To a healthy walk on the first day of Raya
This entire week of Raya holidays is indeed very good for me to catch up with a number things listed in my priority list! At last, my long overdued committment to write the project paper for CASTME is completed and emailed , my bushy orangy allamanda plant in front of my house is eventually trimmed to its lowest limit plus some other things tended to.
Yesterday, being a public holiday, I had the company of my hubby to walk with me in the morning.We decided to try out the Taman Rimba Kiara in TTDI at the early hours of the Raya morning. Somehow it did not turn out that early bcos it was 7.30am when we started our walk.
When we arrived at the car park, there were already so many cars parked there. To my surprise, we must be the last few people who have discovered this place! I have been hearing about this place years ago and I began to imagine the suspension bridge, the big lake ,the beautiful garden , the reflexalogy stoned path and the herbal plants grown in patches to be plucked and not to be wiped off completely from the ground.
We walked through stretches of virgin jungles on both sides of the road and saw some monkeys swinging from tree to tree as well as climbing up the lamp poles . I was more afraid of these monkeys than they were of me. The entire stretch of this healthy walk is indeed made up of ups and downs. Initially, I really felt that I was still not fit in spite of many hours of previous morning walk.Then I realised it was the gradient of the walk path because I walked comfortably on level grounds. It was like an endless walk after half an hour and our destination where there is the suspension bridge is never reached. At two cross roads we walked on following the forward arrow and eventually arrived at where we started.
Looking back, we realised that we actually went to the jungle path and not the Taman proper where the suspension bridge is! Anyway, I realises that my usual morning walk is nothing compared to an hour going through this jungle path. We will surely go back again to look for the beautiful garden path to walk while inhaling the cool and fresh morning air . It is also so convenient to buy all kinds of newspapers , some fruits or even vegetables there after the walk. Malaysians really know how to do business !
About Me
- Elaine Lee
- Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
- An Educator who had served for 31 yrs in Malaysian Government schools, A lover of plants especially flowering plants, Special interest in innovative teaching and learning, A strong believer in Project-based learning
My first sight of the Slipper Orchids
" I saw the slipper in the orchid "
1 comment:
Hello ML,
Nice piece. Yes, how Malaysian are we? Let me say my piece. The newspapers these days are not on being Malaysian but on whether you are Malay, Chinese, Indian, Sikh, Kadazan, Iban etc. I don't think people remember what being Malaysian is, judging by the papers! Daily we are fed with what each race is doing in championing its own race and bigots trying to gain publicity by portarying other races as intimidating and racial. I am so fed up with what I read, I am sure fellow Malaysians in the true spirit have also had enough. In Malaysia, we are faced with daily squabbles on race and religion. What happened to the 51 years we lived in harmony? What happened to the relationships we built up over the years? Is it all going to the dogs now! I remember when I was a student in England some 25 years ago. I was so proud to be Malaysian and we had Malaysian student clubs, inter-varsity Malaysian students games, we spent National Day together and have picnics for all occasions. It was a wonderful time for me. Then when I again spent two years in the States with my family in the
90's, it was with other Malaysian families that we clicked and got together. We helped each other through thick and thin. Coming back, we drifted apart due to communal living and the papers didn't help. Everything seems to be communal and racial. Eventhough celebrating festivals the Malaysian Way and Open House concept was advocated, I dont think it helped, they were mainly one big free 'makan' party for everyone. These days, we are bombarded with bigots who try to champion their community rights to win political support and gain power. Like most true Malaysians, we are fed up. We want to get on with our lives, we want to get on with our neighbours, we want to build better lives for our children, not constantly reminded that we are Malay, Chinese or Indian etc.We know the colour of our skin, for goodness sake. After 51 years of Independence, you would think that our relationships have improved by leaps and bounds, sorry to say, I think we have moved backwards and will take years to correct. We need the new PM to move forward with a brave heart, we must deny those leaders who advocate race and religion all the time. Respect and acceptance is the order of the day. Enough said about tolerance, I think there has been no question about that. If we can accept our foreign friends, why can't we accept our multi-rcaial and multi-religious neighbours in our own country? I sincerely hope that we can still call ourselves Malaysian in years to come. I am Malaysian in the true sense of the word and still harbour hopes that the future will be better for ourselves and our children. With globalization and a borderless world, Malaysians must remain united and wake up to the fact that the real enemies are out there, not in our country itself!
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