So I drove on, guessing which junction will eventually lead to the top of the ‘spinning top’ hill. A road didn’t exactly lead me there but to an Iban and a bidayuh family looking for tapioca buds, a delicacy and very much my favourite native dish. They were puzzled to see me stopping behind their cars.
“You guys going for a picnic? Is there some kind of a river or picnic ground here?” I asked.
“No, we’re looking for tapioca buds. Picnic? River? No, there’s no such place here. You’ll have better luck in Ulu Yam.” The bidayuh lady told me.
"Where are you from?" she asked.
"KL, I'm from Sarawak actually" I replied.
"We're from Sarawak as well. I'm Bidayuh. The rest are Iban." she explained.
Well, what are the odds? But they are looking for native tapioca buds after all, so that figures.
"I'm bidayuh as well!" I told her delightfully.
“But the Bukit Gasing top is somewhere here right?” I asked again.
“Yeah, this is bukit gasing. It’s at the end of the other junction.” she said.
“Oh ok. . .Tapioca buds eh. I’ll just hang around a while with you guys here.”
So I watched as some of them picked bundles of tapioca buds. This reminds me of my family back home, long ago. My mum would bring us to some patch of land overgrown with healthy tapioca plants and sometimes luscious wild ferns, also a delicacy. If we were lucky, there would be large tapioca roots to be plucked off the ground. Great for tea time I tell you!
I didn’t know why I lingered. I guess it was interesting to watch something I used to experience as a child. And to have this in KL is something I don't see every day. I got to know them a little better too that way. After a long while they said they’re going to the hill for a view, and to see monkeys.
Monkeys?! Splendid!
The wait was worth while. I got to enjoy the view with a friendly new family I just met.
Partial views of Kuala Lumpur.
Too bad the air was hazy, otherwise it would have been magnificent.
ET phone home...
Monkeys?! Yeah, and they are many. Another day, another entry, another monkey...watch this space.
The day didn't end there, fortunately for me. With the delicious tapioca bud dish in my mind, guess what I said when they said I could follow them home. "So you'll know the way when you visit us in the future" they said.
"Future! Uhm, that's good too, but a traditional meal opportunity is something I must not miss right now!" I thought.
Yeah, I hear you. "You and your tummy!" you say.
Some of these days it's gonna land me in trouble, but not yesterday. Dinner was as traditional as it can get. Stir fried pounded tapioca leaves and buds, chicken soup of preserved durian paste or 'tempoyak', stir fried young jackfruit and a spicy salad of scraped cucumber; all locked and loaded Bidayuh style! But a picture or two during dinner might not be a good idea, I thought then. They might not be so familiar with a blogger's obsession. So my camera sat on the tv all night, till I went home at midnight.
Midnight? Hey, what is a polite guest to do when his hosts seem to enjoy his company and repeatedly tell him to stay a while?
He stays a while! A long while.
Besides, a hit and run is a punishable offence.
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