The drive there was good, the route was full of plantations, and we drove through some small pretty towns, and thus got to see the real Malaysia. It was indeed very refreshing to see normal people do things other than mall hopping and shopping. We saw children run along their gardens, big boys enjoy a game of football, kids on bicycles, and people driving around slowly, talking & waving to friends go by.
We left KL around 4 PM, and we took around 1.5 hours to reach Kampung Kuantan. I had read on the net that there are about 4-5 places from where you can take boat trips down the river to see the fireflies; we chose to go to the Fire Fly Park Resort.
Once there we freshened up & smothered ourselves with insect repellents. All of us wore full sleeved clothes. We then bought the tickets & went in.
The Sun was just setting as we went in near the boat station, so we had to wait for around 20 minutes before the guys announced the first number. There were life jackets for all to wear.
The most un-cool part of this place was that while we were waiting for darkness to engulf us, the boat guys were watching a documentary on 'Snakes' !! I was totally grossed out, and much too scared...coz we were going to enter water in the dark !!
Anyways, the number was announced & we threw the life jackets on and each one checked the other's straps, we headed to the boat, sat down, and the sound-free boat started down the river. Sound free coz they were electric boats, and it served the purpose of maintaining silence. We also spoke in whispers...Aadu had some questions, and I am super impressed with him for keeping his voice down for the entire boat ride.
The sight that was waiting for us was simply superb !! It was as though we were looking at trees decorated with tiny twinkling lights, thousands and thousands of blink-blink lights. It was very soothing, as nature was at her best, and these marvelous creatures were giving us so much joy.
They really looked like the largest colony of fire flies...we rode downstream for about 12 minutes, and then turned upstream and went on for another 15 minutes.
Each and every moment of the boat ride was lovely, and we loved it. This time also was strange as we were in complete silence, and after living in a bustling city one tends to forget what total silence is.
No photography was allowed during the boat ride, so we have no pictures of the best part of the trip. The graphics are engraved on our minds though.
I would recommend this trip to everyone. Except maybe people with real tiny babies. One has to remember to wear full clothes, cover yourself well, use insect repellents.
2 comments:
wow! what an experience! :)
i want to try it with lil p once! .. could almost imagine the scene
Sounds Fun!!!
I can imagine what the site must have been to watch the numerous bugs all at one place
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