29 Jan 2003 Taman Negara, Malaysia

[Eric's journal]  We arrived yesterday.  It was a three hour bus trip to Jerantut.  We had lunch and left some luggage at the hotel.  It was about a 20 minute drive to the pier where we got on traditional wooden longboats.  They are only two people wide, have a 40 hp outboard motor and are about 40 feet long.  They have a tin roof to provide shade.  We sat on the floor for the two hour 20 minute ride.  It was a gorgeous ride up river through the jungle.  Very few signs of civilization along the way.  We arrived at the park HQ.  We docked across the river at the LBK restaurant and found our dorm up the hill at the Ecoton Hostel.  All the restaurants are on floating barges that have been fixed up.  You get across the river on one of the many shuttle boats going back and forth for 1 RM round-trip.

I guess there is a road into the park now but most traffic is still up the river by boat.  The food is pretty good at the restaurant.  We watched a video on the park at 2000 in the restaurant which was not very exciting.  Then we went on a night hike into the jungle.  Our guide was "crazy like monkey".  He runs all the tours on this side of the park.  We took a boat across to the lodge with our flashlights and headed into the jungle.

The sounds were amazing surrounded but the night and the vegetation.  The insects and toads were amazing.  We saw lots of insects ( spiders, praying mantis, stick insects) and several Malaysian deer.  They look just like American deer but crazy like monkey assured us they had their papers and were natives.

We were in a eight person dorm but there were only four of us in it.  it was a fan room and quite hot but by the middle of the night I was looking for the thin blanket they provided.

This morning after breakfast we took a boat back over to the park and went for a walk.  We hiked up to Bukit Teresek.  It is a huge hill with great views of the river and jungle.  It was only 1.5 km but just about straight up.  While the sun wasn't very strong, the humidity was still killer and we were drenched.  The view was really good.

Then we went up into the jungle canopy walkway.  This was amazing to walk in the canopy, much of the time over 25m above the ground.  It was really long, well over 450m with lots of platforms at trees along the way.  The walkway itself is definitely not for anyone with the slightest fear of heights.  It was a ladder with wood over the rungs.  This hung in netting which was attached to the trees by steel cables.  It swayed quite a bit and the rope and netting came to below my waist.  The views were spectacular looking through the tops of the trees.
We then walked down to a swimming spot which was a smaller river flowing into the Kuala Tembeling.  It was very peaceful and relaxing to wade in and cool off.

After coming back for lunch we went on the inner tube trip.  The boat took us 30 min further up the river.  We hopped in the inner tubes and floated down, including through several sets of rapids.  The water was comfortable and was beautiful watching the jungle from the river.  At the end the guide used one of the local stones to create some paint and drew a sun type pattern on Emma's cheek and a big one on my back.  The natives use this to paint themselves.

After a tasty watermelon shake ( not sure what all goes in it) we changed and walked up the hill to the night market.  It was small and you could tell it was a local one.  Some food (mostly guys cooking burgers), fresh fruit, clothes, and little trinket toys.

It is a beautiful location and relaxing to sit in the restaurant on the river watching the jungle and watching life go up and down the river.  It is so refreshing, the whole liability concept here.  I think there is one sign that says this is a jungle and dangerous.  Last night we piled nine people in a boat 15 feet long at most, no lights (other than the guide squatting on the bow with his flashlight on).  A couple people were sitting on the edge.  (No life jackets in sight.)  Then we wandered into the jungle on a very uneven path.  Coming back we ran out of gas and the driver had a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he reached under to switch the gas cans for the outboard.  Never do you have to sign any forms.  The jungle canopy would be dangerous.  On the tube trip we didn't have life jackets, the guide asked if we could swim and if you said yes, you were covered.

It has been great being out here away from the cities.  It is a gorgeous location and it would be nice to come back and spend more time trekking in the jungle.  When we were in the jungle last night and turned off all our flashlights, the darkness was amazing accompanied but the symphony of sounds.

[Emma's journal]  Today we headed out for our "jungle trek".  We walked up to Bukit Teresek.  Quite a hike in very humid weather- we were both dripping in sweat not too far into the walk.  From there we headed to the canopy walk.  This was amazing.  It was great to be up in the tops of the trees.  The walkway consisted of a hammock type net along the bottom of which they had laid metal scaffolding, which looked just like metal ladders, and then they had laid wooden boards on top.  We then went to a swimming hole and just soaked our feet and washed some of the sweat off.  In the afternoon, we went further up the river and came back down on inner-tubes.  Very relaxing and beautiful.  All in all a fantastic day- I think we will both sleep very well tonight.