Temptations & Ambitions

5:30pm : Our plans to go to Kampung Kuantan was marred by the rainy weather. The weather was fine for the past weeks during the planning, and out of sudden, the Rain God decided to play a little mischief to us. What a day!

6.00pm: It is still drizzling. We were still hopeful that the rain would stop while we had dinner at a restaurant nearby in Tanjong Karang. I'm afraid that the mischief was due for a long night it seems. I couldn't really enjoy much of the meal, despite the strong aroma of the food stirring my hunger pang. The reason for the hunger? We waited for almost an hour for the food to arrive despite scanty customers. I'd never knew that food service would also be slow in a slow paced town.

7.30pm: Was driving to the complex when we decided to linger around Tanjong Karang. How could it be that the rain is still not over? The night was still prematurely young, anxiously waiting in the womb of dusk. That was when we agreed to drive south to look for hang out places along Kuala Selangor.

8.00pm: Our search is still of no avail. Driving through the lampless streets of rural area is of hard task. A single lane of caution rather than the megaplex lane in the city of KL. Oh, how I missed the streets in KL, the city of lights which carry the pride of hangout places 24/7, from mamaks filled with crowds to the clubs where the night dwellers stride with pride. All I've seen up till now are the bright colorful neon lights from the warong which stood out as significant R&R instead of the usual that you see in the highway. And ironically, these colorful neon lights outside the warong would have been "dimmed" by the bright fluorescent lights in KL, which I'd never understood their existence.

The road was dark throughout, and before I knew it, there was the sound of screeching plastic beneath my car. I'd run through a plastic showering can painted in black, and the car brought it to attention by the screeching sound demanding for immediate attention. Luckily, the car was unhurt, so I'd continued my journey after removing the can.

8.30pm: We'd reach Kampung Kuantan by chance. Not exactly. I'd planned that if it is to rain on this day, I would at least stop by at that place. It was still drizzling, as the raindrops tap its melody on the sheath of my umbrella.



We'd reached there in a desperate attempt, and we decided to take it to another level.


Since we are here, why not do something crazy? Who cares if the sampan capsizes? We're going in with our umbrellas since the ticket booth was still open. RM40 for a sampan. Oh, with a paddler of course. Life is full of adventure, but apparently, paddling the sampan ourselves wasn't in our list of adventure.

8.40pm: Ship ahoy! There we were, going on board for the rainy experience. The rain was getting a little bit heavier, but it was of no deterrent. The life jackets smelled of sweat of a thousand splendid human, enough to knock out a patient without anesthetic if sniffed close enough. And still, off we went for our firefly experience.

The waters were calm, and the only sound heard was the paddle slicing the waters in its attempt to throttle forward. We sailed past the berembang trees just off the river shore, where thousands, or perhaps millions of fireflies inhabiting there for what may be all their life. The fireflies were blinking in synchrony in small clusters, probably due to the rain. I remembered that all the fireflies were blinking synchronously the last time I was here, just like Christmas lights. The calm breeze was brushing off our cheeks as we enjoy the scenery in silence, as if the world stood still for us, and the berembang trees was the stage of performance.

And there was no photographs since it wasn't allowed. Even if you tried, you won't be getting quality photos, and the moments could only be captured in the memories.

The journey was rather short, perhaps 20-30 minutes, but it would be worth it for first timers for the experience. At least, I did fulfilled my own vow to drop by there from the last time I was here. So, no regrets, just that it wasn't as serenading as it was compared to the previous time.

9.30pm: We were all wet and heading home. We'd decided to call it a day after a lengthy trip. Well, at least we've been there for the experience of a lifetime. And a night sleep is all we've got.