Hornbills, rare trees
WHEN I arrived on Pangkor island, I was greeted by the smell of the sal ty sea and the view of pink taxis all ready to shuttle passengers around the island.
As I pulled up at the Panville Resort, I was warmly welcomed by Andrew Sebastian, the organiser of the Pangkor Island Scientific Expedition 2017 (PISE 2017), and his team.
After unpacking, I went out to explore the surroundings. One of the Pangkor Nature Guides, Mohammad Pin, who is a hornbill expert, told me that every day at 6.30pm in front of the Sunset View Chalet, there would be a hornbill feeding session. Of course I had to go and see it.
The hornbills were waiting along phone lines and even right at my feet, eager to be fed. Although it was a great way to gather these majestic birds at one spot for tourists to see, I was upset that their natural diet had been altered. However, Sebastian clarified that they don’t actually agree with this feeding practice.
That night, I met two very interesting scientists: Dr Manohar Mariappan (or Mano), an academic who specialises in nature interpretation, and Dr Vincent Teo, a sports scientist and passionate snake specialist. I made up my mind to follow them the next day.
Next morning, we headed to the Sungai Pinang trail. It was steep and slippery at first, but as we ascended, it levelled out. The air was cool at the top and a clear path, a remnant of the logging activities from the 1960s, lay ahead of us.
The group sat down for a quick break, and that’s when Mano started telling us the stories of the forest. It started with a small tongkat ali (well known as an aphrodisiac) tree that he had identified.
“Here, taste the leaf. When you try to crumple it, it wont break apart,” he said.
The leaf was indeed bitter and the aftertaste stayed in my mouth for the rest of the trek. As we trudged along the trail, I realised I didn’t know where we were headed.
“Are we going to the peak?” I asked Mano.
“No, we’re going to find a special tree, the Shorea lumutensis,” he replied.
This rare tree is found in only three places in the world, all in the state of Perak, and most abundantly on Pangkor island. It is characterised by its distinct bark that contains resin.
When we finally arrived in front of a specimen, its tall woody trunk towered above me and I arched my neck to see the top.
“See the bark? As the tree grows older, it stretches and the leaves develop patterns. This is like cellulite on humans!” exclaimed Mano as we all looked at the massive tree in awe.
The trek took around 90 minutes in total but everyone felt satisfied after finally finding the lumutensis.
That night, while the scientists would be presenting their first day’s findings, I followed Teo to find snakes. We went back to the Sungai Pinang trail, and walked along a small river.
The night trek felt like an Amazonian experience, with vines dangling over my head and only the sound of the river and cicadas ringing in my ears. The perfect setting for a python?
With my feet drenched in water, I prayed that no leeches would bite me, while also hoping that I could get a glimpse of a magnificent python.
Unfortunately, after an hour or so of trekking, we gave up – there was not a snake in sight. Still, we managed to see a few common geckos and a posing toad, much to my amusement. I went to sleep absolutely exhausted.
Next morning, we headed to Teluk Ketapang, named after the Terminalia catappa tree, that is famous for its small seeds that taste like almonds.
We walked along the paved, coastal trail and I enjoyed the cool breeze and shade provided by the overhead canopy. It was a picturesque and easy trek, enhanced by the stories told by Mano.
The last day of my adventure was a trip to Paksu’s famous salted fish and spicy squid snack shop. While I sat on the ferry back, I realised that the expedition was not only about enjoying the beautiful beach and sea of Pangkor, but also to experience the richness of the jungle. – Tasnim Syakirah