One With Nature ...

*Long post & pictorial ahead, get some coffee and instant noodles before reading*

I took some time off from work this Friday seeing as how it was the school holidays and the boys were getting cranky staying at home all week. Besides I could do with some time off anyway.

Then came the dilemma of where to take them. I wasn't up to driving anywhere out of town but I was keen to go somewhere outdoors and be one with nature. Trying to find some place to be with nature when you're living in the city can be kinda difficult.

After some searching around online, I decided to take the boys and wifey to this place called Bukit Cahaya which is located in Shah Alam, a mere 20 minute drive from where I lived. It's touted to be the world's first agro-forestry park around. A place to be with nature not too far away, how could I not go.

So, early Friday morning, wifey and me woke the boys up. They didn't know we were planning an outing for them. But kids being kids, they got really excited once they found out we were going out. When we reached there, I was kinda surprised to see that the place wasn't all that crowded, which was all the better for me.

The boys weren't all that happy when we got there cos they thought we were going shopping to some mall which would have suited them just fine. They're not into these forest and nature kinda stuff but both wifey and me thought it would be good for them.

Well, let me tell you that I think the Bukit Cahaya, agro-forestry park is a great place but unfortunately not much is being done to promote the place to attract more people to come and enjoy nature. There were only a smattering of crowd around to take in the beauty of the place. I think with a better marketing and promotion strategy, they could do wonders for the visitor turnout rate. Can't help it, that's the advertising person in me speaking ... LOL!


All in all, I had a blast. I was like a kid in a toy shop. The moment I reached there, I was livid with excitement which had the boys all looking at me as if I was crazy ... hehehe ... I live in a busy part of the city and the sounds of crickets and the chirping of wild birds and animals (I think they were animals) was a welcome change to blaring honking and cacophony of traffic noises I hear all day. There was not a single sound of cars, well except for the free in house buses that took you from one spot to another.


I wanted to walk to every attraction spot but wifey and the kids weren't up to it, which was actually a blessing in disguise cos the park was huge and we would have ended up hiking all day from one place to another. So we took the bus to the ends of the park and stopped halfway on the way back and decided to walk all the way from there. Tiring as it was, I had a blast enjoying the tranquility of the place.

Some of the attractions that we stopped by were the four seasons house which were currently exhibiting the summer season. We were reluctant to go in at first cos we have like summer all year round but decided to anyway and we were more than thrilled to bask in the feel of a European summer complete with its cottage house and waterwheel (for want of a better name). We plan to come here again in December when it's winter :D

After the four season house, we hiked all the way past a beautiful lake through a dense forested path and ended up face to face with some active monkeys that wanted to follow us thinking we had food. We were a little worried that they might just attack us ... LOL! Next on our trek was the rabbit house which by the way was very disappointing cos the only rabbit I saw was the huge statue of a rabbit. This is where I must bring up a rant cos they had a lot of attractions where the upkeep was horribly bad and mostly abandoned attractions. Such a waste.





Anyways, we finally came to the animal park where there was a couple of animals such as a parrot, some porcupines and a field of mouse deers and deers. Wifey thought I was crazy cos I was kept talking to the parrot telling it that Captain Jack Sparrow sends his regards and then I was arguing with the mouse deers cause they didn't want to sit still which I was photographing them ... LOL! But I did manage to get a shot or two.



Next, I got all excited when we came to the padi fields cos a city boy like me has never really seen a real padi field before which got wifey all amused. There I was taking pictures and touching the young padi stalks like they were some rare plant ... hahaha ... There were a lot more places that we went to but you'd probably get bored if I listed them all here.




Suffice to say I had a blast though my body and legs ached all over after that. At one point of time we even rented bicycles to roam the place and I haven't cycled in ages which contributed to my aches. I'm sure a few more hours there and I wouldn't be needing any sort of best diet pills to help me reduce my weight ... hehehe ...


I am even planning another visit there, this time to stay overnight cos they have chalets and camping facilities. I can already imagine how quiet and tranquil the nights are going to be. I'll be sure to pack loads of mosquito repellent though cos I saw mosquitoes the size of small planes flying around! Oh and speaking of mosquitoes, the amount of weird insects I saw was enough to give me the heebee geebees!


Now to convince the boys that staying there for a few days would be a great idea. They'd rather have a round of shopping in some mall that has one of the gaming and entertainment centers any time! But I really hope that they would do something about the upkeep of the place and promote it more cos it's a treasure trove right smack in the middle of the city of Shah Alam and it would be a shame to see it go to waste.


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