Taman Negara - Day 2

A decent sleep later (better than I'd had in a while, oddly) I wandered over to the reception of our resort to ask about breakfast. I was to have it at my hotel, which was fine by me. Less hassle.

We (family of Belgians, couple of Austrian Grandmothers, and the French-Canadian) had a small offering of scrambled eggs and a couple of coffees then were driven back down to the jetty, where we met up with the others at the floating restaurant / HQ.

After waiting for another group to set off before us were got into another long-boat. It was just a short trip this time, our spines cheering in unison. Our first activity for the day was a bit of 'jungle trekking'.
I only had trainers, and was told this would be fine, so I wasn't expecting anything too demanding. The walk was alright, with lots of easy wooden steps going up the hillside. We were met by Amal again, our guide from last night.

We got to the beginning of the 'World's Longest Hanging Bridge' and were given the thumbs up to start walking along it. There had been talk of it being closed after the rain. We had to walk at 10 meter intervals and weren't allowed to stop and take pictures unless we were at one of the platforms along the way. It was enjoyable, and everyone was laughing as the bridge would sway a lot from side-to-side.

The walk continued a bit further uphill, maybe about a kilometre. Every so often Amal would call us all together to tell us about some of the flora and fauna. There were probably no animals within a 500 mile radius of us, oh well. We reached the peak of the hill and had a rest, chatting a little with the group of Chinese people that went before us.

The walk lasted about 3 hours, at the end of which it was time for lunch at the floating restaurant. It was the same as last night's dinner and some were convinced that the 'chicken' was something else entirely. Maybe cat, as there were loads of them running around. I didn't much care, just aslong as it was well-cooked. We were bused off to our hotels again and told to wear stuff "to get wet in". I spent RM10 (£2) on some flip-flops from the small markets near to my hostel as I didn't want soaking shoes. Before we had time to shower we were off down the hill again.

Our next stop, after we'd re-boarded our boats, was what I'd been looking forward to - a visit to the local Orang Asli tribe village. This was after 'shooting the rapids' on the way. So we'd be arriving soaked from head to toe, looking like idiots. Haha.

There were a few rapids, but nothing massive. We still all managed to get wet though, due to the driver of the boat moving the boat in a zig-zag motion for maximum splashage. It was a bit daft, but funny anyhow.

Then it was the village. Amal sat us round together and explained a bit of the history and the traditions of the tribe and showed us a dart gun, which the Orang Asli use to shoot animals in the trees, such as birds and monkeys, to eat. They were very well made, out of stuff that grew in the forest - bamboo, vines, etc.

A couple of the guys that lived there made some darts to show us how it was done, leaving out the poison part, which is collected from one of the trees. Everything was passed around for us to have a closer look. They made a fire from a large piece of bamboo and some thin vine that was pulled back and forth to create embers. It was the first time I'd seen a fire being made without matches or a lighter and they made it look really easy. I would've liked to have a go at it, but we weren't given the opportunity.


We were each given a few goes of firing the dart guns though, at a board set up on a nearby tree, with a teddy bear nailed to it for a target. It was pretty straight-forward to shoot the dart (just put the mouthpiece to your lips and blow sharply from your stomach), but then we were only shooting horizontally, not vertically upwards. One of the Norwegians got the target right in the middle of the chest. I overshot the mark by quite a margin and the dart went off somewhere into the trees.

We were then encouraged to walk around the village and take some pictures. This felt a bit odd, in the same  way that having some stranger walking around your living room taking pictures would. It struck me as all a bit too convenient that this village was so close to town, having people coming to look around everyday.. almost as if it was just there for the tourists and no one actually lived there. Maybe I was just being too cynical.

A couple of people bought miniature versions of the dart-guns, with a container of darts as a souvenir for 20 Ringitt. Then it was back to the town again.

Later on there was a night market next to my resort. I had a look around and was treated by the Austrian ladies to some of the street snacks, them refusing to let me pay for anything. It was all very cheap and they were teachers anyway, so I didn't put up too much of a fight! I tried the small fruit that looked like lychees (maybe they were), which the Canadian guy would call 'grapefruit shots'. I also had some deep fried banana and a drink of hot Teh Tarik (a drink made from black tea and condensed milk - pretty nice!).

So that was the end of the activities and I felt quite a bit underwhelmed, as did a few others, that that was all there was. We had the option of extending our stay if we wanted to, but no one really showed much interest in that. Dinner was once again the same as the previous meal - chicken/cat and rice and veg.

All in all, then, the experience wasn't so bad. It did feel a little expensive for what we got though. I would've had a better time if I'd been doing stuff like camping in the rainforest overnight and taking part in more hands on activities.
Another thing was the existence of a little-advertised package option: the 'Free and Easy', where you paid for the transport and meals only for the 2 days, for 160 Ringitt. Then you only paid for the activities you liked the sound of - even the hotels were offering these cheaper than the tour company, which didn't make much sense.
The Norwegian couple just paid for the return bus ticket by itself for just RM70 and then got their own room and did what they felt like doing, saving a fair bit in the process.

So I'm half-glad I went on this little excursion (if just to break up my time in KL, before I decide where to head to next), but I won't be hurrying to go another package tour thing, especially not without doing a little homework to see if I can get it cheaper!

The next day was just being driven about again. Though thankfully we didn't have to endure another 3 hours in a boat, we just had a couple of buses to take instead. I was back in civilisation at my Kuala Lumpur hostel by 6 or so that evening.

Taman Negara - Day 1

Fast forward a few days and I'm still in Kuala Lumpur.

I'm sure some of you may think spending anything more than a few days here, when not working, is excessive. And you're probably right. However, I've been quite content to relax most days, try different foods and just soak up the way of life here. Call it easing myself back into travelling, if you will. 

My first few days were spent being a good tourist - getting up early and spending most of the day out and about; taking pictures, wandering around, doing a little shopping. I've been perusing some of the bookshops, where there's quite a decent selection. I've read Donna Tartt's 'The Secret History' and have got a Salman Rushdie - 'Midnight's Children', that I've just started.
I have gotten used to the humidity, more or less accepting that my t-shirt is going to stick to my skin most of the day with sweat. I'm also getting less laughter from the locals when I eat with chopsticks - practice pays off!

So, to break up being a lazy so-and-so I ventured out to Taman Negara (translated as National Park), which is apparently the world's oldest rainforest. I went on a recommendation by the hostel owner, who was probably keen to get me our of her sight for a few days!

Normally I'm not at all one for package tours, where everything is organised for you and all you have to do is get on the bus in the first place. I usually find it can be more rewarding (and give you a smug feeling) to organise it all yourself, to wander past all the large pockets of tourists gazing absently at the tour-guide, to pick and choose what you want to see, do, hear. And go at your own pace.

I decided to have a break from that mentality, give it the benefit of the doubt and see if I'm not just being overly sceptical(sp) of organised tours.

And so the hostel owner, Suzie, booked everything for me over the phone one evening and I was picked up the next day from the hostel at 7.30am on a Tuesday morning. From there I was taken to Central Market, where a full-size, air conditioned coach was waiting.

I paid in cash at the office (RM350 / £70~ / AU$115~) for the basic '3 days 2 nights' package. Dorm room with fan, 7 meals and a string of activities. I packed light - mp3 player, book, camera and batteries, one change of clothes and some water.

Refreshingly I was the only English person on the bus, so that was a good start. The rest were Belgian, Norwegian, Spanish, Austrian, a French-Canadian and a Czech. I got a seat near the back, plugged music into my ears and gazed out of the window as we left the hustle and bustle of the city.

The coach leg of the trip was about 3 hours, with breaks here and there. The scenery along the way was a mixture of hilly landscapes, blankets of treetops and small towns and villages.

We had a change of transport and a wait of almost an hour at the Kuala Tembeling Jetty (paying for a camera + park license while we were there). I'm not sure what the kind of boat we changed to was called, but it was long, was two seats wide and had a noisy engine at the back. The river seemed to me a little 'Apocalypse Now'-esque.

We were in the boat for a solid 3 hours, taking in the beautifully lush green and dense trees that lined the river's edge, drifting in and out of sleep. The persistent noise of the engine soon became a distant hum in the background. I can't imagine how long this same trip must've taken before the propeller engines came along.
The ride was pretty uncomfortable after a while, but thankfully I wasn't sharing my seat with others so I could spread out and change my position.

At long last we reached our destination. We were given a brief greeting and explanation of the activities and  were issued with a book of vouchers and leaflets. We were then taxied off to our respective hostels and hotels. Our's, Persona Resort, was a mere 2 klicks from the jetty. I was fortunate enough to have an empty dorm room to myself, with the exception of a couple of geckos, and a swarm of as yet out-of-sight mosquitoes. I showered in the grim, under-lit, shared bathroom at the end of the corridor, where such luxuries as mirrors and toilet paper... even a hook to hang your clothes on were unheard of. I wasn't too fazed though, we were on the doorstep of the jungle in any case! We had less than an hour to gather ourselves before getting driven back down the hill again for dinner.

Dinner was at the company HQ, where we'd arrived earlier, which also doubled as a floating restaurant. It was an acceptable, but mundane meal of rice, chicken thighs, veg and salad. We were later to discover that we'd be having this exact same meal for the coming days. It turned out to be one of a few things that didn't go in the company's favour.

That evening's activity was the 'Night Jungle Walk'.  

We met our guide, Amal, at the floating restaurant after dinner and had our first look inside the rainforest, on the other side of the river. Despite a few words of advice about wearing trousers to avoid leeches and a coat to keep off the rain I went in what I'd worn all day - shorts, shoes and t-shirt.

Rainfall was pretty sporadic as the trees acted as an umberella for the most part. Still, you either got wet from the rain or from the humidity.

Guided by torchlight we made our way along the wooden walkways, Amal keeping ahead with a watchful eye for any snakes and the like dangling from trees. Amal was a good, friendly guide, who had plenty to talk about. It was just unfortunate for him that there wasn't much wildlife for him to point out during our walk. The sum total was a couple of stick insects, a scorpion, a brief appearance of a porcupine and some deer. Then there were various trees and vines, both with and without thorns. Of the slim pickings, the scorpion was the most impressive as Amal showed it to us in ultra-violet light, where it glowed a illuminous green. Using a twig he mimicked an insect walking infront of the scorpions lair, and the scorpion would run out, claws grabbing. No doubt this poor scorpion would be subjected to this on a nightly basis. Who knows, maybe it's on the payroll.

We continued on our way, hoping for something more substantial, but it never came. Our night walk ended at around 10 pm, when we were driven back to our rooms for the night. It was a pretty tiring day of mainly being moved about, but still we were all quite tired. I remained optimistic and looked forward to tomorrow's ventures.