Missing Merapoh

Merapoh is a fantastic place to be. We held the MyCEPA workshop there from 12 to 14 December 2010, attended by the CEPA managers from our ministry, agencies and NGOs. Overall, the workshop was a success.

But enough about work, let's concentrate on the journey..right? We started out around 10.30 pm by bus and reached merapoh by 4.00 pm, after making a few stops.. (mainly its because of my uncontrolled bladder...sorry abg din!)

Anyways...after dinner and a simple opening ceremony, we headed out on our 4by4's to go on a Night Safari. Little did we realise what was about to happen..

The ride was a rather bumby one, but I was game for anything, so it did not matter much. There was no sign of noctornal animals...then, suddenly, our vehicle was trapped in mud...

After numerous attempts, we decided that WE WERE STUCK. So yours truly, along with the co-pilot Mie, we began to push the truck..This was a last resort after we have tried every trick in the book. I suspect Farah being in the car was one of the reasons we failed to move..(hehe..sorry Farah..)

I pushed and pushed (like the wolf that huffed and puffed) and at last the truck was free. The driver had the cheek to ask whether we wanted to continue our safari, where then he heard the forceful "TAK NAK, NAK BALIK" coming from the back of his truck. Amalina and Rahmah was covered in mud, and my feet were like the swamp thing... When we got back, we were celebrated as heroes..with pics to prove our heroism.

Here we are, posing with our vehicle. Please note that Farah has no dirt on her clothes..that's to show she was in the vehicle when all of us were trying to push the vehicle...*phew* NOW I know my workouts at the gym are paying off..hehe

I went to bed that night with aches all over, but I enjoyed this new experience to the max...will i want to do this again...that remains to be seen.

The next morning, our escapades were the talk of the camp. So as you can see we had our 15 minutes of fame. But than it was back to business as we had a full day of presentations and group discussions.

This was the first panel discussion on CEPA activities. I had the chance to ask our esteemed panels a few questions.
What struck me as most interesting was the EERace. It targetted school teachers from sabah, and is another version of the Amazing Race. I was thinking, maybe we can organize one with the media. It will be much more intersting than a regular walk in the park that we were used to organizing..

I would love to work with AMP Radio Networks again..they are awesome!!

I was also very much impressed with the Sabah Environmental Education Policy (SEEP). It is a comprehensive plan on how EE is to be done in Sabah. The other parts of Malaysia should take a page from Sabah's book. They simply do it better, especially with ecotourism.

Here we are at the Taman Negara Landmark, after the discussions we decided to cool off our burnt brains with a photo shoot.. (haha...we models use this term a lot).


There were many great spots, but the best would be on the steel bridge that separates the centre and the actual Taman Negara.
This is my attempt to look like a hobbit..Ironically, we were like Frodo, Samwise. Merry and Pippin...no prizes on guessing who is Frodo...


Taman Negara Merapoh is a serene hang-out, with no frills unlike her counterpart Taman Negara Kuala Tahan. She has no canopy walkways, but there is still plenty to do, especially if you are an adventure lover like me.


Unfortunately, we did not get a close encounter with the tiger, but then we managed to see some elephant poo, a sure sign that these gentle creatures are nearby.

The next morning, we headed out to the Kelah Sanctuary to play with the Mahseer, feed them, swim with them..they were friendly lot, i guess they are used to humans by now.
The journey it self was quite a ride...like a roller coaster, only scarier...the vehicle went really fast...and we did not have any safety harness on, just strong hands clinging on dear life and nerves of steel to keep our hearts from jumping out.


I leave you with this picture of the four of us roomies, with our now clean vehicle...we nicknamed him Selut...

To all participants and the awesome people from PERHILITAN, we thank you for making the MyCEPA workshop a success. It was a pleasure to get to meet u guys, and I made afew new friends. Till we meet again...this is Ina, signing off...