ding : Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

[Amelie.Poulain]

ding
Joined: May 2007
Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

hi all, i just back from bukit bakar, kelantan, searching for the well known nepenthes species of n. benstonei. it is a costly trip for me. the trip planning was disturbed by the ongoing school holiday when all of the ticket sold out since early. though rent a room, i could stay there for only one day after i's told that there is no more ticket for the next day.

the hotel's also bad. it's television got problem, always in top volume and i couldn't adjust it back. the water supply stop in the middle of my bath. the hotel's owner claimed that there's no more room left but more expensive room. after i checked in only i discovered that i's the only guest. sucked!

i rented a car to get to bukit bakar in the morning just after reaching there. then i spent another 4 hours climbing up the hill with a total distance of 7 km. exhausted.

i took the bus at that night back to kuala lumpur. on the way to the bus station i boarded a kereta sapu and my handphone was kena sapu.

i's exhausted to reach kuala lumpur and went to maxis center settling my sim card before taking bus back to my hometown.

the timing of the trip was wrong. i came there at the wrong time. before the trip i thought that it's a pilgrimage trip. now i consider it's a last and final trip for me. no more trip in the future, at least not during the holiday ort taking bus there.

here are some pictures that i'd promised to take. enjoy! the n. benstonei make me thinking of some of the indochina nepenthes species. it resembles that species, does it?

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kltower
Location: Kuala Lumpur
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Well Done Ding. When everybody just talk, you actually went there!!! Bravo. Nice picture too. Looks like going there will be a problem for me then, as I can only go there during the school holidays. My congrats to you for making such an effort.

piscesilim
Joined: Dec 2006
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Really bloody trip! May I know where you stay in Kelantan? Is it got hotel near Bukit Bakar? Is it the N. benstonei only can be found above 7 km from Bukit Bakar?

David
Joined: Dec 2006
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

You went! Lucky you (minus all the "speed bump" along the way).

Thanks for sharing the pictures Ding. Waa, need a 4 hour hike up the hill huh. But I am sure the exhausting hike was forgotten once you found the neps. Were there any other species of nepenthes there?

Come to think about it, N. bestoni look so similar to N. sanguinea don't you think. But they are as beautiful nevertheless.

tarence
Joined: Apr 2007
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Hats off to you Ding for making the solo trip. Guess you must be more nep addicted than the rest of us yah ? heheh.

I guess nep hunting would come with it`s fair share of mishaps & sacrifices. When i last went nep hunting, our car side window got smashed by petty thieves while we were hiking. It was quite an ordeal going to the local police station in the small town, making new IC, driving licence, sim card etc......

Btw, i`m sure it was nice for you to see the neps in their natural environment....

ding
Joined: May 2007
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

hi all. i try to answer your questions here. i took 2 hours to hike up the hill top from the hill foot with a distance of 3.5 km. then i spent another 2 hours to hike down. so that's the reason i said 4 hours for 7 km hike.

i stayed in a hotel near machang, just beside of the UiTM campus. i could see the nepenthes species on the half way. i only saw the n. benstonei and n. mirabilis on the trip.

yes david, i also agreed with your point. this species looks like n. sanguinea too. but most of its upper pitchers i saw there have no striped. please refer to pic11 and pic15.

i made this trip because i'd only got this opportunity to go there. i don't think i will get such opportunity again in the near future after i start working. though exhausted to hike up, i felt very excited when i first identified the first plant there. i did feel that the hard work's paid off and it is very worthy.

tarence
Joined: Apr 2007
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Hey, I work.....and get 30 days of leave per year. I can go trekking if I wanted to. *smile* i`m more free now than when I was studying.

piscesilim
Joined: Dec 2006
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Thanks for your reply. Another question. How's the road to hike up to N. benstonei's habitat? Tar road or just a small path? How long from Machang to Bukit Bakar? I am planning to go there soon.

isaacgoh
Joined: Jan 2007
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Wow,

I didn't know there's so many hardcore neps fans here. Thanks for the wonderful pictures. Do you have pictures of the terrain and the hike up? I think we would enjoy to see the surroundings of the plant too and possibly the "friends" and neighbours of benstonei.

Thanks again for the wonderful pictures. It's like taking us there!

ding
Joined: May 2007
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

hi. i don't think i will get an annual holiday of 30 days per year, especially working in a shipyard in singapore. sometime the workers there need to work straight for seven days a week. even if i got time i will rather rest and relax in singapore. it's better killing me than asking me travel from singapore to bukit bakar.

the road is tar paved road. it take about 15 minutes to get there from machang. glad to hear that you'll be there soon too...

hi, issacgoh. yes i do have some other pictures on the surrounding environment. but now i'm can only online outside and it'll be inconvenient for me to upload here. however i'll try if i managed to do it.

for your information, i'd found more hardcore nepenthes fans just besides my house. they're all aunties. yesterday my neighbour showed me her nepenthes collection and for my surprise, these plants are extremely "healthy and happy". a single plant can have lots of pitchers, especially the n. rafflesiana. the plants are growing much more faster than mine. but i don't dare to tell more about other nepenthes species. they're the ones who'd wiped out the only remaining population of n. rafflesiana in my hometown. sigh...

piscesilim
Joined: Dec 2006
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Hmm... Did you means Tanjung Malim got N. rafflesiana? Don't know N. rafflesiana can be found in Tanjung Malim. I only found this Nepenthes in Johor so far. Check my thread there in other forum.
http://chinese.cari.com.my/myforum/viewt....ghlight=&page=1

ding
Joined: May 2007
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

nice forum! they said you are very sicked of CPs, haha... ya. tanjong malim has n. rafflesiana. i believe that it is one of the most northern extent of n. rafflesiana. now it is very hard to get one since it's very popular among the collectors here fo its size and shape.

piscesilim
Joined: Dec 2006
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Leaving to Terengganu and Kelantan tonight. Wish me luck!!

isaacgoh
Joined: Jan 2007
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Quote: Leaving to Terengganu and Kelantan tonight. Wish me luck!!

Go go go Lim!

ding
Joined: May 2007
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

gambateh

piscesilim
Joined: Dec 2006
Re: Bukit Bakar, My Costly Trip to

Hi, I am back!! Will update my field trip soon!