Leave nothing but footprints, Take nothing but memories

Yes, that's what's written on the posters in Taman Negara.

You could take photographs too

Well, its been almost a week ago since my trip to Taman Negara. Its just that I needed some time to compile photos from other people's cameras and choose, plus I've been rather busy the past weekend.


So here's a lil bit of my not so wild experience is Taman Negara. Btw, if you're wondering where is Taman Negara, its really in three states together. Most of it is in Pahang while parts of it span over Kelantan and Terengganu.

Spent 3days 2nights in the Kuala Tahan village with My classmates from DPR2 B2 TAR College.

Lock & loaded! Let's Go Go Go. Oh yeah, lotsa peace too...

Woke up early on the first day to meet up and get the chartered bus to Jerantut. Took us about three hours to get there and had lunch. Oh, the money we payed for the trip includes everything including lodging, meals, transportation and activities, so I would say it was a pretty fair deal. After lunch we took a sampan/motorboat to Kuala Tahan and it lasted a pee-holding three hours. Freaking Joanne really couldn't stand it no more... I wouldn't blame her coz with the sound of water splashing and damp trousers, it would be hard for anyone to hold their pee. At first, everyone was excited about the boat ride. It was kinda scary coz we were actually sitting slightly lower than the water level and we could touch the water by just reaching out fingers out.



At the beginning and after more than 2 hours



We finally managed to get there before anyone peed in the boat.

Kuala Tahan is a little kampung by the river with floating restaurants for tourists and I'll warn those of you who suffer from sea sickness, you would probably find it hard to be able to eat on it. Our rooms were up a slight hill from the river and we had to climb a little. By the time we got there and started unpacking our stuff it was already eavening. More like 5 or 6pm.

The slope to our hostels

I guess I had too high an expectation for the place we were staying at. I was thinking of a chalet with carpet, aircond and beautiful bedside lamps with a clean dry toilet equipped with toiletries.

What we got was...(drum rolls) a freaking small room with three sets of double decker beds with wooden flooring which you could see chickens running underneath through the cracks and a not-so-clean toilet with the tendency to run out of water all of a sudden without a warning whatsoever.

The only toiletries we got was a toilet roll given at the reception. At least it was air-conditioned but still it was an useless old junk during the day. So anyway, after we five boys showered and all, we were relaxing outside on the verandah coz it was coooler outside than in the aircond room. That was when a 'Mat Salleh' group of backpackers checked in to the room next door and I am still wondering whether they were honest or sarcastic when they opened the door and went...Oh Wow!!!

Our room could sleep six

After dinner that night, went for the jungle night walk which I think was my favourite. Our jungle tour guide for our whole trip, Abang Zam was an awesome man. He could spot small little insects and creatures in the dark jungle equipped with only a torchlight. Until pointing and describing hard only could we see what he already spotted. But it was a fantastic experience being in the dark jungle. Standing at the back of the line was even scarier coz all was pitch black behind me and I wouldn't have known what could've crept up on me. Spotting insects was exhilarating.

B2 with Abang Zam

A stick insect

We spotted two species of spiders, some scorpions, a viper and another snake, two stick insects which were mating, giant timber ants which were actually bloody enormous, a gecko, a sambar deer, and even a scratch mark on a tree left by a Sun Bear.

I can't remember what's the name of this snake, but its harmless

A huge spider

There were other creatures which I've never seen before. It was really awesome.

The next morning, we went to walk on the famed canopy walk before heading off for some jungle trekking/hill climbing. Supposedly the longest suspended walkway in "somewhere", I didn't really find it thrilling. But it was fun to look from the top of trees down 40 meters to the jungle floor.

Canopy Walk. Good thing I overcame my childhood height phobia

40 Meters below

Me and a large tree...check out the sweat...

Emilio of the Jungle? I accidentally kicked Abang Zam's head when reaching for the vine, see, he's rubbing his head.

After that we climbed Bukit Teresek which was bloody exhausting. Half of the way was steps built specially and half of the way was what we can call the "Nature Walk". I was actually expecting a harder, more challenging jungle trekking but seemed simpler than Gombak last time. Anyway, we took about an hour to reach the top where we could see Gunung Tahan in the distance blanketed by fog and slightly shorter time hiking down.

View of Gunung Tahan I think

A monitor lizard which I spotted myself.

The afternoon was a little bit more fun hitting the rapids in the same kind of boat we took earlier.

Oh btw, our main transportation was boat, up, down and across the river. In fact, it was our only transportation there other than our legs.

Rapids was so fun. Splahed water at each other as well, and got a nice shower in the boat. Passed the rapids was the orang asli village which we visited. Met them and learned a fraction of their lifestyle. This was where my camera batteries went dead and I didn't have any spare.

The Orang Asli settlement. They're nomads, so they shift around avery few months.

That's how they start a fire

Although they are classified as Negrito Malays, they actually look like Africans. Dark with curly hair. The only difference was that they were probably smaller sized, had malay-sort of face features and spoke a variation of the Malay language. They showed us how they start a fire from a piece of wood and a vine. Unlike Aboroginies in Australia who twist a stick onto a block of wood, I think theirs is more effective but need some practice. They even showed us how they make their blowpipes and let us try. Thanks to JiaWei's question, now I know that only some of them have ICs and they don't go to school. They live only off the jungle.

Us with the head of the orang asli family

On the way back to our lodging, we stopped by a little stream where its water flowed from a waterfall somewhere deep in the jungle. I found out that we could actually paint using coloured pebbles. Face painting that is. Brilliant.

Got back for dinner and I decided to sleep early coz 1) I didn't feel to well, and 2) I wanted to wake up at 2.30am to watch the Champion's League Final between Chelsea and Man U.
Yes, they have Astro on the floating restaurants and we hanged out with the guys running them to watch. Awesome experience watching football middle of the night in the dark and quiet(that is before a goal) jungle. The game lasted till almost 6am which by then was really time to wake up.

The next morning(or the continuation of the morning) we left after having our Nasi Lemak. taking the same boat ride we got in, this time, everyone was bored since the beginning. Luckily this time it lasted only two hours coz we were heading down the river and the currents were with us.

Last group photo before leaving

So that's really it for my trip. Oh yeah, all of us got a certificate each stating that we have participated in a 3days 2 nights adventure package in Taman Negara.

My certificate and free T-shirt with a map of the area. I guess, it could come in handy when you're loss in the jungle eh?

So back to the title, did I leave only my footprints in the jungle? I sure did, many. Did I take anything else other than memories? Only memories.

Memories that will remind me that if I ever visit Taman Negara again I should check in to the 5-star Mutiara Taman Negara chalets across the river from Kuala Tahan.

Phew, the photographs took a damn long time to upload.