It was my last full day of the trip, so it was time I got away from the congestion, the fumes, the concrete of steamy Kuala Lumpur and headed out to the real Malaysia.
The rainforest of the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve teems with tropical birds, macaques, chirruping cicadas, and dark natural mystery. I didn’t see any of the exotic fauna but I certainly sensed the magic.
A canopy walkway, much lower than others here, and less scary.
(gulps)
The long fronds of the liana tree – or as Tarzan calls it, Uber.
I think this one’s real.
About Bukit Nanas. It may be that the indigenous Orang Asil called this place “the forest where no one returns from”…
…a part of deepest Malaysia even they thought of as nature at its rawest and most unforgiving.
Maybe Bukit Nanas refers to the gods and shapeshifters they thought lurked in the cool shadows here…
…and in such profusion only the bravest hunters would venture into its depths…
Maybe all this is true…
…or maybe I made it all up.
Bukit Nanas actually means Pineapple Hill in Malay…
…and it’s the name of the nearest monorail stop to my hotel.
They’d basically left this bit of rainforest alone, more-or-less, as Kuala Lumpur grew up around it…
…and it’s now called KL Forest Eco Park, forming part of the attractions around the KL Tower, the telecommunications tower we saw in the last post.
You can just make out a small part of the rainforest here. It’s that tiny slither of green in the far distance, at the base of the tower.
Sorry everyone. I hadn’t left the city at all!
orwellianTwo 