welcome to the jungle

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This was the most sporadic trip of all. There were 6 of us in total. 4 from NUS, and 2 from NTU. We were all quite busy with finishing projects the past week and were looking for some outlet to relax. We were also all quite exhausted and worried about whether a trip to Taman Negara Rainforest would be re-energizing or even more draining. After all, there was about 10 hours of bus transit and a 3 hours boat ride involved in just getting there. In addition, with the long weekend, it was bound to be busy as trains were booked solid and accomodations might even be limited. Up to the Thursday afternoon, we were all in limbo with a few people who seemed adament that they wanted to go. So at lunch that day, a friend of mine and I made a decision to stay back and relax in Singapore. We were just tired and thinking that it wouldn't be as enjoyable especially with 2 nights of bad sleep on buses. I was on my way to campus to organize myself when my friend calls me back and decides to go! So, after a bit of an internal struggle, I decided to change my mind and go as well. It so happened that all 6 of us had our doubts about this trip right up to the last minute! It was just that no one was really sure of what the others were thinking so we all semi-reluctantly made the decision to go. Kind of funny, cause I thought I was the only one really sitting on the fence.

Anyway, the trip started off a bit rough. It took us a lot longer getting there because our original train plans didn't pan out. We ended up having to cross the border and catching a bus from Johor Bahru. Crossing the border was a mission on its own as almost every Singaporean was leaving the country for the long weekend. Eventually we made it on the midnight bus to Kuala Lumpur where we transferred buses in the morning to take to us Kuala Tembelling jetty. From there, a longtail boat weaved upstream along the river to the Kuala Tahan, the base camp for the National Park. Long but enjoyable ride. Gary, one of the NUS exchange guys, brought his laptop and had all the episodes for season six of 24. I was never more happier, except for when I was climbing in Thailand. We spent a good portion of the long transit catching up on missed episodes of Jack Bauer saving the world. That, along with great conversations with the others, the long transit that we originally thought would be exhausting and time-consuming turned out to be very enjoyable.

We were only in the national park for Friday night and all-day Saturday since we left Sunday morning. However, we managed to fit in a night jungle walk, seeing and listening to the symphony of insects, as well as a night jungle safari, where we saw a few small animals on a 4WD vehicle. Both were more spectacular for the night atmosphere and the noises we heard rather than what we saw but it did feel quite different from any forest I've been to in Canada. Saturday morning, we started the day with a walk along the longest canopy bridge in the world. 6 sections spanning over 500 metres with the highest point being 45 metres above the ground. It was actually a bit scary and unstable as it swayed back and forth. After a trek through some trails, we started our afternoon program with a cave exploration tour, where we saw an entire bat colony along with all of their excrement. Squeezing through the narrow passages was a challenge that I'm sure claustrophobic people would find very uncomfortable.

All in all, it was definitely more a trip about the people. I hadn't traveled with 3 of 6 members before so it was really nice to get to know them and we all enjoyed a different dynamic to the group. So that looks like it almost wraps up my travel adventures for the semester. I have 9 days until my first and last exam at which point it'll be time to come home. Still working on finalizing flights but I'm quite happy to be finished. You can probably expect another 1 or 2 more blog posts by the end of my trip.

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Comments

[clara]

whoa!
hey phil, it seems like u are having lots of fun there! so jealous! not sure if u are coming back next term... but yeah, i will be working in waterloo this summer! =) enjoy the rest of ur time in Singapore! =)