Gentle Giants of Gopeng – The Revisit

After having shot my first dragontail in Gopeng, I hadn’t gone back to revisit till this year.

As Singapore’s weather, climate and general degradation of natural habitat takes it toll, there have been nothing but a few yellows floating listlessly amongst the grass.

check out the neat earring

Finding less and less subjects over here and noticing that even some of the common butterflies like the Peacock Pansy have recently become very scarce, it’s been very hard to get myself out of the house to hunt for butterflies.

Tongeia potanini glycon (Dark Cupid)

Deciding that we needed to go on a butterfly trip so very soon after our Taiwan butterfly holiday, we decided to make it a short one to Gopeng.

Rhinopalpa polynice helionice – The Wizard (I was so happy to photograph a pristine specimen of this butterfly I was beside myself!)

We put up at My Gopeng Resort, a very homely resort with an operations manager Sean/Shawn who enjoys picking up a microphone and crooning to his guests and chalets with air-conditioning.  Imagine that.

Rhinopalpa polynice helionice – The Wizard (topside) – The Wizard has such fantastic angled wings

However, we had no need for air-conditioning the entire trip.  It was that cold at night (a kind of wet or damp cold with strong winds) and during the day of course, we were never in the room.

Papilio helenus – Red Helen – The Red Helen unbecomingly puddles in a drain

An interesting feature about this resort is that it is literally surrounded by durian trees.  There are rambutan trees and mango trees around (yum), but durians are its special feature.

Pachliopta aristolochiae – Common Rose

Quite literally throughout the day, even at night, you can hear the tub thumping’ of jolly durians destroying short shrubbery everywhere.

In Singapore, when a durian drops, at least 4 or 5 bootied uncles will jump off their cheap plastic chairs and start circling the trees like Westies on the hunt, all eyeing each other with a secret wish that the other would tire and go home.

When one Singaporean uncle finds it the rest will congratulate him … with a secret wish that he’d now be satisfied with his one durian… and go home.  But that hardly happens at durian season in Singapore.

Odontoptilum angulatum angulatum – Chestnut Angle

Over at My Gopeng Resort, everybody tries not to walk under the durian trees.  No, I wish durians had eyes as the Chinese saying goes, but there were accidents in the area.  There was one particularly horrifying one where a seven month old baby had been hit by a durian while in her mother’s arms and died from the impact.

So yes, durians are so common in Gopeng, you can find an entire mound of them in varying stages of rot because they lie where they fall and then they accumulate in a heap as more of the durians fall throughout the day without bootied Singaporean uncles to fight over them.

Ok. Enough about the durians.

Neptis harita harita – Chocolate Sailor

While we were at Gopeng, we visited three places: Gua Tempurong the park, Gua Tempurong behind the mountains and Bah Wah, a small community of Orang Asli just outside my Gopeng resort.  Look for the sign that says “Welcome to Bah Wah”.

Libythea-myrrha-hecura-(Clubbeak) – This butterfly was so skittish in Taiwan we could not get a photo of it.  It was also skittish in Gopeng but at least it stood still enough for us to get a proper shot.

I wouldn’t say activity was at its peak.  It is monsoon after all.  But we did manage to photograph pristine specimens of what we had photographed before and a few firsts.

Hypolycaena erylus teatus – Common Tit

If you’re intending to go to Gopeng anytime soon, Bah Wah is a good place to explore.  There are many trails leading to different areas of the forest with some of them ending at different parts of the river.  But do take note that is is the monsoon season and it almost always rained in the afternoon without fail.

Hypolimnas bolina bolina

Hasora taminatus malayana – My first White Banded Awl

I have to say shooting the Awls were one of the highlights of the trip.  I’ve never managed to photograph any of these in Singapore.

Burara-gomata-lalita-(The-Pale-Green-Awlet)

Athyma reta moorei – Malay Staff Sergeant

I had the chance to do a video with a very friendly Malay Yeoman (Cirrochroa emalea emalea) who decided to make me its best friend forever for about 15 minutes:

Till my next butterfly post, bootied Singaporean uncles, keep hunting for those elusive Singapore durians!

Gopeng – Durian Asli (The Original King of Fruits)

For all durian lovers out there, you might have heard of Musang King, Mao Shan Wang, Red Prawn, etc.  But how many of you have ever tasted the original, unadulterated original species of durian?

Durian Asli shape

Fondly called Ye Shan Liu Lian (Wild Mountain Durian) or Durian Asli, this prickly original is large, long and the spikes are long, sharp and twisted.

Check out the long spines of the durian asli

This durian, unlike the Musang Kings you can just wince and pay for if they’re scarce, is harder to find than you can imagine.  On top of that, finding a good Durian Asli is even harder.  Hence you can imagine why farmers started to clone out the original into hybrids.

The one at the bottom of the pic is durian asli.  Look at the size difference

Nevertheless, like most of the excellent and exotic things in life, these durians are an acquired taste.  Not a very reeky durian (as in you wouldn’t pick up too much of a smell from it), if you put your nose up close to the flesh, you’ll be able to pick out, oddly enough, the smell of blue cheese!

The flesh of the durian asli

This alone might put off some people already.  But they won’t know what they’re missing!

This durian tastes nothing like I’ve ever tasted.  On the first bite (the flesh is chewy but not too dry or too watery), there is a light sweetness.  This is quickly followed by a short note of bitterness and then the most interesting of all, an aftertaste of… Bailey’s!  Well, not exactly Bailey’s, but definitely tasted like a shot of sweet liquor on the palate.

A whole basket of durian… it weighs as much as 40kg when only quarter full so imagine how heavy it is when filled to the brim

This is the most intriguing part about its taste.  After the shot of liquor there was nothing left on the palate or in the throat but a clean clean taste.  It was very odd as most durians would leave me feeling very full or dry and needing to drink water.

Not normally someone who would eat all of the seeds of a durian (I normally preferred to try different durians and invest my quota accordingly), I ate everything.  All of the seeds.  I couldn’t get enough of it.  It was like being in Charlie’s Chocolate Factory trying out some weird candy.

Mr Cleong Leong and an anticipating customer standing nearby.  Yes he sells coconuts too!

If you would very much like to try this durian or any other durian in Gopeng that you can fathom, you can approach Cleong Leong (his facebook page is here (https://www.facebook.com/leong.chin.56?ref=ts&fref=ts) … no he won’t let me take a proper photo cos he’s camera shy so you’ll either have to figure it out from the side profile above or go by the front of My Gopeng Resort and look for a very tall tan strapping man with spiky hair, a chopper and a homegrown goatee standing by a very humble looking stall with white chairs and umbrellas all around.

He’ll fill you in on the different types of durian, how to differentiate them and I love it when he says “If you don’t like a durian here, you have to chuck it and get another!  It’s the rule!”

P.S. Durian season is currently going on now in Gopeng from December until around February.  There may be other seasons during the year but it’s best you check before you go there and find out there are no durians! *gasp*  Now I’ll just poison you with more photos of delicious durians that are not Durian Asli!

Not durian asli… but this particular durian has a very flat shell.

Not durian asli… interesting shape though

Not durian asli but this is another one of my favourites

Not Durian Asli… but this is nice and bitter

Gentle Giants of Gopeng

On a bloodthirsty hunt for almost mythic dragons* and Rajahs*, I piggy-backed onto the Chirs’ family horse (Toyota sedan) and galloped at full speed for Gopeng, all decked out in shiny Canon gear.
 
Gopeng is a town located in Mukim Teja, District of Kampar, Perak, Malaysia.  The old town once famous for gold and tin mining is located on the west side of the North-South Expressway stretch of Tapah-Simpang Pulai. Gentle giants of limestone hills and the Titiwangsa Mountains shrouded in mist are visible from the expressway, making the view of the Tapah-Gopeng stretch one of the most picturesque areas on the west side of Peninsular Malaysia.

Slice of Paradise

  
The River Of Kings

 
After 5 hours of Sunny-style speed, we arrived at Kuala Woh (pronounced colloquially: Koala Whoa!) where shortly after tripping down the stone steps, Canon shaking with anticipation, we came in contact with not one, not two but a full battalion of Rajah Brooke Birdwings.

The Backs of Kings

Rajah Brooke birdwings are distasteful to predators and are brazenly coloured in magnificent green, black and red.  They fly with a majestic, nonchalant rhythm across the sparkling river in full view of birds and puddle in numbers on the bare exposed ground like a hungry skink’s wet dream.

The River Of Kings

Troides brookiana albescens ( Raja Brooke’s Birdwing) upclose

 
The young of these regal Kings of butterflies feed on aristolochia foveolata which contain the toxic aristolochic acid.  The poison is retained in the young of these princes into adulthood.  It was observed that this sub-species is not the same as the trogon sub sub-species encountered in Endau Rompin.

Troides brookiana albescens ( Raja Brooke’s Birdwing) on a leaf

 
Kuala Woh is a recreation area which hugs the Batang Padang River.  Amongst the huge rocks that encrust the sides of the river, wafting steam wavers over the gentle water in the sunlight from seeping hot springs on the river banks.
  
Attracted to the minerals in the hot springs and little feet impervious to the heat, other butterflies gather in a mysteriously exclusive group (away from the large Rajahs) like the lesser peasants in a kingdom of sand and stone.
 
This motley crowd consisted of a variety of species shown below, of which a particular butterfly stood out in a remarkable spatter of green jewels.  Like ladies-in-waiting, the Lemon emigrants hem the Spotted Jay from view and all attempts on capturing and isolating the Jay’s beauty in the hot bare sand were in vain.

Catopsilia pomona pomona f-pomona female (Lemon emigrant)

Graphium arycles arycles (Spotted Jay)

 

Hebomoia glaucippe aturia (Great Orange Tip)

The Rafflesia Trek (Adeline Rumah Rehat )Early the next morning, I rode on the open back of a 4WD through a peaceful little Orang Asli village to the Rafflesia trek near Adeline rumah rehat, a hideaway in Kampung Geruntum near Sungai ltik, just 7 Km from the Perak town of Gopeng.

Orang asli natural carpet grass_edited-1

 
In the midst of worrying about the camera falling into the streams while navigating slippery rocks and attempting to climb up faster than the leeches can slinky themselves onto my shoes, the Orang Asli guide spotted a rare Malayan Jungle Glory and Sunny’s sharp eyes caught the glimpse of a Dark evening brown lurking in the leech-infested shadows.  I didn’t spot anything, except for about 30 leeches of different shapes, lengths and sizes.
 

Melanitis phedima abdullae

 

Thaumantis odana pishuna (Malayan Jungle Glory)

Mating Celaenorrhinus aurivittatus cameroni

Andrew, a UK-educated Iban from Sarawak with trunks for legs and a handshake that breaks wrists, explained while hopping uncharacteristically (of most stocky heavily muscled men) across rocks and streams that the Rafflesia flower which grew in these parts did not have the pungent smell of those found in Borneo.

 
Andrew did not like my dislike for leeches [*sprrraaayyy*].  However, that did nothing to lessen my dislike for leeches or his likeability.  He said, likeably, over the sounds of my enthusiastic spraying: “Leeches are part of Nature too.  You should be compassionate.”  

Tiger leech

For all the knowledge that certain leeches have great medicinal value, Tiger leeches cause considerable pain and itching when bitten.  Compassionate?  *sppprraaayyy*]

We were visibly disappointed when we finally hurled ourselves up the 70 degree incline to see the sole Rafflesia flower at the foot of a tree looking despondently in a 70 degree incline towards the ground.  Andrew’s muscles hopped overtime over the top of the hill to find a more cooperative impressive flower but found none.

Despondent Rafflesia

The Rafflesia flower is parasitic and takes 9 months to bloom, beginning from a marble sized bud on the ground or host tree and lives for only a few days.  Chances of seeing a blooming Rafflesia is almost like Russian roulette.  You never know what you are going to get after a long hopeful hike up so every bloom is precious.  Known locally as Bungka Pakma, literally translated as Flower Lotus, the flower is used by women to shrink the womb and regain their figure after childbirth.  The flower feeds on flies and other insects and is carnivorous.  The thick petals of the flower are smooth and waxy to the touch.

  
Not to be undone (and not waiting for the leeches to slinky hither), I stuck my G10 in front of the despondent flower and came out with a result that was much better than I had anticipated.

Chir family with rafflesia

 
Our fun posing behind the Rafflesia didn’t last long as the rubber slinkies soon found us and before I knew it, I was almost abseiling downwards screaming at the desperate slinkies trailing after.

 
The Dragons’ Moat (Gua Tempurong)
 
The second last leg of our adventure consisted of the trails around and along the Sungai Gua Tempurong, a underground river which runs through one of Gopeng’s most popular limestone caves. 
 
Gua Tempurong is one of the longest caves in Peninsula Malaysia and runs 1.6km in the heart of a large limestone hill.

Slice of paradise_edited-1

 
For all the activities which are listed as attractions in Gua Tempurong, the area along the river which flows out from the mountainside and along the foot of the mountain like a moat is an urban family park, complete with facilities, amenities and potted plants.
 
Around this unexpected setting, many species of butterflies were found fluttering around potted flowers, and urban flora:

Odontoptilum pygela pygela

,

Euploea sylvester harrisii

 

Halpe porus (suspect)

Note on photos above: The identities of Halpe porus and sylvester harisii are suspect. 

The wide expanse of road leading to Gua Tempurong is pocked with many tempting trails going into the bush.  Short explorations here revealed breathtaking scenery and a number of grass species: 

Junonia lemonias lemonias topside

Junonia lemonias lemonias

The main attraction at Gua Tempurong (for butterfly enthusiasts) lies just at the mouth of the cave where the underground river meets the daylight and flows into a moat around the foot of the hill.
 
Just as the sun peeks over the top of the hill, Great Marquis began to float from the treetops onto the sand banks, chasing each other and watching passersby curiously like children at play.
 

Bassarona dunya dunya ( The Great Marquis )

Notty Great Marquis

 
Following the Marquis, tiny Fluffy Tits and –siamensis began to gather, mostly on soggy, salted equipment, settling on skin, in hair and demonstrating enthusiastic over-friendliness.
 

Rohana parisatis siamensis (male)

 

Friendly butterflies

And then the dragons began to descend upon us.  Tiny, ribbon-like, frail little white dragontails hovering like bees over the banks.  At first one, then two, and then many more, quivering their short little wings and very long tails rapidly like the flirtatious eyelash.
 

Lamproptera curius curius (White Dragontail) underside

 

Lamproptera curius curius (White Dragontail)

White Dragontails

The timing for sighting this species is uncannily impeccable.  They are like tiny fluttering timepieces.  Any earlier or later and you would not get to see these dragons at all.

Cascading Falls (Lata Kinjang)
 
Our last adventure ended in Lata Kinjang ( literally translated: “cascading falls”), a large waterfall near Chenderiang which can be visibly seen from the expressway.  The area is a popular family hangout on weekends and it was thronged with people.
 

Lata Kinjang

 
Trailing secretly away from the waterfall, obscured by vegetation and eroded bridges and mudbanks, we found footpaths leading to neighbouring Orang Asli villages and up to abandoned houses and huts further up the waterfall.
 
Here we sighted two different types of Autumn leaf, Fulvous pied flats and a variety of damselflies.
 

Suspect bisaltide pratipa autumn leaf

 

(Suspect bisaltide pratipa) autumn leaf upperside

Autumn leaf

With the spirit for adventure temporarily satiated, batteries running on empty and a pair of 2 year old shoes which had worn themselves away, we stopped by Kuala Woh again, where, we watched the river gently flow under the hypnotic wingbeat of the large Kings flying overhead, before returning back to our individual urban realities.

Watching The River

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