Recently, our nature guide friend Mr John Chan invited us to join him and some close friends to the village of Chuweh in Temenggor. A village of Orang Asal Jahai, this was my second visit to the island. Having been there before, we explored [...]]]>

Our fur-kid Sox enjoying his visit to the Orang Asal village

Recently, our nature guide friend Mr John Chan invited us to join him and some close friends to the village of Chuweh in Temenggor. A village of Orang Asal Jahai, this was my second visit to the island. Having been there before, we explored the possibility of having Sox on the trip. John made a few calls to the Jahais and after a few days of deliberation, they said yes. So…it was a weekend away with our fur-kid Sox to Temenggor, staying in bamboo huts and swimming in the lake. This is my second visit to Chuweh.

Our Sox ever ready for adventure.

There were 3 cars in total. We departed for Temenggor close to 6am because we knew it was going to be a long drive…plus our Pajero don’t drive fast. Along the way, we made several stops to stretch ourselves. Eventually, we made it to Temenggor. The first time both Meun and myself visited Temenggor was some years back with a retired army Colonel. Its been a while and things have changed a bit. The run down resort back then has been reconditioned but funnily enough, the only Petronas fuel station on the Banding island has been closed down.

It was a hot day. As soon as the Orang Asal boat arrives, we packed our stuff, strapped on the PFDs (Sox has one too) and sped off to Chuweh. It was almost a good 1 hour boat ride.

Sox in her PFD getting her first ever boat ride

It was a tough decision to bring Sox along the trip. I know the villagers have dogs and some village dogs can be rather ‘hostile’ to outside dogs. We were lucky this time around coz the village dogs have all been transferred to another village. Chuweh has been receiving visits from tourists and the villagers decided that perhaps it is better to keep the dogs in another village and not risk unpleasant incidences. The first thing Meun did when we got to the village was to introduce Sox to the kids. The kids naturally were hesitant in the beginning. After much persuasion, they started to warm up with Sox and in the evening, Sox was already placing chase with the kids.

Meun introducing Sox to the children of Chuweh

Well, Sox is an angel as far as we can tell. She doesn’t realize she is a dog we reckon. Sox thinks she is one of us ‘humans’. We braved ourselves by letting Sox roam free. I guess it would be the closest feeling ever to seeing a human baby walk on its own for the very first time. There was that breathless moment, followed by drumming heartbeat, hands and legs ready to chase after her.

But it turns out better than I expected. Meun was confident all the while that Sox would be okay. I think Sox did better than ok. She stayed within eye contact from us, taking time to roam the entire village, sniffing her new surrounding. Soon, she was running around, her usual ‘chase me game’. After a few hours of just wondering around, Sox finally calmed down, feeling more confident that we weren’t gonna ‘leash’ her on…she came into the hut for a drink and some rest.

Sox rested and spent every ounce of her energy exploring the entire Chuweh villag

Well, Sox did everything we did. She went on boat rides, jungle treks, ate human food and slept in the same hut. The only thing we tried together to do that she wasn’t really keen on way swimming! Despite the expensive PFD we invested for her, she still has water phobia. Something we reckon Sox will be able to overcome with more ‘exposure’ to swimming.

NOTE: Please note that the villagers of Chuweh DO NOT accept dogs unless with prior notice. This is because their village too have dogs and can sometimes be rather hostile to new dogs.

Finding a place to go camping with a dog in Malaysia is really tricky. A suitable place needs to be safe, campers friendly and away from people who may find dogs offensive. Sox is more than a pet to us. She is part of [...]]]>

Sox going for an overnight camping for the very first time

Finding a place to go camping with a dog in Malaysia is really tricky. A suitable place needs to be safe, campers friendly and away from people who may find dogs offensive. Sox is more than a pet to us. She is part of our family and it is only natural that we want to try to bring Sox for a camping trip. So we found a place…but things did not turn out as ‘rosy’ as the TV series Lassie.

We found an Orang Asli village near Temerloh. I spoke to a villager before the trip and he agreed to ‘rent’ one of his jungle huts to us and our dog. I am surprised that he wasn’t apprehensive about a stranger bringing in a dog into his property. He said as long as it is not one of them huge guard dogs, he is fine. I guess he must be referring to a Rottweiler.

Well, we certainly had a lot of expectations. We have brought Sox out for jungle walks and such. She seems to be very friendly towards strangers. The only thing she can’t stand is motorbikes. She even barks at me when I go off to work on my Honda motorbike. I packed most of the camping gear and Meun packed most of Sox’s stuff. Her favorite chewy, dog biscuits and of course…leash.

Sox coiled up at the back of the car

As usual, we departed at ridiculously early morning, 5am to be precise. Sox sensed something ‘big’ was about to happen. With all the packing and her leash gone from its usual place she followed us like our shadow around the house the night before. That and probably also because we did not feed her dinner. No dinner means no pooh the next day. Can’t have Sox doing her business in the car. Learnt that the difficult way once.

Our jungle hut was situated at the fringe of a rubber estate. The owner’s house was about 200meters away. Better still, the hut is about 1.5m above the ground. The moment we got there, Sox was pulling on the leash so hard. She was like ‘let me go…let me go…I wanna go roam this place!’. We looked at each other and agreed that we need to give Sox a go at roaming the place without the leash on. After all, what is camping when you are chained up?

Meun took a deep breath and took the leash off. Ziiinnnng and Sox was off. Chasing her imaginary squirrel. I swore Meun froze for a minute just watching Sox go. Sox ran and ran…then suddenly she stopped. Probably realizing we were not chasing her (which we would normally do if the leash accidentally came off), she turned around and sprinted back to us!! She came back! Like proud parents watching their little baby walk for the first time, both of us knelt down with open arms to receive Sox. Zoooom she ran pass both of us. She did her ‘avoid them’ maneuver just in time to avoid our arms. Off she went around the corner. We lost sight of her. The few seconds felt like forever. I called out for Sox. Then…from the corner, Sox came charging at us again. I could sense her joy being so free! This went on for about 5 minutes…until one of the local villages came on a motorbike.  Sox went berserk! The hair behind her back stood up and she chased and barked at the villager. Ever felt like something bad is going to happen? Well, multiply that ten times and that was how we felt. Meun froze, I guessed I must have fainted cause honestly, I can’t remember what happened after that!

So…the leash went back on. We were too frightened that Sox’s relentless barking at motorbikes would cause an accident. We decided to put Sox on a long leash. Well, it ain’t as cool as running free but at least she gets to roam around (more).

We obviously upset Sox. We can see it in her eyes. 5 minutes with the leash on, she decided to put a pity face and lie down on the ground. Following me closely wherever I go.

Sox ‘merajuk’, coiling beside me while I build our camp fire

Sox gave us the cold shoulder and decided that a bunch of old coconuts are better than us

Meun and myself were both relieved but at the same time sad that we had to ‘chain’ Sox up.  We spent the rest of our camping day there with Sox on a long leash. Occasionally we will let her loose again and go through the entire ‘grab her quick’ scene whenever we hear a motorbike coming from a distance. At other times, we would have Sox with us in the hut.

Sox helping Meun prepare dinner

When we are all huddled in the hut and there is a sound of an approaching motorbike, Sox would leap up and headed towards the door to have a look. ‘Grrr…..grrrrr…woof…woof’ she would bark at the sound of the motorbike, even when it is still a distance away. Me and Meun could just watch in disbelief.

Sox checking out the motorbike passing by the jungle hut

Me and my 'dog-ther' watching the world from the door of our jungle hut

Well, bringing our dog Sox for a camping trip here was a really good idea but obviously Sox had ‘ideas’ of her own. Besides yearning to run wild and free, she also found the flies and other insects very entertaining. She doesn’t seem to enjoy the bumpy car ride too much but like all things, after awhile one would get used to it.

We all got back to K.L about 11pm and the moment we arrived home, Sox went straight into the house, upstairs, into our bedroom and onto our bed. There is no way for us to remove her from the bed now. She slept and slept and slept. Sleeping is probably the only thing she did for the next two days besides eating and nature calls. We reckon her first camping trip has been a blast for her…either that or she is recovering from the long driving hours. We the dog-parents are just glad that Sox had her first real ‘roam free’ (well…almost) outing and we all came back home safely.