Touring Perak- A Photo Show

 Recently our young friend Katrina came for a short visit- she was on her way to England where she will study on exchange for a year, and thought she'd like to stop in and see us, and a bit of Malaysia, on her way. She arrived just before Hari Raya, the celebration for the end of Ramadan, and we decided to go and meet her in KL, do some sightseeing there, then drive back with her. We'd been told KL would be deserted, with everyone (certainly every Malay) having gone back to their home towns to visit family, but obviously other people thought, like us, that leaving their departure till the Thursday afternoon would be a good way to avoid traffic. There are two lanes on the North-South Expressway, but that obviously insn't enough for the impatient Malaysians, who make a third lane by driving in the emergency/ motorocycle lane. You'll see in the picture that the polite ones who stay in the lane are so polite, they drive to the right to make plenty of room for the impolite ones. The red and blue sign says "kecuali kecemasan", or "except for emergencies". Apparently getting home for Raya is sufficient emergency. The madness and family rituals surrounding Hari Raya are something akin to our Australian Christmas.

Katrina and I did some sightseeing together on a few days when the Inventor had to work. I had been to this waterfall near Chenderiang before, but no-one in the family had wanted to venture up the steep stairs, so I had no idea how beautiful the falls are. Katrina, with her energetic enthusiasm, wanted to explore everything, and we found this rope bridge and the very attractive falls at the top of the many stairs.













It was late in the day and we were hot from all the climbing, so despite having no swimming gear, we decided to have a dip in the clean, cool waters. The pools are only shallow, but so refreshing




Just as we were getting out to leave, we heard multiple screams, and turned to see a body hurtling down the waterfall. A number of teenage and preteen boys had clambered up the rock face at the very right of the picture below, and one of them, while either attempting to swim in the pool at the very top of my picture, or, more likely, to traverse across, had lost his footing and been swept over the edge. We all stood in silent horror as his body was swept and battered over the rocks, Katrina noting his last, futile attempt to grab at the last ledge before plumeting into the miraculously empty pool below. Not one of us watching this dramatic twist to adventurous stupidity thought for a minute that after a face-first landing and such a fall, that he would manage to pull himself, with some help, out of the shallow pool and then walk unaided down the steps to his shaken but grateful family. But by the grace of Allah, he did, and I hope he will use his bonus life to tell other young men of the dangers of overestimating one's capacity, or underestimating the power of water.



Katrina and I also did a girls' day trip to the Cameron Highlands. There are two advantages to living in this area: 1) Some of the sights are so beautiful, it really is no bother to go back there, and 2) there are so many things to see, there is always something new that we haven't discovered. I was keen to go and see the Mossy Forest atop Gunung Brinchang, and we weren't disappointed. Nestled right under or amongst the clouds, at around 2000m it is cool and damp here. The boardwalk has been built over the original track which actually picked its way through the roots and branches of the strange, moss-covered trees. At the end of the boardwalk, Katrina and I picked our way for a little further through the roots, as we had been promised by some mud-covered French visitors that we would see some pitcher plants, which we did indeed find. I will be returning there one day with The Inventor in tow, to show him the amazing views and eerie plant life of this extraordinary place.

I've been to both of the Boh Tea  Plantations on the Cameron Highlands before, but the spectacular scenery is worth a revisit. In this photo, Katrina is resting on a rock enjoying the view after failing to find a geocache, though after this we disappeared deeper into the plantation (whose tea bushes seem to stretch forever) and after a precarious drive along narrow tracks that hug the sides of the steep hills, we did manage to find the next geocache on our list. This is the first cache find I have managed to log since arriving in Malaysia, as we seem to have lost our GPS and the phone is proving to be a most unhelpful GPS.


There are entire towns within the BOH Tea Plantation, where workers live, their children attend school, and all manner of activities take place. Mosques, temples and chapels all exist here, and the workers probably have little need to ever leave.







 We'd decided to go somewhere this past weekend with Katrina, before she left, so I chose a large Lake in the north of our state of Perak called Lake (Tasik) Temenggor. She had been in Penang the day before and caught a bus across to meet us, so we drove up on the Saturday morning after dropping our cat (more about that in another blog!) with a friend to be looked after. I included this picture for family who visited earlier this year, in case they think they have covered the Malaysian experience. Here we are eating "roti tisu", the first time we have had it and a must-try for any sweet-tooth or anyone who likes roti chennai. Crunchy, sweet, warm, yum. Enough said.








The hotel room at Banding Lakeside Inn did indeed offer the 180 degree views of the lake as promised. It was a lovely change from the view of dirty apartment buildings that we have from our house.

We stayed overnight at the lake, and had planned to take a boat trip on the lake on the Sunday, to the famous Belum National Park, our main aim being to see a Rafflesia flower. However, when we got to the jetty, we were to discover that there were no Rafflesia plants in flower (it's just a matter of chance, there is no special flowering season) and we decided that the RM550 was a lot to hire the boat to see other things that we were somewhat indifferent about (an elephant salt lick, a waterfall, and an orang Asli village). So instead, we decided to go and find our own things to sightsee.

Ironically, the first thing we decided to look for was an "elephant crossing" sign. Ironic because we drove for some way across the lake and further west, before turning back, only to find this one right outside our hotel! It says, "Warning, elephant crossing area 500m ahead". A guard at the Tenaga Nasional site across the road assured us that elephants cross there every night. Yes, every night, at 6pm. Enam petang, every evening, even when it rains like it did the previous evening at 6. Great. We weren't impressed to discover this when it was too late. These are wild elephants, some of the few that still live in the more remote forests of Malaysia, and we all would have been very excited to view them.

As we drove back southward, there was a surprising number of tourist signs along the road- brown signs announcing sights and the distance. They were unfortunately not followed up very well, and we didn't find the waterfall we were looking for when we discovered this rubbber plantation. Surprisingly, some of the trees are still being tapped. I'm not sure if you can see the tapping marks on the trees, or the cups for catching the latex, but if you look very hard you will see the blue shirt of The Inventor, and look even harder and you will see Katrina. She is making a series of "Where's Wally" photos of her trip, though I suggested they might more appropriately be called "Where's THE Wally". She made it particularly difficult on this day by wearing one of her father's old army khaki shirts.

 

 

We had only just been talking about the ancient human remains that had been found in Perak, nicknamed "Perak Man", when we came across a series of signs to caves, some of which indicated one was the origin of "Perak Man". Though we didn't actually find the cave that Perak Man was found in, we did find this series of four caves, one of which still has achaeology strings marking out the floor. The one pictured here was the most impressive, though it did involve somewhat of a clamber to get to it, as you can see in the picture of Katrina and The Inventor making the descent.

 We had a wonderful time discovering new places, particularly nice as we shared these places with no other tourists. The only people we met were locals in villages along the way. There is so much more to be discovered here, if only we had more time. Perak is a fascinating state, and Malaysia is an interesting and varied country, and I hope we find more opportunities to discover new things.

Observation

Since moving to Malaysia, I have noticed that I have become a more observant driver. I spend more of my driving time looking out for other drivers and motorcyclists. I see things happening on side-streets and on the footpath, and am generally more ready for the numerous surprises that constitute the daily lottery that is driving in Malaysia.

Yesterday morning I drove from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, and I realised something. My aware and alert state of driving is not the result of extra effort or new skills attained since my feet hit Asian shores. Neither is it the result of being less occupied with other matters, which I had previously thought might be the case. Rather, it is the result of having available the majority of my “driving brain”, my conscious and unconscious mind that scans for possibilities, makes decisions and reacts accordingly while I manoeuvre one or two tonne of steel around obstacles on the road. In Australia, I don't have this luxury, and as a result, I don't see as much around me. Why is this? After driving to the Gold Coast yesterday (to take the inventor to a cardiologist appointment and then this morning to the airport), I realise that I spend a good deal of my attention on rules. Especially speed. Instead of scanning for cars changing lanes or vehicles stopping unexpectedly, I spend nearly half of my driving time glancing at my speedometer and scanning for speed limit signs. I'm also continually scanning the sides of the roads and bridges for police cars and cameras, because despite my attempts to follow the rules, I do make mistakes. In Malaysia, almost all of this energy and visual awareness is spent gauging the traffic conditions, predicting problems and making myself and other drivers safe on the road.

This isn't to say that it is safer driving in Malaysia- far from it. Each year, five times more people die on Malaysian roads than Australian roads, despite the populations being very similar (26 million in Malaysia, 23 million in Australia). The Malaysian people on the whole appreciate the lack of enforcement on the roads and while they begrudgingly pay the bribes to avoid fines, prefer this to following the normal course of the law. Many embrace the lawlessness on the roads, travelling at 160 on the expressways, weaving across roads without regard for other vehicles, and doing what they please. Malaysia is spiralling in peril with no law enforcement, while Australia has made and enforced rules to the extent of oppression. 

If only there was a happy medium.

Driving- Navigating Malaysian Roads

We have some family coming over for the Inventor's birthday in February. He will be turning 50, having successfully negotiated half a century on this planet. Our D-Max only seats five, so I suggested to one of the more capable and courageous members of the family, “What about you pick up a hire car and drive it to Kampar, so we have enough transport to move people around?”

He wasn't especially keen on the idea, and I can at least see his point of view. Driving in Malaysia can be a little hair-raising, especially at first. It's not that it is on a par with other Asian countries we have visited. Just sitting in a car in Vietnam, for instance, is a life-changing experience that would inspire anyone with the tiniest grain of faith to open communication with their creator. In Vietnam, I did a lot of soul-searching and questioning, on the value and purpose of life and humanity. When faced each day with the real possibility of being involved in an accident, one gets pragmatic.

Malaysia isn't like that. The roads in Malaysia are a blend of the haphazard, careless approach of the Asians, and the British legacy of undying regard for all that is lawful and proper. The inventor finds the disparity of this a little disconcerting, and is prone to frustration at the wheel of the car, but I still mostly am mildly amused, and somewhat bemused, at the goings-on on the tarmac around me.

Road laws in Malaysia are very similar to those in Australia. That is to say, they appear to be, for if I was to be truthful, I would have to admit that neither of us has actually ever looked up the road rules. The major difference would appear to be the infrequent policing of the rules and the ease with which one can bribe one's way out of a fine, and the subsequent disregard that people have for the rules.

Driving in Kampar is relatively straightforward. It's a small town and the traffic is generally light and slow-moving. In our little town the main challenge is getting across the traffic on the slow-moving main street. It's a game of chicken, complete with human obstacles, bicycles, cars, trucks and motorcycles. There is also the usual traffic conditions that make all driving in Malaysia a bit chaotic, until you get used to it- vehicles parked in already-narrow lanes, double-parked vehicles obstructing the flow of traffic, roadside restaurants taking the majority of a road over for tables, poor signage, red lights that one finds don't apply, even though facing you, and the unpredictability of movement of any of the vehicles sharing the road. It pays to take less notice of the rules and more of what is happening on the road in every direction around you. A generous portion of bravado blended in the right measure with driving skills seems to be the correct recipe for surviving three months without incident.

On all Malaysian roads, the thing we still find a challenge is motorcyclists. They obviously go with the grace of Allah, for they feel no need for protective equipment like jacket, shoes, or helmet. Children balance confidently behind parents and siblings, and mother's arms on the handlebars form a secure spot for the very smallest to perch. The motorcycles- not scooters- move along the side of the road, veering out in front of traffic to avoid puddles and potholes. They drive up the side of cars to take their place at the front of the traffic waiting for the lights to turn green. The smart ones jump the light before it changes, to get a head-start on the motorists, who tend to wait for the green. If they only have a short distance to travel, motorcyclists will drive up the shoulder on the wrong side of the road, but my favourite motorcycle trick, unsurpassed in its stupidity, is to overtake the D-Max, on the inside, as we are cornering. This manouevre could only be performed, or even considered, by someone who has never swung a vehicle of this size around a corner.

The drivers travel in larger obstacles that are easier to see. In our little corner of countryside, they weave around without indicators, unpredictable, inexperienced, and often incompetent. I find the choreography of the whole thing somewhat lovely and fluid. Driving in KL, however, is more serious stuff. Cars jam onto the maze of expressways that creep all over the city- wide, easy roads which are well signposted, but one wrong turn can mean a half-hour detour. None of the GPS packages we have tried so far can manage the complexity of lanes and multiple exits without the occasional error, then once off the expressway, navigation is a nightmare, as like all Malaysian towns, KL is a maze of connected minor roads with suburbs of winding lanes branching off them. We are slowly learning to find our way around Ipoh, but it also has its share of headaches, as I find the Malaysian road design very hard to fathom. Today I drove many kilometres around a suburb trying to find my way into it, and eventually used a small lump of concrete to cross the ditch and narrow stretch of grass that separated the main road I was on from the subdivision, rather than drive many kilometres back around.

All the above complaints are are minor and can be worked around with some patience and understanding, but the one that continues to get us riled is the selfishness and lack of consideration of so many drivers. It almost seems like there are only two sorts of drivers- slow, incompetent ones, and impatient, rude ones, and the it's the rude ones really upset the Inventor. He even dreamed about them last night, but unlike reality, in his dream he was successful his efforts to force their good behaviour using the might of the D-Max. These drivers can't wait in a line of traffic which obviously is moving slowly, preferring to make a new lane, or even two, by driving up the left of the traffic jam and then pushing in further ahead. This isn't just one or two cars I am talking about- it is an entire, constant stream of traffic. They seem to have no concern for turn-taking or consideration of others, preferring to meet their own needs only. It makes very slow going for those of us who wait our turn. I have had it happen in Australia, too, so I can reassure you that this sort of self-serving, rude behaviour is not unique to Malaysia, but it is probably worse here because of the absence of police regulation of road behaviour.

Then there are the drivers who find it intolerable sitting in the endless line of traffic that meanders from Gopeng to Kampar. The road is adequate enough but only one lane, and it always carries a lot of traffic. Some days the traffic is heavier and it just moves slower. Overtaking is pointless, as one can look beyond the line of traffic they are stuck in, and see another, and yet another, but still these young men pull out into tiny gaps between the oncoming traffic and utilise turning lanes and any other space they can find to make up one or two positions in the line. They sit impatiently straddling the double lines, looking and waiting for any opportunity to dart out and back into the crawling traffic, but they never get very far ahead of us before we get to the double lanes near Kampar. They only bother me when our vehicle is close enough to be hit by schrapnel from any accident they may cause, but the Inventor becomes quite incensed at their stupidity.

Having said so many disparaging things about Malaysian drivers, I must also now add that many are sensible and safe, and many appear to be trying to establish some sense of order on the roads. There are drivers that indicate their intentions, stay in their lanes, and most wait for traffic lights to turn green. Many also sit on the 110 km/h speed limit on the expressway, in stark contrast to the incompetents who potter along at 70 in the left lane, and the revheads who dominate the right-hand lane travelling at speeds more than double this, lights flashing angrily at anyone who dare try to use the lane to overtake at any speed below theirs.

Drivers and motorcyclists in Malaysia are five times more likely to die on the road than their Australian counterparts. Over 6000 people die on Malaysian roads each year, and though Australia has only a few million fewer inhabitants, only 1300 die on Australian roads. And we probably all agree that 1300 is too many. Cyclists are also five times more likely to meet an untimely death here, a fact of which we are very aware when we take out our beautiful new Raleigh bikes. Helmets, reflectors and lights might make us stand out from the crowd, but they help keep us safe.

The approach we have taken is somewhere of a middle ground. We learned to drive where following rules was obligatory. Coming from such a well-oiled democracy, bound by laws and bureaucracy, means we have been trained to expect rules and follow them. It would doubtless be quite easy to adopt local ways, abandoning the wearing of a seat belt, drifting between lanes without so much as a wave, or driving the expressway at 150. To some extent, we have taken on board some of these energy-saving local gems, but unlike many locals, we know about safety and have been brought up with the fear that is drilled into our heads at an early age. We hope to remain safe and sensible drivers, and in fact, I for one have become more aware and more alert on the roads. One just cannot afford not to be- there are 6000 Malaysians relying on it.