Twenty minutes southeast of Kajang town, as your drive hugs the central range, you'll come across a curious view that sits stark against the thickly forested slopes. You'll see the crowns of a few hilltops cropped of tropical trees. In its place, a saturated green sheen of grass.

This is Broga, a small agricultural settlement near Seminyih that counts on rubber as its main source of income.

Broga is unique in that it straddles over two states, Negri Sembilan and Selangor. Elections must be an interesting affair in these parts, as with the day-to-day administration of the town. The market is on the Selangor side, while the police station is on the Negri Sembilan side.

On a more environmental level, Broga was in the news in the early 2000s, when the government decided to build an incinerator costing RM1.5 billion. It would have been the largest in Asia if the project was actualised. Such a record didn't go down very well with the residents who voiced their concerns about health risks.

They sought justice in court, and managed to get an injunction in 2005. In 2007, the government finally bowed out of the project, claiming its high cost.

The grass hills of Broga, on the other hand, remain a popular destination for recreational hikers in the Klang Valley. It's not too taxing although a decent degree of fitness is recommended.

Go early; definitely before the sun rays begin to get too hot. See, there's not much shelter once you reach the grasslands. It's just rocks and chest-high lalang. And the path just leads on and on.

A 45-minute hike bringing you through an oil palm estate, some secondary jungle, and a winding patch of sireh farms, and you get your reward. It feels a little surreal once you're up there looking back, almost like a scene from some temperate landscape.

Most of the the locals we talked to couldn't tell when the jungle was cleared, if it ever was cleared in the first place.

"Always been like this. Way back since I was a little," said a middle-aged coffeeshop attendant. In that moment, after a sweaty climb, satisfying that curiosity became secondary business. Satisfying one's dehydrated body came first. 100-plus. Two rounds, please.

For more info about Broga, see here.