PART 1 – the Plan

“Bring your own towels, but everything else will be provided, including a microwave, stove, kettle and fridge….mosquito coils & nets

………..It is slightly better than camping”

“WHAT??? SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN CAMPING?? We are paying RM450 (£90) for something that is only slightly better than camping?”

Suffice to say they did not have the best PR person in town, to describle a magnificent glass structure in the middle of the rainforest as ‘slightly better than camping’. I mean, what was she thinking?? RM450 per night is not cheap, and to describe it as just slightly better than camping is outrageous.

We wanted to go on a holiday. Somewhere different, somewhere new….kinda like the road trips to Gilroy that we used to go on. Due to ‘someone’ not being able to go away during weekends nor take more than a couple of days off work, somewhere near was our port of call. So Ms Chong came up with the brilliant idea of ‘going camping’ – her style of course, not mine.

The initial plan was to set off at 9.30am….me & Elvin were dubious about the traffic, and asked for a later start. So Drey changed it to 11am instead, setting off from her place. At 10.15am on the phone:

drey: Eh, can you get mineral water, like 6 large bottles?
me: SIX?? Is that not alot? Are you sure we can finish it?
drey: Err…I drink a lot of water
me: ( Calculating what is 5 liters times six) Uh…ok then. Ooo, gotta run, Elvin’s here.
drey: WHAT?! So early? (it takes about 30 mins to get to her house) I’m not ready,I’ve not showered! Why so early!?
(mind that we were going to set off at 9.30am!)
me: Ok, ok, I’ll go get the water then head over to yours, u faster k.

What she meant was 6 bottles of the 1.5 l bottles, not the large cooking-oil containers of 5.5 liters. I ended up buying the 1.5 liters anyway, as I thought it was just crazy talk that we were each going to glug down more than 5 liters of water in the 20 hours that we were there. Arriving at her house around 11, Ms Drey was still showering….can’t blame her, she and cw were up till 1.30am chopping garlic and prepping all the food that we made her buy for our dinner that night. We eventually left her place at about 12, only to head immediately to a restaurant near her place for nasi lemak. I think we must have set out on the road at around 1pm, about 3.5 hours after our initial planned departure!

Part 2 – The Journey

With drey & cw in one car and me,bacon & elvin following in another, we made it to the Rawang toll exit in record time. Leaving the toll though, was a different story altogether.We were stuck in a traffic jam in Rawang (of all places, a small town about 30km north of KL) for 30 minutes, Staring into space, we eventually got out of there…and headed out of the town centre. No idea where we were heading, as drey & cw were navigating with their GARMIN.

We were soon in what ‘feels’ like the jungle…but in fact I think it’s the orang asli (aborgines) village heading towards Sekeping Serendah (translated as A Piece of Serendah). Best moment in the journey for me was when cw braked abruptly…trailing in the car behind, we thought he was mad, but it was actually a free-range chicken crossing the road . And no, when we asked it why is it crossing the road, it did not answer.

After another wrong turn (I think we landed in what looks like a gated village) we made it at last….greeted by leaves clawing on the mud wall that forms part of the ‘car park’

Part 3 – The place

We were directed to our ‘shed’ by the caretaker that met us at the gates, which about 20 steps into the jungle, across a stream, and up a flight of stairs. Our first instinct were, “WHERE ARE THE ROOM KEYS?” Of course there were none. Ohshit, that’s where we’re staying, that wide open thingy! Everything about that glass ‘shed’ was wide open, windows, doors…considering that the 3/4 of the walls were essentially glass windows, that was ALOT of open air. I was slightly disturbed by it….how can someone build something that is so…open??Just goes to show how jaded these city dwellers were. Tsk tsk….you could really spot us from a mile away by the smell of fear emating from our pores.

I love, LOVE verandahs and balconies, and this place has one of the best ever. Suspended above the forest floor, it gives you a view underneath of the foilage and a clear and undisturbed view of the rainforest. Undisturbed by any other nearby structures, this was really breathtaking….renewing my love for verandahs. I swear my next house is going to have a verandah – or I’ll make one myself! I love the idea of inside/outside space and room all mixing into one.

The open living/kitchen was not bad as well. Extremely well equiped, it even came with a huge comb of bananas and sachets of coffees & teas. A full set of cutleries including mugs and plates, the only thing it sorely needed were pans and bowls. Working microwave, fridge, outdoor sink(it was attached on the outside of the windows) and kettle too.The sofas were made out of what looks like chicken wires…and the table out of a piece of rusted metal with wheels underneath. Whoever that said this was ‘slightly better than camping’ have obviously never been here or been camping. This was an architectural gem. Well, other than the smell of mosquito coils (which reminded me & cw of our grandmothers’ home), this place was straight out of the pages of Beautiful Homes and the like.

Elvin: Where are the rooms?
Drey: Err…we are IN the room
Elvin: Huh, only this one?
Drey: Yah, we’re sleeping together…all in one room

Like the downstairs, the bedroom comprises of 3/4 glass windows. Unlike the windows in the UK, you can actually open each and every pane of glass, letting in the smell of the rainforest mingled in with some creepy crawlies. It sleeps a maximum of 6 pax, two double beds and two mattresses which you can lay on the floor. The beds comes complete with mosquito netting to keep the creepy crawlies out…but we’d soon find out it was more for fashion than function; at 7am the next morning, bacon woke me up as there was a WASP buzzing around INSIDE, yes, INSIDE my mosquito net!!!

We sat in the living room for about 5 minutes, looking at each other. The only sentence uttered was, “So, what do we do now?” So much for enjoying each other’s company! We set off for a nearby waterfall, but before leaving we made sure to bring all our valuables. So cameras, wallets…they all went with us…the idea of leaving valuables in a wide open structure is beyond our comprehension. Even car keys went…the city campers were paranoid to say the least!

At last!!

next up: The pool, dinner and more of the same..

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