A day of trekking: it was certainly a experience!!!

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The following blog is dedicated to Miss Lynne Hughes. Lynne, what was it you called me all those years ago?

We arrived in Taman Negara by bus early evening and checked in to a Guesthouse which tourists called 'The Yellow House', why, i think you can guess. It was painted bright yellow and ran by a name who we thinks name was Halim, he was the funniest man we have met to date. When we were introdused to him he of course asked the usual question of 'Where are you from?', Once we had told him Scotland he was on a roll, all the facts he knew about Scotland just rolled of his tongue, he knew more than me i tell ya! He was telling me about a country i have lived in my whole life until now, telling me of how we will maybe become Independent etc....i was amazed! Anyway we checked in to his one month old guesthouse which was a pleasure to stay in due to the newness of it, the bathroom was clean with new tiles, the beds all new and what was especially comforting was the fact that all the bedsheets etc were all new and clean, something we had not had in a long time....we are normally faced with old, ragged bedlinen which frankly i wouldnt put in a dogs house!!! So we checked in, and paid our 10ringit for the night, to us that would be 1pound 60, yes thats right, a bargain it was!!! After speaking to our lovely wee man for quite some time, also after a cup of tea to welcome us Halim showed us where we needed to go for the next few days, resturants, shops etc, he was a wee gem!!!! We were done in but hungry so we headed for a wee resturant Halim had suggested. What was amazing was the fact that all resturants, shops etc were all on barges, so we had to walk along wooden planks over the water in order to get on anything, it was so cool, and different!!! We had some nice dinner on a barge resturant then had a wander around which took about a whole 15 mins, the place was teeny, but really nice and the people were friendly, always saying hello etc. We also that night had to nip accross the river to where you got your permit for your camera and to go trekking, so we nipped accross on the river boats which were good fun although the guy for a laugh started swishing the boat from side to side which i just did not see the funny side of, i had to loosen up but falling in the river on our first night just did not seem appealing to me. After we got our permits we headed back to our Guesthouse for another wee chat to Halim and get a good nights sleep. This however proved to be a little harder than we expected as the Germans sharing our 6 bed dorm decided to have a nice loud chat amongst themselves, i was however in a hostel so what did i expect, oh yeah some quiet at 2am-that was it! haha!!

The next day we had planned to get organised for our night in a hide. A 'hide' is basically a wooden hut which is right out in the middle of the jungle which you sleep in overnight and look out of so you can watch for any animals etc as they prowl through the jungle, we had booked it the previous night and were very excited about it. You could either trek to it for 6-8 hours or get a 45minute boat then trek for one hour to it, we had decided on the last option to get to it but that we would trek back from it the next day, we would be getting the 3 o clock boat to it. So that morning once up and ready we went for some breakfast then to get some food for overnight and breakfast the following morning, and also rent out a sleeping bag. At 3 o clock we then headed down to the river where we got a boat for 45 minutes, he boat journey was really nice, as it went we could look at all the trees around us, the monkeys playing by the river bank etc, it was really cool, we also had to go through some river rapids which i was so scared of, i had never been scared of boats or the water before but since our boat journey from Indonesia to Malaysia i now felt a little afraid, but hey if i fell in i dont even think it would be that deep so it was ok. Once at our stop we got off and got on our small backpacks with trainers, sleepingbag and water attached, our trek was now to begin!!! Over the next 45 mins we trekked through the jungle, over fallen tree's, through ant infestations, it was like something from Jurassic Park as Laura pointed out, but fun!! We got soaking wet feet and mud all up our legs as we to go through great big muddy marshes, we also had to do some climbing, up rocks, over huge tree's, and up mudslides, yeah thats right-up mud slides which meant of course everytime we tried to go up we slid right back down again, it was laughable at some points but at others just damn right frustrating! It stared to rain so we pulled out our new water resistant poncho's, they were damn gorgeous, basically 2 bright yellow plastic covers which made you look like a runaway mental patient, you stuck your head through the top and arms out the side and that was you, lets just hope there were no good looking boys about to head our way, they would have been stunned by our beauty in them! Anyway we eventually reached our hide after only 45 mins, yeeha!!!
The hide was basically a big wooden hut on stilts with a huge big windowless window (if that makes any sense whatsoever)and it came with 2 rooms, a big one with 6 bunk beds in it, i say bunk beds but they were basically the wooden base's of bunk beds (no matresses)on top of each other, and a tiny wee toilet attached which to put mildy was minging, but hey we were in the jungle with nothing but animals, tree's,marsh, and who knows what else around us, who cared that the toilet was horrible!!! When we first went in we were greeted by 2 ladies from Belgium, we got our stuff unpacked on our beds and changed as feeling a little wet and minging, as we changed Laura gave a scream-2 leeches had decided to attach themselves on to her leg and suck her blood, oh lovely! It was definately a freaking out situation, as we both jumped about like absolute idiots screaming and looking at each other we realised it was not getting them off so i grabbed some tissue and gave a yank at the blood sucking little creatures, they had good grips i tell you but as i got more annoyed with them i gave one more big pull and off they came, and throw out the window-yeuk!!! I of course though once i had looked at my legs that i had escaped them but no, once i took of my trainer and sock there was 2 creepy little buggers on my toe-this time it was Laura who done the yanking, eek!!! Once the blood finally stopped pouring which Laura's done for a good couple of hours we were introduced to our fellow night watchers, there was now us 2, the 2 Belgium ladies, a couple who unfortunatley we never got to speak to so unsure who they were or where they were from, a Australian girl called Analeese, a English girl called Allison and 2 yanks called Sarah and Francis who were absolutely lovely. We settled down for the night, all sitting on the bench by the windowless window, basically just a big cut out gap in the hut and watched as the night fell, the darkness came and out came the noises, birds and animals. Throughout the night we put on our big torches and seen some lovely scenery, the fire flys came out, and lots more which unfortunatley i am unable to name, the stars and moon shone high up twinkling away, and you could hear all the animals etc all rustling through the jungle, the sounds were amazing! We were lucky in that during the night we seen a tapier, a small bear wandering to the river then disappearing in to the forest, it was so cool!!! The rest of the night however was not as exciting, that was all that was spotted. Most of us heading to bed for a few hours kip before our early rise and trekks back to town, my sleep was erm uncomfortable, the wooden bunk bed was hard but a few hours sleep was had before getting up around 7, having some food then we left the hide and started our trek back to town.
The trek, well thats what it certainly was although not just a trek, no one said there would be river crossing and mountain climbing involved!! That one they leave as a surprise, how much can one person take-the indurance test, thats what the so called trek should have been called!!!! We started off well, prancing about, singing songs like ' Welcome to the Jungle', 'Hi Ho' from 7 Dwarfs, and any other songs that would fit our trek, it started out as enjoyable but later on it would soon turn out to be a slight nightmare, for me at least. The tough bits were fun, climbing over tree's, through the marsh, and at first mountain climbing was fun and a good laugh, soon though it was getting hotter and hotter, my feet were hurting in my too small for me trainers, we were running out of much needed water, the walks were getting harder, the mountain climbing steeper, river crossing more dangerous and the leeches were out in force, it was becoming 'difficult' and after 5 hours i was starting to lag. Up until the 5 hour point i had done it all and proud to be doing it so well but as it all became harder i was starting to worry about how much longer i would be able to keep going, was i a woos? i dunno but when we were crossing river and i slid right in to the water and got myself soaking wet and covered in leeches i started to feel i just wanted out of the jungle i had started to love and enjoy trekking through, when i then ripped my trousers right at the bum though i knew i was getting pissed off, yes thats right i climbed over a tree and managed to rip the whole bum cheek area of my trousers, my bottom was now on show-great eh!! At that point poor Laura was keeping me going, she was a total gem throughout the next 2-3 hours of my moaning and groaning! However, we carried on regardless, i had no choice, we were out in the jungle, alone, no one to call, no one to help. Once the water ran out though both of us became tired and i got even more irritable, poor Laura! We hadnt had a proper stop since we started apart from bending over for leech checks which always resulted in 10mins of picking of the little bloodsuckers, they were disgusting, the worst insects i have yet to come accross, they sucked and stuck on to you, eek! Nways, we came to a area and it had a bench at it, this would be our first proper stop, it was just down from the stairs leading to a canopy walk, we knew we were now near town as the canopy walk is only a 20minute walk from town and a popular tourist spot even for kids so we knew the rest of the way wouldnt be too hard but we desperately needed water,our mouths had started to stick together so Laura jumped up to the Canopy walk to see if she could buy some, it was closed, but somehow God must have been looking down on someone and told them to leave their 1.5litre bottle of water for us 2 desperate girls, WOOHOO!!!! As Laura bolted down the stairs with a look on her face that would have made you think she had just won 10million on the lottery i jumped for joy and we both guzzled it down, thank the lord!!! After our drink we carried on with our 'trek' which thankfully was a piece of cake from there, it was flat and easy! We walked the rest of the 1.5km with ease and once we got to town jumped for joy, well i did, Laura had enjoyed the whole trek apart from feeling a little flaked at the end, i however was bursting inside, one with joy we had made it back and 2 with a kind of proudness, we had both done it, my first trek-a 12km trek through a jungle, yeeha!!! I however had forgotten my bum was still on show so as we walked by to our Guesthouse through the town had not covered it up until i heard a man saying 'oh your bum' and pointing to it, oh my god!!! I got my sleeping bag and held it over my bum cheeks to cover it, imagine going to Malaysia and exposing yourslef indeciently like that, what a embarrassment!!! Anyway we walked back to our Guesthouse via the shop for a 1.5 litre bottle of icy water each, once tere we picked off the last of the leeches that were sucking away on us, we were now free of them, yey, and jumped in a hot, mush needed shower were i scrubbed the blood, mud and who knows what else off of myself! Once re-energised and ready to go we went out for a much deserved dinner and relaxing night down at the river, unfortunately most parts of Malaysia are dry-meaning they dont sell or serve any kind of alcohol-i was gutted, i had deserved a beer but oh well a ice Milo would have to do (a yummy chocolatey drink), we had those then headed to bed after booking our bus for the next day to head to the Perhentian Islands. Bed was now calling, so we jumped in and i think we were both sleeping for 10 o clock, what a day, it was definatley a experience.....a good one!!!
Thanks to Laura for sticking with me, you took all my moaning and groaning and just kept my spirit up telling me i could do it, and also never even laughed when i fell in the river! You were a wee gem and i wont forget it!! xx

Now Lynne Anne Hughes, who's a inny girl now eh? haha xx

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Comments

[Miss lynne ann hughes]

inney now outey
claire u have definatly proved urself to be an outey girl hahah well done ladies!!!