Taman Negara Kuala Koh - Part 1

All these years, my husband never take any leave during the school holiday. Believing that all tourist attracting places will be flooded with tourists & accommodations will be in full occupancy not to mention having to pay peak period surcharge - it's expensive to travel during school holiday, he never take us anywhere during school holiday.

So when he told me a week ago that his leave application has been approved, I was pleased but a bit shocked at the same time.

This time our destination is Taman Negara Kuala Koh. Actually, he promised to take us here since many years ago. But, every year since he made that promise, he will be going with his fishing friends - hunting for kelah (malaysian mahseer or malaysian red mahseer; scientific name : tor tambroides from the cyprinidae family - nowadays, the fish is facing extinction due to unscrupulous activities like bombing, poisoning and illegal netting. Such, a lot of efforts have been taken to ensure that this specie will not go into extinction; for eg. setting Kelah Sanctuaries at Sg Tahan, Lubuk Pertang (Kuala Koh) and Tasik Kenyir - most anglers will catch and release it), leaving us for 3-4 days each time.(There will be more stories on Kelah hunting in my coming entry).

All of us were very excited and soo... looking forward for the trip. We left Shah Alam on Monday, (March 16). We headed north through Kuala Kubu. Subhanallah,... the view at the Kuala Kubu Dam is sooo..... beautiful. I can't share any shots this time since I am still figuring out how to transfer images from my mobile. But trust me, it is. If you have the time, take a joy ride there. I do not know whether there are any picnicking area but the view itself is well worth the trip.

Kuala Koh is situated 90kms from Gua Musang. This is a shot taken of Felda Aring - the entry point to Kuala Koh National Park. We stopped by the road site to pick some palm fruits - those left by the roadside - not sure why but looks like these were left out as they may not have met the pickers' standards? We took those which were already brown turning dark and a bit soggy - this is said to be the best bait for kelah.

Our accommodation - Chalet No. 3. Word of caution though : If you are going to stay at the chalet (I think it is true for all the chalets here), do not leave any crumbs or if possible do not sleep on the floor (even with mattress) because you may leave with ant bites.

Our clan getting ready for the boat trip to Lubuk Kaloi to try our luck at hunting kelah. We considered ourselves lucky as the wheather is clear and it is not raining that day.

Lubuk Kaloi, here we come...!

Our makeshift kitchen. We're very thankful for those who built the structure. We were made to understand that the previous fishing groups left earlier than their intended stay due to the heavy rainpour the day before. Menu for the day, masak lemak kobis, sambal tumis mackerel, telur goreng, ikan masin. Life is heavenly. We brought along our food ration. We did not actually expect to get anything, but we're just happy and cherished the time that we wpent together.

Our temporary home. Another word of caution : It is quite tricky to perform solat in a tent. Maybe due to the sand were still soft from the previous two days heavy rain, or I'm moving too fast when changing my position, I slipped from my ruku' straight to sujud. Well, I finally managed, after a few trials.

My husband and two sons found this source of spring water close to our tent site. Hmmm.... talking about our very own source of mineral water... This is bliss.

Our catch for the day. Though not kelah, our day is made. And since it is not listed as an endangered specie, we turned the Temperas (Mata Merah:cyclocheilichthys apogon) from this,....

.... to this. Gulai tempoyak. Pehh!...We left Lubok Kaloi, satisfied and with a promise to make a return trip.

Other than fishing & camping, there are other activities to do in the National Park. Among others, walking through suspension bridge,...

Canopy walking....

.....and all these activities from jungle trekking to bird watching.

Somehow, this trip is so... special, not just because we spent time together and having lots of fun - also due to the fact that about 10 minutes after leaving the National Park, we witnessed a procession of the Batik tribe - which we never dream of seeing. Here are a few snapshots of them - at first, we were not sure if they let us take any photograph of them but they agreed when I asked for their permission. They are quite friendly (maybe a bit shy). Please note their headgears which form part of their accessories.