Ghostly Beauty

Trekking in a 130 million year old rainforest one is bound to hear stories, local myths and legends of these woods and there are those that have experienced it firsthand. Stories of faery folk, datuks and tengkus which are keepers of these jade gates of heaven.

I was fortunate not to have encountered any such folk. A friend says, "you are such a friend of the forest the keepers will do you no harm." I was fortunate though to be blessed with the sighting of this beautiful orchid. I have not seen anything like it before. It's translucent petals makes it look like a faery princess in a peachy long flowing gown.

I would not have seen it were it not for my dad. When he heard i was going jungle trekking he asked me to bring him back some orchids and i saw many along the way but they were not in bloom. I asked the keepers to show me some and lo and behold she stands right in front of me and a beauty at that. Dad didn't know that it was an offence to pluck or plunder these forest. I promised i'd bring him some though...so i kept my camera handy and shot away. I live by the ode "Leave nothing but footprints, Take nothing but pictures."

Who knows? I may have discovered a new species or...not, but to discover one in it's natural habitat is a exhilirating experience. If it's an undiscovered species they might name it after me. Who knows?