Unravelling culture and rebuilding the earth

by Grace Bowden (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

I didn't expect to find Malaysia

Although I have visited over 45 countries and always written my adventures by hand in my quaint note books, one story that resonates with me most is my trip to Malaysia.. I travelled throughout this magical land to find a place I could make a difference. I started on a journey of curiosity for a land I would never have chosen to visit and ended on a path of enlightenment that has set my direction for the past 8 years and will for my future to come. Flying to Malaysia at the ripe young age of 18 with a group of friends, I had no idea what I was set out to find. It’s exciting in a way that you never know what new passions are awaiting you in everything you learn. I landed in Kala Lumpur and took a long bus journey up into the Cameroon highlands through all of the abundance of the big city, so warm it had constant thunder overhead, heading to the farmed flowing tea plantations in the east. I even remember the song I was listening to on the bus whilst gazing at the new scenery and magical land around me. Having grown up in a traditional English home I was eager to take in anything and everything new. We arrived at our destination in the highlands, it was a beautiful wooden hostel, clean but basic, it was extremely humid. After checking in we went for a wonder around, finding a local banana farmer who was as curious about us and we were him. I have never met such open and friendly people, from day one we made a connection with him and his lovely wife who owned a small restaurant outside of our hostel she welcomed us in and insisted we had some breakfast. I was shocked to see the menu was very appetising to our English minds, beans on toast, pancakes ... After a bite we set out for our trek of the day, we planned to trek though the Cameroon highlands and see the nature and learn some survival skills. With our guide we set off on our first day hike, we turned up at a vertical concrete road sloping up into the hills and began walking, we went vertical for over an hour struggling to breath with the humidity. When we reached the top we noticed we had a day camp set out, one toilet and outdoor shower with a kitchen area. He quickly sat us down and explained the dangers of the land around us, poisonous frogs, plants, insects and the need for chlorine tablets in any water we drank. He also showed us how to drink from moss. Yes moss! After a swift lesson we set off again hiking further up hill, All the while being surrounded by a thick tree canopy. I started to notice a clearing in the canopy ahead and wondered if it was another camp, to my horror when we arrived we were educated that this is a huge felling area in the region and deforestation is writhe in Malaysia, it deeply saddened me to see such natural beauty be destroyed on such a mass scale, we could see deforestation for miles and miles. As a team it hit us so hard that we decided to stay for the week and work to re-plant as many trees as possible to rebuild the forest. We composted, planted and worked with a local team. Although we did our best we made a stones throw of an impact on such a deforested area, from this day on I have made forests, oxygen, global warming, sustainability and saving our natural environment an integral part of my being. It is with me every day. As vivid as the nightglow jellyfish that lined the seas shores of the Malaysia south. Although many of us know of the worlds troubles, until you see, experience and absorb the reality with your own eyes and mind it is always easy to be ignorant to it. Natural life is precious, in this journey I found my calling to share the culture of the world with others and endeavour to reverse human impact on the environment.