Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the outdoor recreational activity of camping in Peninsular Malaysia was growing in a disquieting manner.
On top of the uncontrolled littering that was turning public parks into dumpsites, venturing off the beaten track and into pristine nature was becoming the exclusive realm of a certain group — the 4×4 off-roaders.
Off-roading and camping are mostly intertwined hobbies, with 4×4 vehicles being essential to transport the outdoor enthusiasts to the backwoods and to the magical sites along the banks of crystal clear rivers.
Driving through challenging terrain is almost as fun as what comes afterwards — leaning back in an arm-chair, drink in hand, and soaking in the fresh air and the camaraderie that a great campsite inspires.
However, there are other concerns. With a few distinguishing exceptions such as the Land Rover Owners Malaysia (LROM) and the 4×4 Relief Team, there is an unhealthy trend of mono-ethnicism in the 4×4 off-road and camping community in the peninsula.
Covid-19, however, could bring the people back together, as demonstrated at a recent event in Ulu Rening, on the northern border of Selangor and Perak.
The pandemic and the imposition of the movement control order (MCO) has brought the outdoor and 4×4 off-road community to a halt for almost a year.
During this time, some LROM members past and present fantasised about their hobby and they set up the Ol Skool Camping group to, among other things, celebrate the rapid recovery of member Che Mat who had open-heart surgery three months ago.
Many others like YouTubers Rene Sullivan and Sam Khoo of “24 hours traveller” Facebook fame, had similar dreams.
The reason for setting up the Ol Skool Camping was mainly to organise camping trips exclusively during weekdays and avoid the madding crowds on the weekends.
Why it is called Ol Skool? It’s because only people aged 60 and above can take days off during the working week.
The standard operating procedures (SOP) for Ol Skool Camping include a maximum of eight vehicles per event, a well-maintained commercial campsite with clean toilets, no generator sets and musical instruments must be unplugged after 10pm.
Che Mat’s off-road camping friends, in a group of eight, already assembled to go once the MCO was lifted.
Some probable sites were listed; Plan A meant going out-of-state, while Plan B meant camping within Selangor.
Ultimately, they settled on Plan B and the destination was Ulu Rening in Selangor.
As recommended by a member called Wan Azuar, Tok Alang’s campsite was booked at a price of RM30 per vehicle per night.
Sungei Rening is a crystal clear and knee-deep river springing from Genting Highlands along the Main Range of Peninsular Malaysia.
And there was no need for 4x4s. Tok Alang’s campsite is accessible by regular cars and we saw a group of five ladies already camped in a three-room stand-up tent. They had driven in a Toyota Vios and a Proton.
They were having a whale of a time in the river, cycling on the land, and sharing the cooking with some of their new camping neighbours.
The pure camping group had come in two vans: a classic Volkswagen Kombi owned and piloted by Richysam and a re-purposed Toyota Hiace van piloted by the “24 hours travelling” Facebook husband and wife team of Rene Sullivan and Samantha Khoo.
Their two pet dogs were on leashes and a welcome addition to the campsite, though there was a general doubt among some of the campers if the playful animals could actually guard anything at all.
After greetings were exchanged, the campers spread out as there was enough space for privacy, yet everyone was still within range for friendships to blossom.
Yamin Vong has been a journalist for 40 years and has covered the Tokyo Show almost consecutively since the early 1980s, driven thousands of test cars and met numerous auto industry chiefs. Currently, he’s focussed on the motoring industry’s land transport issues. He blogs at MotorMouth.