Taiwanese Cyclists in Rimba Ilmu

by Vanessa Ting

Above: Anuar, Wana and Hariz of UMCares and Affan of Water Warriors escorted the visitors to Rimba Ilmu.

Students and lecturers of Providence University, Taiwan, cycling from Penang to Johor, made 24th of July 2014 their pit stop at UM. UMCares was on hand to meet and greet, as well as bring them around flagship programmes UMCROPS and Water Warriors. Their last stop was at Rimba Ilmu, where Benjamin Ong and the rest of the RIMBA team took them on a whirlwind tour of the tropical rainforest experience.

Above: The Taiwanese were excited to see a real (wild) mango tree (Mangifera sp) growing right inside the entrance!

Our friends from Providence University were undeterred by the mosquitoes, and soon put Ben to the test by picking up interesting leaves and fruits and asking him about them. Despite their short time in Malaysia, they had sampled rambutan and durian, and were fascinated to meet the trees of these exotic fruits. Their glee was unparalleled when they were introduced to the asam gelugur (Garcinia atroviridis) fruit - something they hadn't tried before!

Above: Tasting the fruit of the asam gelugur. The thick outer rind is inedible unless cooked, but the centre fruit is deliciously sweet-sour.

As always, Rimba Ilmu left an impression on our visitors, as they continued on to promote their message of sustainability in travel and in our daily life. And so we at RIMBA invite you to consider this too: Traffic jams? Petrol price hikes? Impossible parking? UM's roads are perfect for cycling!