langkawi magazine
Nature SECTION
News from the Scientific and Heritage Expedition Langkawi, 11 April 2003
It?s a mad, mad crowd.
This is one mad, mad crowd, the staff of (see smiling people in pix) Mutiara Burau Bay Beach Resort must be thinking as they amusedly observe the expedition members rush through almost everything: food, sleep and everything that the usual hotel guests come for (a wonderfully clean white sandy beach, a big swimming pool, the glorious sun and time to just lay back and do what you normally don?t do).
Not this crowd though. All they seem to be concerned about are some freshwater fish from a small stream somewhere, some birds they saw on a tree, some rock formation on a cliff, some tree in the forest, some seaweed they?ve actually spent the whole day collecting (and not for sushi preparation, mind you!) and so many other odd things.
They wake up very early, have breakfast @ 6 a.m, pick up their stuff and packed lunch and you won?t see them again until late evening, all dirty with soil and everything that would make your washing machine ?work overtime? and yet have that happy grin on their faces! Mad. Didn?t I say that already? For that reason, a big hand to the hotel staff again. They might think of us as ?mad? but they serve us no differently. Always smiling, catering to our needs (opening doors for those who seem to have lost their cabana-mate somewhere, tidy up the cabanas despite the eerie looking eel in the living room and that spooky formaldehyde smell in the air and other mad things scientists do behind closed doors. Last but most importantly, I must say, serving us the best base-camp food ever!
Now, what have we been up to all day? The UKM team was the first to leave, heading for Kilim. They were doing various studies on the mangrove environment there. Their other team joined forces with the USM team to study small mammals at Mt. Matchincang. The UM team was off on boats, generously provided by LADA, to Tg. Dendang island while Sirim and Taman Botani did theirs at Datai Bay and the World Fish Centre, they were as usual, down in the streams, surveying the freshwater life (see pix of researcher in action). Most terrestrial teams were assisted by the Forestry Department people who obviously know the island like the back of their hand. Dinner time is always the best time of the day for the expedition members.
It was actually raining heavily (it?s been pouring since we got here? much to the delight of the local rice planters here as they prepare for the next planting season and the snakeheads or locally known as haruan, in the mud) but everybody?s spirit was too high to be dampened by the weather. They had stories to tell. Rumour says that a team supposedly discovered a new plant species while the freshwater team found a new record for Malaysia! More about these fascinating discoveries once I get hold of them, I promise!
After dinner, we listened to Dr. Azhar from UM as he gave his presentation on the geological aspect of Langkawi (see pix of Gua Tembus, Tg. Dendang Island). Did you know that Mt. Matchincang is actually the oldest geological formation in Malaysia, dating from as far as 500 Million years ago, if not more? Well, you know now. Well, that?s the other advantage (of many) of being in this expedition: you?re surrounded by ?walking encyclopedias?! Just ask anything. The chances of getting an answer on the spot, faster than you could flip a hard cover page is so high, you would have to be here to believe it! Well, that?s all for today. Stay tuned for the next chapter of the Scientific and Heritage Expedition Langkawi tomorrow. In the meantime, do check out our volunteer,Neal Nirmala's report on the USM team's day out here! Which reminds me... to all you good folks out there on the island, one small tip: do not accept rides from any of the scientists. Instead of just a drive to a warung (food stall) for lunch, you might end up hiking up a mountain instead! Neal will attest to that!
Langkawi 11/4/2003
