Last saturday i went into d' JUNGLE for the first time!
A city sleeeeeekkker like myself no NUTS bout the jungle what more driving into the mud, climbing hillslop and crossing river!
but i did just all that!:)
further more i drove my SORENTO with normal ONROAD tyres!
This crazy idea going into the Jungle is to understand the whole 4x4 thingy and to support my 4X4 team....
YUP ... i set up another division to explore the 4X4 Industry... I 'reactivate' my 1st company that i set up in 1994 for this project... "X4" is now a division of Power Mind Consultancy Sdn Bhd and my partner and CEO of the Company is Jeff Zaiham (i will 'blog' bout him soon enough)!
x4 first task was organising a trip for me and a few of my friends to evaluate x4's "X4 Weekend Xcape: Xplore Ulu Slim" program...
Anyway...
....back to my 'adventure'...
We assemble at KL Sentral last saturday at 8am... (Juhaidi and Syed ofcoz were there early...ehhem... on time but i was late! )
We makan first then 'rolling' @ approx 8.45am...
Three 4WD... Jeff the Commander is driving the JeeP ; me they call me LINCAT (a hybrid of lintah and pacat) driving a SorentO and Zali driving a Monster JeeP (pic)! The 'cargo' : Syed , Juhaidi, Richard, Fizrul (my younger brother) and Rina (Zali's fiancee)
We convoy to ulu slim using the Plus highway....
There was a Ferarri Team convoy too at the highway..zzooming away...think bout atleast 13 ferraris... dont think they re going to the Jungle..Duh!
We took the Behrang exit and stop at the small old town of Kampung Ulu Slim... Its a very small old town... i mean its a 10 small one storey of shops facing each other on a not too long a road... ata the end of that short road stand a small 'restaurant'; owned by Pak Atan..
Pak Atan is a very humble old man with tough fit body... macam komando! He explained the history of the town as the town is more than 100 years old. He also told us that next to his shop is a chinese barber shop that has been operating since the birth of the town and now passed down to the son that is also damn old:) the uniqueness of the barber is that he will take more than an hour to complete a haircut and only charge RM5 to his customers... how he survive the month?.... he cuts his own hair and not at a hair salloon in KLCC!
While waiting for our 'simple lunch' to be served there was a group of 4 more 4WD big pajeros arrive and parked infront of the shop...there were Jeff's friends and they too going at the same camping site...
The first thing they ask was "Siapa punya Sorento tu?" (who's sorento is that) ... the 'guys' tone of voice is almost a tease yet confuse on what the f_ck a sorento doing here and what the H_ll the driver is thinking to drive the sorento up into the jungle! further more with ONLY a normal on road tyres!!! :) ofcoz all fingers pointing at me and Jeff starts to introduce them one by one to me and the 'cargo' too...
After our early lunch (approx 1130pm) we continue our convoy ... we stop at the hot springs nearby and all of us try to 'boiled' eggs by slowly putting the eggs onto the small rocky pool of the hot springs... all enjoyed ourself ofcoz right after syed almost fell into the big 'hot pool' and richard 'half boiled' eggs broke INSIDE his pockets:))
Approx 12pm we went 'IN'!
My heart starts beating fast when jeff radio me and ask me to engage to my 4WD Low gear...
I might say that i am almost ready to get scratches on my car or some shit things to happen:)
The route is getting tougher and rougher by the minute!
its not a light terrain as what Jeff have told me... its actually a medium terrain route where they are muddy and hillslops to climb and also rocky river crossings ahead! I was just focusing on the route and instructions especially when i got stuck at the hill slop! thanks syed,juhaidi and ofcoz Zali and the echo of Jeff on the radio...thnx guys! (fizrul just pissing in his pants n pray to god dont kill him today:)) (i will upload more pics and video soon)
When we almost reach the camo site, we stop at a small Orang Asli settlement and joined y the 'other 4x4 guys' ... After just saying 'hi' to the head of the settlement he all continue convoy to the site that was not far from the settlement...
I got woried when i hear a big strong current of the 2 rivers ahead as we need to cross the river to get at the camp site:p Jeff crossed the river like an expert... well ofcoz..he founded the camp site and been there almost 50 times..grrr... Jeff step out fromn the his Jeep and signalling me to cross over... i was telling Juhaidi, syed and Fizrul... my mechanics will tell me to change everything when i got back to KL...
Slowly i let my car slide into the river and then 'GONG' ... i hit a rock and i keep pressing the power and puff the car lift and crosssed the river... man i felt like i just got my 'akil baligh'! (will upload video soon)
After i crossed the river...one by one of the 4x4 guys crossed and all step down and congratulating me for crossing the river well... very good for a first timer... (kembang hidung aku):)
The rest of the trip is just great... details of the trip will be shared via my pictograph
syed tengah rajin...
syed tengah menunjuk...
Zali memotong...
syed's hand blister after not blogging:)
Juhaidi BBQ ala Kelantan Delights (sebelum masak dia buat salad... with petai and potato chips and thousand island)
Syed also wanna be a chef... (ade assistant cook lagi)
Op api hilang...hehehe :)
all busy eating... bbq ala kelantan delights really 'sedap' with a touch of Jeff marinate chicken and his 'creative serai' (lalang)
But Juhaidi is still bbq-ing... rajin rajin! (semua rajin dalam hutan)
After Makan session: talk and kelantan delight painful massage!
Pain in the Jungle: only Syed volunteer:))
Next Morning: Zali getting prepared...
All Set! Ready to go up hill...
Stop for some scenic view...
Syed just finish meditating...
Me with the Orang Asli's Kids
Back from the hill... Zali is crossing the river that i crossed with my sorento:)
End of trip: Zali's Jeep mandi lumpur
nice nice! a big bravo to u.u juz made it.sumore with sorento n HT tyre.its juz amazing.looking foward for another trip to another place wit ur sorento...u really suprise me indeed.more than gud enuf for a 1st timer plus ur car condition..hehe...u done a really good job!so..where's next?
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the blog bro... But you forgot to mention that you're so phobic by your Name Sake (New Jungle Name...) that you've got you pant legs in your socks...(It wouldn't stop them by the way...). All in all it was fun bringing you in for the first time... I actually had more confidence in you that you had in your self... Learn to trust the equipment bro.. they behave (unlike people...).
ReplyDeleteI was actually hoping for some torrential rain when we were exiting the campsite. It would have been definitely more dangerous for you in the Sorento but it would have been a superb initiation to 4 wheeling...
I did see a different side of you while in the jungle...you were like 10 years old again and excitable and brimming with laughter and spirit... You should carry that more often and in all likelyhood will make you an even better person (scale of 1:10 you probably stand at 2.75 right now...to the general public...who knows...) but bring out the Lil Faleigh in you... You'll score much higher.
Fact of the matter, the jungle bring out the real you (applies to almost everyone...) possibly the abundance and possible overdose of oxygen in the air makes that happen.
IIt was great as well to get to know our other friends on the trip, Juhaidi (Kelantan Delight), Syed (the Blogger) and Richard (Euro Asia)... everyone was having such fun and it was just nivce for me to sit back and see all my friends enjoy the time.
Lets hope for more of this in future albeit with more individuals so that we may build a better nation in with our micro contributions.
Thanks guys for for being such a sport.
Singing Off
Jeff Zaiham
a.k.a. Commander 9W2ZHM
U should give yourself a pat; u did well. It's like being in fear factor - you've conquered your fears. So next trip should be a breeze. But going 4X4 means more than just that. As your photos show, it is also about camaraderie and teamwork; making new friends and expanding our networking, sharing ideas and experiences over a campfire, and to enjoy nature. The serenity of the mountains, the lush quiet jungles, the friendly Orang Aslis and best of all, the cool cascading rivers - the best therapy for tired muscles and muddled minds. If you think the BBQ tastes good, then it warrants a trip to Kelantan Delights at Sooka Sentral - heaven waiting for you there. Looking forward to next trip, bro
ReplyDeleteTQ brothers... next trip lets try more harder route:)
ReplyDeleteI posted a long comment but was 'missing' in the upload.. sheeesh .
ReplyDeleteCongrats to LINCAT.. (Lintah/Pacat) for making it as a MAN.. It was great to be able to intro you to the fascinating world of 4x4.
we'll do more forays next time but with better equipment and more people..
Again, congrats bro..
Nice photo with the orang asli kid. Finally u know what is adventure, huh.
ReplyDelete