@2245hrs on 31st March 2007 set off from Singapore to Johor Baru and had supper at Zul's eatery at Taman Perling. Too bad he cant join us for this trip as he had a busy schedule. 
Zul at work
one of his menu
ikan bakar (BBQ fish) & energy drink for the long journey drive.
the drive....
After 7 hours of drive inclusive of breaks in between, we finally reach Bukit Merah, Perak, a town 80km south of Penang. Also known for its lake, it also housed a few resorts. But 1st we had to top up our petrol after to long journey at a small town heading toward Selama.
I guess we hit the correct petrol kiosk of DESPO when we were desperately looking for one to fill up nearly empty tank.
The lake of Bukit Merah home of the green arowana.
Azmi who went to this place before vaguely remembers the correct location of which he fail to acquire the Parosphromenus rubrimontis early last year with Zul and Zahar. After driving around for an hour or so we stop at a location which was quite promising although its was not the correct location.
I manage to snap a few floras of the area. hehehe just trying my camera skill at macro shots.
Azmi and vincent at work but P.rubrimontis was no where to be found.
We drove to various locations but still to no avail even after consulting with Zul and Zahar. plus with the confusion with the road direction and also a newly built road which even confuse us as the road markers of the old road has been removed.
So after a frustrating two hours searching we finally found something, instead of P.rubrimontis we or rather Azmi found cryptocoryne minima. So for awhile that discovery put on smile on our faces.
Below are some of the nice natural setup. It really looks like a garden. And oh yes we did caught some B.pugnax, R. maculata, R.einthovenii, S.osphromenoides and Pseudomystus leiacanthus.
myself collecting water samples.
At one of the location, still searching for P.rubrimontis.
and I was rewarded with a lill souvenir.
After a long walk at a palm plantation we came to a small water catchment and where we caught some B.imbellis.
Our catch of juvenile B.imbellis. We release them back since they were still to young.
After this we went back to our vehicle and drove again searching for the correct location and after a 5 minutes drive we saw a stream which was promising enough to be the home of the P.rubrimontis. We divert off the main road and drove straight to the inner road or rather the older unused road.
Since we still cant find a black water stream we decided to recce 1st before plunging into the water. Azmi and Vincent deciding whether to check the stream out since its is still not a black water stream. But we all decided to try it out since we have made it this far and try our luck.
Vincent and Azmi at work while me take pictures, hehehe tired and frustrated.
oops Vincent went in too deep!! hahaha
trying to be macho?
no lah its just a victory gesture when he finally caught the P.rubrimontis.
Finally P.rubrimontis!!!!!!
P.rubrimontis bio tope.
But!!!!!
it all comes with a prize!!!
the only way we had to rid the leaches away.
Bloody trip I would say!!!! but its all worth it damn worth it!!!
Too bad Eugene can follow us hwhawhahwa.
After about 1.5 hours of scooping we manage to catch only <20 pieces. But we or rather myself caught alot of R.gracilis and R.pauciperforata.
After a tiring successful search we call it a day and decided to head south towards Tanjong Malim, a town south of Perak. But along the way we had to fill up our stomach.
Nasi ayam goreng aka chicken fried rice
Also along the highway we stop to relax ourselves and enjoy!
Arrived at Tanjong Malim @ 1830hrs and its dinner time.
Nasi Daging Merah and Telur Dadar aka Red beef rice and omelet
Damn hungry!!! hehehe
also damn shiok!!!!
Breakfast. Roti canai banjir. Power!!!!!
indulging!
After breakfast, off we went to our next location near Tanjong Malim about 30 minutes drive. Its the 2nd visit there for me and Azmi but a first timer for Vincent. We reached there at about 9am and we discovered that the water level was too high, maybe it was because of the rain. There're abundance of B.livida but we manage to catch only 4 specimens of B.hiposideros and a few P.harveyi. We decided to release back the B.hiposideros as they were still quite young.
Bio tope of the B.livida, B.hiposideros and P.harveyi. Also we found R.kalochroma, S.osphromenoides and Channa bankanensis.
Betta hiposideros
Betta livida
Parosphromenus harveyi
Channa bankanensis
Rasbora kalochroma
Sphaerichthys osphromenoides
Puntius hexazona
Mystus bimaculatus
Here are the shots in action
Also we caught some action....
ok guy That's the end for this trip..