Mai secawan?.....Cik mu!! (Kemensah 16/11)

Went camping on Sunday (16/11/08) at the same old spot, Kemensah, again. Supposed to go on Saturday but Jimin had to go to Indonesia. On Saturday, went to Subang Parade with Mja to get supplies. Had to buy mess tin, tent, maggi, sardine, baked beans and bread. Jimin would get the drinking water the next day.

The original camping group comprised of me, Jimin, Mja, Jo, Fuad and Najeem. However, Jo and Fuad couldn't make it that day so we had two last-minute substitutes in the form of Cheng and Ang. Hehe...really last minute...

Scene 1 (Rumah Sunway)
Jimin: Ang, bangun, bangun!....jom gi camping.
Ang (half-asleep): Camping....bila?
Jimin: Sekarang!Sekarang!
Ang (still half-asleep): Jap...nak gi pack...

We departed from Sunway at 4.30pm. Had to go to Pantai Dalam to get camera and tripod from Mja's brother. Then, took the SMART tunnel to avoid jam along Jln Ampang. Along the way, we mulled over the idea of emulating the RADIX coffee advert on TV (Mai Secawan...) since we had a foreigner amongst us i.e. Najeem the Maldivian. First hiccup of the day came when a big nail/screw punctured Jimin's tyre. Luckily, the air was not leaking out at the time. We decided to take a gamble and just proceed to the campsite. Arrived at the parking area at Kemensah at around 5.50pm.


Haha, this is where it gets interesting. The weather forecast for Selangor that day was 'Thunderstorms in the evening, Rain at night' and although it stopped raining already when we were hiking to the campsite, the ground was made very slippery by the rain that subsided 30 minutes before. I made a mistake of wearing my old worn-out futsal shoe. Managed to walk okay at first but slipped 3-4 times later as the terrain got steeper. Fell into a puddle as well. Since the ground was very wet, leeches were in abundance. I got a total of 4 on my legs and 1 on my neck (me thinks it's a leech with Dracula genes). Everyone else had to pluck out leeches from their legs except Najeem. I guess Malaysian leeches find Maldivian blood unsavoury.

Around 15 minutes away from the campsite (approx. 7.10pm), it was already dark and getting darker. This was the time when everyone realized that it is good to bring a torchlight. You can barely see the ground you are stepping on at this time. LOL, luckily I remembered to bring my torchlight but forgot that the battery was low. Last-minute packing is never a good thing (sighs). A ratio of 6 people: 1 torchlight is very, very troublesome. Luckily, we managed to reach the campsite without getting lost but the trouble doesn't end there...

It's nearly pitch-dark when we arrived at the campside. Time to set up tent. However, turns out Jimin just bought his fancy new tent and no one (not even him) knows how to set it up. The tent is a very fancy Coleman tent that can actually accommodate 8++ people as opposed to the 6 mentioned in the brochure. There is a canopy/balcony/something sticking out at the front of the tent. After much fumbling and turning about the tent and inserting the tent poles into the wrong places, the tent crew managed to set it up......after 2 hours.

Luckily, the campfire crew managed better...managing to make two small fires to heat water to make Maggi. By the time the tent was set up, dinner was served (3 packs of Maggi Lontong + 2 Maggi Cups).

Regarding the title, it is always fun to have a nice hot drink at night when camping. Having a cuppa late at night in the rain is just satisfying. Then came the downer of the day, Mja couldn't find the stash of 3-in-1s. Must have dropped it along the way. This dampened our spirits to a certain extent that night considering the series of unfortunate events that have occured up to this point. In the end, we envisioned a revised version of the RADIX advert...

Scene 2(Inside tent in cold, wet weather)
Najeem: Mai Secawan...(big smile on face)
Amir, Mja, Jimin, Ang, Cheng: Mai Secawan??Cik mu!!!....Nah, lebih dari secawan aku bagi(throw the paper cups and plates to Najeem)

[P/S: 'Cik' in the context of this entry is a word originating from the Terengganu dialect. During old times (when you and I were not yet born), 'Cik' is used to refer to 'mother'. Nowadays, 'Cik mu' is often used as a derogatory/teasing term.]

Next day, cooked breakfast consisting of baked beans and sardine to be eaten with bread. Then, went mandi sungai...After that, time for group pic. Mja brought a tripod into the forest just for this. Packed and went back at around 11.00 AM. Luckily, we managed to avoid a downpour by 10-15 minutes. Ok, people...time to return to the 'civilised' world...

Random pics




(Leeches galore! Please do not EAT!!!)

(Mystical Parang: BEFORE and AFTER pics show that one is transformed into a Maldivian after using the parang)