A writer happily begins with a starting point and weaves his storyline from the very top. But hikes or treks begin at the base. It would have been best if our party of hikers started at the top. And we would have to do that by rappelling from a helicopter to gain entry into this dense forest.
Taman Botani Negara (or TBN) is tucked away from the noise of Shah Alam. This forest – TBN – has a slew of other names, and depending who you speak to, they address it differently: Bukit Cerakah Forest Reserve or Taman Pertanian Malaysia or Bukit Cahaya Sri Alam or Shah Alam Botanical Park. The multiples names are as challenging as the hike itself.
Diving into the hike, we agreed to go to the look-out tower that went by the name of Bukit Sapu Tangan. We trailed up the tarred road which snaked into a multitude of bends and double bends, possibly triple bends. The path doubled as a road and was easy to move along. Yet the gradually increasing gradient started to quicken our heart rates; brows dripping as well. There was not much of a breeze and our bodies did not cool down. This was at 8:20am. On hindsight, we should have started our walk at 7:30am. Yet I am unsure if it would have made a blind bit of difference.
Onward and upward, we pressed on. The level of difficulty started to get into our heads and into our legs. We began to walk 30-50 metres apart as we witnessed the degrees of physical tolerance. I felt that it had to do more with our fitness! The towering trees in the forest seemed to go up and up and up and stood firm like a tin soldier, resolute and proud. We wondered how a tree could go up so incredibly far and not keel over. Guess the trees had a metal rod in each one.
We bumped into an ant, built like a Viking. Its armoured casing looked heavy although it moved quite gingerly over the path and into its lush terrain. A little further on, we noticed a sign telling cyclists not to ride a bicycle downhill. I recalled a previous sign toward the start that bicycles were not allowed on the path we were taking. I asked one of my friends and his reply was simple, “Malaysians being Malaysians, even the sign says “No”, they will try”. I chuckled at his comment. Just hope the wild boars did not hear me. Much later, about our four-legged friends.
As we struggled to reach a given point, we just about noticed a large, almost circular patch with stone seats. It was the amphitheatre. Warrior weeds were battling here running over the arena. The amphitheatre sorely lacked maintenance and we wondered what it looked like when it was built. We did not think there were performances or shows here. Visitors then probably sat listening and watching the inhabitants of the forest.
There were hardly any trees that had flowers, apart from the tiny wild flowers growing sparsely on the ground. And when we found one, it was a pretty sight. And we found another lonely flower, and a few other bluish flowers. The forest reserve was a heavenly sight of ever green, plants and skyscraper trees on both sides of the path.
The hike became a very tiring affair as we trundle on. The legs became heavier, arms started moving incoherently – felt like we suffered from Ataxia, a movement disorder! It was sheer torment trailing uphill, and definitely a very, very steep incline. You do not want to bring an elderly aunty here. You will no longer get an invite to her house. We reached a small open area and to the right a sign was left for us from some Datin requesting that we do not plunder from TBN. I wondered what I could really take from the forest, for I felt that the reserve had taken more from me: my perspiration and will to carry on. We had not even reached the look-out tower! The only benefit in standing at the small open area was the constant and strong winds. This was possibly the first time we were able to cool down!
So, we continued. We plodded on, the path showing signs of wear as the tarmac was loose and granular. We finally reached the apex! We spent a good 20 minutes enjoying the deserved rest, and breeze. We only needed to climb 3 levels to get to the highest point. Disappointment engulfed us. The look-out tower of Bukit Sapu Tangan was firmly shut. The structure, minus its initial staircase, was in severe need of repairs. We only made it to 669 feet (204 metres). If we scaled the tower, we felt we would have breached the 700 feet! My only consolation is a photo shot skywards of the top deck of the tower with a brazen sky and surrounding trees.
As we dwelled in our sorrows in missing out in making it to the top, a party of 2 ladies and 2 teenage girls arrived from the rear of the tower. In a new found conversation, we learned about the other non-tarred path hike from which they arrived from. They showed us the way through a meandering trail in the jungle. The breeze was constant and it was far more interesting as a hike. We realised that there are a few entry points to TBN. The trail the party of females suggested was at the base of Bukit Bayu. We stopped at a clearing in the jungle, sat at a wooden constructed bench and enjoyed the conversation and breeze. This area is Station A. And if we walked downhill, about 30 minutes, a lovely lake will be the spoils of this route of the hike.
As time was pushing on, we ended the chat and proceeded back in the direction we came from. I trailed further back enjoying the army of ants busying themselves with something that had them excited as they went undercover into a dead tree trunk. Then I heard some obfuscated sounds from the forest. It was a wild boar grunting and brushing itself about the fauna. I did not enjoy the thought of being the hunted, and breezed through the forest to reach the area where the look-out tower is.
Our party proceeded on and down, knowing full well that the journey is largely downhill. But by this time, our legs were done in and each step was a torment. We reached the exit. The measures stated: distance covered was 9.12km; 14,721 steps in 3 hours 28 minutes. Those numbers were unimportant to us. We just need to sit at some mamak and rest!
And we agreed we will return for the other jungle hike from Bukit Bayu, including other entrances that we find. After all, TBN is a sprawling reserve of approximately 800 hectares. So look out for future coverage of another painstaking effort!
Entrance at 40000, Shah Alam, Selangor, Taman Pertanian Malaysia, Taman Pertanian Malaysia, 40170 Shah Alam, Selangor (Google Map location : N 3° 5.772′ E 101° 30.673′)
