Taman Negara

We took advantage of our 4 day Chinese New Year weekend and headed to Taman Negara with Chris and Cindy. The Malaysians claim that Taman Negara is the oldest rain forest in the world. At 130 million years old, it has not been effected by either Ice Ages or geological upheavals. It was established as a park in 1937 and is Malaysia's oldest and most prestigious national park. The name Taman Negara, in fact, translates as 'national park'. We spent two days in the park.
On the first day we traveled up river in a boat to some water falls. The jungle is absolutely amazing. It is so lush and green. We kept our eyes peeled for tigers and elephants but only saw monkeys and a variety of birds. We did see elephant tracks indicating where they bathe on the river. The boat had to stop a little ways from the falls or cascade. We worked up enough of a sweat to jump in the river. The water was cool enough to be invigorating and we actually spent quite a long time enjoying the swim.
Sunday was Maureen's birthday. We hiked to the beginning of the canopy walk. We were a little surprised to find out that we had about an hour wait to up to the canopy. It was a long weekend and as a result very busy. The wait though was definitely worth it. The canopy walkway is the longest in the world at over 600 meters. At its highest point you are 45 meters off the floor of the jungle. The view of the vegetation is incredible. It really demonstrates what a carbon sink the rain forests are.
After our canopy walk we decided (mainly my idea I think) to get away from the crowds and head off down a less traveled trail to a hilltop a few kilometers away. Walking in a tropical rain forest is quite a bit different from hiking Pulpit Rock back home. The roots of the giant trees, like the pelong, kedondong, and mersawa, are so close to the surface that avoiding tripping over them is a real challenge. Once we left the main trail the secondary trail was much more difficult to follow. Vegetation grows so fast, it is hard for the park staff to keep the trails maintained although with the markers on the tree and the fact we were following the river made this task not too difficult. The biggest problem were the leeches. We had read all about the jungle leeches in our Lonely Planet book and in other places but really had no idea what the reality of them was like. It had been raining for a few days after a dry spell and they were as active as they can be. Most are little tiny beasts about the diameter of a toothpick and 1 and 1/2 inches long. As soon as we stopped they attacked. They would head for your shoes in inchworm fashion at blinding speeds (well kind of fast). They would then crawl up the shoes and bury themselves in your socks. Maureen and I had our BC wool hiking socks and they were able to dig through these really fast. It took us a while to realize what was happening and by the time we did we were thoroughly leeched. I'm not sure if this was the kind of birthday adventure Maureen wanted or imagined. We hiked for a couple a kilometers before it started to rain (it rains a lot in a rain forest we found out). The leeches and the rain turned us back but not before we had some great views of the rain forest and had come upon an abandoned Orang Asli settlement. Next time we head into the jungle we'll be a little better prepared for the beggars with leech proof socks. These socks have a very dense weave they apparently can't get through.
The village that borders the park is situated on the river. You do have to catch a boat and cross the river to access the park. The village has many floating restaurants and that evening we found one. I'm always amazed the chefs/cooks here tend to prepare one plate at a time and so the dinners come out in stages. We used to think we had to wait for one another before we ate but we have given up on that and so meals are a rather staggered affair. The first person served will often finish their meal before the last person is served.
We retreated to our hotel (Rainforest Lodge) after dinner. A number of families, whose children attend our school, were there. Once they found out it was Maureen's birthday all the little primary children gathered round and sang her 'Happy Birthday'. I don't imagine that ever happened in high school. One of the moms had even brought some cake which she shared with us. This got me off the hook somewhat.


The roots actually served as steps on inclines. The trails were criss-crossed them.



The river boats did not draw a lot of water. It was amazing to see how much the river fluctuated from the rainy season, which is just waning, to now. The high water mark was clearly visible about 3 meters above the level it was this weekend. We could even notice a rise of about 1 foot during the rains that occurred while we were there.

We did spend a fair bit of time waiting out the rain. When it came down, it came down in torrents. So we took to playing cards and drinking bad coffee.

On the way home we stopped at a local market and ended up buying quite a few things. Daily necessities mainly, as they are much cheaper than in the city. We haven't gotten to buying meat in these markets yet. There are always so many fish which don't look too bad. The smell however can be a little overwhelming.