One day trip to IPOH ~My FYP Plant ~ Cactus
PHEW!!! After days of plant selection i finally confirmed and bought my plant for FYP. Let me introduce....Nopalea cochenillifera. (If i'm not mistaken; need to be verified for confirmation XD)
Interesting, huh? Let me tell you, the adventure of searching for this plant is tough. The Plant Investigators are facing a real challenge here. Why? we even went far until Ipoh nursery to search for it. We don't even loose the chance of scanning the plant along the high way, hopefully to find it somewhere around there. YES! We did found it in one or two housing area. However, that will only be my last resort if i can't find it in Ipoh nursery or by worse Cameron Highlands.
After having our lunch in one of the food stall, we officially started our plant investigation. First, we stopped by at one of the nursery in Ipoh. urgh...too bad i can't recall the name. The boss told us that, he doesn't sell any cactus. Before we left his nursery, we asked him is there any place or other nursery that we can find this cactus? He told us there are other nurseries in Bandar Ipoh and Ampang (Definitely not the one in Kl lol). We could try our luck there. Honestly, i started to feel dispirit when he told me this kind of cactus is rarely to be found. He even doubt whether we can find it in other nurseries as well.
Feeling highly disheartened, we took off to other nurseries in Ipoh. Along the way, we saw some Neem Trees (2nd FYP Plant). In order to confirm it, we have stopped by in a few areas. We did stumble upon it quite easily as it grows wildly especially in Indian housing areas. Too bad, we faced some difficulties in plucking the trees. You see, the trees are huge and tall, so, trying to reach the leaves is already a major problem. even i'm the tallest among them also can't solve it lol.
Later on, we stopped by at Hock Loke Siew Nursery in Bandar Ipoh and tried our luck there. A highly discourage me already prepared myself to hear the "No" answer. However, i was wrong!!! They told me they do have this cactus in a small vase. We requested the boss to check out the size of the cactus. Yeah this is it~ it was kind of small though, with only a few pads of cactus growing on it. i told her i might buy in bulk and inform her that i might need at least 3kg of this cactus. She told me this pot costs Rm12 and if i need 3kg, means i need around 7-8 pots of this cactus WHICH MEANS ~RM84 !!!!! I was SHOCKED !!!!!!!
However, she told us that we can have a look in other nursery which located in Ampang that also belongs to her as well. Since Jason was not familiar with the road, she provided a map. thank GOD!!! Along the journey to Ampang (it is kind of far and slightly away from the city ), most of us already feel extremely tired especially in this hot weather, nobody talks much. Perhaps, Jason was the one who was the most exhausted (which he denied lol) since he was the one who was driving all the way.
Finally, we reached the nursery after i-dunno-how-many-minutes-of driving. This nursery is A LOT BIGGER than the first. It was like a Botanical Garden to me. Lots of plants and trees are growing everywhere. A worker took us to the cactus. Guess what? It was much bigger and taller than me lol. He told us that, this plant costs Rm45 after a discounted price. We thought it is more reasonable to buy this one big pot rather than 7-8 small pots that cost rm84!! Before i made the payment, i called Ms Teo to confirm it first, just in case she will change to another plant lol.
At first, she was startled to hear the price, then she asked me whether i really want to do it? Since not much research has been done on cactus, why not? At least your findings will be very unique if there is any antimicrobial activity from the cactus extract. Since, the price is a lot cheaper than buying it in Cameron, i have made my decision to buy the plant, here. One good news is, Ms Teo the Goddess, is going to share the cost with me. HURRAY!!! So, Rm22.50 for a big and tall cactus is worth it. RIGHT?
As for the bad news, we were having trouble on delivering it back to UTAR Kampar. No delivery service will be provided if we only bought one plant. sigh... By all means, we need to stuff the whole plant into Jason's car. At first, we were planning to put it into his bonnet. However, after a second thought, we don't think it has enough space to store it even diagonally. Finally, we have decided to put it on the front seat by covering the car carpet with a few newspaper.
There we go, together with the plant, we drove back to Kampar. When we almost arrived, we gave a call to Ms Teo so that she can find us a trolley to help us to unload the plant in her office lol. Luckily, she brought together 2 UTAR Lecturers to help out and we our task is done in a lot easier. Before this, Ben and Kit Yan already took off to Indian Housing area to look for their plant. Hopefully, they can find more resources as their main problem is the plant resources. Since it grows wildly especially in Indian Housing area, it should not be a problem for them.
Amithabha......
Interesting, huh? Let me tell you, the adventure of searching for this plant is tough. The Plant Investigators are facing a real challenge here. Why? we even went far until Ipoh nursery to search for it. We don't even loose the chance of scanning the plant along the high way, hopefully to find it somewhere around there. YES! We did found it in one or two housing area. However, that will only be my last resort if i can't find it in Ipoh nursery or by worse Cameron Highlands.
After having our lunch in one of the food stall, we officially started our plant investigation. First, we stopped by at one of the nursery in Ipoh. urgh...too bad i can't recall the name. The boss told us that, he doesn't sell any cactus. Before we left his nursery, we asked him is there any place or other nursery that we can find this cactus? He told us there are other nurseries in Bandar Ipoh and Ampang (Definitely not the one in Kl lol). We could try our luck there. Honestly, i started to feel dispirit when he told me this kind of cactus is rarely to be found. He even doubt whether we can find it in other nurseries as well.
Feeling highly disheartened, we took off to other nurseries in Ipoh. Along the way, we saw some Neem Trees (2nd FYP Plant). In order to confirm it, we have stopped by in a few areas. We did stumble upon it quite easily as it grows wildly especially in Indian housing areas. Too bad, we faced some difficulties in plucking the trees. You see, the trees are huge and tall, so, trying to reach the leaves is already a major problem. even i'm the tallest among them also can't solve it lol.
Later on, we stopped by at Hock Loke Siew Nursery in Bandar Ipoh and tried our luck there. A highly discourage me already prepared myself to hear the "No" answer. However, i was wrong!!! They told me they do have this cactus in a small vase. We requested the boss to check out the size of the cactus. Yeah this is it~ it was kind of small though, with only a few pads of cactus growing on it. i told her i might buy in bulk and inform her that i might need at least 3kg of this cactus. She told me this pot costs Rm12 and if i need 3kg, means i need around 7-8 pots of this cactus WHICH MEANS ~RM84 !!!!! I was SHOCKED !!!!!!!
However, she told us that we can have a look in other nursery which located in Ampang that also belongs to her as well. Since Jason was not familiar with the road, she provided a map. thank GOD!!! Along the journey to Ampang (it is kind of far and slightly away from the city ), most of us already feel extremely tired especially in this hot weather, nobody talks much. Perhaps, Jason was the one who was the most exhausted (which he denied lol) since he was the one who was driving all the way.
Finally, we reached the nursery after i-dunno-how-many-minutes-of driving. This nursery is A LOT BIGGER than the first. It was like a Botanical Garden to me. Lots of plants and trees are growing everywhere. A worker took us to the cactus. Guess what? It was much bigger and taller than me lol. He told us that, this plant costs Rm45 after a discounted price. We thought it is more reasonable to buy this one big pot rather than 7-8 small pots that cost rm84!! Before i made the payment, i called Ms Teo to confirm it first, just in case she will change to another plant lol.
At first, she was startled to hear the price, then she asked me whether i really want to do it? Since not much research has been done on cactus, why not? At least your findings will be very unique if there is any antimicrobial activity from the cactus extract. Since, the price is a lot cheaper than buying it in Cameron, i have made my decision to buy the plant, here. One good news is, Ms Teo the Goddess, is going to share the cost with me. HURRAY!!! So, Rm22.50 for a big and tall cactus is worth it. RIGHT?
As for the bad news, we were having trouble on delivering it back to UTAR Kampar. No delivery service will be provided if we only bought one plant. sigh... By all means, we need to stuff the whole plant into Jason's car. At first, we were planning to put it into his bonnet. However, after a second thought, we don't think it has enough space to store it even diagonally. Finally, we have decided to put it on the front seat by covering the car carpet with a few newspaper.
There we go, together with the plant, we drove back to Kampar. When we almost arrived, we gave a call to Ms Teo so that she can find us a trolley to help us to unload the plant in her office lol. Luckily, she brought together 2 UTAR Lecturers to help out and we our task is done in a lot easier. Before this, Ben and Kit Yan already took off to Indian Housing area to look for their plant. Hopefully, they can find more resources as their main problem is the plant resources. Since it grows wildly especially in Indian Housing area, it should not be a problem for them.
Amithabha......
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