Port Kelang (klang) gateway to Malaysia

Port Kelang or klang as I have also seen written is the container gateway to Malaysia. we arrived after taking an overnight flight from Chennia India. We had to check out of the Hotel at 12 midday however because our flight wasn't until 11.15 pm we tried to drag it out as long as poss, which by 12.45 it was quite embarrassing as they were making the beds up around us! We decided to go to the airport early for a change of scenery, oh dear! not much scenery here! we spent the next 11 hours counting taxis then retired to an airport viewing lounge. This was more like a corridor with a view over the runway through a mesh grille. Im sure this was considered as an Indian day out as it was pack with sight-seers including family groups with babies and toddlers. One end was home to a small shop where large scale picnicing was going on. I decided a chocolate bar was the order of the day, however after wressling with the crowds and tip toeing over puddles of toddler urine, we opted to fall asleep in departures. Malaysia was a breath of fresh air litraly! The roads are great, its clean and doesn't smell. As we have a bit of time waiting for Chitty to arrive we took to the hills! Carolyn and I decided to trek the rain forest. Malaysia has the oldest rain rorest in the world over 130 million years old(dinosaurs were still about!) I saw the claim quote 150 million and a 135 million years old. but i'll go with the first! sadly only 5 percent of primary forest is left but it was great. We embarked on a 69 kilometre longboat river trip from tembling jetty to the heart of the Taman Negara rain forest which took half a day in the centre of the Malay penisulur. I knew it rained a lot! the clue is in the title! but I didn't think it would last the complete three days. Anyway if we didnt get wet through rain we got wet through sweat! if fact I sweated more than bill clinton during his infidelity scandel. The first night we were escorted through the jungle with a local guide. in preparation carolyn and I donned long sleves and trousers tucked into our socks in a vain attempt to keep creepy crawlies out. Instead of looking like intrepid explorers we looked like a couple of anoracks missing a bicycle. The guide took one look at us and said "oh dear! you need shorts", "Why" I said. he went on to explain that leeches will climb up your boots and as they are so fine will work thier way through the gap between your sock and trouser and up your body to the chest, neck or somewhere suitable to feed! Now I was getting paranoid! I was already iching and twitchy! If there is one thing I hate it is leeches or slugs or snails or worms or even anything sluggy or wormlike. I can handle spiders, I have a best friend who is a spider! Ha Ha, I laugh in the face of snakes, I could complete a bush tucker trial with ease, eat crickets and bath in pool of rats! but leeches! oh no. Fortunately Carolyn has no fear, she can deal with my emotional leechy break down if required. Her only nemisis is Spiders and thats what Im there for!

Jungle Jane!

The guide wearing shorts said if a leech gets on your legs then you will see it first or at least the blood and will be able to remove it before doing too much damage. Apparently tobacco, toothpaste, soap and mosquito repellant all work to deter them but we were already in the jungle on hearing this vital information. Plucking up courage we trekked deeper into the forest stopping every five paces to examin our boots. The guide stopped suddenly by a tall hollow tree and shone his torch onto a pair of eyes. "Thats a bird eating spider" he said. Carolyn gulped, swore a lot and went on to seek clarification on his last remarks concerning the huge hairy tarantula, this was fine by me however Carolyn had gone into twitchy mode zipping her rain coat to her neck and pulling tight on the hood strings. It soon dorned on me, my emotional support for blood suckers was a jibbering wreck! That night we saw Samba deer, metre long monitor lizzard, praying mantice and stick insects. Oh and magic mushrooms! Initialy concerned as trafficing drugs in Malaysia is resulting in death! only to find out that magic because they glow in the dark! which they did!.There are Tigers, Black panthers and Asian elephants in the national park but alas we didn't see them. The next morning after another breakfast of rice and chicken we covered the jungle by foot, taking to a huge canopy walkway. The walkway is suspended 45 metres high spanning 500 metres of virgin canopy rain forest giving and insight to the flora and great views. By now confidence was building and we were flicking off leeches left, right and centre. one lady from holland had one sucking between her toes! when her boyfriend pulled it off, it latched on to his finger! I saw one rearing up on the ground, wherever i went it turned and faced me, yuk!

from the canopy

In the afternoon we took a boat ride up river to an Orang Asli village, meaning original people. I was expecting to see a well established tourist village selling local souveniers. To our surprise we scrambled up a muddy bank to a tribal makeshift village of five or six huts. This was real Ray Meres stuff (Tribal and forest expert) I was realy impressed to be here and incredably embarressed! We had just landed into a genuine nomadic village and I had forgotten the word for hello! The Batek tribe look nothing like the Malay people, quiet unique. They still hunt and gather and move round the rain forest as an when. Only in the last few years have they agreed to accept tourists, Our guide explained they were honoured to share thier blow pipe and fire making skills, however they now recieve a small payment from the tour company which sadly I believe is the start of the end. It was a great unexpected experience which We would have forgone if it had ensured there survival. The guide encoraged us to take photos which felt inappropriate, I asked the guide to thank the Chief whilst I looked into his eyes, he had clearly seen too many tourists. The people seem at ease and fun loving, the kids run round naked weilding machettes and all smoke tobacco from the age of naught! During our forest trek it rained so hard we were nearly washed away, a couple of Malay students trecking with us slipped over so many times it was like a scene from a wet pop festival. The young dutch girl came over all funny with heat exhaustion, surprisingly we felt fine, I almost put that down to the British stiff upper lip until I remembered I fell off a ski lift in the Dubai ski dome.

Rain forest

the veiw

We actualy looked for spares!

sea sick.. me! never

Monkeys in the trees behind

Boat to Batek tribal village

Kuala Lumpur

Monitor lizzard

Batek boy and mum

whos the muppet with the blow pipe!

Tribal village

Trecking the forest

Texing over dinner

head on right, fake head left!

45 metres up in the canopy

breakfast here!

Canopy walk

extremely rare jungle ugly cat

69 kilometres in a longboat

Jungle jim!

Jungle boat