After abandoning Lolo for newer, and more exciting alternatives, my friends and I returned after more than 5 years to find Lolo was like a spurned lover who went on to do a ‘makeover’ and returned to show her ex-lover what he missed all this while, and made him regret what a gem he has given up!
The ‘new’ Lolo we found was refreshing, giving a wonderful sense of space, with a peaceful feeling and oneness with nature.
Sg. Lolo used to be our usual haunt back in the days when we were active trekkers. But it was not always our top choice because the walk had always been long and boring. It was one of those places that we go because we needed to practise for Tahan or Kinabalu, or because we could not think of anywhere else to go. So it was no different on 6th November 2011, when we couldn't think of any place that is near enough to KL for a day trek to a cooling jungle stream, that we decided to revisit Lolo with our kids in tow, all of whom were just toddlers when we last visited Lolo. And the Lolo which greeted us was indeed a very pleasant surprise!
But just like any jilted lover whose former love came back to look for her, Lolo made sure we worked hard for it! :p And worked hard we did, starting with a steep climb hardly few minutes into the walk. The new trail to Lolo was totally foreign to us, but it was a much more interesting walk compared to the old trail, with its ups and downs, and more leeches than we remembered! But what was especially impressive were the tall bamboo trees (which seemed to have multiplied a lot) lining both sides of the trail for a quite a bit of the walk.
And, like most rekindled love where you discovered exciting new things about your old lover, the end result was gratifying because at the end of it, we found 2 waterfalls which we didn’t even know existed although we’ve been to, and camped at, Lolo more than a dozen times during our active years... which lead us to ask each other at the end of it, was it indeed Lolo? Or did we discover a new love? ;p
The steep climb at the early part of the walk. And this is just one of a few...
The long trail... Bamboos on the right...
Bamboos on the left...
And bamboos everywhere, giving a serene feeling...
First sight of the beautiful river... does that look like the damaged water catchment where the orang asli hut used to be??
Clear, beautiful meandering Lolo...
On and on...
The children taking a break.
And here's the first fall which we didn't know existed! Err... but where was the old campsite??
The second fall with a decent sized pool for a wonderful dip.
It rained as we were packing up to go, but instead of dampening, it was invigorating! It's been ages since we walked in the rain in the jungle - aahh what a wonderful, carefree feeling! :D
November 2011
