Collateral Damage

And like that, I'm back at grandma's house to recoup for my next adventure (wherever that may take me).

The month away hasn't been without its fair share of injury. I'm currently taking inventory of the damage incurred over that period so I can *hopefully* learn from my mistakes. From what I've seen so far I've got the following:

• Cut along right leg - Taking a spill in the Cameron Highlands
• Blisters on both big toes, cracked heels - Walking all over Penang
• Sun burns - Hanging around the beach in Langkawi without sun block (I'm an idiot)
• Uneven tan - Raccoon eyes from wearing sunglasses in Pulau Perhentian (I'm still and idiot). I shudder to think what I'll look like when I shave off my goatee.
• Blackened pinky toe nail - Hiking boots that weren't broken in before trekking in Taman Negara
• Mosquito bites - Concentrated on ankles and elbows
• Leech bite - From hitch hiking leech in Taman Negara
• Higher potential for cancer (does that count as hypochondria, I wonder?) - From staying across from the microwave tower in Kota Bharu
  

I think I came out relatively unscathed considering how clumsy I can get.

Travel Day: Back to Civilization

A few words of advice. Despite the overwhelming daytime heat, night time in the jungle can be quite cold and uncomfortable. I used a slightly damp towel as a blanket because I decided I would tough it out (instead of renting a sleeping bag from the park headquarters). Lesson learned.

I have a few recordings of the creepy night time noises but I don't have a place to host them. Maybe later.

A wrong turn while trekking back to Kuala Tahan led us to a "hidden" Orang Asli village (about a 50M away from the main path). We decided not to disturb as it was still too early in the morning.

The village:

A little further down the trail, we heard a large animal crash through a tree about 10 meters away from us. The jungle was too thick to catch a glimpse but I think it must have been either an elephant or a rhino.

I'm catching the 2:30 boat back to Jerantut for a good night's sleep, a cooked meal and a hot shower. I'm looking forward to all three.

Today's photos:


I wrote my name down on a piece of paper and they still got it wrong:

Badass mullet or case for child abuse?

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):

Travel Day: Kuala Tahan

I started the day with a three hour boat ride upstream to get to Kuala Tahan, the town directly across the river from the Taman Negara National Park. The only option for accommodation on park property besides the government funded jungle hides is a five star resort, which is well out of my budget. Kuala Tahan's guesthouses are a lot more affordable and it’s only a 50 sen (15 cents CAD) boat ride across to the park.

Pictures from the boat ride:

Seeing this at the jetty didn't inspire much faith:

On the floor of the boat:


Water Buffalo:

Birds:

It was too late to do any real jungle trekking by the time I arrived in Kuala Tahan (the boat broke down along the way) so I spent the afternoon exploring the town instead.

Tapping for rubber:

Actually, they were too lazy to clean this outhouse:



Odd signage at the guesthouse:

Kate (an Irish backpacker I met on the boat today) and I have the exact same plan for tomorrow so it looks like we’ll be teaming up for a couple of days in the jungle.

Travel Day: Jerantut

Itching to leave, I wished Magdalena and Magnus a safe journey and caught the 8:45 bus out of Cherating. The bus dropped me off at the wrong place in Kuantan’s city center so I had to leg it over to the other side of town to catch my connecting bus.

This shop was along the way:

As was the state mosque:

Another bus ride and a number of hours later, I arrived in Jerantut, where I’m spending the night. I’ll be heading into the jungle tomorrow so this will be my last dose of civilization for the next few days.

Jerantut has an interesting night market full of hawker food stalls and knock off consumer goods:

One of the stalls provides Thai massages, reflexology, fire cupping, acupuncture and leech therapy. Given the setting (road side stand) and graphic nature of their leech therapy displays, I wonder if they get many customers. I won’t post the pictures here. Email me if you’d like me to send them (agentyellow[at sign]gmail.com).

The market also has some sort of carnival sideshow but I gave that a miss – I had to catch an information session for tomorrow’s trip.

Cherating: Traveling Alone

Cherating’s surrounding areas have plenty to offer by way of sights for those wanting to see something different. For example, there is a trip out to a waterfall where, if you’re lucky, you can meet an old hermit Buddhist monk who lives in a nearby cave. There’s also a trip out to watch sea turtles and another to see fireflies. The condition is that there must be at least two people interested in going. The few people I’ve met here are more interested in the beach, unfortunately.

I initially thought that traveling alone would offer the freedom to travel on my own terms. This is true to an extent. I can wake up any time I want. I’ve plotted my own route through the country, doing the things that I’d like to do (for the most part). But, I always run into this two person rule.

It’d also be good to have a little company here to share the experiences (and expenses) with. Sometimes I just miss the sound of a familiar voice or having an extra set of eyes to make sure everything’s ok.

On a related note, the Swedish girl (Magdalena is her name) living in hut #12 directly across from mine (with her boyfriend Magnus) has taken to parading around in her bra and panties all day, throwing me from contented bliss back into a state of bitter frustration. I’m glad the showers here are cold.

Today's photo offering:

Bitty crabs:

The good monkeys go to law school and make their parents proud. All the bad monkeys hang out by the dumpster and make nuisances of themselves.

The biggest earthworm I have ever seen. To give a sense of scale, those are size 13 sandals:

Cherating: Tourist Safari

Now this is odd. Cherating has only one main street where, at any given time of the day, you’ll see a couple of cars driving back and forth.

It’s always the same cars.

Packed with the same people.

And every time either vehicle passes a foreigner (read: white person), the car slows down and everybody in the vehicle turns to stare. This happens without fail.

My best guess is that they’re on a tourist safari. The whole family packs a lunch, piles into the family car and heads out to Cherating, where they can see tourists in their natural habitat.

And when they get there:

“Ahahaha! White folk! Quick! Get the camera. Wait wait wait! That one’s looking at you. Roll up the window! Roll up the window!”