More Taman Negara

Pics are from Taman Negara and Travellers Home resort.

Things I have learned:

-in the jungle you cannot age a tree by counting its rings—the trees have no rings. Their growing season is year round.

-the small bats navigate by radar however the big bats are fruit bats and they have large eyes so they do not navigate by radar but by sight.

-The Malay people are fun loving by nature. They like to tease and smile easily. The women are shy and more serious and the men more playful. One cannot help but fall for their charming smiles. The urban and Island Muslim men are so charming which is in such contrast to the rural Muslim  men-- who are down right frightening. I guess it is the difference between Extremist Muslims (rural mainland) and regular Muslims (the island and urban men I find so charming and warm).

Travellers Home proved to be a unique experience. The owner and his wife treated each and every guest like family. We were well cared for and any problem they were there to help. One felt very comfortable and safe there. They ate breakfast with the guests each morning. I would highly recommend the resort simply because it was like staying with family who cared and were very wise about al the goings on in Malaysia. The meals were all home cooked by the kitchen staff. It was a warm, comfortable experience.

Malaysian food is not the best. I’ve been warned not to drink the water or eat raw produce or else traveler’s diarrhea. Thus, there is nothing for me to eat! I dislike the greasy meat and the cooked veggies are cooked in so much oil that I feel sick all day after eating them. And despite bananas, papayas and mangoes growing in the jungle—try to find one to eat around here! All I can find are leechi type fruit which are jellyish and rather tasteless. 

The Batek Tribe, Taman Negara, Malaysia

These are some of my greatest photo treasures to date. They are all from the aboriginal Batek settlement in  the Taman Negara jungle.

What a day. Adventure at every turn. We caught a ride to the river at 9 am and took a boat down stream to the entrance of some jungle trails and the jungle canopy hike. Hiked straight up a jungle mountain in the humidity and heat (thankful I was practiced at Bikram yoga and hiking up Paul’s Tomb in the heat-- they trained me for it). Very steep and the roots provided natural steps. We arrived at two different viewing platforms for panoramic views of the jungle. The canopy is so dense, one thinks they can step off the edge into brush but the brush is actually treetops and the jungle floor is about 100 m below. The guide cut me off a piece of “mountain spice” tree or sassafras tree from high in the jungle. The wood smells strongly of root beer—I treasure that piece of wood! Unfortunately hiked far too close to a family with about 5 little French boys who were so loud, we saw no animals!  The majority of tourists here are: French, German, and Dutch. We’ve met no other N. Americans! I suppose the European like more eco/adventure vacations and the N. Americans comfort vacations perhaps.

After the mountain hike we hiked to the giant jungle canopy bridge—actually 5 rope bridges suspended high above the jungle—one after the other with small platforms built around exceptionally tall trees separating them. The bridge itself was made up of flat planks of wood about 10 inches wide placed on ropes with rope rails. There is no turning around, no changing your mind—each walker must follow no closer than 10 m behind the next to keep it from swaying wildly. The first bridge was rough—terrifying once I was on it and realized how unbelievably high above the jungle I was and how narrow it was and how the bridge swayed—only one foot placed in from the other would fit.  I finally reached the first platform to discover there wasn’t one but many more bridges ahead of me. The second bride was terrifying it was really long and higher than all the others. By the end I started to panic a bit and had to chant to myself to get across it. Then there were 3 more! I felt weak from fear. But there was no way out. I had to keep walking onto the next bridge. The fourth was frightening because there were ladder like stairs leading down a steep portion of the bridge to the lower platform. The stairs swayed wildly. I gripped the ropes so tightly with each step. But I made it! I faced a huge fear that I didn’t even know was upon me until ½ way across the first bridge—when the whole situation dawned on me.

Next, we took the boat back to another resort right inside the park. We met up with the Irish couple and had drinks and pizza outside and awaited another boat to the aboriginal Orang Alsi settlement down stream. They are called Batek peoples. We caught a smaller canoe with no top. It was great as only our Irish friends and us went with the guide. The catch was that we had to shoot through 5 sets of rapids before reaching the settlement. I got completely drenched, not to mention rather terrified. But we arrived at the village: a very small settlement of aboriginals—they have been living as hunter/gatherer in the jungle for centuries. They are a small boned tribe with chocolate coloured skin and afros. Their ancestors originally came from Africa. They have an oral language, live by hunting game such as squirrel and monkeys with blow darts. The children do not go to school and the tribe receives no medical interventions—the women birth behind trees in the jungle. They move when the food runs out or a tribe member dies. The do not bury the dead. They wrap the body in palm leaves and carry them to the top of the tallest tree and build a platform for it. It is closer to heaven. The women and children were shy and hid in their huts but the men were open to demonstrate how they make fire with their bare hands and make blow darts and arrows. It was all so fascinating I cannot believe it. The poisonous arrows are made from the bark of a particular tree--sliced super narrow. The poison on the tip of the dart is from the boiled sap of yet another tree. They use a leaf that feels like sand paper to finish the dart by rubbing it in the leaf on their leg—thus no hair on the men’s right thighs. Strong enough to kill a human—stops the heart. The blow tube is made from special narrow bamboo wood found high in the jungle mountains, a several days walk from the settlement.

 I took some wonderful pics of the settlement but felt horrible about it at the same time-- I tried to be friendly to the people (as suggested by our guide)and show them the photos I took of them—the children loved it but the women ran from me and hid. I felt like an idiot tromping through an exhibit, treating my fellow humans like fascinating museum pieces--taking pictures of them in their homes. It was a horrible feeling and I regret taking the photos of the women and children. The guide suggested we do it, so I did. Yet in my gut I felt it was a violation of their humanness and privacy, despite the fact they had a deal with the guides and got paid for putting their entire village on display. I purchased some of their handcrafted items to relieve myself of some of the awkwardness of the entire situation and also because I thought they were some of the most beautiful material treasures on earth today. I learned that although it was an amazing photo opt, and our guide encouraged us to take the photos, and instructed us that the children and women are shy but just show them the pictures and they’ll be happy, I was acting no better than the dreadful paparazzi.

A part of me wonders though, if the settlement where they meet the tourist isn’t a just a small, vacation style settlement for the hunters and where the tribe brings village members to say for the day to meet with tourists for the summer, but the tribe actually lives at a better and more private settlements close by during the rain season. However, the Batek people are nomadic so their main settlements will shift at least every few years.

There seemed to no old tribe members. I asked where the elders were and the guide said that they were living at other settlements, away from the tourists. It was hard to figure out. I’m guessing though, that it is a temporary small settlement and that the tribe has a better settlement down stream. How else could they survive all of the prying tourists?

The way home included shooting 5 rapids again and getting soaked. We just finished supper in the main house with all the other tourists. It is such a different experience meeting travelers and chatting with them. The Irish couple is a lot of fun.

--E-gads, a giant coach roach just scurried across the floor of our cottage. I hope they don’t crawl up onto beds. The thing has 2-inch antennas!

Tembeling River and Taman Negara, Malaysia

Taman Negara
We have arrived deep into the oldest rainforest on earth. The trip here was amazing--like something out of a novel. The bus trip to the jetty was uneventful-3h long and then we arrived at the jetty. We had to hang around for a couple of hours until our boat arrived. Peter got overheated and felt very ill. I found an office with air conditioning and insisted he rest there. He seems to have a little tummy bug and I realize now that it wasn't my ulcer returning but a tummy bug we must have caught in the Vancouver airport. I am better and Peter is nearly better.
The boat arrived. A long, wooden rickety Malay style canoe with a tin roof and an old motor on the back. It seated about 12 people. And then there is the river. The RIVER! A huge, wide, jungle river--fast flowing, deep and brown in colour. The Tembeling. It was terrifying stepping onto the boat--no life jackets expect ancient, moldy ones if you chose to brave putting one on. Even entering the boat proved death defying--the wooden steps of the jetty were rotted away in places and one false step you fall into the deep river.
Once we settled into our floor seats, off we went. The trip was so beautiful, wild and raw that I still cannot believe I had such an amazing experience. 3 hours of traveling down this giant river lined with thick jungle. The only natural animals I saw on shore were water buffalo. However, from the bus widow I spotted many monkeys and a giant hornbill bird. We finally arrived to unload at a floating restaurant. From there we hiked up a steep hill with our luggage and waited for our driver to take us to Travellors Home.
Travellers Home is proving to be an unique experience. We stay in a small pink terra-cotta coloured cottage away from the main brick lodge. It is quite rustic in the cabin, less so in the lodge. Breakfast and dinner are served at a very long table outside on the patio. We eat with all of the guests--most from Germany and Holland have met a nice Irish couple from near Belfast: Sveb and Nasia. The staff are very friendly, helpful and nice. Our cabin though is a little rough--one thin table cloth style small blanket and a bottom sheet is all the bedding we get, aside from 2 rectangular solid foam block pillows. The bathroom smells like sewer gas and we have to keep the door shut at night to keep from being gassed. The sink has only one water tap that provided luke warm water. And the drains are grotty, grotty, grotty! Such is the jungle I guess.
Last night we took a boat ride across the river to the park in the dark. There a guide led us on a jungle hike. Unfortunately all we saw were insects--big ones to be sure. However, the most amazing thing were the sounds. Nothing compares to the jungle at night. A symphony of thousands, millions of creatures calling out. So beautiful. It is VERY humid and hot and I nearly fainted a few times on the hike because me in my malaria paranoia was wrapped up like a mummy. I had to remove the hoodie though by the end on the hike or I would have fainted. My entire body was dripping with sweat and my pants had become heavy and wet.
Pics to come once my camera battery is charged.
PS comments anyone? What's up with that??? It is very difficult to find places to blog--these posts do not come without sweat. However, I take my job as reporter very seriously and I believe it is my photography and blogging that keeps me calm and present in the moment. I never feel culture shock or fear. I think it is the combo of my Buddhism practice and my job as reporter ;)

Tiger Ears

Pip in her "tiger ears" hair style created by her sis Mistaya.

Just picked up the Tabs from school. She called saying she had upset gastro track. Home again for the day. I am starting my thesis prep today--see how nicely I can stall!? 

Mist is going out with friends tonight--a last youth night of the season so Peter and I have postponed date night until tomorrow.

Grace and Courtney arriving for the long weekend on Saturday. I hope the warm weather comes back--it is cooler today.

Purchased for rose bushes for my back slope. I didn't realize how much I adore roses until I walked out into the yard behind the greenhouses and spotted acres of rose plants waiting for a new home. I felt giddy in love. They are so beautiful in every way and as luck would have it, they are the only plant that I have any luck growing--roses and lavender that is. 

Malaysia trip looking good: 2 nights Kuala Lumpur, jungle railway to Taman Negara Park (boat or jeep to Rainforest Resort) for 2 nights of jungle safari, jungle railway to coast and boat to Perhetian Islands for 6 nights, boat and railway to Penang for four nights at 5* hotel for conference. Home through Hong Kong. Must get way too many travel vaccs: typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, Hep A & B. Not to mention all of the jungle fevers that I can't get shots for--it is a little unnerving! And I must wear long pants in boots for the safari--leeches and snakes.

Pip at preschool so I really must tackle the last MA frontier: my thesis...