Saturday, January 14 - FRIM

This is one of the trails we walked while we were at FRIM. Isn't the scenery fantastic??
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Today was a day to remember! This morning we packed up two cars of people and headed out to the forest reserve at FRIM, the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. It was really jungley and really beautiful!

We began our hike on a trail about the width of a typical dirt road. After sweating our way up that trail, a few of us walked the rather steep trail that led up to the canopy walk, but it was closed. Bummer! I'm still glad we went, though, because the scenery up that trail was incredible! 

Just had to get this shot. The bugs here are definitely bigger! Yikes!!
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Then we took a "shortcut" to meet the rest of our party at a waterfall and pool area - all natural. I thought the trail to the canopy was tough, but this trail was nearly non-existent! We were climbing over roots and under pipes and sweating up a storm! But the water was so refreshing and very much worth the hike!

Tonight the teachers I work with took me out to eat with a Chinese couple they know. We went to a place that was waaaaay out of the way in a village ("kompong") that I couldn't find if my life depended on it. The food was, well, interesting. Fried squid, chicken feet (also known as "chicken trotters"), pork intestine and trotters, snakehead fish (a river fish here), bittermelon soup with ginger and fish, lotus root with carrots and celery and cashews, and rice.

This is the canopy walk at FRIM, which we were unable to do since it was closed the day we went. I bet the view from above is fantastic though!
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I tried everything but the pork intestine and "trotters." (Yes, folks, I have my limits!) The squid was good, especially with the chile sauce. The chicken feet were soggy and not worth bothering with (just in case you thought it might be worth trying...it's not). The pork was good, but I didn't eat but a couple pieces of it. The snakehead fish was a little soggy, but it had a good flavor. The bittermelon soup had good broth, but the bittermelon and the ginger both tasted too strong for my liking (bitter and...gingery). The lotus root dish I'd had before, so I definitely liked it. And the rice was a saving grace. :D Needless to say, it was an experience to remember...

This is a waterfall we came across after coming down the path from the canopy walk. The kids just had to climb it!
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Tomorrow I will finally get to go to church, and I'm very much looking forward to it. Last Sunday, as you may recall, my church buddies decided to recup from their sleepovers. This week, we will definitely go! They take the LRT ("light rail transit" - the elevated train that runs all over KL) to a Chinese church downtown - KL Wesleyan. I hope I like it! I do know that the preaching is in English, but I suspect there will be quite a bit of accent to contend with. I'm sure I'll enjoy it regardless!