WHEN my fly-fishing buddies in Perak found tiger tracks along a pristine river in a valley that they visit every week, fear arose.
You can never outrun a tiger. It will see, hear and smell you long before you notice it.
A check on Google Earth Pro shows the fly-fishers that their favourite river, deep in the eastern foothills about 50km south of Ipoh, is connected by thick jungle to the peaks of Titiwangsa mountain range.
Last November, when forest rangers went around with loudspeakers to alert the Orang Asli villages about the tiger’s presence, the fly-fishermen left the area.
Staying closer to where the river meanders in areas nearer to towns, these fly-fishers now strap huge knives to their belts or shoulder harnesses.
Some add on a can of bear spray or an air horn.
The experience of hikers on Penang island is very different.
They are known to hike through woodlands on routes as long as 50km on the hill range.
Will they carry a machete? Only to clear trails which narrow due to overgrowth or fallen saplings.
Compared to the fly-fishermen in the Perak jungle, hikers on Penang island are safe.
Our hiking trails are free from wild beasts.
I have long marvelled at Penang’s hiking culture.
The weekend morning traffic congestion along Jalan Kebun Bunga, one of the most popular starting points for hikers, always amazes me.
Even before sunrise, this road gets jammed and parking becomes scarce.
Thousands romp through Penang’s hilly woodlands every week without incident. They start as early as 4am because they want to reach the vantage point to see the crack of dawn.
After heavy rain, knowing the air will be clear of haze, some go past noon when the sun swings down the island’s west, giving hikers a marvellous, glare-free eastern view of the mainland of the peninsula, as far as Kedah.
Most Penang hikers are armed only with a bottle of water and a smartphone.
About the only wildlife risk comes from macaques and even if they get overly bold, a squirt of water will be enough to scare them off.
There will be snakes, but you are unlikely to see them because they are too well camouflaged.
Wild boars never show themselves, since they perceive humans as the apex predator.
Hikers in Penang sometimes pick up escorts in the form of dogs.
The dogs are not feral. They have clean coats and well-formed musculature, suggesting they are well-fed.
It is possible that they are farm dogs guarding their territory – the hills have fruit orchards besides vegetable and flower farms.
So, many hikers have been on the trails that the dogs are accustomed to them and upon perceiving no threat from hikers, they will even follow them along.
Some dogs even seem to lead the way for hikers, like scouts!
The safety of hiking along Penang island’s hill range gives it potential as a tourism product.
People from around the world should be told of the challenging yet beautiful trails here.
Cross-country hikers and runners from temperate countries could engage in these activities in a tropical climate knowing there’s no threat from wildlife.
By and large, Penang’s hiking trails are not known to the world of adventurers.
What’s Penang tourism’s crowning glory? Heritage and hawker food.
It has been like that for over a decade and familiarity breeds contempt.
Whatever you are marketing, you have to bring in something new after years of success or else things will start going stale.
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