Rustic Charm of Kuala Selangor

Everyone is aware of the existence of the firefly sanctuary in Kuala Selangor. But how many of us jave actually been there before? I personally did, not once not twice but more than that. This is however, the first time I'm there with my own personal camera. Getting there took almost 2 hours due to the condition of the road and the weather. It is always advisable to get there before dark, just incase you lose your way. One drawback is there's nothing much to do in Kuala Selangor especially if you're not the adventurous one.


Old canons overlooking the eastuary of the Selangor River

A popular tourist destination would be the Melawati Hills which play host to a fort, a lighthouse and dozens of monkeys.


Kuala Selangor lighthouse


Huge tree with a huge canopy


An eagle hovering majestically over Kuala Selangor


The unique silver-leafed monkey. Notice that their offspring is of a different colour.


Tourist trap. lol

Unlike the usual local monkeys which are generally known to be fierce and dominant, these monkeys are very similar to your neighbour's cats. Friendly in nature but extremely greedy when it comes to food. While feeding isn't the best thing to do, tourists still feed them with junkfood and peanuts.

monkey

When the sun is just about to set across the horizon, it's a signal indicating that it is dinner time. Where else than by the Selangor River to savour fresh seafood harvested by local fishermen. Seafood here is extremely cheap and fresh. Together with the creativity of local chefs and the abundance of local spices, seafood here is to die for. Literally.

River by night.

It started drizzling right after dinner which was kind of a let down considering we traveled so far and we had guests with us. Fortunately, the guide said the rain was not that heavy and trips across the banks are still possible although the colony may not be as big as what a perfect weather would offer. There are actually two firefly sanctuaries in Kuala Selangor, one in Kampung Kuantan and another in Kampung Bukit Belimbing. Kampung Kuantan operates using traditional sampan which could be quite slow where else the latter operates using a silent electric-powered boat. Thousands if not millions of fireflies live on the leaves and branches of the berembang tree which flourish on the banks of the many tributaries of the Kuala Selangor River. Ticket sells for RM12 for adults, an increase of RM2 from my previous trip. While insect repellents and any light emitting objects are prohibited, there seems to be a lack of enforcement here as the smell of repellents dominates the atmosphere.

It is almost impossible to capture the image of these fireflies without flash. I had to edit this picture as the flash would frighten these tiny insects. It was an amazing sight to behold as we witnessed these fireflies flashing their lights like fairy lights on Christmas trees. The weather didn't seem to dampen the insects' enthusiasm. It's not hard to imagine why this is labelled as the 8th Wonder of the World although it sounds extremely corny.