We had planned on staying in KL for only a few days before doing more traveling, but the train ticket to our island destination was harder to come by than we'd anticipated. See, this was right around the Chinese New Year, when everyone is traveling, so the next available train was about a week away. We didn't want to spend all that time sweating in KL, so we decided we'd switch it up and sweat in the jungle. We found a travel agency with a decent package--a two-day deal--and early on a Sunday morning, we hopped a bus to Taman Negara National Forest.
The bus, moving at unexpectedly high speeds, got us to Kuala Tembeling in a few short hours. We hopped off, grabbed some lunch, and headed down to the jetty, where we waited for our boat. Turns out the best way to head into Taman Negara is by boat. I tossed my backpack full of worldly possessions into the covered canoe, and its outboard motor sent us on our way up river. Though most of me was shielded from direct sunlight, my right arm was not. The ensuing sunburn is the reason I'm wearing long-sleeve shirts in most of the pictures. That, and the mosquitoes. After a couple of hours, we got to our hostel, nestled among fine, expensive-looking wooden bungalows. We had dinner on the other side of the river, since all of the half-dozen or so restaurants sat across the water from our hostel and the jungle entrances, and we had to be ferried across every time we wanted to eat or sign up for an activity. That first night we went on a jungle walk, and with our flashlights we managed to see a couple of insects and a frog. It was a little anti-climactic.
The next day brought more excitement as we set out on our canopy walk. The park boasts the world's longest system of suspended walkways, or something like that. It basically consists of long, narrow planks held up by ropes tied to the trees, and joined by a series of platforms that feel like tree-houses. It's suspended about 30 or 40 meters above the jungle floor, but there are so many trees and ropes reinforcing it that you never feel like you're going to fall. It helps that they only allow three or four people on each segment at one time. Plus, you're only allowed to take photos from the platforms, never from the planks. It was pretty cool, but once again, we failed to see any wildlife. Not too surprising, when you think about it, but still. Our tour guide bet a fish that we wouldn't see any birds, monkeys, or squirrels, and he was right. We did spend time with some people we'd seen on the bus, though--a group of foreigners whom Cori and I referred to as the "super-friends." They were all from different countries, and they really liked hanging out with each other, as if they'd been pulled from a poster or after-school special.
When we were done with the canopy and the hiking up and down the mountain, we were exhausted and dirty, but I still had enough energy left to climb far up a vine that the tour guide showed us. I don't think he expected me to get more than a foot off the ground, so it was a proud moment for me. I really needed a rest after that and took my ease back at the hostel before dinner. I don't remember where we ate, but all of the places were the same--large floating rafts with roofs on the bank of the river, nothing but generic Asian food being served inside. It's not a big operation they've got going, but they seem to do okay. At one of the restaurants we checked in with a guy from the tour company and paid the extra money to go on the "night safari." This began with a bunch of us being loaded into a pickup truck on the beach. Then we were driven up the road a ways before turning into the actual jungle-looking area. Squeezed into the bed of the truck, I only saw a few small creatures that night, mostly cats. But we did might a nice young Swedish boy who we found out was deathly afraid of spiders.
The highlight of this nighttime adventure had to be the stars. As we went out of the jungle and back down the road, there were literally thousands of stars visible in the sky, way more than you would ever see in Chicago, and the complete opposite of what you see in China. For the first time, Cori and I were actually able to pick out constellations, though we'd forgotten many of the names. I looked up till my neck wouldn't let me. It was easily one of the best parts of the trip, and definitely better than anything we'd seen down on the ground.
The last day in Taman Negara was a bonus, since we had only planned on two days, but decided to stay for three. I took a final shower in the hostel, the coldest of my life, and moved into a chalet across the river. Don't let the name fool you. It was a box with bunkbeds, but at least it had its own bathroom. We then grabbed lunch at the Mama Chop Cafe, where Mama Chop herself gave us some menus and then explained that she had none of what was on them. While she cooked what she had, we played with one of her children. He was a cute kid, so I was okay with it. Soon, we were off to the rapids (the mildly choppy part of the river). We piled in a boat, and the boatman did everything in his power to get us soaked. He had a great time of it. I had river water coming out my shoes. When we landed, we were introduced to the native villagers, the Orang Asli tribe. They're also referred to as "negritoes," because they're small and black. They showed us how to make fire in a few seconds, and they even let me try out their giant blowpipe that they use to hunt monkeys. It was pretty cool. They promised I would get married if I hit the target, and I did, but I'm still waiting on my tribal bride.
Well, that's what I did in the jungle. It was a busy few days, really fascinating. And though we were on our way to an island next, we had to go back to KL first. I'll explain that later. Now, more pictures.
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
The city was big, but what struck me most was how international it felt. Everywhere I looked, I saw banks and huge office buildings and people from all different backgrounds. It was hot, dirty, loud, and it felt like a real city. Except for the left-side driving. That always takes some getting used to. We definitely got around, passing through KL Sentral (the main transit hub) on our way to places like the planetarium (under construction), the orchid park, the covered bird park (largest in the world) and the mysterious Bangsar Shopping Center--the damn phantom mall that we never did find. We did see some monkeys, though, so that was pretty cool.
I spent those few days trying to get a feel for the city, for the people, and I had a really good time, minus the mosquitoes. I never really felt on display, on the defensive, or like I didn't belong. It's the kind of place where some people visit and just end up staying. Sure, I was leaving after only five days, but I would go back, and things would certainly get interesting in between.