On the eve of leaving for Vietnam, a small group of the office guys had the idea of visiting Kuala Selangor, which is famous for the Fireflies that live on the riverbanks. Not being able to pass up this opportunity, I persuaded my sister, Maulia and my friend, Jon to join me. As a large group we set off and soon found ourselves after sunset eagerly awaiting the boat trip.
The first thing I remember noticing was the river current, as it seemed very strong. Luckily the water itself was relatively calm, and once the rest of our group had arrived we set off in two boats, disappearing into the abyss.
As soon as we were away from the light of the boathouse, and our eyes had adjusted we saw the lights, hundreds of lights swarming around each river bush. The boatman, who was highly skilled in navigating around this stretch of river, maneuvered the boat as close to the overhanging plants as possible, and allowed us to stretch out our hands to touch the fireflies.
After the round trip on the boat, it was approaching 10pm and we were starving. On the way back to KL, we stopped off and Maulia and Jon were able to sample some local street food before continuing on our journey back home.
Unfortunately as you can tell from the photos above, the event did not capture well on film. So like many small events in my time here so far, I shall have to remember what it was like to touch a firefly for the years to come.
