Malaysia Part II: Taman Negara

On Saturday morning I hopped on the overly air conditioned bus and set off for Taman Negara, which is widely believed to be the oldest pristine rainforest in the world (at 120 million years old, it was unaffected by the ice ages). For the most part, it was a very enjoyable ride. We passed Bantu Caves, a huge limestone outcrop of caves in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur and, once outside the city, everything was incredibly lush. There were small towns, but it seemed like we were out in the middle of pristine rainforest, dotted with palm oil and rubber plantations, for the duration of the journey. That said, there were some interesting contrasts, in particular the signs notifying travelers of approaching rest stops. For the most part, the signs looked completely normal - petrol, lodging, bathroom, food - but at each stop and often next to one of the fast food establishments (McDonald's) was the symbol for a mosque. Now, not every rest stop actually had a mosque, but each had a room dedicated to prayer.

After a three-hour bus ride we arrived in Kuala Terembeling, the ferry launching point to actually enter Taman Negara. I grabbed a mediocre fried noodle lunch and hung out on the riverfront, enjoying the relaxing silence that surrounded me. People arrived at a steady pace until there were about thirty of us ready to head to the park. Our luggage was hauled down the steep embankment by a mine-like cart as two porters held on.

In groups of ten we were loaded on to three wooden longboats with motors, cushions, and life preservers (which we were asked to wear for the duration of the journey). Once we left the area surrounding the small town of Kuala Terembeling, it was a beautiful boat ride. The water was quite murky, but the rainforest was lush and dense and often accompanied by inviting sandbars. As we got closer, I spotted a few monkeys hanging out on a limb over and a number of cool birds, many of which swooped and dove around the water and through the trees without any seeming method to their madness.

While beautiful, after almost two hours, I was antsy to get moving. At about 4:00pm we arrived in Kuala Tahan, a small village that sits across the river from Taman Negara. I scurried up the rocky beach to find a place to stay for the night, ending up in a decent, but characterless bungalow a bit off the beaten track. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, treating myself to ice cream (something I did a few too many times on my trip), and making a stop at the ranger station across the river to figure out what would be feasible over the next day. With the advice of a helpful ranger, I decided to spend the morning doing a short loop and the afternoon hiking out to a hide to spend the night. With not too much to do for the remainder of the evening, I crashed pretty early.

Planning to get the day started shortly after sunrise, I was awake while it was still dark out. I took a quick cold shower to wake myself up, threw on some lightweight canvas pants and set off across the river for the park. I had wanted to get some water before crossing, but nothing was open yet, so I was forced to make a stop at the resort by the ranger station. It cost $6.50RM (about $2) for a half liter bottle of water, the equivalent of which cost merely $1RM on the other side of the river. Ridiculous!

Anyways, I set off to the loop to the Canopy Walk and Bukit Teresek in reverse as the Canopy Walk didn't open until 9:30am. As soon as I was off the property of the resort and in the rainforest, I was absolutely drenched with sweat. I was surrounded by the sounds of dozens of kinds of insects calling out, the chirp of several kinds of birds, and an occasional rustling in the trees indicating the presence of a monkey. The sounds were so peaceful and authentic, it was hard not to just stand there and enjoy them.

Initially the terrain was pretty flat, but the path was criss-crossed by the roots of trees in all directions. About ten minutes in to my hike, I heard some rustling in the dense forest; something brown and with a stubby tail about the size of an average dog darted off away from me. I later found out it was probably a barking deer, not all that uncommon, but more than most people see, especially that close to park headquarters. As I cut away from the river, I headed straight up Bukit Teresek, a steep climb for a view of the surrounding rainforest. It didn't matter that it was only 9am, it was hot and more humid than DC at its worst.

Once I made it to the top, the view of Kuala Tahan was completely shrouded by fog. Enjoying the quiet, I relaxed for a minute before going to the far side of the hill. Though there was still much fog on the other side, the hills of the rainforest beyond peeked out above. Surprisingly exhausted, I sat for a minute to enjoy the silence and check out how many leeches I had picked up on my way up. Three brown leeches managed to wriggle through my wool socks and had grown from perhaps half an inch to three inches. Though a nuisance, they didn't really hurt and I was easily able to flick them off (their extremely effective anti-coagulant, however, ensured that I continued to bleed for another few hours).

From Bukit Teresek, I headed down to the Canopy Walk. I had seen some pictures of the Canopy Walk and I thought it was one bridge strung between two trees at canopy level, 75 feet above the ground. I was also expecting it the Canopy Walk to be quite touristy and over-hyped.
When I arrived, however, I was told by park staff that there were a total of ten bridges strung between the trees, some of them over 100 feet long. I climbed a wooden staircase to begin the walk. The setup was impressive if not a little discomforting: a v-shaped net of rope with metal ladders topped by wooden planks and strung with some metal cables between the two trees. Though it looked quite secure, it bounced up and down and swung side to side with every step. As someone susceptible to being afraid of heights, it was certainly a test. As I walked on, however, I enjoyed it quite a lot. I was one of only a few people on the walk at the time, and the sights and sounds were certainly worth taking in. I spotted a large monitor lizard on one of the first bridges, a number of birds, and some very prehistoric-looking plants.

Having completed the Canopy Walk, I set off for the final part of my morning loop. Almost back to park headquarters, I was started by a wild peacock, walking right across the path in front of me. It allowed me within ten feet before it disappeared into the thick forest surrounding the path.

Back at my guesthouse, I took a well-deserved shower, changed clothes, and treated myself to a big lunch before setting back off on the trail. I headed for Bumbin Blau, a hide a few kilometers from park headquarters, where I planned to spend the evening and hopefully to see some wild animals. The hike - especially with a full pack - was quite strenuous and, again, I was drenched. Aside from the plant life - blue ferns, giant trees, and vines intertwined with other plants and crossing over the path - and the sounds, it wasn't too exciting, but it was just nice to get out there and enjoy the rainforest. As I approached the hide the path was blocked by a large downed tree. I was able to find the path on the other side, but immediately following, another large tree was down. I tried to hack my way through the forest, but on my own and unable to find the path on the other side, I reluctantly headed back to Kuala Tahan.

Since I wasn't able to spend a full night in the rainforest, I decided to go on a night safari - a 4x4 ride through a nearby palm oil plantation. Ten of us packed into a pickup truck, with the driver inside, six in the back and three on the roof (including me and a spotter, with a bright spot light). For a while it seemed as if the only thing we would see was the house cat we saw on the way in to the plantation. However, we soon saw a six foot long baby python, two leopard cats (about the size of house cats, but with the same spots as leopards), two wild pigs, some kind of fox, and a few different kind of birds. It was pretty cool and I definitely enjoyed riding on top of the pickup truck (don't worry Mom, we were only going a few miles an hour).

Exhausted, I crashed hard and prepared to head back to Kuala Terembeling the next morning and on to Jerantut and the "Jungle Railway" up to Kota Bharu in the northeast of peninsular Malaysia.