This was a trip which I almost let pass, all because Gunung Bubu was a well-known "leech country". I had hoped for a week of clear, hot weather before the date of our proposed trek up Gunung Bubu. That should cut down the number of leeches out with a mind to bloodletting because in dry conditions leeches do not thrive. Under more settled conditions late April should be relatively dry. Unfortunately, we were in the established reign of la Nina and our hopes of dry weather were completely dashed. I was in two minds over the outing because leeches were not in my beneficial list. However, in the end I decided to brave the leeches, mainly because I have to grab the opportunity ? another time with better weather conditions may not turn up until years down the road and then I might be too old for this sort of caper. And speaking of weather conditions, I am thankful God gave us good weather while we were on the trail. I remember Moon said on the first night: "First time I see so many stars in the sky!'"

Gunung Bubu can be tackled from either the Manong or Trong side. We chose the Manong approach. The trail head is by the side of the Ulu Kenas Kem Bina Negara. This is how to get there: On the Kuala Kangsar-Manong road, about 12 km from Kuala Kangsar the road crosses the Sungei Kenas. Next to the bridge is the junction leading to the Kem Bina Negara. If one is driving from Kuala Kangsar one turns right at this junction before crossing the bridge and after 2 km one comes to a recreational area by the Sungat Kenas. There are some food stalls and parking space for vehicles before the Kem and on the other side of the river, accessed via a suspension bridge, are some chalets. It appears to be a popular spot, judging by the crowd we saw both on the day we arrived and the day we left.

We started hiking at about 4:30 pm. The trail starts just outside of the Kem compound, by the front gate. A friendly security guard did not lift our spirits at all when he volunteered that earlier the same day 76 hikers had passed that point, heading for Gunung Bubu. 76 hikers indeed! What a population explosion. One of those in our group muttered grimly," We may have to sleep standing up!", anticipating that we might not have any space to erect tents. However, there was no turning back. It does not do to be faint-hearted ? live by the Churchillian philosophy: "Never give up!" So we pressed on, 76 other hikers or no. We started walking on the metalled road that seemed to go round the Kem. After a short distance of about 60 meters, before we came to a bridge, we branched off onto an old timber track. It was very easy going as there was hardly any gradient at all and the path was wide. The general consensus was that though there were leeches, their numbers seemed to have decreased markedly. After two hours of walking through fairly flat terrain, we crossed the Sungei Ganding. On the far bank we encamped as it was already past 6:30 pm. The weather was good and we had a leisurely night. Some leeches gatecrashed the party, but they were given treatment that befitted unwanted guests. Sandflies made their presence felt too, but they were rather mild. Some of the more adventurous among us went looking for frogs (Hey, give the snakes some competition, man!), but fortunately for the frogs they were not successful.

The next day we set off after breakfast. About 50 meters from our campsite by the river bank, we came to a larger camping ground. From here on the trail in some places looked like old timber track while at other times it looked like a virgin forest trail. The gradient was still very gradual and leeches can be seen at regular intervals, swivelling urgently like miniature radars. Soon after setting off, we met a group of about 25 school children coming down. They told us they could not make it to the top because they had finished all their food. About 3 hours later, we came to another campsite at a place called Ulu Ganding. This was reached after a stretch of rocks and stream of perhaps about 50 meters. A non-trekker like me would have got lost here. I was told the only trail that can be seen in this sort of situation was the slightly worn surface of those rocks which were denuded of algae where people had been toing and froing. This latter campsite was very spacious and right at the foot of Gunung Bubu proper. From here the trail goes up steeply all the way up the side of Gunung Bubu, mostly at an angle of 45 degrees, to the top. This campsite was our objective for the first night, and with hindsight we congratulated ourselves that we had the good sense to camp where we did the night before by the bank of Sg. Ganding and not insisted on blindly pushing on to Ulu Ganding ? we had thought we were only about one hour from Ulu Ganding when in actual fact we were 3 hours trek away! At this campsite, the group that was ahead of us left plenty of evidence of their presence. One large tent was standing, some laundry was drying on the lines, and most interesting of all was a huge pile of stuff measuring about 4 meters in diameter and 1 meter high under a fly-sheet. We reckon the pile was mainly food, left by the owners who had forged on ahead to gain the summit of Bubu.

Immediately by the side of this camp the trail goes steeply up and we had a sudden change in the degree of difficulty, We were soon huffing and puffing. About one and a quarter hours of this anti-gravity effort later, there were sounds of lots of human activity and we came upon the second group of hikers ? some 50 to 60 of them from some school in Sg. Siput, led by their teachers and headed by a guide named En. Daud. They were just finishing lunch. This happened to be the last water point, so we filled up from a stream which En. Daud could only name as one of the "Anak Sg. Ganding". This was at an elevation of 1340 meters, about one and a quarter hours from the top. We were anxious to reach the top before the large group so that we might have a place to pitch tent and avoid having to sleep standing up. That being the case, we immediately and enthusiastically launched ourselves up the siope again and made it to top after much huffing and puffing. This last portion of the trail called for some hand over foot action as there were obstacles formed by fallen trunks and rugged terrain as well. There was hardly any cloud (mossy) forest to speak of.

At 2:20 pm we reached the top in a slight drizzle and brrr! Was it cold! We all agreed it felt colder than Yong Yap and Yong Belar, both of which were more than 2160 meters tall compared to Bubu's 1678 meters. We lost no time in erecting our tents. After that we changed into warm dry clothes ? all of us, except Moon, who remained in his trekking gear and went exploring. His quest? Bubu West, the smaller twin peak, as well as the beginning of the trail down to Trong. The weather was decidedly moody the whole afternoon. The sun was out only briefly and the rest of the time it was blustery and at times drizzly. At nightfall it started to rain in earnest. That decided bedtime for us. The next morning it dawned beautifully and there was a magnificent sunrise. The mountain ranges with seas of clouds in between were out of this world. In addition there were monuments of human construction: Trong to the west, and beyond Trong was the coastline, Padang Rengas to the north in the near distance and far away about 20 Km off, the communications towers on Gunung Hijau near Taiping. To the east could be seen a section of the Perak River extending northeastwards to where Kg. Jerlun stands a few kilometers from the river. And far away, in the east, in the main range the familiar shapes of Gunung Korbu and Gunung Yong Yap could be easily made out. This wonderful view made me regret not bringing my camera.

Incidentally, our fears of not having adequate space at the top turned out to be baseless. En. Daud led his huge group to another campsite about 5 to 10 minutes walk away from the top. They had to pass through our camp to go to their camp. We could hear them from where we were, It sounded like a big carnival in the forest. Interestingly, the forest now seemed to be a very desirable place to be in. Picture this: we were there, this large group was there and a third group would have been there if they had not run out of victuals. A similar thing happened when we went to Yong Belar. There 3 other groups besides ours, one of which was again a gigantic group of teenagers. Perhaps one day we might experience what we dreaded: having to "sleep standing up".

What is so special about Bubu? Four things: the wonderful view from the top, the cold, water and leeches. Firstly, the view: We are fortunate God gave us good weather. Bad weather occludes all views, no matter how magnificent. I must say that out of my limited mountain trekking experience, this was definitely the best view ever I have enjoyed. Secondly, the cold. At the top of Bubu it feels unexpectedly cold. Do not be fooled by the fact that it is relatively low and so rationally should be less cold. My own personal theory why it feels colder is that it is nearer the sea and the wind from the sea had no chance to travel over an expense of land and hence no chance to pick up warmth before hitting Bubu. This brings down the actual temperature. In addition, the wind chill factor makes it feel even colder than it actually is. It was said that an ealier group measured the temperature and found that it was 16 degrees Celcius at 4 pm in the afternoon. I was glad I brought enough warm clothes but I regretted not bringing my ground mat ? I could feel the cold seeping through the tent floor and my sleeping bag. Thirdly, water: Bubu is rather unique (so far, in my own limited experience, I must add) because throughout the trek we were never far from water except for some short stretches. Most of the time we could hear flowing water or see the rivers as we walk along. There were 2 beautiful waterfalls as well. We crossed several small rivers and at a few places we passed just by the water edge, affording us opportunities to wash and refresh ourselves, should we wish to. The last water source was just about one and a quarter hours from the top, so we did not have to work too hard lugging water up for use at the summit. And even at the top there was water. En. Daud told us there was a "well" up there. Indeed, Moon checked it out and reported there was a small water hole. However, we do not know if it holds water all the time, so for those who go to Bubu in future, I think it wiser to fill up at the little "Anak Sungei Ganding", rather than bank on that water hole at the top. Finally, leeches: Bubu is definitely leech country. We had leeches picked off our leech socks, trousers, shirts and at least three of us had leeches in our shoes!

Here are some suggestions as to how to deal with them. It is common knowledge that Baygon is effective - it kills them. I know it is terrible for a MNS member to say this so lightly, but I must hasten to say that that this is a situation akin to military hostilities: either you inflict damage on the leech or it does on you. And if you are one of those (like me) who develop a prolonged reaction to the leech bite, with swelling and itching for weeks on end, then I think it is justified to invoke the maxim that desperate situations call for desperate remedies. Moreover, it is not as if leeches are endangered species and the few taken out by the Baygon is not going fn make any dent in their blood-thirsty ranks. Having said that, there are some other not so drastic measures. Encik Daud recommended a lotion made from stewing tobacco. He said applying the tobacco stew on the shoes, trouser legs and bare skin was effective. "See," he said, "no leeches at all, even though I don't wear socks", drawing up his trouser legs to show us his ankles. I must say there were no fresh bites, but there were lots of marks looking very much like old leech bites. Liew Chin Chow has another option. He declares Tiger Balm rubbed onto bare skin is very good: leeches abhor Tiger Balm treated skin. In addition, if one rubs some Tiger Balm onto a leech that is securely fastened to one's skin, it will obligingly release itself without any fuss. Perhaps we should adopt this motto: "Tiger Balm! Don't leave home without it." Incidentally, applying heat to a leech would also cause it to release, but it is a more dangerous agent to employ. Again, it was Liew who had the experience of having his tent burnt by an excited friend, all on account of a leech. One more method in the war against leeches was contributed by my fishing friends. Anglers have to run the gauntlet of leeches because river banks where they fish from is none other than true leech country. Well, avid anglers have found that making a paste of salt and washing powder and smearing it onto their Wellington boots is effective against leeches. However, for us trekkers it probably is not too smart a move because we do not wear waterproof rubber Wellies to hike and often we get our hiking shoes wet because we have to step into boggy ground or wade through streams. We would then find ourselves squelching in voluminous soap suds!

Cheerio for now, but don't forget to learn from my mistakes, so that you don't have to regret, like me. My regrets, however, were minor compared to the pleasure I received at the top of Bubu. I am glad I plucked up enough courage to go. Surprisingly, the leeches were not much of a bother and I would like to encourage those who break out into a cold sweat whenever a Gunung Bubu trip is being contemplated to rise up to the occasion. The view from the top was definitely more than worth the toil up and the challenge of the leeches!