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IN the murky waters of Sg Rompin lurks a secret. The instruction from Karim Ismail, an officer with the Rompin District Office, is cryptic: "When you reach Rompin, call this mobile number. Ask for Yusri. He will lead you there."
More than three hours later, we arrive in Kuala Rompin, and actually wouldn't have known it, but for the district office.
It's really not that far from Kuantan, and we could have made it in under two hours. We had stopped for late breakfast in Pekan and again for lunch in Leban Chondong.
Yusri is waiting at a Petronas station. "Follow me," he says, as he jumps into his white Proton. Obviously, he is a man of few words.
We backtrack some 10km out of town to a junction, where a signboard only reads: "Bot sewa di sini (Boat for hire here)."
About 6km from there, stands Kg Merlak - a village of two houses. One belongs to Tok Empat (village headman) Mohamad Rendah, the other to Adam Bidin.
The XC90 parked in a clearing, we walk towards the river following the taciturn. Yusri.
Tok Empat and only neighbour Adam are working on a houseboat.
"Ramai orang Kuala Lumpur datang sini. Nak tangkap udang galah juga ke? (Many people from Kuala Lumpur come here. You here to catch udang galah also?)"
Tok Empat is not convinced we are here just for a story - as Kuala Rompin is also known as Bandar Udang Galah or Giant Prawn Town.
So the secret is not that big a secret?
Well, Kuala Rompin is still largely undiscovered by KL-ites. But for those who have, they would come between November and February, which is when udang galah migrates downriver in huge numbers. Spawning begins during the dry spell after the monsoon floods.
Tok Empat and Adam introduce 30 year old Mohd Firdaus Miko Abdullah or Mat, a Sarawakian who has made Rompin his home. The latter shows us a lam kong, or blue pincer in Hokkien, and says the Rompin udang galah can reach 30cm in length and weigh half a kg each. That's a huge prawn.
Then Roslan Ahmad comes by. He explains that most people fishing for the blue pincers wait for low tide, and offers to take us out on a boat to see how fisherman Pak Itam Li, 39, does it.
Yusri has disappeared.
Pak Itam Li lays his 30m net during low tide, wading in the chest-high water to string the net to poles planted on the riverbank.
The technique is called mengempan. Tapioca pieces are strewn in the water and the net is left there until the next low tide.
"The udang galah will be attracted to the sourness of the water. They get trapped in the net," informs 31 year old Roslan.
On the opposite side of the river, Orang Asli fisherman Cindai is checking his udang galah trap made from strips of tree bark. It looks and operates like the bamboo bubu or lukah. He also puts pieces of tapioca into the water.
The catch of the day is dismal. Pak Itam Li lands about a kg and a half of udang galah, and Cindai half a kg.
But a kg of udang galah can fetch RM50 upwards. "The smaller prawns are cheaper," says Pak Itam Li. He sells his catch to us for RM35 a kg.
On lucky days, Pak Itam Li would find a soon hock or ikan hantu in his net.
The fish is a favourite with Chinese diners, and normally fetches RM80 per kg.
Sarawakian Mat had once sold a whopper soon hock he caught for RM600.
Tok Empat wants to build more houseboats for rental to visitors. He currently lets out only one houseboat, which is old and rickety, for RM50 a night. Another houseboat is used by Mat, Roslan and Adam's children whenever they return to the kampung.
He also has five rental fibreglass boats, rates of which are negotiable, depending on tenure.
Sixty-two-year-old Adam had worked for Lembaga Kemajuan Pahang Tenggara (Dara) as a mechanic until he retired. He owns a house in Bandar Muadzam Shah, about 100km away, but prefers to stay in Kg Merlak. "It's quiet here."
He has been helping to clear the land near the river for a campsite. His wife, 60-year-old Halimah Bakar, enjoys company and looks forward to the time when the houseboat is rented out.
Makcik rasa sayu petang-petang bila tak ada orang (I feel sad in the evenings when there is no one around)," she says. Her 12 children are all grown up and come back to the village only on some weekends. A few are working with the 74-year-old Tok Empat, who is also a contractor in town.
"Now that you know the place, do come again. Next time, you'll find more houseboats. Stay the night, give us a call," he says, as we bid him farewell.
Probably. The 2kg of udang galah in the styrofoam box packed with ice won't be enough for distribution to family members.
For about 100 years, the stately bungalow on top of the hill in Sg Lembing, about 40km from Kuantan, was the residence of a mining company's general manager.
The European Bungalow 1, or EB1, started out as little more than a shed with roofs of nipah palm and walls of bark.
For a brief period during World War II, the building also served as a Japanese army headquarters.
From the vantage point atop the hill, Sg Lembing spreads out into the distance, a town that Pahang Corporation Ltd (PCL) - as the British tin mining company was known from 1898 to 1906 - built.
For a long while, it was by far the wealthiest mining town in Pahang.
The area boasted the second richest tin deposit in the world, after a site in Bolivia, and operated the world's biggest underground mine. Its mine shafts and subterranean tunnels reach depths of between 450m and 650m - reputedly the deepest in South-East Asia.
The British began digging around in the area in 1898 following an agreement with the then Sultan of Pahang, Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Muazzam Shah I, for a company to set up tin mining operations there.
A 1,000ha concession was eventually awarded to PCL (which changed its name to Pahang Consolidated Co Ltd or PCCL in 1906), for a grand sum of one cent per year.
PCCL's concession was supposed to end in 1968 but after negotiations with the State Government, it was extended for 21 years from July 1, 1965.
In its years of operation, 13 million tonnes of ore which translated into 150,000 tonnes of pure tin worth $2 billion were mined.
During its heyday, Sg Lembing had a population of 10,000 people in the town area alone. It prospered despite facing its fair share of catastrophes: Most of the town's shops were razed in a fire in 1921, and five years later, there was a major flood. Then there was the Japanese invasion, and immediately after the war, the communist terrorist activities.
But it took an economic shake-out to do the town in - the tin market crash in 1985.
Restaurant owner Warisah Yunus has seen her birthplace going from being rich and famous as the state's main producer of tin to becoming a "ghost town" of not more than 1,000 people.
"Dulu ramai orang, sekarang tak lagi (There were many people before, not anymore). I wasn't working then, my husband was with PCCL," the soft-spoken 50-something says over lunch on a lazy Friday afternoon.
Her husband, whom she refers to as Pakcik Din, worked in the company's laboratory. "He analysed rocks and ores from the mine pits."
"He was doing well. Most of the people who worked at the mine were earning good money," she adds.
Five years after PCCL closed, Warisah and her husband opened their restaurant at No. 5, Jalan Besar in town.
Most of the kampung people have moved away, including her parents, she says.
"Dah tak ada kerja lagi di sini (No more work here.) Go into the village and see for yourself the abandoned houses. I've left the kampung house and moved upstairs here," she says, referring to Warisah Restaurant, which sells nasi campur, mee jawa, nasi ayam and kuih-muih.
There is an hourly bus service to connect Sg Lembing with nearby towns. Young men on modified motorbikes race the main street on occasion, breaking the monotony of the day.
She says her restaurant largely depends on the tourist trade, people who come to town to visit the double-storey bungalow, which has since been converted into a museum by the Tourism Ministry.
It houses a fine display of artifacts such as a drilling machine, railway tracks, mine lamps and communications equipment. There are also gems, minerals and rocks, tagged with explanations.
Outside are a few more mining equipment exhibits, and the Mini Mox, a car used by the managers.
Two other old buildings, the sports club and the cinema, are supposedly being rehabilitated as part of a zon bersejarah (historical zone) project.
They overlook the padang where games of cricket and other social activities were held during those bygone years.
The notice board put up by the Tourism Ministry offers few clues on the project, and the local people are in the dark as well.
"Dengar dah lama (heard about it a long time)," says a drinks seller who has his stall opposite the entrance to the museum.
"The museum itself opened only two, three years ago although we heard about it ages ago." The RM1.8 million museum opened its doors to the public on April 1, 2002.
He says he had also heard of plans to revive one of the 23 tunnels in the mine for visits by tourists.
"The mine has been abandoned for quite some time now and certain areas are flooded. Tak tahu lah macam mana dia orang nak buat. Tak nampak macam ada orang kerja pun (Don't know how they are going to do it. I don't see anyone working on it too)."
Warisah is not convinced the state government will proceed with the project although she believes it will create jobs for the town folk.
"A lot of funds will be needed. The mines are in a sorry state. The pits must be flooded now and the structure would no longer be strong."
There was a major flood in 2001, she says. "We were on the first floor of the restaurant. We moved our things upstairs but still the water rose to knee height," she says, showing the water level marks on the wall.
During the war, the British had also "drowned" the pits.
Press reports had said that the RM7 million mine restoration project under the Eighth Malaysia Plan would involve rehabilitating portions of the tunnels and shafts network, the factory, the officers' quarters and a few of the mine's historical components.
About 40m of the mine shafts would be opened for tours by the public.
From the beginning, pit mining was not a favoured method of tin extraction as it was both dangerous and costly. But the tin deposits in the area were so rich that the company found it worthwhile to do so – for nearly a 100 years.
There are 23 levels of tunnels in the mine, each separated by about 30m of rock. The ore was mined by way of drilling the walls and panning. It was the largest and oldest tin mine in the world.
In 1987, then Deputy Prime Minister Tun Ghafar Baba announced in Parliament that a Canadian company would take over the mine. However, the company, Asamera, subsequently dropped the idea, citing among other reasons, socio-economic problems and the tin quota.
The following year, the state government ordered the mine shut.
Further up the road from the museum, passing what used to be PCCL's ore processing factory, several signs can be seen declaring Kolong (underground pit).
We stop at Kolong Pahat, where a rope-bridge spans the river. On the opposite bank, a pathway leads into the jungle where metal tracks can still be found. They were for the carts that transported the rocks and ores to the factory.
Two boys at the bridge declined to serve as guides when asked. "Tak boleh masuk, kak. Tak pernah masuk pun. Mak tak bagi (Cannot go in, we've never gone in. Mother doesn't allow)," one says.
Sg Lembing is today one of the state's billed tourist destinations. The well-paved road from Kuantan that passes new townships and industrial estates bears testimony to the Pahang government's commitment to the town.
Local and foreign tourists are known to hike up Bukit Panorama behind Sg Lembing specifically to catch the sunrise.
"I can hear them arriving in town as early as 3am," says Warisah. "Then, they'll come down, have breakfast and head for the museum." At weekends, they arrive by the busload.
Gunung Tapis and the seven-tier Air Terjun Gagak are also attractions. Other hills surrounding the town have their own peculiar names such as Bukit Segantang and Bukit Enam Cupak, which allude to the amount of tin ore mined per day.
And then there is the mysterious Gua Charas, believed to be a site of human settlement that dates back to prehistoric times - some 250 million years, according to estimates.
Three separate caves make up the Gua Charas complex which covers 92ha. One has since become home to an 8.1m long statue of a reclining Buddha. It was discovered by a monk named Tham Achran Sakatapunya in the 1950s during his journey to find an ideal place of worship.
"I haven't gone there myself but my children have," says Warisah. "They tell me interesting stories. Go check it out."
CAPTAIN Othman Ali and Captain Abdul Rahman Madon are mariners – seasoned ones. Othman, 58, has been plying the seas for 27 years and sailed round the world 11 times; 40-year-old Rahman, 20 years and four times.
For both, the MV Reef Challenger is their first commission on a "small but specialised ship." They are working together on the same ship for the first time too - as master and commander, respectively.
"The work scopes are poles apart," Othman says on the bridge as the Reef Challenger sails into the Straits of Malacca.
"The working environment is also different, and so are the equipment and instruments. You know, this is also the first time I am in command of a ship with passengers," Othman says.
Like Rahman, he has had experience commanding containers, bulk carriers, tankers and general cargo ships.
Othman served as master-in-command with Malaysian International Shipping Corporation (MISC) from 1988 to 2000. He had joined the company in 1977.
Rahman, meanwhile, was with Perbadanan Nasional Shipping Line for eight years from 1983 before leaving to join MISC until last year.
Halim Mazmin Bhd, the two mariners say, is significantly contributing to efforts to get more Malaysians into the seafaring profession.
"You've probably heard lots of stories about sailors... they drink, they gamble and they womanise. Not everything true. It depends on the individual. But because of these tales, many parents don't like their children to become sailors.
"In addition, sailing takes people away from their families. Also, these days, the ports are located away from main cities," Othman says.
As senior manager of fleet operations for Halim Mazmin Bhd, Othman is in charge of three ships: RV Mahsuri, MV Puteri Mahsuri and the Reef Challenger.
On the Reef Challenger, Rahman is First Officer to him.
"There cannot be two captains in one ship. With some decisions, there is no luxury of a discussion," Rahman explains as the ship negotiates the route to avoid a sand bar in Pulau Pangkor.
The two men's Master Foreign Going Certificate of Competency allow them to be appointed master-in-command of a ship. Both also possess supplementary endorsements from the Marine Department specific to types of ship they are required to command.
While it normally takes about 10 years to become a captain, Othman did so in six.
"I didn't really find the training tough. I felt I was ready. I was a scout as a boy. It helps, especially with the rope work," he says.
Atif Hayat K. Udumansa and Ramesh Raj, both 19, are pursuing a three-year diploma course in nautical studies at the Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM) in Malacca.
ALAM is the country's premier maritime education and training institution. It is a one-stop training centre which offers not only courses that lead to professional qualifications, but also various ancillary safety and management programmes.
The courses are all designed not just to meet the minimum standards as stipulated in the International Convention on Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) 1978 and other relevant international guidelines, but to exceed them.
The boys are on a one-year practical training with Halim Mazmin Bhd.
"I want to be like the two captains... they're cool," Ramesh says during a break from his duties. He is one of five cadets on the vessel, helping out with the Scientific Expedition to the Straits of Malacca.
Sheepishly, he however admits to having suffered from seasickness, and throwing up on the first day of voyage. "I was told by senior crew members not to hold it back. Malu-lah."
The Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam scholar took up nautical studies after getting to know Atif, whom he met in Port Dickson while attending the same compulsory class for driver's licence applicants.
"It's hard work," says Atif, of his duties on board. Together with the other cadets, he had had to prepare the dinghies which some of the participants of the expedition used to get to shore. They are also the boatmen on these forays.
"Working out in the gym is nothing compared to this. But I'll get used to it."
The cadets are put on a four-hour watch each. At sunrise, they sing the Negara Ku while hoisting the national flag at the stern. Likewise at sunset, they sing the national anthem while lowering the flag.
After a year with Halim Mazmin Bhd, they will return to the ALAM classrooms. Upon completion of the course, they have to submit all relevant papers to the Marine Department and then wait to be called to sit for an oral examination.
"When we pass the orals, we will then be certified as Third Officers. The same process goes on until we make it to be captains. I intend to make it as a master-in-command in less than 10 years like Othman," Ramesh says.
"THERE are no cliffs on the island," Universiti Malaya Associate Professor Richard Dorall bellows.
"We have to tell JUPEM (Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia). They have to change the map."
He is referring to Pulau Jarak, the map of which contains symbols that denote cliffs. They are just rocks.
Using the white board in the dry laboratory located on the lower deck of the MV Reef Challenger, Dorall sketches an outline of the island while accessing references on his laptop computer. Assisted by S. Gokilan, he marks out what he believes are boulder corals in the waters off the island.
"I don't know what the brown patch here is. You guys find out," he tells the divers.
Dorall is on the six-day Scientific Expedition to the Seas of Malaysia (Sesma) together with more than 30 other Universiti Malaya scientists and researchers. Their study covers a large tract in the northern part of the Straits of Malacca - Pulau Jarak, the Pulau Sembilan cluster and Pulau Perak (since renamed Pulau Kedah by the Kedah government).
Pulau Jarak is off Bagan Datok in Perak, Pulau Sembilan an hour from Pangkor and Pulau Perak about 60 nautical miles north of Langkawi close to international waters.
Dorall and Gokilan oversee the mapping and GIS (geographic information systems) activities of the expedition. They are able to tell the other participants, among other things, the highest point on an island and the depth of a spot in the ocean.
The scientists prepare to go ashore to collect samples and specimens, their studies being aimed at updating the database on the resources of the Straits of Malacca. They also hope to determine the state of health of the ecosystems.
The findings will be published and be used by the relevant authorities to help devise a more integrated management of this part of the straits.
In all, there are 15 components to the expedition: fisheries and zooplankton, phytoplankton, seaweeds and seagrasses, corals, dragonflies, butterflies, beetles, birds, marine fungi, macrofungi (mushrooms), microbiology, water quality, geology, mapping and GIS, and plants.
With the exception of those undertaking fisheries and zooplankton, microbiology and water quality studies, the others go ashore on the islands.
"I need at least 12 hours, maybe from 7am to 7pm...to set up the traps then collect the specimens," says Associate Professor Dr Fauziah Abdullah, a beetle expert. On most landings, she is the last to leave for the ship.
For all the islands, the first thing Professor Dr Norma Yusof wants to know is whether there are streams or rivers. That's where she finds her dragonflies.
"Bird men" associate professors Dr Rosli Hashim and Dr Rosli Ramli are suitably armed with powerful binoculars, while Professor Dr Sufian Azirun brings nets - the butterfly kind.
Professor Dr Chong Ving Ching and Dr Lee Choon Weng "control" the bow of the ship, where the wet laboratory is located. They collect water samples for the various study groups. Chong also brought two Pulau Ketam fishermen with him to help gather fisheries specimens.
Halim Mazmin Bhd's diver George Charles and Universiti Malaya's Badrul Huzaimi Tajudin, Jillian Ooi and Yong Ai Lin go for day and night dives, bringing along underwater cameras and specimen bags.
The expedition's key focus is on Pulau Jarak and Pulau Perak. Scientifically, little is known about them, the main source of information being materials published in the 1950s.
Pulau Sembilan is easily accessible from the mainland and only three hours away from Pulau Jarak. The voyage to Pulau Perak however takes some 20 hours.
Anchored off one of the Pulau Sembilan islands, Associate Professor Dr Azhar Hussin's walkie-talkie cackles: "We seek your approval to light fireworks... to scare off the pigs."
Pigs? Not wild boars?
"The last time I was here, a few years ago, there were piglets on the island," Badrul Huzaimi says. "Someone from the mainland must have brought them here. They would be fully grown by now."
After an entire day and night of sailing, Pulau Perak comes into sight.
Dorall has discovered that the map's coordinates for the island are wrong, requiring another report to JUPEM.
From a distance, Pulau Perak is just a rock sticking out of the water, with birds as its only obvious inhabitants. There is reportedly a cherry tree on the island but the expedition members can't find it.
There is, in fact, vegetation, including coconut trees, and signs of human habitation - a jetty; and a helipad too, the latter used by the Royal Malaysian Navy in their patrols of the area.
For security reasons, we have to leave before nightfall. The Reef Challenger does so none too soon, as it is contacted by a passing Royal Malaysian Navy gunship, enquiring about our presence.
That settled, it's time to go home - a 30-hour journey, which many of the expedition participants use to conduct briefings and exchange notes.
Universiti Malaya's maritime research centre chief, Professor Dr Phang Siew Moi, says another expedition is planned: "Want to come?"
"On a bigger boat?" I ask.
"There are no rules in the jungle. You go by your instincts," Zamri Othman says. The Temerloh-based army ammunitions specialist should know.
His years of military training have allowed him to acquire a healthy respect for the jungle.
"No matter how much training, there's no guaranteeing one's safety. At best, it teaches you to keep a cool head and to be aware that quick thinking is needed when faced with difficult situations. Of course, it's best to avoid those situations in the first place," adds the 40- year-old father of five.
A briefing for a military jungle reconnaissance? No, only a 4x4 adventure in the heart of Hulu Tembeling in Jerantut, Pahang.
Zamri, together with Md Noor Razali, are easily the most experienced off-roaders in the group participating in the charity expedition organized by K'Dau Adventure.
Both of them belong to Temerloh's "infamous" Enam Jahanam 4x4 Adventure Club, which sports a raging bull as its logo.
Of the two, Noor is the cool head, and Zamri, like the Enam Jahanam's logo, the raging bull.
While Noor - the chief marshall of the three-day, two-night expedition - studiously contemplates the best route for team members in between puffs on his Sampoerna, Zamri is tearing ahead to buka jalan with his automatic transmission sky-blue Suzuki Vitara.
"You park your car illegally in Temerloh and you'll get a summons from the YDP (Yang Di Pertua)," Zamri says, within earshot of the municipal council president Norzan Ahmad, who is also a participant in the expedition.
"You cut down a tree in town, you'll get a fine. In the jungle, it's strictly you and the environment. No municipal council man around," he quips.
"There are rules to observe," Noor interjects, seemingly to mollify the impression created by Zamri.
"In a convoy, for example, it is important to ensure that the car behind yours is always within sight. If he is in trouble, the car in front has the best chance to help. Also, at turnings, we have to wait for the last car. We don't want people to get lost - not in the jungle."
Noor is the one who gives sporadic briefings to first-time adventure drivers, including on how to handle adverse terrain.
There are several villages in Hulu Tembeling, the main ones of which are Kg Pagi, Kg Kuala Sat, Kg Sungai Kuching, Kg Bantal, Kg Mat Daling and Kg Gusai.
Our stops are at Kg Pagi and Kg Kuala Sat.
We had left civilisation and the XC90 at Kuala Tahan to ride with Noor in his Mitsubishi Pajero. He had turned off at a junction - marked "Kg Mat Daling. Pacuan Empat Roda Saja (4-wheel drive only)" - on the main trunk road.
It turns out to be a 40km jalan balak (a dirt track for timber trucks).
Expedition participants had prayed for rain the night before, so as to make the drive more "adventurous". They are not getting their wish - yet. The blazing sun and the soaking humidity are rather taxing.
The drive to Kg Pagi is uneventful. As it is a public holiday, no timber-laden trucks are encountered.
"Here, they rule the road. You have to make way for them simply because they are far bigger than you," Noor says.
The convoy of 16 cars had only to stop once. A crane truck had got stuck while inching up a steep hill.
"There are no traffic lights and road markings. On the way in (to the jungle), we just drive on the ravine side of the road; and out, on the other side," he adds.
If we had taken the boat from Kuala Tahan, Kg Pagi would be the first Malay village we would pass. The ride takes about 45 minutes.
It was said to be three hours by the dirt track but it had taken us close to half a day.
The village has some 400 people living in 64 houses. They are mostly farmers.
Finding a place to set up camp for the night was not too difficult. The scenic Tembeling riverbank beckons.
The drive down the hill to the riverbank is easy enough, but some participants decide to park their cars up on the slope. (Wise decision as a couple of those who got down to the bank had later to be winched out as their 4x4s' "caterpillar" tyres dug too deeply into the sand.)
Some die-hard anglers lost no time in casting a line in the river, even before setting up tent.
And in the night, the rain came - in torrents. Many of the tents offered little protection, while some drivers were prompted to move their cars to higher ground in the middle of the night as water gushed down the hill.
"We have to be careful with what we wish for," Norzan tells his 19-year- old son, Eddy, the youngest driver in the convoy.
Morning breaks, with breakfast out of the way, it's time to head for Kg Kuala Sat. But because of the rain, Noor has to chart an alternate route through an oil palm plantation. Most of 4x4s would not be able to make it up a steep hill on the original route, he decides.
"The rain would have caused some sections to become very slippery."
Already, the drive out of Kg Pagi is taking longer than expected. Some cars have to be pushed or winched out of the mud.
They also slide from side to side of the road, as the tyres work overtime to get a grip. "If you're not careful, you can slide all the way across," Noor warns as he monitors the other vehicles' progress.
My Clark boots and May's black Reeboks have long become non-recognisable. One thing I quickly learnt is not to try to wash the boots. Just leave the mud to dry and then brush off the caked dirt.
"Leave your Guccis and Pradas at home. Lipsticks? What for? Just bring lots of T-shirts and shorts. Next time, wear sandals which you can strap to the ankle," Zamri advises.
The strap on my Etienne Aigner slippers (yes, silly me) has snapped while May has lost her Japanese slippers in knee-deep mud near the river.
Toilet? Emulate the cat: dig and bury.
Kg Kuala Sat is a small village on the southern edge of the Taman Negara. It is one of the most remote areas of the country. With no handy 4x4 around, it is accessible only by a six-hour boat journey on the Tembeling River.
At a number of villages on the way, we distributed food supplies provided by Nestle, one of the many sponsors of the expedition.
The expedition has not been without casualties. One car has to be towed out of the jungle because of a burst radiator.
Zamri says it's not unusual. Team members have been known to have to leave their cars on the way to their campsite and pick them up on the way out.
"Also, cars have been left in the jungle, to be retrieved later after all team members have safely come out.
"If you think this trip has been rather tame, follow us on a hardcore 4x4 expedition. Are you game for it?" We'll certainly be better prepared.
"Remember Jacques Cousteau?" Tan Sri Halim Mohammad asks. The famed French marine explorer and researcher of the award-winning Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau TV documentaries? The man on a life-long quest to study and protect the planet's largest and least explored frontier? Of course.
In the 1970s, Cousteau took millions of TV viewers around the world to the depths of the oceans with his research ship, The Calypso - in search of sharks, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, octopuses and the most obscure of creatures of the deep.
"I have been waiting to do this for some time now," Halim says, when met at Berth 7A of South Port in Port Klang.
"I love the sea and anything that has to do with it. In my small way, I would like to emulate Cousteau, who did more than anyone in history, to educate humankind on the wonders of the watery world."
For a start, the 53-year-old executive chairman of Halim Mazmin Bhd has acquired his own version of The Calypso in the form of a former Japanese tuna fishing training vessel turned oceanographic and research vessel - the 48-metre MV Reef Challenger.
The Calypso was a converted US-built 42-metre British Navy minesweeper.
It had actually been refurbished to operate as a ferry before Cousteau, in his familiar red woollen hat, came along to make a floating legend out of the vessel.
Halim is understood to have paid RM350,000 for the 16-year-old Japanese vessel Wakatori Maru, and spent another RM600,000 on converting the 426-tonne ship into Reef Challenger.
It may not have a helipad on board or The Calypso's "false nose" (the underwater observation chamber built around the prow complete with eight portholes) but the Reef Challenger is, from day one, designed and equipped for scientists and researchers.
There is a windlass on deck, a lifting device consisting of a crank-driven horizontal cylinder wound with a cable or rope. There are dry and wet laboratories where scientists can conduct in situ experiments and undertake an inventory of the biodiversity of the Malaysian waters.
The Calypso's first assignment was a study of corals in the Red Sea way back in 1951. The ship is now at a dry dock in La Rochelle, France, after having keeled over and sunk at the Singapore port on Jan 8, 1996.
A barge, in the process of being moved, had punctured The Calypso's hull just as it was departing for China for a Yellow River expedition. It took 17 days to raise the ship back to the surface.
The Reef Challenger, meanwhile, embarked on its first assignment early this month. Billed as the Scientific Expedition to the Seas of Malaysia (Sesma), it was a collaborative mission between Universiti Malaya and the Halim Mazmin Group.
"I was extremely excited when I learnt of Universiti Malaya's plans. The expedition offers me an opportunity to contribute towards the protection and preservation of our marine environment.
"I am sure the Reef Challenger will be of assistance to the marine scientists, especially to access the ocean depths, which couldn't be done before. The marine resources, diversity... the eco-system must be protected and regulated, but this could only be done if we know exactly what and how much is out there."
Halim's affinity with the sea is no surprise. He had joined the merchant navy at the age of 18 and has sailed most of the oceans on earth.
"As a sailor, we develop a special bond and love for the sea, not only because we spend more time looking at it than most people but also because we owe our living to it.
"We come to see the sea as a friend. Which means we have to take care of it, keep it clean and respect it. We are duty-bound, particularly, to preserve the resources for future generations," he adds.
There is a more urgent need, Halim says, to explore "our own backyard" than, say, to go study the Antarctica."
"Clean seas are important for everybody - marine creatures included - because clean seas means safe seas."
And there are issues of security to address as well. For example, many areas along the country's maritime borders, off Sabah especially, remain uncharted, he notes.
Halim Mazmin Group operates a fleet of nine vessels with a combined weight of 311,272 dwt. The diversified fleet includes clean product tankers, dry bulkers and container vessels.
Besides the Reef Challenger, Halim has three other training and research vessels - RV Mahsuri, MV Puteri Mahsuri and MV Reef Explorer. "This is only the beginning," Halim promises.
