Telling the kids of today to catch a spinning top (gasing) on their palm, they might not know what you are talking about. They might never knew that we used to be able to catch fighting fish from the river or ‘longkang’ (drain) as now we can easily get from pet shops. The same goes with hitting marble balls with spinning screw setup, they will be thinking you are speaking alien to them.
A short video of Balik Kampung Eco Tour:
The exposure of kids nowadays are totally different from our era in the 70’s to 80’s where running barefooted, climbing trees and catching the wiggly worms just to feed the ducks are common. Only baby boomers can reminisce these nostalgic childhood fun.
Instead of spending time at home with their eyes glued to the television or mobile devices, one of the great ways to spend quality time together is to bring them back to nature where they will be in touch with flora and fauna which they will learn how to appreciate Mother Nature. This eco tour cum educational tour is organized by Balik Kampung.
The nature tour of Balik Kampung will kick off at Balik Kampung as the starting point. Depending on the group, the tour usually starts around 3 pm and ends at 8 pm. The fee for a participant is RM35.
The details about the tour are depicted in the pictures here. The tour guide will introduce different species of Balik Pulau’s rare fruits and flowers. Then they will bring the group to visit the traditional Bedak Sejuk (water powder) factory. The water powder is commonly used in the olden days to cool down the body temperature in the afternoon. It has no preservatives and is 100% natural SK-I product. 😀 This factory has been around for over 30 years where the owner still insists on using traditional method in making the water powder. Nowadays, you can hardly find people applying bedak sejuk on the face except for the older generation. This tradition might phase out slowly and might only be found in the museum in the future. Therefore, exposing the younger generation to this tradition is definitely worth spending time for.
Further on to the visit is the understanding of local agricultural and the nature life of Balik Pulau. For your information, most of the area in Balik Pulau is covered with swamp and it is linked to the sea. Therefore the swamp has become the living habitat of the nature’s living creatures which are mostly amphibians.
Then it is time for some giant bubble-making which is also a common activity for kids in the kampung. Before the digital era, the only game that is available are those DIY and non-electronic types such as paper planes, eraser-flipping and bubbles-making. Catching fish in the river and boat-paddling along the stream are something which will bring excitement to the kids as well as giving them a taste of activities in those days.
The next exciting part of the eco cum educational tour will be cycling through the scenic view of paddy fields and breathing in fresh air that is free from pollution. One of the fun times is to peep through the pigeon hole and see if the pigeons are there. Along the way, the friendly tour guides were explaining the purpose of scarecrow to the kids. There is even a pit stop that allows the children to feed the hen and ducklings. The kids were shown what is ecosystem, how do mud skippers look like and how are the crabs fed. These valuable knowledge is better gained from real-life experience than in your textbooks.
The breathtaking view of sunset always brings the best moment of my life. Thousand words would not be able to explain this precious few minutes. I always allow myself to pause a while to enjoy this moment. On the way back to Balik Kampung, if you are lucky you will be able to watch fireflies on the trees. You will find some green-glowing lights on the trees just like beautifully-lit Christmas trees. This completes the whole chapter of the eco tour. There is even a complimentary dinner of delicious Belacan Fried Rice just before we head back home.
Overall, this trip is very educational and great for our kids to understand and love our Mother Nature. It is also a great pleasure for kids to spend quality time with their parents. This is the trip that is a great escape from the city life.
For more information about the Eco Tour, please contact:
Operation hours: 3:00pm – 8:00pm (Please Call For Reservation)
Contact: 013-323 7777
Address: 278 MK D, Kuala Jalan Baharu, 11000 Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang.
GPS: 5.353278, 100.200500