Let's DAB, A Charcoal Factory Tour (1 February 2017)

Let's DAB, let's get connected!

Through Palm Oil Estates...

Through nurseries...

River scenes

Old mud kilns

Their timing was good. She saw the team approaching as soon as she arrived at the butterfly interchange. But she had to take a second glance as the group was larger than the initial ensemble of a few friends! Apparently, some teens had decided to hitch a "ride" with us this morning!!!

Premeditated to visit the charcoal factories, Leo waved Claudine on as the group approached. After all, she was the assigned navigator for the day!

The route panned out to the fringes of Kg Jelutong Tengah. We passed old rubber trees, saw a mother hen guarding over her brood and rattled on a 50 m stretch of gravel road. After making 2 wrong turns at Kg Melayu Gelang Patah, Claudine finally realized Paul, who was on the first recce ride, was at the back of the group all this while. Relieved, she quickly passed her duty on to him!

With Paul navigating, we escaped the maze of the kampung, finally arriving at Kampung Dapur Arang. The kiln the recce group visited earlier is now going through refurbishment. Masons were busy plastering up the brick works with cement. Meanwhile, a new zinc roof supported by mangrove trunks, now hovers over the 2 mounds.

Not wanting to risk any punctures, we abandoned the idea of travelling to the end of the gravel road for more kilns. Instead, we left for Kg Simpang Arang.

Arriving at our new destination, we noticed the kilns were going through a sequence of production processes. While the middle kiln had a fire earlier, it has since been snubbed. The cooling down process has begun! Today, the first kiln has been emptied out and the fire has been lit on the last one.

After awhile, we left to check out the adjacent factory, bumping into some anglers coming back to shore. They unloaded their catch, which weighed more than 10kg! All in a night's work, these hobbyist will have enough fish to last a week!!!

The sun was beginning to burn. Not wanting to get charred, we left the place, making a stopover at Gelang Patah for breakfast. On our way back, we made a detour to check out the new bike lanes that lined the streets of Legoland and Medini. All safely home, Sibyl realized during the night that her little adventure had cost her a ripped tyre and a slow leak in the inner tube!!!