, we got down to enjoy the scenic beauty from the very top of West Malaysia....looking as far as the eye can see. Then we spotted beautiful translucent stones that looked like big diamonds in the ground around us. These were actually quartzites which Ahmad told us were locally called "Batu Tahan". The whole Tahan ridge is composed of very ancient sedimentary rock....and many of suchquartz were clearly exposed in dried-up streams, river beds or cracks in rocks. We each collected a few bits and pieces for a closer study later.
Today, this is not allowed by the Park
Hqrs.This surviving colour photo showed the 3 of us ;
me[ Dick], Balbir and Twang as the 1st 3 TTC Camp
Instructors from Singapore to set foot on Tahan.
Quite a few others, leading their own students, would follow in our footsteps.....henceforth.
In later years, other organisations, having by then learnt about the great challenges that all Tahan expedition members must face up to and the immeasurable positive values acquired when overcoming the odds, came on board in greater numbers each year....to organise their own "Tahan" expeditions.
[ more to come in next post ]
