My Gopeng Resort

As I implied in the previous post, I visited Cy in the forest resort and reserve where he's currently conducting his fieldwork on the native people. Like most the places we've been to, this place is...and my favourite word...tranquil as well as serene, calm and downright peaceful. Away from the city life, away from the rat race, away from the hustle and bustle.

I do enjoy this peace of mind from time to time after spending too much time in the city. Unfortunately, I could only stay there for 3 days, 2 nights but it was a time well spent and I'm definitely going back there again.

Moving on, the place is called My Gopeng Resort. It lies a few kilometers away from Gopeng town (a small town nearby Ipoh in Perak). Hills and valleys speckled the areas to which some are used for marble mining (the area is full of it). The resort is enclosed with dense forest so do expect rainfall and more-than-friendly-bugs. Still, nature lovers usually don't care about those kind of stuff. Several rivers also run through the forest and in a hot afternoon, you can take a dip in the cool water and just release your tension.

This is a picture of the resort.

Among other things you will notice there is the large amount of pretty butterflies. Most of the ones I saw are the Malaysian National Butterfly - The Raja Brooke. In a few designated spots, you can see them puddling which is an activity whereby the males try to absorb nutrients from the ground (mostly sodium).

This is one picture I took of them but it's kind small so you might have to zoom in.

Then, my favourite itinerary came. Finding the elusive Rafflesia. It is the world largest species of flower and it can only be found around this part of the world. Though the largest ones can only be found in Borneo Island, the ones that I saw are sub-species of them but they were still large nonetheless.

The journey to find these flowers, however, was arduous. It required at least an hour of trekking and traversing through a leech infested undergrowth. I was bitten a few times around my ankles (I didn't wear a long-enough pants). The leeches were pretty harmless so you don't have to worry about contacting disease from them. Otherwise, it's the fatigue that you have to worry about so make sure you pack some bottles of water as well as some energy bars (but don't ever litter).

Luckily, when I arrived, we saw a few flowers in full bloom and glory, a few were just buds, a few dying and another one just about to open. Thus, I was able to make the following collage.

The life cycle of a Rafflesia

One common myth I was like to dispel is that the flower doesn't really stink. People have been exaggerating that the flowers smell like a corpse or something dying and the stench can be smelled from a distance. Honestly, I did not smell anything as I was nearing it. There was a bit of a stench but only if you put your whole face near to the mouth. It's just like how some people exaggerate the smell of a local fruit called Durian.

And as always, there's a LEGO picture involved. It's been a while since I last saw Cy, so we took a photo by a dying and wilting Rafflesia so that we don't disturb or harm the ones in full bloom.

So if you are interested in all the nature stuffs, do drop by this resort and spend a day or two just to take in the great outdoors -Malaysian style.