Day 138
Trip Start
Sep 14, 2006
1
122
169
Trip End
??? ??, 2007
Taman Negara,
Malaysia
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
I'd seen some maps of Kuala Tahan and had been fooled into thinking that it was a decent size place with decent accommodation etc. It really is a river-side village with floating restaurants and ramshackle hostels perched on the riverbank. It's perfectly ok though!
I walked to my choice of hotel and before I had set my bag down was talking to a young English girl Charlie. "We're just about to go on a hike if you want to join us" she said. It was to be a three day hike without a guide in the jungle - first night staying in a hide (where we could look out for wildlife) an the second night staying in a hut
01 Boat to Kuala Tahan
. I had wanted to get settled first and get my bearings etc. phone mum etc. but this was a cracking offer and I accepted. It sounded like a good adventure. Charlie's boyfriend Johnny turned up and also Brian - an American guy they had met a few days ago in Jerantut. They were planning to leave right there and then so I had some rapid preparation to do. They'd bought too much food so that wasn't a problem but I still had to decide what to leave with the hostel and what to take. I ended up with my main pack full with clothes, food, drink, a rented sleeping mat and bag and two pots and one kettle tied to the sides!We took a much smaller boat about 40 minutes further up river. The boat had plenty of leaks so Charlie was charged with bailing out using a margarine tub. We went through some small rapids and got a bit wet but nothing too bad. Once we were off the boat we were left alone to get on with our trek. Our first hike was to a hide where we would stay the night and see if we could see some nocturnal activity. On the way I had my first "experience" with leeches! I didn't know what to look out for and the others had assured me that I would "definitely get leeched" on the hike. After only 30 minutes trekking I heard Brian behind me say "ah Rob you've been leeched". I looked at my ankle and sure enough there was blood but no leech. He'd obviously had his fill and dropped off. As we walked on I asked Brian how they attach to you etc
02 Leech attacks
. They are like small worms and stand on one end while wiggling around in the air in the hope of attaching themselves to passers by. They can sense vibrations and will make their way over to you in a rather comical fashion as I recorded on film a little later!We got to the hide fairly early and dropped our things off and went for a swim in a nearby river tributary. It was good fun swimming there amongst the jungle sounds and smells. The water was clean but back on the ground the leeches were becoming a real pain in the .... well ankles mainly! They climb up your shoe and can somehow penetrate the sock to get sucking on your blood.
Back at the hide Brian got busy lighting an illegal fire while I helped Charlie with the dinner. We were having tinned curry and rice with various freshly chopped (by me and my penknife) veggies and garlic. The fire was a non-starter as most of the wood was damp but the food went down very well. When it came to washing up we only managed to swill the plates and pans since we had no water. Three days of fairly low hygiene standards would test my immune system if nothing else!
The hide was a well built structure on four pillars facing a salt lick
03 Leech movie!
. The idea is that the animals come and lick the stones and get their salts (my understanding at least) in full-but-night-time view of the watching hide dwellers. We spotted a Tapir early on then at about 3am I spotted something that might have been a wild bore or a small bear. Wildlife outside the hide was expected but we had some inside the hide to deal with! Right next to me on my seat a huge rat was nibbling at some noodles in a bag. I whispered to Charlie to "watch this" and then shone my torch at the rat who scarpered up into the roof of the hide! The next time it surfaced Brian got out of bed and threw his knife at it. As the knife hit its target I felt a mix of delight and remorse though the rat was well enough to run back up to the roof. I think it must have just "had his wings clipped" as there was some blood on the knife.I got into my very simple wooden bed and curled up in the sleeping bag. Renting a sleeping bag is never ideal and the guy back in Kuala Tahan had definitely not saved me his best one for this occasion. I got to sleep ok with Johnny still watching out over the salt lick.
