University Ecology Trip to Kuala Selangor

just got back yesterday from a 3 days 2 night trip to Kuala Selangor for my ecology trip... it was great! really! minus the leech bite and getting all stuck in the mud. basically, we left at around 5.30 pm and arrived at Kuala Selangor at around 7.30... reason for the late arrival? a freaking crazy jam! so anyhoo... that's where the fun begins.

on arrival, we put away out things and then went to have the dinner provided by the uni. not bad... but i can't really remember what we ate la. after that, it was a rush off to view the fireflies. myself anf hui ru latched ourselves to KY our, senior and made him take us on his boat. dr cathy joined us in the boat we took and off we floated up the river.

for those that have never been there, the fireflies are beautiful. it's the most romantic thing to view! really! and the sad thing is i was sitting next to KY instead of my dear dear... :S but anyhow, it was nice. me and KY went on a hyper happiness when we stopped to take pictures of the firefly-filled tree... it was like this nature-produced christmass tree. it was really so nice! :) i managed to take a couple of pictures... but then the images were not very clear, i didn't have enough exposure so the picture only managed to catch maybe 2 - 6 flies flashing :S

the next day, we woke up early, me and hui ru, to follow KY to see otters in the lake.. (i christened in Otter Lake, but it's really someother name... :P) so anyhow, we departed the camp site at about 7-8.30 and walked through the forest to the lake... it was beautiful. if i learn how to upload the pics into this site, i will. but i think i'll most likely upload it into my multiply site. anyhoo, we managed to reach there, but the otters knew we were there and dived into the water. it really was a beautiful view at the lake, even though we didn't get to see the otters.

after the otters, we followed the rest of the group to the mangroves.. trudging through the mangroves in big rubber boots is soooo not fun. the mangroves literally swallows your boots if you stand in one place for too long. i got stuck twice, but many were falling over and getting sucked in more than that.

though it was straineous, the experience was beautiful. we got to see the cutest little crabs, though they didn't stay long enough for me to snap a picture of them :S anyhow, just as i was exiting the mangroves, i got the final stuck in the mud! gaaaah! lost my boot, then my socks :S not fun... trust me... hahah! but it was irritating to be like 5 steps away from the exit then getting stuck :P

the afternoon was the trip to the secondary forest. also alot of nice flowers and plants. i preferred that walk due to the nice nice scenary :P anyhoo, all the pics i haven't uploaded yet. the only thing i have been doing is sleep to restore the energy i lost.

in the evening however, i went up the hill with hui ru to see the sunset... the view up there was breath-taking. basically, there was a lighthouse, a troop of maniacal monkeys with the most adorable babies, and tourists left right and center. the monkeys there were mostly tame and actually used to people so it makes them not afraid of us... again, a lot of beautiful scenary snaps were taken...

the last day was a trip to Gombak forest. now that was where the leeches decided to attack me! more than one climbed onboard my shoes, one managed to latch on and suck :S so anyhoo, the leech was yanked off by a nice friend. and the bite bled for quite a while :S again, the view was beautiful... sigh! nature is wonderful, but so easily destroyed... i think the only thing i didn't like about the trip was the leeches. and i fact that the toilet was... let's not go there :|