey by bus to Mataram. This was a worthwhile trip, journeying through a beautiful unspoilt country and learning about the people and culture of Lombok