Ari
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08:09:18 am on April 25, 2006 | # |
If you want to see fireflies (kunang-kunang & kelip-kelip), this is the place to go: Firefly Park Resort. Approximately half & hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur, The Firefly Park is located in the middle of the sub-urbs of Kuala Selangor.We went there with 3 cars, altogether 14 of us, all set and ready to do just that one thing: See fireflies!
For the record, some of us had not seen fireflies before and of course they were super excited but too bad the very first sign we saw before we made our way to our 3 chalets on water was the sign that stated: "Catching Firefly and Picking Leave is Prohibited"Meaning, you can catch more than one fireflies but you cannot pick your leave to get out of the area. Whatever…
The chalets are built on stilts and are directly above water.
Each house separates 2 units by a wooden wall.
The fishes in the pond can tell when they will be receiving free food.
They looked like luo-han to me…The Exterior:
The Interior:
Living room comes with TV, speakers,iPod, Digicam, battery charger, handphones… I lied. Just the television and the rack. No remote.
This is the first bedroom out of 2. 2 single beds joined together and since we were not too happy with it not being king sized and its air-con not working, we messed it up.
Bathroom consists of heater that heated water for the first 3 seconds, sink, WC and a hose to wash your privates after you are done with your private business. That's the wardrobe in bedroom 2. The bedroom with the better air-con and…
A queen size bed. Not bad.The Courtyard:
They have a mini zoo.
Middle cage: White birds. Are these doves or pigeons?
Nearest cage: Monkeys. I have no idea whether it was a smile or something else.
One more for the ladies…and what's in the last cage?
A smoking cat, a cute cat,
…more cute cats under the blanket…
And another cat.Ok, I lied again. No cats were locked up. The last cage contained normal pigeons. My bet they were locked because they will be food for the crocodiles at the river.
At the Garden:
They have a pair of swings. Fullstop.Later on in the day,
We got bored and decided to break from the rest who were either resting or sleeping or had already started drinking, to go for a short stroll into the area.Then we saw a chick…
So the guys whistled at her and she reciprocated…
But we were attacked by the boyfriend!After a long struggle at the front seat, we managed to break loose and sped off into the rural areas of the place.
Nothing happened there. Only pictures were taken.
And the girls wanted their pictures to be taken too…
They looked very satisfied with the flowers on their heads.And we found a cat along the way and decided to hang out with it before making our way back for dinner…
"I want to follow you go back Singapore can?"
Cats are cool.
Especially the ones with flowers on their heads.On the way back for dinner,
We saw the jetty where we are suppose to board the boats and cruise the river to watch the fireflies… hmmm… Interesting.
Dinner time,
Dinner will be at the seafood restaurant.
Let's take a quick look at our food.
It's good old Mr. Grumpy!
"Yeah, I've been there, done that, you know…"
Smiling faces for the empty stomach
Smile for me now… before we all eat and enjoy the view!
Oh what a view…And I lied again. The pictures were not dinner at the Firefly Park Seafood Restaurant neither was that fish for dinner. We had BBQ instead.
During that night, it was time for the boat ride along the river to view the fireflies.
Firefly Park Boat Ride.- No photography allowed.
- No flash from cameras or torches.
- No noise.
So we didn't bring cameras, wallets and handphones. True enough, noone from other groups of tourists took pictures and the ride was silent as hell. All of us managed to get into one boat together and the 15 minutes ride was an experience I could recall back in the army days during a river crossing exercise where we had to do night ambush penetrating from the waters.
The night was humid, due to the life jacket, our bodies are itchy, due to the sandflies and mosquitoes and the calm, stagnant river was like waiting to pounce on you once you make that wrong move or say the wrong things. Imagine: Crocodiles!
The trees and mangrove swamp along the river banks were lit up with blinking lights and we celebrated christmas early this year, last weekend.Yes, the lights made by the fireflies were a beautiful sight and I was lucky enough to be the only one who had the chance of a firefly landing on my palm on the way back to the chalet. Yet the trip was weirdly odd as noone uttered anything about the boat ride until the next morning while having breakfast. And it was me who brought up the topic.
Sorry, no pictures of fireflies from us although this is the closest and best live picture of a firefly taken by someone else that I found in flickr. I thought of getting some of you presents but the souvenier shop was closed throughout the weekend.
Perhaps the next time I'll get a few shots of those huge christmas trees with the flashing lights… Next time? Maybe… for now, "Jumpa Lagi!"
Pictures can be found here in flickr.
Added pictures folder:
http://gamoid.dyndns.org:8888/main.php?g2_itemId=226External sites:
Ari in addition 8:34 am on April 25, 2006 | # |
Do you know that there are 2 kinds of fireflies in Malay?
Kelip-kelip:
Smaller version and blinks at a faster rate. Usually found in bigger groups and on shorter trees.
Kunang-kunang:
Bigger beetle of the two and blinks slower with lights that lit up longer. Usually found on the taller parts of trees and in small groups.
This info, the uncle on the boat shared with us. If he didn’t speak any word, the rest of us are sure gonna be bored to point of deafness and silence.
nora 8:59 am on April 25, 2006 | # |
wow !interesting expedition ..long but short & sweet hehe.. the model of the trip – not firefly but kitten..so adorable
trashed 9:09 am on April 25, 2006 | # |
I believe there are only two places in the world where there are such large colonies of fireflies – Kg Kuantan and somewhere in Brazil.
We should take pride in having one of nature’s wonders almost at our doorstep. Fortunately, not many people are aware of it (to destroy this piece of natural delight). Unfortunately, development is already taking its toll on the natural habitat of the fireflies but I hope HRH the Sultan of Selangor’s directives have been upheld.
I hope that this colony in Kg Kuantan will still be around for my grandchildren to experience. It is truly a wonderful experience of sound (or lack of) and light.
I hope other Malaysians will appreciate it for what it is. And it is a tourist attraction that cannot be found in other parts of the world. I’d rather keep it basic to keep the quaint nature of the pakcik mengayoh the boats instead of large tour boats.
Tak shiok, le.
Ari 12:01 pm on April 25, 2006 | # |
nora:
It sure is..
trashed:
Hmmm.. if it is one of two places in world to have that, I guess the more we should preserve the area and not let civilisation take over.
duan 12:55 am on April 26, 2006 | # |
pictures are gorgeous. What camera did u use, eh?? I’m not much of nature-lover actually but wudn’t be great if u’re able to take pics of the fireflies?? If dont use flash, can or not.. ??
awan 8:33 am on April 26, 2006 | # |
hmmm …. tak ajak ek …. takpe lah. :(
kak lis dengan alamanda kuning itu, sangat model! kekekek.
Ari 3:10 am on April 28, 2006 | # |
duan:
I use Pentax Optio S40. Alah point and shoot and adjust curve, contrast and saturation in photoshop. Works wonders on the camera’s lack of ability to capture dark spots. and no flash, no results because it was very dark.
btw there is a link in the paragraph above souvenier shop pic of a firefly / fireflies in a jar.
awan:
Alahlalalala… I wanted to but it was with Kak Lis’ colleagues and I wasn’t the one organising it. Segankan nak tanya… Next time we go places k Awan?
dorang dua memang… setep model jer all the way!
ahli chung 12:02 pm on July 4, 2006 | # |
There are more than one type of fireflie, Some will blink syncronise and the other type dont. And in Kuala Selangor, the fireflies only sit at Berembang tree. But Fireflies like in Kuala Gula or Bako national park dont !
:)
Great pictures… if you where like outdoor adventure and nature, please visit…my album at
http://www.endemicguides.com/Ahlichung/PIM.htm
enjoy exploration…..
regards,
Ahli
nicole 7:24 pm on April 13, 2007 | # |
can any one provide me the info of the firely resort? and guidance to the kuala selangor…. thanks
mima 10:22 pm on April 21, 2009 | # |
what? no photography is allowed? what kind of visit is that? i was just about to plan to go there… but ur description of the trip makes me think twice about it. did u feel sorry you went there after all?