Taman Negara: Adventure & Leeches!

Tell me if you’ve heard this one already. Okay, so this dumb Chinese guy goes off and buys the most expensive leech socks money can buy. He also buys a little tub of Tiger Balm to slather on his legs as an extra preventative measure (he read about this on the intarweb). Now, he’s real smug when he sets off into the jungle with his newly acquainted Irish friend because he knows that he’s fully protected from the filthy beasts. Halfway down the road, he stops by a cave, hides his backpack behind a nearby tree and goes spelunking for about an hour.

The cave in question is known as Gua Telinga or Ear Cave because of the “earwax” (guano).

The guidebook said to follow the rope. Our dumb Chinese guy didn’t believe it at first but sure enough, there was a tiny opening big enough to crawl through.

We can't stop here, this is bat country!

Chinese guy being a douchebag:

Anyway, having finished exploring the cave, the Chinese guy picks up his pack from its hiding spot then treks deeper into the jungle to spend the night at a hide (Bumbun Belau).

While settling in, his Irish friend finds a leech, fat with blood on the concrete floor.

She checks her legs for leech wounds and finds nothing. He checks his and finds nothing - the leech socks did their job. They toss the leech out of the window, dismiss the issue and have supper. All is well until Chinese guy finds a huge patch of blood on his belt.

The leech had hitched a ride on his backpack when he set it down behind the tree at the cave. Dumbass forgot to tuck in his shirt.

It isn’t by coincidence that the Chinese guy and I share the same name.

The leech bite doesn't itch as such, but the anti-coagulant in its venom in conjunction with the chafing from my belt makes it look like I have the Hantavirus. Given the choice between a leech bite and a mosquito bite, I think I'd take the leech.

Other adventures from today’s action packed day:

Giant tree:

Canopy walkway – half a kilometer in the treetops:

View from the jungle hide:

The animals weren’t coming out so I decided to observe the wildlife inside the hide instead:

Wasp nests and beds go together in Malaysia:

I was drenched in sweat by day’s end. This was the mark left when I took a 15 minute nap on my bunk:

Wildlife spotting for the less adventurous (as seen on the message board at the 5 star resort):