Camping in the Jungle

The town of Kuala Tahan (entrance to the park)
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At over 130 million years old the Taman Negara, Malay for "National Park," is one of the oldest rainforests in the world.  The park covers about 4000 square km in the middle of peninsular Malaysia and is filled with strange looking plants, weird bugs, plus tigers and elephants.  It is a protected forest, so the only long term human inhabitants are indigenous Orang Asli tribespeople who lives on the fringes of the jungle and use the park.

Arriving in Kuala Tahan, the base camp of the Taman Negara, I was very excited at the prospect of trekking in such an ancient rainforest.  At the guest house where I stayed the first night I discovered a group leaving the next day on a 3 day-2 night stay in the jungle, perfect.  The guide, a 50yr Malay man named Mr. Suelemon has been guiding in the park for the past 25 years.  Also going on the hike was a father and son from Switzerland (the father, a former hippie but now psychologist, had spent a year in asia during his early 20s backpacking), and a 22 year old female nursing student from Holland named Kim.

The Taman Negara
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The next morning we left early, our packs full of camping gear, for a 2 hour boat ride up the river.  The motor drowned out the sound of birds, but we did see some monkeys playing in the trees along the river.  Best of all, the weather was great, sun and clear blue skies.  The boat stopped at a failed resort that had been erected on the edge of the jungle (and was now being quickly reclaimed by vines and other plants).  We had a quick lunch of fried rice at the ramshackle looking building before starting our trek.

Hiking in the Park
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With huge old trees towering over you, it's hard not to be impressed by the jungle.  I guess it's the whole atmosphere- the chattering birds, weird creepy crawly bugs circling your head, a thick growth of plants all around, not to mention the heat.  You know when you visit botanical gardens, they have recreations of different climates and the plants that live there.  When entering the jungle section, you are blasted by muggy heat the moment you open the glass door, well that's how it was like here - but for 3 days.  It's like hiking in a sauna. ;)

Elephant Poo
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I was dripping with sweat as we hiked the 5 hours to the Gua Telinga cave where we would spend the night.  As we walked Mr. Suelemon pointed out different trees and their names, as well as different plants and their medicinal uses.  The trek was nice and fairly flat, but filled with little obstacles like streams to jump (and sometimes fall in) plus trees to climb over.  We didn't see any animals besides birds and bugs, but several times we did see old elephant dung.  I also learned from Mr. S, the mushrooms that grown in elephant shit are the "magical" type people enjoy eating - who knew?

Crazy looking bug living in the cave we were sleeping in
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The cave where we stayed was huge and had very high ceilings (but by the time we arrived all the bats had left - or at least most of them).  In the cave we also discovered elephant droppings and footprints, I guess they come to lick a wall in the cave to get minerals they need, like salt.  After a quick, but necessary dip in the stream we started preparations for dinner, including a big fire which was supposed to scare away wild animals for the night (like elephants).  It was a pleasant evening - rice and beef curry for dinner, lychee fruit for desert, and talking around the camp fire.  I drifted off that night to the sounds of the jungle.

Orang-Asli man teaching us how to make fire
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Day 2.  Coffee is the best way to start the day, especially after sleeping in a cave all night.  When I awoke there was already a fresh fire going, water boiling, and a heap of smoky tasting "jungle toast."  Again, we spent most of the day trekking, with breaks to go swimming in a stream or to marvel over some bizarre looking plant.  By mid-afternoon we again arrived at the edge of the jungle, but this time at an Orang Asli village next to the river.  The Orang Asli are darker than Malay people with curly black hair; their appearance is actually more similar to Africans than Asians.  The O.A. are considered the "guardians/keepers" of the jungle, allowed to live and hunt there, plus harvest some of its resources - rubber, medicinal plants, etc.  On our way to the village we actually spotted a big group leaving on a hunting trip, so the village was pretty quiet, just a couple of families instead of the usual 12-15.  An OA villager gave us a demonstration on how to make fire by rubbing together sticks, plus how to shoot a blow pipe, which they use for hunting.  We hung out in the village, cooked dinner - this time chicken curry and rice, and in the evening another OA man dressed in a coca-cola tshirt and his 11yr old son (who was smoking)came over to answer any questions we had about the tribe or how they live.  They still follow many tradititional practices, but as he explained "these are modern times" - they carry flashlights, have  boats with motors, plus buy cheap clothes instead of making their own.

Kids in the village
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On our final day we took the boat back toward Kuala Tahan, with a stop at the canopy walkway.  This is the longest jungle walkway in the world at over 500 meters.  Only about 300 meters is currently open, the rest is undergoing repairs, and at the end of the month the whole thing will be closed for 3months-1 year for repairs.  The guide was trying to explain how "lucky" we were to go on the walkway before it was closed!  I was a bit, uh - petrified, at first on these tremendously high walkways (especially with visions of them crashing down from old worn out ropes), but after the first 100 meters or so you feel much more confident.  All in all my jungle experience at the Taman Negara has been one of the highlights of my trip  :)