Sungai Sedim canopy walk and random thoughts

I have been going out to Sungai Sedim in Kedah for the last couple of years and it is still a little slice of heaven.

Let me have a little sidebar here. Malaysians, in general, hate it that some people who have never visited Malaysia think that it is very undeveloped and that people still live in trees. I have never seen a country so fixated on development. It is in lots of patriotic songs and at least two states, Selangor and Kedah, have set dates to be developed, 2007 and 2010, I think. By the way, don’t ask me what they mean by developed, because Malaysia is very developed and I don’t know what the word really means. I am often asked, “Oh, but the US is more developed than Malaysia, right?” How do you respond to that? Mobile phone use here is much higher than in the US. Malaysia boasts the world’s tallest twin towers (Petronas Twin Towers) and one of the world’s tallest towers (KL Tower). Malaysia is a very developed country.

But I don’t love Malaysia because of its massive buildings. I love it for its jungles and rivers and its wildness. I want to see a wild tapir or at least a wild elephant. Concrete and steel are impressive but they are the same anywhere in the world, whether Shanghai, New York, London or Kuala Lumpur. Nowhere in the States can I find the kind of things I see at Sungai Sedim.

I do meet Malaysians who are proud of this heritage and who take every opportunity to enjoy it. I hope this is an attitude that spreads throughout the country so that one day a naïve person can speak to a Malaysian and say “Malaysia, you have a lot of jungles and rivers there right?” and the Malaysian will smile and reply, “You bet, some of the most beautiful in the world!” and be just as proud of the jungle as they are of the Petronas twin towers.

Well, anyway, I did enjoy Sungai Sedim this time but less so. The main reason I didn’t enjoy it was because I was sick. Very sick. In fact, on Sunday I didn’t do much at all but just try to get well for work on Monday.

The second reason is the price of the canopy walk. I used to go out there before the walk was open. The first time the workers invited me to go out on it, so I couldn’t be rude and turn down the invitation. The next few times it wasn’t open so I just jumped the fence and walked around on it. However, now it is “open” and they are charging RM10 (RM5 for kids) to use it. That is more than the price of a movie! I paid it but I think it is a price that will put it out of reach of some people. RM5 with kids free would be a good price in my opinion. Also, they are charging full price and you can’t even use the entire walk due to repair work.

Anyway, I did see my first red-bearded bee-eater! I have wanted to see this species for a long time, not surprising considering my love of bee-eaters. It was just a brief viewing and too far away to photograph.

The best thing about Sungai Sedim is that after you get hot and sweaty on the canopy walk you can cool off in the Sedim river. My current count: Sungai Sedim: 6 visits. Petronas Twin Towers: 1visit.

Part of the canopy walk, which is billed as the longest in the world at almost 1km.