Friday, 2nd February 2012
We waited at Mandarin Oriental lobby to get our bus arrangement. I was amazed that the staff knew my arrival. This was a warm welcome greet from them. A lot of people (mostly youngsters) were taking up the trip because of the public holidays.
We reached NKS office at 12pm and we have to register ourselves at the counter before taking our lunch. I was given boat tickets, meal vouchers, accommodation voucher and tour guide voucher. The staff also explained the direction to our accommodation in the map.
Around 1.30pm, NKS arranged a bus to send us to Jetty Tembeling. We have to receive our permit before entering the jungle. We rode in the wooden boat called Sampan for three hours. It was quite tiresome and my muscle was stiff. I managed to spot water buffaloes bathing in the water.
When we reached Taman Negara, I thought our accommodation was just nearby. By referring to the map, the location was quite a distance from Kuala Tahan Office. We have to walk and bring our luggage along.
Abok Guesthouse was our stay. The place was new and only has 6 rooms. The room consisted of one queen bed, small drawer and a bathroom. No TV and cupboard were given. There was only one plug.
My brother took his bath while I unpack my luggage. When it was my turn, no water came out from the shower. I thought the water pressure was not working well but actually the water pipe was leaked. Haiz..
I just changed my clothes and walked to floating restaurant for our dinner. An introductory video about Taman Negara was shown on the TV. Wild animals, flora and fauna were preserved in the jungle. Also, origin of human (orang asli) was still staying in the jungle.
A Malay guy introduced himself, Mr Rusli as our tour guide. Night Jungle Walk was our first activity. My group consisted of 4 elderly, one family (parents and two young kids) and 4 Korean guys.
We passed by Mutiara Taman Negara. It’s a kampong style accommodation which was preferable by Western. Now, I understand why my company sells a lot of rooms to them.
A pair of Tampir welcomed our presence. They were the striking star of the night. Mr Rusli told us that park ranger would bring the wild animals for tourist attractions. These Tampirs were enjoying their watermelon after the photo shooting.
Before entering the jungle, Mr Rusli brief us some information. One of the rules was we have to be quiet all the time. We should not touch or shake the trees (snake might dropped on your head if you do so).
Our first encounter species was Scorpion. Mr Rusli used a branch to lure the scorpion out from the tree hole. Next, he showed us sticking insert. It was difficult to spot it as it was camouflage. We were asked to group together and didn’t realize that a green snake just right above us. Wow.. That was scary! The snake didn’t make any movement so we don’t have to worry.
We also found poisonous caterpillar, long centipede and frogs. Mr Rusli mentioned that these animals and bugs were wild so this has to depend on our luck to encounter one.
Saturday, 3rd February
On the Second day, we departed from our place at 8.30am. According to the schedule, we were supposed to leave at 9am. Mr Rusli advised us to start our activities earlier to avoid the crowds. Our group was the second to arrive the Canopy walk. The bridge is 45m high and 510 meters long. It was one of the longest in world. Originally the hanging bridge was built for bird watcher. Mr Rusli encouraged us to catch a bird’s picture by rewarding us a Tiger Beer. Haha.. He also mentioned that a bird sang, “One Tiger Beer, Two Tiger Beer, No More Tiger Beer!” Yes, we heard it. Hahaha.. :)
After enjoying the Canopy walk, we went hiking to Temasek Hill. During the hiking, our tour guide taught us some basic skill survival in jungle. Firstly, we have to get water. Liana tree was the type of storing the water. Secondly, we must know how to set fire using the Cane (Rotan tree). Thirdly, we must find a Raisin fruit to light it up as a candle and it could be used to avoid wild animals from getting near to you. He also requested us to try the leave (tongkat ali) and it tasted bitter.
When we were leaving the place, we saw the long queue. I would praise Mr Rusli for making early arrangement. Next, we visited Orang Asli village.
This Orang Asli is called Batik. They look like African. They have black skin with curly hair. We were fed some backgrounds about them. These orang asli wouldn’t stay a place for more than 3 months. They always move like nomads. Building a house in one day was an important task for a girl in order to get married. As for the boy, he must be trained to be a hunter for the family. They would seek approval from their village’s leader for their marriage. Also, they married at young age.
We learned setting up the fire using the cane and the some kind of light bamboo. It wasn’t an easy task as it required strength and speed to rub the cane against the bamboo. Mostly guys (including my brother) did it successfully. After that, our guide showed us how to blow the pipe for hunting.
We returned to our hotel to take a rest before our next activity. Once again, we gathered together for Rapid shooting at 3pm. This activity was fun and exciting. We were wet because the water splashed on our body. The boat stopped at the river side for us to play the swing like a Tarzan. Haha… We enjoyed ourselves at the river bank. This was the last activity with my group and the tour guide.
At night, my brother and I joined Night Safari (additional trip) with 10 people. We sat on the four wheeled drive. A girl was holding her torchlight all the time to spot wild animals. The full moon was shining bright at the path. Our first encounter animal was Slow Loris. It walked very slowly on the tree branch. Squirrels, birds and snakes were seen in the oil palm plantation. We were lucky enough to see a young Cheetah running about.
Sunday, 4th February 2012
My brother and I started packing our clothes and things in the bag. We checked out the Guesthouse at 8am. Around 9am, we left the place. Our group members also departed on same that day except the family. Our Korean friends also bid us farewell.
Reaching back to NKS Office, Mr Melvin, boss of NKS introduced himself when he saw me. We just chat a few minutes as I was rushing to catch up the bus back to KL. I enjoyed the overall trip. ^^
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