I’d always wanted to go to Kuala Selangor to see the fireflies, and when the Gallivanter announced that he was organising a trip to do just that, I asked if I could tag along 😀
Eight of us drove down (well, two did the driving) to Kuala Selangor. The old road took us past the Sg Buloh prison (which I kept looking out for) and was dotted with rubber and palm trees. And lots of rich kampung folks living in massive (perhaps illegal) houses. It was almost like scene right out of a bad Hollywood movie, where the characters drive through an almost deserted town where there are quaint shops with funny names, then the characters get murdered by odd serial killers. Heh.
We reached Kampung Kelip-Kelip around 8 p.m. It’d been raining before and so we delayed dinner to get on the boat first. It was RM10 per person, 4 to a sampan and below is a video I’d taken on the boat…
Yes, couldn’t capture shit. So no fireflies photos for you. But they looked something like this or this, minus the immense number of fireflies. Like decorated Christmas trees, 3 flashes per second.
The guide told us that it was the rainy season, hence the limited fireflies. Plus the river is kinda polluted and is killing the pokok berembang, which is the only species of trees the fireflies would buzz around. I’d say there were about 2 or 3 trees that had a lot of them, and 7 -8 with not as many. Nothing like in the photos though.
But it was still a good experience — the sampan ride was rather peaceful and calming, though I found myself thinking of crocodiles. I didn’t dare to ask the guide though, as it was night time and there’s this whole superstition about not mentioning buaya pusaka stuff at this time of the night, bla bla bla. I do scare myself sometimes.
Mosquitos I can mention. Mosquitos literally suck.
We took a group photo, here we are, stolen from Daniel’s blog:
Cely, Hong Kiat, Chelva, Wong, Lina, me, Lee Yee and Daniel.
We had seafood dinner at one of the restaurants in Kuala Selangor. Nothing really spectacular like in Teluk Gong, but ridiculously cheap.
Then back to KL for some alcohol lovin’ 😀
shit, i missed this …
that’s why no fireflies. FireAngel was not there ma.
but seriously, the fireflies dying there in Kuala Selangor adi.
Damn, if only I knew that you were on the lookout for crocodiles. 😛 Could’ve sworn I saw a pair of red eyes in a distance.
hahaha, the 1st question i ask the sampan man was “how deep is the river?” and follow by “are there crocodiles?”
Nice meeting you , suanie~
Those promotion photo has little resemble the real scene.
Don’t not forget to watch the sky. In a night without cloud and moon, lucky people will see gazillions number of stars and the galaxy.
earl-ku: yeah you were supposed to join, kan? Hehh
frostier: oO obsession ke? yeah my mom told me that also; that the fireflies are dying out. mostly due to the trees stuff.
Gallivanter: that was a boatman making a pass at u
cely: nice meeting you too 😀 eh so how deep was the river?
moo_t: yeap. though i called my mom to tell her that i went on this trip, she told me that she went years ago and it was like the promotional photos. but that was many many many many years ago. not much stars that night; cloudy night. maybe will go again when it’s hot and not rainy season
LOL I remember going on the boat and one of my buddies asked the sampan man “Sungai ni ada buaya tak?” and another friend said “Ishhh mulut tu jaga2 sikit”. The sampan man just smiled.. but he also nodded. Needless to say, our eyes were darting here and there throughout the entire ride. LOL
Glad you guys had fun there.
Next time need to bring video camera to get some better videos .. so when is the best time to go watch them fireflies ?
Interesting, as recent as the 80s, anyone who could snap a shot of the fireflies on the bakau trees could almost make thousands of dollars. Today, because of the pollution, the numbers are dwindling. Heard there’s a cave near Matang which has a whole population of fireflies. Should check it out if it was myth or reality..
shit..missed this one…but will make it for gua senyum
Wow…sure sounds like fun.
I remember the last time I was up there. There seemed to be more mosquitos than fireflies. Ouch!
Izad: yeah the age old taboo of mentioning the unmentionables at night 😛
changeiam: when it’s hot, not during the rainy season. we got lucky before barely 10 minutes after our sampan ride, the clouds burst and it poured like no motherfucka ever poured before 😛
fishingkaki: According to a tourist brochure, there are only two places in the world with something like the kg kelip2. don’t know if they are lying or not lah.
tihtahpah: heheh have fun, i’m not really into camping 😛 maybe when i am fitter 😛
davidlian: i still have bite marks 🙁
it was 30feet deep… scary leh…
and yea, the sampan man said got crocodiles, but as long as we din disturb them, they off coz wont attack us. I dun see crocs that nite too :p
30 feet and 7 feet doesn’t make any difference tho, so long as the water is deeper than you are tall.
Some tourist can be pretty noisy. The crocodile stuff is the best way to shut their mouth.
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This dense firefly scenes are quite rare. You can find firefly in place like Bukit Kiara.
actuarry there is one more palce to see firefly (and i’m not talking about penang with the mas budget airline).
it’s further inside after kampung pasir penampang…
as for seafood…there is good one at the same ridicilous cheap price at kampung pasir penampang where locals go.
🙂
Wanted to join in too, but something came up last minute *sigh*
the declining kuala selangor fireflies
Probably related to the declining blog updates everywhere. 🙂
I’ve never been to Kuala Selangor, but according to a “spokesperson”, the fireflies at Setiu River wins that of Kuala Selangor hands-down.
We spent more than a week at Seriu River at night to track our turtle and couldn’t stop saying “WOW” throughout the nights 🙂
Of course, the declining numbers might also be because the fireflies are flying around going, ‘Won’t someone put me out!? I’m on friggin’ FIRE!’
Meanwhile everyone is just standing around admiring them as they burn to death. 🙂
cely: o_O i don’t like deep rivers with crocs in abundance… esp at night 🙁
KY: height you mean 😛
moo_t: yeah esp those who don’t fear god or crocs
stupe: where’s kg pasir penampang? how to get there?
Friedbeef: ahh next time! kg pasir penampang? 😉
Dabs: i don’t have your stamina to update daily 😛
pelf: where’s setiu river? Sorry, malas to google a bit 😛
Dabs: noob 😛
Who you calling a noob!? lol I was using that word when you were still in High School!!!!
Hhahaah 🙂 Setiu River is located in Setiu, an hour north of Kuala Terengganu.