It has been a week and a half; I finally took the time to recall the unforgettable moments we shared together and put them down to words. What I am going to do is to immortalise the wonderful experience we have had in FRIM and glorify the beautiful Mother Nature we saw on the 6th of September 2008.
At 9.00a.m. we gathered at the front of the FRIM information centre. We were all geared up with casual sweat-absorbing T-Shirt and comfortable tracks suits with some of us carrying along a light back pack along with water bottles and towels and cameras. Some of us were there for the very first time and we were all full of zest and stamina for the trip.
Eight of us set out to FRIM together; Kooi Ching, Siew Khim (Kooi Ching’s friend),Hanzo Ng, Katherine (Hanzo’s Girlfriend), Jason Chew, Jason Chew’s Dad, , Chun Ming and me. Since there are a few guests, we took time to introduce ourselves and get to know each other.
After all the team members arrive at the meeting site and had their car safely parked (I still remember its RM 5.00 for entrance) we begin our exploration of FRIM at 9.30 a.m. Our tour leader, Kooi Ching lead the whole gung-ho team up Bukit FRIM.
Our Journey begins with walking and ends with walking! We walk our way up the tar road towards a narrower road for about 10 minutes before we finally reach the bottom of the Bukit FRIM walkway entrance. And then we walk uphill. As we walk up hill through the steps, sometimes the pathway smoothens up and sometimes the pathway form steep continuous stairs. It was a beautiful walk despite becoming tired in the midst of walking because the air up there was really fresh and revitalising. I love the environment and unpolluted air there. No smell of smoke, no sound of machines. What we are surrounded is just nature. Old and majestic trees with strong roots hold the soil on both sides of our pathway.
Everyone walk uphill at a comfortable pace. It took us an hour and a half to complete the journey. Along the way, we heard mysterious chirping from bird of unknown species; we also saw a huge white wild mushroom or fungus. For me, I got interested when we saw foreigners of trio brought along their hardy, smart and adventure-lover pet dog up the hill of Bukit FRIM! We also took pictures of our sweaty selves half way up the Bukit FRIM. Towards the end of the walk, we arrive at a small stream. Then, we walk through a row of simple and yet unconventional houses along our way back. Not long after, we arrive at where we park our cars.
Subsequently, we had our breakfast at a nearby restaurant called Fu-lai. The meet up there was even better because we had a good time. We were very fortunate by reason of after we had completed the morning brisk walk up Bukit FRIM, it started to rain! “We are very lucky!” exclaimed Kooi Ching, as we savour the delicious food served in the restaurant. We said goodbyes albeit unwillingly at close to 1.30p.m. then headed our way home.
I must say that the visit is pretty challenging. One must possess a little fitness physically to complete the entire strenuous path walk. We all agree that FRIM is one of the best places you could find near town for a good morning walk toning our human body muscle. I hope that we could organise another trip there again someday and try the seemingly perilous canopy walk in FRIM!
P/S: We would like very much to try out the canopy walk; however the canopy walk was closed for maintenance on that day.
Written by : Goh Sheen Yee ,CC
