The Sweet Escape-Hutan Lipur Kuala Woh

# 1 Paradise!

If you were given a chance to escape from all your troubles temporary, would you give it a try?

# 2

Rule number One, throw all your gadgets! Yup, laptop, iphone/mobile phone, portable music player, Television, CDs & PlayStations! 

#3

Bring a GPS along and type in this coordinate: 4.2436075 N & 101.3225806E.

Let the journey to Aboriginal Village at HUTAN LIPUR KUALA WOH, Tapah begins!

Orang Asli, also known as aboriginal people, is a generic Malaysian term used for indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia. There are 18 Orang Asli tribes, categorized under three main groups according to their different languages and customs, which are Semang, Senoi and Proto-Malay.

Let’s discover the living aboriginal culture rich with traditions over many many years from weaving a basket to making a sumpit  to indulge in the Orang Asli life for a day!

#4 Heading to Orang Asli Village!

Please look out for the road board to make sure you are at the right track.

50 minutes’ drive from Kampar to Tapah, Jalanism, planted the last footsteps on our FINAL destination, Aboriginal Village at Hutan Lipur Kuala Woh. 

  #5 Our. Last. Destination.

#6 Nature Park 

Before going to the Aboriginal Village, let us introduce you, the TUK BATIN, Encik Bah Tamin A/L Bah Huha. He will be our tour guide of today!

 #7 The head of Aboriginal Village.

# 8 Story Time with Tuk Batin.

According to him, the villages were conserved since his ancestors for many years ago. Currently, there are 230 residents with the oldest lady aged 95 years old!

Their tribe is Semai and they have no religion. However, there are still traditions, beliefs and taboos that still remained until today.

Without any delay, here we go, to the P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E people – Kampung Batu Satu Aboriginal Village!

#9 The Great Escape.

The scenery along the journey to the Aboriginal Village was just fascinating.

The warm dazzling sun, the heavenly trees welcome all of us. 

#10

#11

You can even feel the golden rays of sunshine heated the cool, morning winds. And the decorative trees’ branches almost dance along with the gentle soothing music flowed from Mother Nature.

#12 Crystal clear water.

The clean, pure and unpolluted water was flowed from the hill of the mountain. No doubt, this is a great source of water for the whole village.

#13 Captivated city kids.

Can you imagine, no sound of vehicles can be heard and clean air to be taken in? One word, PEACEFUL.
We definitely were all stunned by the relaxing atmosphere that we certainly can’t get in the city. 

#14 The little kids were playing water 
along the creek!

Giggles and laughter can be heard from the river.
We almost got the urge to jump to join the fun with them. Where can we have this opportunities in urban area?

#15 The view of the village from the entrance.

After mesmerizing views, we have reached aboriginal village!

#16 The wooden houses.

#17 The empty hut.

#18 The cottage.

In the eyes of most people, Orang Asli is in the wrong time and place. They are struggling to catch up with the modern pace. In other words, they need to be modernized.

#19  Bricked houses.

Thus, to support and conserve the Orang Asli culture, concrete houses that are equipped with water and electricity also have been provided to end the Orang Asli nomadic lifestyle to hook up with the modern year life by the government.

According to Tuk Batin, those living in the bricked house are mostly youngsters had a job in the town and city. One shocking thing that we have learnt, they built they own houses with the supply of bricks from the government!

We have interviewed some residents about the making of the cottage.

#20 The under construction hut.

#21 The roof of the cottage.

#22  Structure of cottage.

Firstly, the roof of the cottage is made by thatch.

Normally, women are in charge to seek and hew the woods, thatches and bamboos in the jungle where the men are in charge to build the cottage.

It only required 5 person in a group—2 women and 3 men to complete a cottage WITHOUT A MACHINE in just a month time!

#23 In the cottage

And do you know how much is the cost of it?

ZERO!

And it can last long for 5 years. Although you can observe that there are some gaps between the thatches, but it is guaranteed no leakage will happen! After 5 years, some amendments will be made to maintain the cottage.

#24 They sleep without a bed like this!

The spacious cottage has many function like kitchen, assembly area for wedding or meeting and sleeping area. It's cooling and windy although it does not contain electricity!

Next, their daily lives.

#25 Their meal.

They wake up as early as 4am to begin their day and sleep at 8pm!

The Orang Asli in the village support their living by hunting wild animals like squirrels, monkeys and fox. Plus, they plant their own vegetables and fruits like petai, mangoesteen, rubber tree and rambutan. 

#26

The kids will be wandering around the jungle to play with anything.

#27

Woman will be running their daily routine or working in the jungle.

#28 Cooking in traditional + modern method.

They used traditional way for cooking. They cut the wood into smaller pieces and light it up with matches to boil the water in the traditional pot.

And of course, source of water? RIVER.

However, to ease up their life, they also use the gas stove.

#29 Tea time for us!

Not to forget, the famous handcraft of the aboriginal!

#30 The adorable Datuk & Nenek.

We managed to interview Datuk and Nenek. We could’t catch their names as they were too shy.

#31 Handmade basket by Nenek.

Nenek explained that she weaved this basket in 3 days with Daun Mengkuang.

They keep anything with it, from rice to jewelry!

#32 People in those days carried paddies like this!

Move on to, SUMPIT!


They are aided by the sumpit, a six- foot long wooden blowpipe with a poisoned or a barbed tip, One quick puff sends the dart(sometimes twenty-yards away) to the victim, usually a wild pig, deer, squirrels, monkeys or even bears!

#33 The 70 Year Old Strong Datuk!

#34 Sumpit.

The materials were bamboo, bamboo stick, and getah jelutong.

# 35 Process of making.

#36 Securing the ‘stopper’ with Getah Jelutong.

#37

If you look at the picture carefully, you'll notice a state of intense concentration of energy and absorption.

#38 The residue of poison.

The process of poison making is tough, It is made from root of a tree that can be found in the deep jungle and will be boiled for 12 hours.

#39 Sumpit with poison.

#40 Demo time!

#41 

#42 OUCH!

See how accurate he is! It is about 10 meters away from the target ( Papaya) and he shot into the core of it, EASILY! Amazing!

#43 Our attempt.

# 44

It looked easy but skills and experiences were needed! Needless to say, we failed miserably! But it was fun trying it!

#45 

We had our great time with them and we were amused by their stories, skills and experiences. Not to forget, their lifestyle.

#46 A very big thank you to Datuk!

#47

People there enjoy the ‘togetherness’. They hang around, chat and do everything together!

#48

#49

We were touched by their friendliness, kindness, humbleness and most importantly, we felt their love.

That’s the vanishing values that we have all forgotten in the city – harmony. We were all so busy living in our own world – money, gadgets & Internet.

But isn’t it time to really care and love the people around you especially your family and neighbors? Tell me when was the last time you have actually chatted with your neighbors?

#50 The last farewell.

Today, the Aborigines are in trouble. Many have left their traditional lifestyle  and have moved to suburbs to commit in a modern lifestyle.

So, why don't you open yourself up to the Aboriginal in Malaysia and connect with the world's most ancient living culture before it is too late!

Of course, this is merely just gaining experiences but also the initiative to understand and respect their customs, traditions, art, culture and ceremonies that date back to the beginning that have been passed down from generation to generation for more than 1000 years!

Once again, Jalanism had ‘Jalan’ into another side of world. This trip, especially, made us realized that we have to be contented with what we have. Appreciate and easily satisfied is the key to a happy life. 

#51 Jalanism

We have learnt so much since our first trip- Kellie’s Castle to Leaning Tower, especially COURAGE.

If you were afraid to even try, when would you ever learn? Be brave to make your first step, let the faith determine your future as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!!

#52 The worn out slipper.

Sadly, this is our last blogpost. However, our passion will not stop here! We shall continue our journey with a new pair of shoes perhaps!

Lastly, thank you for all your feedbacks and comments that drove our motivation to move forward. We enjoyed sharing everything with you and we are bowled over by your enthusiasm and support. 

Till then, do we part. =)

Directions to Hutan Lipur Kuala Woh:

This place is located at Tapah, Perak. Use the North-South highway to reach Tapah no matter if you are coming from KL or the North. Once you have pass through the plaza tol of Tapah, you just need to go along with the road where there are signboards of Hutan Lipur Kuala Woh to reach the destination. All the road signs Hutan Lipur will be provided in all the way once you have pass by Tapah plaza tol. For your information, the roads of this all way is very narrow. Hence, drivers are encourage to drive safety.

Information of Hutan Lipur Kuala Woh:
Pejabat Hutan Lipur Kuala Woh

Telephone number: 05- 4020843      Fax Number: 05-4015331 

Please click to enlarge photo :)