Take The Path Less Ordinary

First it hugs you, and then it kills you. The strangler fig is no pushover in the botanical kingdom. It best epitomises Darwinism’s “survival of the fitness”. A fully grown fig can choke the largest tree to death and takes over its place.
Yes, this is how we like our jungle – raw and full [...]

“Stink like hell, but tastes like heaven”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Botany certainly didn’t mince words when it comes to describing Bombacaceae durio zibethinus.
The Malaysian Agriculture Department is perhaps more specific. In their list, codes like D2, D24, D99 and D158 depict each sub-species and a hefty 190 clones have been recorded since [...]

One tag from a Temple’s Pit Viper will cause your face to go numb and the bite mark will bleed non-stop. Take heart. Now, those nasty side effects have been turned around for good use by the cosmetic and medical industry.
The Malaysian native snake made worldwide news. Woo hoo !
Yes, snake venom facial cream by [...]

On a sunny day in June 2005, a family decided to go trekking in a jungle near Fraser Hill. Four boys lost their way and were finally found after 2 days of searching in the 8,000 sq m jungle with the help of police force and the special Senoi Paraaq trekkers.
People getting lost in the [...]

“Malang tidak berbau” - Malay proverb
(English translation: Danger has no scent)
What people don’t know about the jungle could easily fill up an emergency room.
Lurking hazards are everywhere and offer no warning. Before you trot into the countryside or jungle, any self respecting guide will usually give you a pep talk about possible dangers that [...]

“Yet another continent of life remains to be discovered, not upon the earth, but one or two hundred feet above it, extending over thousands of square miles … There awaits a rich harvest for the naturalist who overcomes the obstacles — gravitation, ants, thorns, rotten trunks — and mounts to the summits of the … [...]

We had a generous dose of monkey manners yesterday.
It’s our fault. We forgot that we are in wildlife territory and they stake claim to any thing - or car - left on their turf.

We were recently engaged to do a write-up on shoreline conservation for a magazine and figured Kuala Gula would be a good [...]