Escape from the urban jungle

Let's admit it, stress is synonym to life in the city. Living and working in a city like KL is far worst. The are deprived from a decent beach, the cool air in the highlands nearby are tainted by down-and-out gamblers, water in our lakes more frequent than not spotting teh-tarik colours. I could go on and on... Bottom line, nature doesn't gel well with life in KL.

Few years back i was introduced to this place about an hour's drive from the city. Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB). Being the gateway to Fraser's Hill, KKB is famous for its outdoor activities for the city folks.

You could hit the North South highway and exit either Rawang or Tg Malim for the fastest way to KKB, however the option of a more scenic route seems more appealing.

As an appetizer, the vast Selayang Dam awaken us from our Sunday morning slumber.

Along came a tiny town named Hulu Yam Bahru. A friend in the car enlightened us how the the town might got its name - the chinese clan with their surname YAM, (think Simon Yam). True enough, as we drove through the town, we noticed our famous friend Thomas has a few restaurants here, he named them TOM YAM.

Soon we arrived to our destination, the Chilling forest reserve. The gals used their beauty and brawn to lure away the guard and tear down the barricade before we could proceed.

We embarked on a torturous journey on foot; weaving through poisonous plants, killer ants and buzzing above our heads;


Then risking ourselves as lunch when we had to cross piranha-infested streams;

Making our way gingerly without leaving our tracks to the aborigine head-hunters;

After an hour of tracking through endless rapids and jungle trails later;

We were flabbergasted when this came into sight. That moment stood still. It was all worth it.

On the way home, as a reward for making it our of Chilling alive, we were invited for drinks by the locals. We stopped over for the freshest mineral water KKB has to offer. All this for free!