Surveying the Wilds with Just a Pen, a Notepad, and 2 Shopping Bags (Part II)

The forest was similar to the FRIM (1) rainforest she'd seen during her university years that she has done little bit of trekking before. It meant she's still on the equator, hopefully either Malaysia, the place where she lived, or even worse as far as Brazil or Congo. This is the first clue that she had on the location, so she written it down in her notepad.

Hanging lianas can be seen in between trees. The ambient of temperature was about 25-degree Celsius or so, the temperature of the air conditioner which she always regulated during afternoons at home for her girls.

It was also quite dark due to the tall canopy of trees covering the sunlight. It was a miracle that she did not lost sight of the bird just now.

Most of the bigger trees got buttress roots with a bit of light greenish moss on top. Each tree was as large as three to five grown men holding hands together in a circle. So, it can be imagined how big was the root network. Hana nearly stumbled a few times when she was pursuing the bird just now. The rest of the forest floor was full of dark rotten leaves, probably shed by the big trees.

Smaller normal looking trees can be seen nearer towards the water source, replacing the large canopy-like trees. Thick shrubberies of many shapes and sizes interspersed between those trees. She can't actually see where the water source was. She could only infer that it was supposed to be somewhere in front of her since the sound of water came from up ahead.

Hana carefully searched for a dried tree branch to be used as a precaution. Only God knows what's living inside those shrubberies. The unknown enemies were the worst kinds. If this forest is truly a virgin tropical rainforest, it meant that there will be a high probability to encounter dangerous animals whose having their daily dose of water intake near the stream.

Tiptoeing closer, she could see the stream was somewhat shallow, she can see protrusions of rocks between the flowing body of water. It was about seven meters wide with slow moving clear water at the edge. Nearing the middle, the water got darker that shows it is quite deep. Some fishes can be seen jumping around amongst the rocks. They looked absolutely delicious!

Some parts of the natural embankment were sandy, while others were full of different sizes of rocks. Some places were inhabited by numerous trees with roots directly extending into the stream from both sides.

She made a note to ask for some DIY fish trap from Arash later. Her sausages and eggs won't last long.

As Hana observed down the small stream, she realized after about 400 meters, the water dropped down as a waterfall, though it wasn't that glorious-looking. The height was also not so high, just about a one-story house's height.

It seemed that her location was somewhat on an elevated location. She might be on a small hill or the side of a mountain. Hana pondered bewilderingly. While she was walking just now, she didn't feel any elevation uphill or downhill. It felt quite leveled.

However, when she was digesting the information she observed, she saw a hornbill (2) amongst the trees! It was the black and white type with a big yellowish red beak! This is typical to Malaysian and Indonesian variety!

[Banzai(3)!]

She was silently celebrating as she had seen these birds in a number of local zoos and the famous Bird Park (4) in KL (5). She might be in Malaysia!

Feeling elated, Hana took her time looking for suitable rocks to bring back. She loaded four pieces of rocks about the size of a single to two fists combined, all at different shades of gray. She had to test them first in her cave dwelling. She hoped that one of them would be the sought-after basalt rock.

Beside the stream, she saw a big tree with lots of greenish and yellow fruits hanging. Isn't this the undried version of 'asam gelugor' (6)? She was so happy when she identified this tree. The 'asam gelugor' tree usually grew in the wilderness of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The fruits looked like fist sized mini yellow pumpkins hanging on a tree branch.

She quickly collected the dropped best-looking overripe fruits. Just four of them was enough to last a lifetime . In Malaysian cooking, everyone just use a thin dried slice of asam gelugor for a big pot of curry, asam pedas or sambal (7). The fruit needed to be cored and sliced thinly in a vertical fashion before being sundried prior to usage. So, even one asam gelugor fruit will last a very long time, much less four. Moreover, although Hana knew there were a lot fruits hanging up in the tree, there was no way for her to pick the ones on the tree. It was way too high up!

She then sat down on one of the rocks and jotted down all the information she has gotten for today. The tree branch she had in her hand had long been forgotten.

It was time to return and gather some more dried kindling to experiment on fire making. Anything else can just wait for tomorrow.

She carefully retraced back her steps while collecting dried branches along the way. The river stones were safe inside of one of her shopping bags, which was hung on her shoulders.

She also found a cluster of banana trees and tried her best to pried off three big leaves from them. She left the banana fruits untouched since she still has lots of bananas left in her shopping bag.

Every time she found a useful tree or location, she will jot it down in her notepad beside her recorded steps to make a rough map for her future reference.

The 5.30 alarm buzzed in her pocket when it was 3/4th on her journey to return to the cave. Hana increased her steps a little faster.

Although it was just 5.30, the surrounding was already quite dark; she could see only up to three meters in front. The darkening hours brought along a cacophony of wild animals' hooting and growls. Hana was getting scared.

She got so jittery until she jumped up at the sound of herself stepping on an unfortunate dried twig and fall tumbling down with all the dried branches and banana leaves she was carrying.

"Adoiii!" (8)

The branches and banana leaves fell on her head and buried her within.

When she finally managed to emerge from within the instant miniature canopy, her face paled instantly as she came face to face with a snake!

As it was already dark, she could not discern its color or type.

[Maybe it was a friendly black snake? What should I do.] Her heart thumped as loud as a drum as she tried to think for a solution.

[I know, in the movie, the main character will always look the snake at the eye and the snake will slither away.]

As she tries to look the snake in the eye, the snake shot towards her as fast as lightning and bit her sprawling opened toe!

Hana blacked out.

Author's Note:

(1) FRIM = Forest Research Institute Malaysia. Its a forestry research institution in Kepong, Malaysia, with a recreational waterfall inside with public access. google 'FRIM waterfall Kepong'

(2) hornbill = a breed of toucan birds localized in the Borneo and Sumatran area in South East Asian region

(3) Banzai = a Japanese celebratory exclamation very widely used.

(4) Bird Park = KL bird park, a park full of free-flight birds in KL. It's like a humongous cage where you can walk inside to observe the birds. Its a really nice place to go in KL.

(5) KL = Kuala Lumpur. The heart of Malaysia.

(6) asam gelugor = a very sour fruit used in many cooking. Scientific name: Garcinia atroviridis. Also known as brindleberry or Malabar tamarind.

(7) curry, asam pedas or sambal = different Malaysian dishes.

(8) Adoiii = 'ouch' in Malaysian language.