In a bid to get the boys outdoors a little more so they can enjoy the benefits of nature, we took them to FRIM (Forest Reserve Institute Malaysia) so they could experience the canopy walk. After watching the movie Epic and becoming besotted with the idea of being leafmen, it wasn’t hard to convince them to take a trip to “Moon Haven” so they could “protect the pod from the evil Boggans”. They even pretended they were Ronin and Nod, hiding from imaginary Boggans in the car ride all the way to FRIM.
With trees towering high above them and plants with leaves as big as they were, the boys really felt like leafmen.
The trek in was a bit of a challenge for my city boys and we had a bit of whinging from Aristotle. It might have had something to do with the fact that he was spoiled by the canopy walk in Gardens by the Bay where he could take an elevator up. According to the information center, it is supposed to be a 500m hike to the start of the canopy walk but it sure felt like it was more than that. Somewhere along the way, Aristotle found something within him and he even appeared to enjoy the hike in as he blazed the trail.
Hercules also had his mood swings because we were encroaching upon his witching hour. There were stretches where he had to be carried but once he got the feel for trekking, he was a force to be reckoned with. It is amazing how much trust a young child places in his parent because Hercules gave almost no regard to the terrain so long as he had his hand in mine. The strain of it left my arms aching by the time we were done with the walk.
Whatever pains we had to endure to get to the canopy walk, it was absolutely worth it when we got there – both boys were ecstatic about it and I think they could have gone several rounds if it weren’t for the fact that the round trip back to the start was so far.
Aristotle was really keen to come back again until we got out of the forest and had to walk back to the car. Ironically, it was the walk on flat land under the heat of the sun that convinced him that this was not an experience he wanted to repeat.
FRIM is such a lovely place with so much to do that I really regret that it has taken us this long to get out there.
Getting There
Enquiries:
Telephone: 03-62797592 / 03-62797649
Charges and Tickets:
- RM10.00 (Non Malaysian adult)
- RM5.00 (Malaysian adult)
- RM3.00 (Student 13 years and above – must show your student ID)
- RM1.00 (Children 12 years and below)
Notes:
- Make sure you have bought your tickets from the Information Center before you attempt to hike to the canopy walk because it’s a fair hike from the car park and you don’t want to have to go back out to get your tickets.
- There is an entry and exit trail and you can only go in one direction so make sure you’re on the entry trail.
- When you’re getting out, the shortest route is a 200m hike down to the picnic area that follows a pipe. The trail head looks dubious but the sign pointing towards it is correct. Just make sure you’re following the pipe and you should be fine. It can be a bit tricky if you have really young kids so you might want to take the longer way out.
Nurture for the Future 