Rafflesia FLower - Kelantan , and night market ( pasar malam) Brinchang

AUGUST 11 2013 A forty minutes drive ( from GPS log) from Brinchang early morning 8:14am to crossing the border over to Kelantan. On foot for 3.5 hours to and back. On the way there is a little stream to cross and most of the vegetation were bamboo and ginger family. No steep climbing this time.

A 40 min drive followed by a relatively easy walking on narrow footpath leading to the Rafflesia flower site(s) in Kelantan.

Bala ( extreme right with hat)  and the other guide start making hats using Resam fronds 

Bala on our way home pointed to a weed and pulled it. He asked me to smell the freshly pulled root and said it smell like Tiger Palm. I thought it smell better and more aromatic pleasant smell - camphor? I didnt take the foto of that weed and guess what? I found the same weed right in Singapore on my way back home along the fence. I brought the weed back.  I thumbed through at least three books on medicinal local herbs but found no match. Do you? It was supposed to be used for dysentery treatment ..

Another look of the tiny flowers

A young bamboo stem.

The only stream we need to cross over and the potential of wetting our shoe. Luckily the water level was low and we kept our feet dry.

The path through bamboo forests.

A cluster of flower caught my attention. Do you know the name?

Passing through ... no mosquitoes no snake ok?

Finally a 5-days old flower. There is another 2nd day flower some 1.5 KM steep climb one way.

Me and my big flower 

Closeup of the central spiky core of the 'flower' 

Young bulbs very close to the trail.

Another look of the core. Nearby flies were still attracted to this leather looking flower.

This is the way to drink up the column full of clear water.

Somehow i saw the same geometrical shapes of the bamboo/person.

In and around Brinchang.

The apartment Imperial Crown Court we were staying was a short distance from Brinchang town centre. Walking up the steep with heavy shopping bags etc was no fun at all.

The mist descent during the evening cool period after the rain.

Corns steamed.

Popular with many the sweet corn - yellow or see through white color, steam or roasted over flames

We bought 1 Kg of this Yacon root. It belongs to sunflower family and had roots gathered not too different from tapioca tubers.

Yacon tuber originated from S America. This is how it look like when sliced.  Taste juicy with a little sweetness but the poly sugars is indigestible in human tracts.

Aug 28... eating the last pieces of this wonderful root. See the sectioned pattern above.

Very few meat in my diet here...( not counting the KFC )...

Lavender Garden - entrance fee $5.00 ringit

Lavender - 'Mona Lavender' purplish color - this is not the Lavender you associated witth Perfume ingredient and the lavender field found in England, USA France and abroad.

The real thing - Lavender  image borrowed from internet see below

Color sells

Young flower bud side way shot

A popular puff-ball  used in  flower arrangement.  

Hoya using my zoom mode. 

Bird bird....

Caught this not far from Hotel Equatorial where we wait for our tour bus back. The return journey took us 13 hrs!!!!! 

Shoot this in Hotel compound

The gourd with a crease line

This is taken from inside our van snaking  its way down the winding and sometimes nauseating bents. Good that there are still extensive forest coverage in Pahang for all of us and generations to appreciate.