PETALING JAYA: Going deep into the wild is no walk in the park. With or without experience, those who want to explore Malaysia’s great outdoors must first have safeguards in place, say jungle guides.
Orang Asli guide Bakri Li of the Semoq Beri tribe from Maran, Pahang, said even Orang Asli villagers who have lived their entire lives near forests sometimes get lost when gathering forest products.
“That’s why if outsiders want to go into the forests, they must be led by a guide.
“People rarely get lost when they have guides with them but if they go in on their own, the risk of losing their way is higher,” he said.
Bakri, 30, added that before a person ventures into a forest, it is important to inform family or friends so that someone will realise it if he or she goes missing.
“Also, jungle explorers must be equipped with items such as knives, torchlights, food, medicine and tents. If they plan to go hiking, bring rope,” he said.
Age and certain health issues should be disclosed to the guides, said Bakri, adding that they will not take people with conditions such as asthma too deep into the forest.
“If there are children in the group, the guides will choose a safer and less challenging forest trek with gentle slopes,” he added.
His advice for finding the way out of a forest if one gets lost is to locate a river and follow it downstream as it will most likely lead to a village, a town or the sea.
“Most of the times when we are in the forest, we will find a ravine or a slope, which then brings us to a stream.
“If you see a river, follow it downstream and never upstream. If you go upstream, it will be worse as you will end up deeper in the forest,” said Bakri.
If a person is lost in the forest and has no torchlight to help him get around at night, the best thing to do is to stay put.
“Find a safe place such as a spot among buttress roots or a cave. Make sure the cave is safe before occupying it. The cave will protect you from rain or lightning,” said Bakri.
He added that a strict piece of advice to those visiting the forests is to leave things there as they are.
“I will tell the visitors that they can look at and touch things in the forest, but never take anything home,” he said.
Jeffry Hassan, 32, of the Semai tribe from Kuala Lipis, Pahang, recommends going into the forest accompanied by those who know their way around, as there have been cases of even Orang Asli being lost in the forest.
“I have a friend who once lost his way and wandered around for 20km before finding his way back.
“I’ve never gone into the forest alone. It’s always with two or three friends. We always go together to look for medicinal herbs and forest products because it’s safer,” said the rubber tapper.
Jeffry said if a person loses his bearings in the forest, he should stay in one place and rest but if he was sure of the way back, he should try backtracking.
Orang Asli guide Bakri Li of the Semoq Beri tribe from Maran, Pahang, said even Orang Asli villagers who have lived their entire lives near forests sometimes get lost when gathering forest products.
“That’s why if outsiders want to go into the forests, they must be led by a guide.
“People rarely get lost when they have guides with them but if they go in on their own, the risk of losing their way is higher,” he said.
Bakri, 30, added that before a person ventures into a forest, it is important to inform family or friends so that someone will realise it if he or she goes missing.
“Also, jungle explorers must be equipped with items such as knives, torchlights, food, medicine and tents. If they plan to go hiking, bring rope,” he said.
Age and certain health issues should be disclosed to the guides, said Bakri, adding that they will not take people with conditions such as asthma too deep into the forest.
“If there are children in the group, the guides will choose a safer and less challenging forest trek with gentle slopes,” he added.
His advice for finding the way out of a forest if one gets lost is to locate a river and follow it downstream as it will most likely lead to a village, a town or the sea.
“Most of the times when we are in the forest, we will find a ravine or a slope, which then brings us to a stream.
“If you see a river, follow it downstream and never upstream. If you go upstream, it will be worse as you will end up deeper in the forest,” said Bakri.
If a person is lost in the forest and has no torchlight to help him get around at night, the best thing to do is to stay put.
“Find a safe place such as a spot among buttress roots or a cave. Make sure the cave is safe before occupying it. The cave will protect you from rain or lightning,” said Bakri.
He added that a strict piece of advice to those visiting the forests is to leave things there as they are.
“I will tell the visitors that they can look at and touch things in the forest, but never take anything home,” he said.
Jeffry Hassan, 32, of the Semai tribe from Kuala Lipis, Pahang, recommends going into the forest accompanied by those who know their way around, as there have been cases of even Orang Asli being lost in the forest.
“I have a friend who once lost his way and wandered around for 20km before finding his way back.
“I’ve never gone into the forest alone. It’s always with two or three friends. We always go together to look for medicinal herbs and forest products because it’s safer,” said the rubber tapper.
Jeffry said if a person loses his bearings in the forest, he should stay in one place and rest but if he was sure of the way back, he should try backtracking.
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