*harmonica music plays* *muffled tour guide*
*harmonic music fades out*
TOUR GUIDE: ... in the region that we're going to hike through,
an area roughly the size of a soccer field
as the number of varieties in the entirely of England.
can easily contain as many different butterflies, in terms of species,
NARRATOR: This summer,
a handful of children brought up in the concrete jungle of Hong Kong,
embarks on a journey into the depths of the Malaysian rainforest.
*harmonic music resumes*
"In the Forest and Open Fields"
PUDY: Hey!
Do you want to learn to speak?
Repeat after me: "HAAALLO!"
NARRATOR: "Caged Bird" is Pudy's adopted pet.
They play together often.
Even at his young age, Pudy has noticed the isolating effects of urban living,
resulting in a certain lack of knowledge about the natural world.
PUDY: In the city, people don't often see much greenery.
When you look out the window?
You see a lot of buildings,
there's no sense of nature.
MOTHER: Ah Yao, I'll take a few snapshots, but you'll have to make some noise.
YAO: MEOW!
NARRATOR: Yao loves small animals
but since her residence prohibits cats and dogs,
she'll have to settle for paper-fold dolls.
YAO: I like cats.
Dad says cats can be messy,
and then you'll have to take them out for walks
and there's no time for that.
So since I can't have a real cat,
I'll just play with a paper one.
NARRATOR: Fung is curious about all things about the natural world.
He buries himself in books about plants and animals every chance he gets.
He regrets never having seen a mouse in the flesh.
I feel I don't know enough about plants and animals,
I normally only see them in books or on television,
I want to go see them with my own eyes.
*playful shouting*
"Scccary!"
NARRATOR: GiGi is 9 years old.
She doesn't go into the wilderness much,
she couldn't remember the last time she was in the great outdoors.
On this trip, GiGi appears scared and uncomfortable.
GIGI: I don't know much about nature,
What I know about nature my mother taught me.
She tells me that the air there is really clean and fresh.
"We almost past the fourth level!"
NARRATOR: Children who grow up in the city are accustomed
to the comforts of cars and air-conditioned spaces,
leading to an increased distance with the natural world.
"Whaaa!" [?]
"They're filming you play video games!"
PRODUCER: Why don't you go out there and play?
- I don't like playing out there.
PRODCUER: Why not? The heat?
- No, not the heat.
CHILD: Don't like it. Don't like the heat.
PRODUCER: Don't like the heat?! But we are on this field trip...
ANOTHER CHILD: It's so hot.
PRODUCER: You're feeling hot, too?
- And it's also sunny, I don't like being in the sun.
PUDY'S DAD: Do we have everything?
PUDY: I don't know.
PUDY'S DAD: You don't know?
PUDY: Swimming goggles.
PUDY'S DAD: Two pairs, right? What else?
PUDY: And clothes.
PUDY'S DAD: Clothes.
GIGI'S MOM: GiGi, remember to bring trousers
because there'll be lots of mosquitoes and bugs.
- All done!
NARRATOR: Pudy, GiGi, Yao and Fung,
along with their parents,
facilitated by the environmental advocacy group Green Power,
are setting out on a voyage to experience
the rainforest in the Sabah region of Malaysia.
*harmonica music*
NARRATOR: Because of the climate, the rainforest is very hot and humid.
The flora and fauna grow at an extraordinary rate.
Furthermore, there is remarkable biodiversity.
Insects reproduce at amazing speeds.
70% of the world's insects live in rainforests.
*excited exclamations*
- Is that one fake? The one with the wide open mouth?
- It's real! Crocodiles are very lazy.
They open their mouths, to lure other animals ...
YAO: Crocodiles are lazier than I imagined.
They don't move, they just lay there.
They're really big, really fat, really lazy
... and really stinky.
They probably won't bite people, they look kind of tame.
Not too scared of them.
- Mom! I caught it on camera!
NARRATOR: These are saltwater crocodiles.
They will eat people.
They can grow up to 20-30 feet in length.
- Hey, wake up!
PRODUCER: Are they scary-looking?
PUDY: NOPE! There's one over there, Dad!
PRODUCER: GiGi, do they look scary to you?
*in a small voice* - I think they're very ugly...
PRODUCER: Hm?
- ... very ugly ...
PRODUCER: Are you frightened of them?
- ... its eye is stuck out like this, looks like it wants to scold somebody.
NARRATOR: The Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary.
Orangutans are considered giant primates,
fully grown, they could stand 5-6 feet tall.
They are social animals,
from an evolutionary standpoint, they're our distant relatives.
GIGI: The greatest impression? It must have been the primates.
When I first got there, I was so afraid, I had to take every step with my mommy.
Don't push me!
I thought those primates only knew how to eat and play,
but it turns out the mommy holds her baby, just a like a human,
yeah, those newborn babies hold onto their mommies really tightly.
I didn't know that before.
They let them run around freely here,
but if we were to keep them in a zoo, locked up in a cage,
that wouldn't be so good.
But I wouldn't want them walking up to me.
YAO: I think they're very talented,
able to swing around without falling.
They see us down here taking pictures,
so sometimes they'll stop and pose for us.
We can't swing like that because our arms aren't as strong.
So I envy their ability to hang around.
PRODUCER: Were you scared of them?
- A little bit, yeah, I was afraid of them jumping up to me.
"Look there's one down there!"
- Heeeeey, how are you?
PUDY: I learned about their appearance,
their way of life.
Their habits are very different from those of us humans.
Humans eat three meals a day,
but orangutans eat only one meal a day.
PRODUCER: Some say orangutans abduct people.
Would it be a good thing if they abducted you?
- Absolutely! It would be great!
PRODUCER: What's so great about it?
- Um, because I wouldn't have to go to school,
and I could just climb trees.
NARRATOR: It takes some time for city dwellers to get used to being out in nature,
concerned parents even brought along bug repellent.
FUNG: Seeing orangutans with my own eyes changed my perspective.
I assumed that most orangutans had all their limbs
but I saw one that was missing its left arm.
And I saw them fighting among themselves for food.
It's like they didn't care about each other,
it's like they only wanted to get something to eat for themselves.
- I wouldn't be scared if they captured me,
they probably took a liking to me if they wanted to abduct me in the first place.
PRODUCER: You'll become like Tarzan?
- Yeah, howling and swinging in the trees.
PRODUCER: Sounds fun! But the jungle is full of insects, are you not scared?
- I'll put on bug repellent. :)
*nature zounds*
NARRATOR: Commonly known as the "Holy Mountain" or Chinese Widow Mountain ["Mount Kinabalu"]
has an elevation of 12, 000 feet, its foothills is a rainforest,
rising into *sciences words describing the specific habitat at that elevation*.
It contains a large variety of flora and fauna,
more than half of which are unique to Mount Kinabalu.
With a spring in their step,
the children depart from the base,
6000 feet above sea-level.
*hike hike hike*
♪ don't go chasing waterfalls ♪
YAO: I felt very happy as I was hiking up the mountain,
thinking about what the scenery looks like from the top.
The air is fresh but lack the sound of birds.
PUDY: As I was hiking up the mountain,
I could see many plants and insects that one can't find in Hong Kong.
I feel my knowledge has increased.
GIGI: I'm worried about the vermin ["snakes, bugs, rodents, ants"]
because the holes in the trees are mouse holes.
I'm afraid of a mouse jumping out,
I'm afraid of suddenly encountering a spider or caterpillar dangling from a tree.
"Take a picture of it, it has two antennae."
FUNG: I feel happy every time I discover a strange new plant or animal,
I immediately take out my camera to take a picture of it.
NARRATOR: Fung is preoccupied with taking pictures as he hikes,
pressing the shutter at the slightest glimpse of anything new and unusual.
He says having photographic keepsakes is very important to him.
"Eeeww, look at that tongue."
"Let's get out of here!"
"It's very small, it won't bite people."
NARRATOR: Seeing vermin, Fung is captivated,
while his mother is startled with every step.
Fung's enthusiasm is spurred on by his mother's fear.
FUNG: I now have a snapshot of your frightened expression!
"Anything?"
"It's dead."
"It's dead?"
"No wait, it's not dead. It's alive."
PUDY'S DAD: Are there any insects in there?
PUDY: Lend me the gloves so I can take a peek.
SOME OTHER KID: And then I'm next.
PUDY: Okay, you're next.
NARRATOR: Fung and Pudy, considerably braver than the others,
still would not dare touch the wild plants with their bare hands,
insisting on wearing gloves.
"Don't pull at it too hard or you'll break it."
PUDY'S DAD: Environmentally-Friendly Bed of Nature! [probably referring to a _bed_ of moss, har har]
"My hand..."
PUDY'S DAD: No, these are safe...
NARRATOR: GiGi is even more scared,
not only afraid of the plants being poisonous,
but also because they're "gross-looking".
*high-pitched giggle/squeal*
GUIDE: These are "high legged" moss [NOT actually the name of their genus/species :)]
when they're found above 5000 feet,
they get very tall, up to 5, 6 feet.
NARRATOR: With increased exposure, the children gradually
grow less wary and finally take off their gloves.
In addition to moss, there is a wealth of pitcher plants on the mountain.
Some leaves of the pitcher plants are shaped like a jug with a lid,
using their colour and aroma, they lure insects inside,
once inside, mucous the jug would then digest the insects.
*chatter of childrens*
"How big is it? Is it as large as the size of your palm?"
"There's supposed to be one that could swallow a chicken!"
"You guys should look for that one as you hike!"
NARRATOR: The children are especially interested in the pitcher plants.
When they hear there are some nearby that could hold a entire chicken,
Fung and the others search everywhere for them.
"Nope, not going any further!"
"Why not?"
"Because we don't want to walk anymore."
*various complaints back and forth*
NARRATOR: After 3 hours of hiking,
the children who were initially very energetic,
have run out of steam,
terminating their trek at 7500 feet.
Of the 20 children,
only a handful made to it the apex of 9000 feet.
Yao is one of them.
"How high?"
"9000?"
"8600-ish."
"How high?"
"8600-ISH!"
"Is it tiring?"
*mumble mumble* "...no..."
*laughter* "Lies!"
PRODUCER: What motivated you to hike all the way up there?
- I want to... if I wasn't going all the way,
I would have stopped at the third pit stop,
since I made it to the fourth one,
it would have been disappointing stop there,
so I kept going.
PRODUCER: What did you see up there?
- Up there, I saw clouds and a tower, and a little house.
Looking from so high... looking down... it looks so vast.
*night sounds ... not quite crickets*
NARRATOR: This evening, they are spending the night at a hostel located at 6000 feet.
There are moths everywhere.
The temperature at night plunges from the daytime average of
20°C to only around 13, 14°C.
PRODUCER: Have you ever spent the night on a mountain?
- Never.
PRODUCER: How does it feel?
- Um, it's exciting.
- There are a lot of moths...
PRODUCER: How do you feel?
- They're always flying around... they make me uneasy.
- Very happy, because I've never done this before.
And there are so many critters to keep me company.
*morning chirps*
*wind blasts*
*water flowing*
NARRATOR: We encounter a different sight after descending from the mountains to the plains below.
Dipterocarp trees stand a looming 20-some stories high,
creating a shaded and humid environment on the forest floor,
a particular trait of the rainforest.
- Almost there.
PUDY: Walking on the suspension bridge was really fun.
You can look down from so high up.
There are so many trees down there.
I finally get to see trees that are so tall and so wide.
It's a rare sight; it's not something you see in Hong Kong.
Seeing with my own eyes? I feel very happy.
"Have you surrounded it yet?"
"Surround it tighter."
"Let's link our hands together."
FUNG: It's mostly like I imagined.
The trees are pretty big.
And the leaves cover the sky.
PRODUCER: How do you feel now that you're here?
- Because the trees are so big, I feel very small.
NARRATOR: This trip into the rainforest was a mere 5 days,
but it constituted for many a first real contact with the natural world.
Although short, it was a valuable experience
for children who grew up in the city.
YAO: Since my return to Hong Kong,
I've paid more attention to how the tall trees are,
how pretty the flowers are,
I learned how to be less scared of nature, of moths.
Before, I would run away from them,
but now, I'll just sit still and ignore them.
PRODUCER: Do you think you would get used to living in the wild?
- Me? I don't know. We'll have to see.
GIGI: The way I've changed...
at home, I would be scared of an ant.
My mom says if you're scared of an ant,
then wouldn't you be scared of everything when you grow up?
This experience, nothing happened to me, so yeah.
When we went to the orangutan sanctuary,
there were no cages to hold them,
so we were very close to them...
...there's this feeling.
So when you're in Sabah...
there are many trees,
you feel...you feel natural.
PRODUCER: Did you learn how to live in the wild?
FUNG: No. It's difficult to learn...
living the wild, you would have to start your own fires,
you have no clothes,
you would have to build your own house,
I used to think living in the wild would be great
because you don't have to go to school,
you don't have to do anything,
but now, I don't think that... [because?] *mumble mumble*
PUDY: I want to live there, but I can't.
We are used to living in Hong Kong,
and if we suddenly moved there,
we definitely won't get used to it.
PRODUCER: What do you think you won't get used to?
PUDY: Eating one meal a day.
Eating only raw foods and not cooked foods.
And eating a vegetarian diet.
PRODUCER: Do you like that kind of environment though?
- Yeah, I like it a lot,
but...
I don't think I could get used to it.
*more harmonica music*
*credits with names of fine people*
*A Radio Television Hong Kong Production 1993*