At 12pm our guys were clumping together at the Beginner’s Centre, waiting patiently to shape up our convoy to make the trip out to Kampong Fest at the 21st mile of Ulu Langat. We were all geared up to have a leisurely day out in the countryside, and the weather was lovely with the sun slightly obscured by friendly clouds.

The inane noise of highway traffic was far behind us and we wound past numerous villages along the way.

The 5-car convoy took about 40 minutes to get to Desa Blonde—a private 4 acre orchard in Hulu Langat, on the banks of Sungai Lui. The inane noise of highway traffic was far behind us and we wound past numerous villages along the way. Partially-completed concrete structures gave way to refreshing sights of rolling hills still covered in virgin forest, and the air was noticably more breathable. Having parked our cars along the few others along the main road, we made our way into the ‘dusun’ (orchard) with our gear.

It turned out to be a really relaxed afternoon. Entrance was by invitation only and it was a pretty exclusive event—most of the guests were expatriates, and the rest consisted mostly of the rest of the performers involved in the entertainment schedule. There were lots of activities going on, from Batik painting to Kampong-cooking and butterfly-catching for the kids. Musicians were gathered under one of the larger trees to perform their original works. Meanwhile our boys seemed to take a sudden liking for fruit—Rafael gave a pulasan tree (akin to that of the rambutan) a good whacking with a very long stick to get to part with its fruit, while the Suicide Crew was spotted climbing a langsat tree. They didn’t take advantage of the nearby stream (presumably Sungai Lui) though. Others were flipping around on the grass.

It was probably the first time for most of the group that they had to negotiate with soft, leaf-covered ground while playing.

There was a song/dance performance by an orang asli group before we finally assembled in front of the main stage for our roda. It was probably the first time for most of the group that they had to negotiate with soft, leaf-covered ground while playing. Even the most sure-footed of us were humbled! Nevertheless, we gave our all to the roda’s axé while enjoying the breeze and the soft dappled sunlight through the trees. The roda ended to a warm round of applause from the audience.

Dusting the soil from our abadas and shirts, we scuttled over to the food tent for some much-needed grub and drinks but were hijacked by the NTV7 crew who wanted us to do a quick wrap-up clip for their “You Asked For It” programme. While all this was going on, the air grew much cooler and dark rainclouds were gathering overhead. Thankfully it only began to drizzle once we had cleaned off our plates of (overpriced) food. It was rather unfortunate for the organizers though, as they had planned events for the rest of the day right up till 10pm.

Our journey back to the academia pretty much wrapped up the day’s events for us. Some hung out at Syed Abu for drinks, while others scattered to their respective homes. The writer’s body couldn’t decide whether it was tired or refreshed from the outing, but she certainly did enjoy herself.