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To all the mothers we know, but especially ours, we'd like to wish a wonderful mothers day! May God bless you and may your families spoil you rotten. Wish we could be there. Thanks for being such great moms! Sunday, May 10th
Last night we had to sleep with our balcony door open because the AC had no remote and the default setting was too cold. This town goes to bed real late so after a night of many disturbances we woke early to the strangest sound ever to come from a chicken. We vowed to have our revenge.
We had asked to be moved to the first fan room to become available so we quickly packed just in case they want to move us while we're gone, then headed to the bus stop. We waited half an hour for the bus and during that time we got some vegetable rice. When we opened the packs it was
chicken with vegetable and rice. Ferdi got revenge on the chicken while Talita went in search of something without meat. While she was away the bus got ready to go. It was still 5mins before departure time so Ferdi asked them
to wait. Soon Talita was back brandishing a banana pancake of some sort (called banana roti canai). We hopped on the bus and off we went, hoping for an ATM that accepts Visa since Ferdi had forgotten to bring the MasterCard and the US$. At this rate Talita might soon have to assume the position of Minister of Finance. We didn't even have enough cash for the return bus fare so if we weren't able to get cash we'd be in a heap of trouble.
The road to Jerantut was gorgeous. It wound through the rain forest with mist covering the tips of the highest trees, cool morning air flowing all around us. Our rickety bus struggled with the uphills only to scream down the other side. It was great.
More than two hours later we were in Jerantut. The first ATM we visited didn't show any Visa or MasterCard logos so we didn't try it. What if it swallowed the card? It being Sunday, all the banks were closed. We'd be completely stuck with zero resources. We walked to another ATM, this one also not indicating whether or not it'd accept our card. We said a little
Revenge!
Session 1prayer then decided to go for it. What choice did we have? Our hearts jumped when we heard the familiar sound of an ATM counting money. We were home-free!
With more than enough cash in our pockets and smiles on our faces we went browsing for a long sleeved shirt for Talita. We saw what happened to other ladies who entered the jungle with short sleeve tops... The bugs devoured them! We got a suitable shirt then had to kill more than three hours before the bus would return to Kuala Tahan.
We got some snacks for the upcoming hikes and had ice-cream in the hope that it would cool us down. The nice cool air of this morning had long ago been banished and it was blisteringly hot. We went to sit in a lovely cool KFC and Ferdi had a revenge snack while Talita had fries. We tried to go outside but just couldn't so Ferdi had revenge again while Talita had mash, potato wedges and coleslaw.
Just before 1pm we got back on the bus to Kuala Tahan. This time the ride wasn't so intoxicating. It was very hot and we tried to nap.
It was more like losing consciousness than falling asleep and most of the time you'd be instantly shaken awake again. We finally arrived back in Kuala Tahan, moved to a fan room (yipee!), took a shower (ahhhhh...) and had a nice long nap (zzzzz...).
Dinner was at a floating restaurant again. The poor operators had to pull out all the stops to try and serve us all. Afterwards we retired to our room for a bit of reading and then sleep.
Today's highlights:
1. Nice bus ride through the jungle.
2. Getting cash!
3. Snacking at KFC.
Monday, May 11th
Ferdi turned off the alarm at 7am and debated whether to wake Talita. Her body language said no, so he went back to sleep. We'd wanted to get up before the heat and head to the wildlife department to get info about unguided hikes, but that would have to wait.
Much later we dragged ourselves from bed. There was a knock at the door. Apparently we'd slept with our key on the outside of our door. Not smart. We dressed for the jungle, had breakfast, then took a boat to the other side of the river
where the gates of Taman Negara National Park is located. We decided to go to the Canopy Walkway, about 45mins hike from HQ. It's a hanging rope bridge constructed using ropes, planks, ladders and nets 45m above the jungle floor. You move from tree to tree on this unstable bridge and most of the time you need both hands to keep your balance. There's no danger, it's just hard to take pictures. It was awesome though.
By the end of the walkway we were drenched in sweat. It's not too hot under the jungle canopy but the humidity is insane. Our clothes were literally as wet as if we'd jumped into a river fully clothed. We then headed up to Bukit Terisek, a hill 334m above the river. It was murder getting up there in the heat and humidity. We finally made it, pouring with sweat, and was rewarded with a great view of the jungle, stretching as far as the eye can see.
While enjoying the view Ferdi heard a rustle nearby. There, high in a tree he saw a big squirrel-like creature with a gorgeous white fan of a tail. Talita spotted him too and then
he was gone. Meanwhile a butterfly had decided that she liked the taste of Talita's sweat. She wouldn't leave her alone.
We headed down the hill and to a river where we could swim. While walking we decided not to do the overnight hike. It's just too hot and even during the day, the moment you stop moving, the bugs swarm all over you. It was great but we'll be moving on.
We finally reached the river where we had a refreshing swim in the cold, dark water. A short walk later and we were back at the gates. We took another boat across and had burgers for a late lunch.
We had seen a grand total of one leech. Lucky us!
Back in our room we washed our clothes, our shoes and ourselves. We were both suffering from mild heat/dehydration headaches. We had consumed a lot of water but it's not physically possible to carry enough water to replenish the lost moisture.
Dinner was a plain and boring affair. We're missing the Curry House in KL!
Today's highlights:
1. Walking on the Canopy Walkway.
2. Hiking in the jungle.
3. Swimming in the
river.
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