Rainforest Discovery Center - Part 1

I must admit, I've left this window open for the past 20min.. just to check out how Victoria Beckham carries her sassy new bob.Recently snipped my old curls and got myself a bad mop..*fine! bob.* the ordeal have been so disturbing that I kept having nightmares bout some guy behind me in the cinema seat going "dude,your mop is blocking my view !" .. sigh~

So back to this...The Rainforest Discover & Research Center had an open house last Saturday,We made a trip smack in the mid day heat,hoping we could get some tips on breeding glowing orchids and possibly even get some free seedlings.Hehe I know im oozing with "MakcikNESS" these days.

We saw lots of bugs,butterflies, trees,timber samples,fruit trees and weird traditional tribal herbs, I think Chinese herbs still top the list tho~If mum was here, she prolly go crazy and start blurting a long list of remedies using god knows what funky greens.

However there were these little tags that made my toes tingle...I do that when im annoyed.
it says *Armsghohgdo(Scientific name)* - to heal eyes and good for lung. - good for lung ...WHAT?!! Lung cancer?Lung Infection?Lung What? I hate it when people leave me on a disappointing high note.

Dr Arthur Chung,a family friend who works in the Entomology department. showed us his extensive collection of bugs.Apparently he got it from his dad.. If my boy showed interest in catching butterflies i'd be quite worried about his sexual orientation.But alls well,Arthur is as manly as any man can be - imagine spongebob and his jelly fishing gear and you get Arthur. The collection was really pretty,perhaps one day i'll use the patterns and colors as an inspiration for print making.He even gave us a peek at these Rafflesia ,The biggest,
ugliest,smelliest flower in the world.Unfortunately not so perky and happy in the preservation spirits.Then He went on to make sentences full of unpronounceable scientific terms about the process but all I could think about is "FWAAHH RAFFLESIA VODKA SHOTS" that must be DEE most potent stuff!

But the absolute bestest part was the wood library..This little room packed with thousands of cut specimens, .All the different local timbers most of them still wrap up in by the original tree bark like real booklets with a book cover! Unfortunately they were all tagged with scientific terms,and I only know Tectonis Grandis which is Teak. Emotionally you get the same calmness as shopping in a bookstore,Naturally running the fingers along the barks,the eyes tracing an enormous variety of textures and grains. Add all that with a distinctive mixed of earthy scent and dust and you get a nostalgicIsh romantic kinda thingy.

Moving along..In the seed collection and cultivation center.First i learnt whats Diptocarp - a group of trees that has got seeds that floats away from the mother tree.Then we found out how Belian seedlings look like,..its like a freaggin Avocado.Big seeds makes big trees.The RDC gives away seedlings to plantation owners for reforestation.she mentioned some highly valued seedlings can fetch up to 500USD per Kilogram..particularly this timber that's made into incense - which is banned for export.The cynist in me tried really hard to hide the wry smile in the corner of lips,I mean for all you know the govt. bodies are the real puppet master! But as of now all i gotto say bout this whole illegally logging & exporting scene is "quote Ms Farah Azizan,our Architect - STOP RAPING THE FOREST PEOPLE!"