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• The Armitage family
Describes trip in Malaysia
(Editor's Note: Seaforth native
Phyllis Armitage and her
husband Howard and children
Alanna and Derek are spending a
year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
where Howard is working for the
Canadian International Develop-
ment Agency on the faculty of
business and commerce at the
University of Kuala Lumpur. She
is a daughter of Mrs. Betty
Walker and the late Dr. Russ
Bryans of Seaforth and a grand-
daughter of .the late Harvey
Bryans of Brussels. The following
story, sent to family and friends
with Christmas cards, appear
courtesy of her mother Mrs.
Walker, The Armitages will be
back in Canada this summer.)
Our first major trip took us out
of K.L. on a steadily winding
climb up to Bukat Frazer
(Frazer's Hill). This is a pleasant
6000' escape from e heat of
K.L. and a favorite .ci. ekend trip
for many - a refreshing 75
degrees on our first visit. In the
city orie can become almost
claustrophobic from the lack of a
clear view due to all the lush
vegetation, and the fact that K.L.
is situated in a small valley. At
Bukit Frazer the varied greens of
the jungle and the bine of the sky
stretch on endlessly.
We continued on from Frazer's
Hill making the tortuous descent
through dense jungle, plantations
and bustling Chinese towns to
Kuala Lipis.
Kuala Lipis is literally the end
of the road. The jungle is so thick
in this part of Malaysia, that the
only way to proceed north is via a
single narrow gauge railway
track.
We spent the night in a quaint
upcountry resthouse and the
following morning we were up
with the birds waiting patiently
for our car to be loaded and
securely tied onto a railway
flatcar. (This is a story in itself
that defies explanation here:)
After waving it out of the station
on the mail train, we departed a
short time later on the local
"Express" (25 m.p.m. was
racing). Once during the 7 hour
journey we passed our car sitting
on a lonely siding and wondered if
we'd ever see it again.
Jungle Train
The train travelled through the
rugged jungles of central
Malaysia. The nearly impene-
trable maze of towering trees
entwined with creeping vines,
enormous ferns and bamboo
thickets is staggering. A wrong
turn and the inexperienced would
be lost for life. There is a large
elephant population inhabiting
this region but they are rarely
spotted because of the dense
jungle. At the quiet village stops
along the way, women with
heavily laden baskets balanced
on their heads, came to the train
windows to sell bananas and
rambutan to the weary travellers.
(Rambutan is a tangy local fruit
with a prickly red casing - the
fruit inside is tangy and refresh-
ing). Logging is an important part
of the economy and we saw long
trains barely able to move along
the track, burdened with
hundreds of huge tree tunks. The
jungle may not last forever.
We stepped off the train at
Kuala Krai g one hundred miles
and seven hot dusty hours later.
Fortunately, we were given the
V.I.P. lounge to await the arrival
Of our car which was by now
several hours behind. The over-
head fan, comfortable chairs and
wa.shrootris Were greatly appre-
ciated. None of us had even
entered the toilet on the train, We
happened to be sitting downwind
and that alone was enough to
10—THE BRUSSELS POST,
prevent it. People crowded the
station platform, Malay, Chinese
and Tamil Indians (originally
brought over to work on the
rubber estates) all waited
listlessly in the heat for trains.
The 19th century architeoure of
the station, the many nationali-
ties, a hideously deformed victim
of elephantitis, and the intense
heat made us feel like strangers
in another land and time-true
"travellers of the Orient."
The mail train carrying our car
chugged into the station about 3
hours later and by dusk we were
on our way again to drive the 40
miles to Khota Bahru - our first
stop on the East coast of
Malaysia. Khota Bahru is only 30
miles from the border of Thailand
but trains travelling onward are
manned by armed soldiers due to
communist guerilla activity. We
were not tempted to proceed
further.
Khota Bahru is an interesting
blend of the busy ambitious
Chinese and the more languid
Malays. In the morning we visited
the town market with its fascinat-
ing array of local produce and
aromas, and then drove out of
town to the "Beach of Passionate
Love" (a code name used by the
British in the Second World War.)
After a refreshing dip in the
lovely South China Sea, we
stopped at a Malay house where
the in, .1 of the household special-
ize in making the famous
Kelantin Kites. Kite-flying in
Malaysia is considered a serious
adult sport and it is not unusual to
see kites spanning 8' or more. We
were given a friendly demonstra-
tion before purchasing a smaller
version of the brightly coloured
• paper kites. They are now
adorning Alanna and Derek's
walls but will be flown in Canada
with the first breeze of autumn in
1977.
Reluctantly we left Khota
Bahru and drove on to Kuala
Trengganu passing by some
much appreciated open country-
side where coolies in wide
brimmed conical hats and
ponderous water buffalo laboured
in the rice padi.
The first morning at Trengganu
found us on the beach by 6:30
a.m. to watch the Malay fisher-
men in action. There was great
excitement as many schools of
tiny shrimp and ikan bilis (a small
fish that is spread out on woven
mats to dry in the sun) were
jumping in the water. All the
village fishermen were rushing
down with nets. With one man on
each side they waded waist deep
into the water to scoop up the tiny
fish. Within minutes they
managed to net thousands - a fact
that obviously brought great
delight the community. The
beauty of the beach scene was
slightly marred by the early
morning "expiations" of the
villagers, which high tide had not
yet removed and which necessi-
tated some agile footwork on the
part of the Armitages.
Boat Trip
Later in the day we enjoyed a
boat trip up a coastal river and
saw many Malay fishing villages
with their wooden houses built on
stilts near the water's edge.
Our nF •-t stop was Kuala
Dungun wnete we stayed at the
poshest place in town - the
grubby but inexpensive Molek
Inn. The purpose of this stop was
to witness one of the "wcniders of
nature."
Year after year Giant Leather-
back Sea Turtles Measuring 6' to
10' in length return to the same
expanse of beach 'Rawang
Abang', a few Miles outisde the
town of KUala Dunga; to lay their
JANUARY 26, iOn
eggs. These giant creatures
lumber ashore about midnight
and begin the arduous task of
making their way up the beach to
a safe spot above the tide line.
Once found, they labouriously dig
a hole with their large back
flippers and lay from 60 to 150
eggs. (the eggs are slightly larger
than a golf ball with a very soft
shell.) The only way one finds the
turtles is by searching the beach
with a flashlight until coming
across their tracks which might be
confused with giant tractor tire
markings in the sand. Having
buried the eggs, the turtles rest
about an hour before slowly
heading back to the sea where
their speed and mobility greatly
contrast their defenselessness on
land. The fact that the Leather-
backs return only to this 10 mile
stretch of sand is made all the
more remarkable when one
considers that some have come
from as far as 10,000 miles away.
We returned to our hotel room at
3 a.m, with a deep sense of
admiration for these huge but
gentle creatures and a feeling
that we had indeed witnessed
something. special.
Mosques
Leaving Dungan we drove past
picturesque Malay villages where,
the Mosques are all the centre of
community stopping when-
ever the sights demanded it, and
enjoying the leisurely drive. In
Kuantan we stayed at another
government rest house where the
food was excellent - delicious
fresh `seafood cooked to
perfection. While there we visited
the songket weavers (a very finely
woven cloth decorated with gold
threads) and saw villagers
weaving mats arid baskets from
palm leaf. We continued south
and after a frustrating four hour
Wait at a ferry crossing, we
reached Mersing - a delightful
Malay town which was to be our
starting point for a few days in a
South Pacific paradise,
Early next morning we left on a
fishing boat for the fout hour ride
to our "Island in the Sun'' Pilau Pilau
Tioman.
Tioman is a mountainous
jungly island with stretches of
beautiful Palm fringed beaches -
its 40Q0' peak beckoning from the
distance drew us like a magnet
across the water.
The crystal clear turquoise
water of the South China Sea,
abundant with exotic and colour-
ful corals and fishes, was fabu-
lous for snorkelling. We all had a
sense of coming home - memories
of Moinbasa flooded back as we
swam over the beds of spiny black
sea urchins and marvelled at the
array of coral. Much to his
delight, Has was able to add to
his Cowrie collection, and I found
a perfect specimen of a spider
conch just lying on the reef at low
tide. •
Muddy Trail
We also made our first jungle
trek, spending one morning
hiking to a waterfall. Slipping and
sliding on the wet muddy trail,
climbing over boulders and fallen
trees, and under the huge fern
fronds, we made our way steadily
upward.. The steepness of , the
climb and the steaming heat of
the jungle made it an exhausting
hike but a unique memory. It's
(Continued on page 11)
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