Malaysia 2024

Monday28October

We leave Kuala Lumpur but our first task is to pick up our rental car at the airport.

And let's go for four hours of driving (without breaks) and 300 km. The first break precisely will be at a typical rest area, where a whole zone is reserved for fast food. Just choose your small restaurant among the row of counters, place your order then pick up your plate and finally, choose a table.

6:00 PM. We arrive at Kuala Tahan, at the Rainbow Guest House, where we put our suitcases for three days. But only our luggage will stay here because tomorrow, we will leave with backpacks for two days of trekking in the Taman Negara jungle.

Kuala Tahan is a very small village on the edge of the Tembeling river. The village is one of the starting points for treks and hikes in the national park.

Entry into the park is not done unexpectedly. In addition to having already booked our trek and a guide, we must obtain a park access permit and a camera license, all for a little over one euro. The permit is requested on the other bank, at the national park office. Boat taxis are present at the floating houses. But quick, the office sends me a message because it will close soon!

And hop, here we are quickly on the right side of the river.

And darn! The office just closed, yet they knew we were coming...! Too bad, time is time!  

We are good to come back early tomorrow morning before the meeting time for the trek.

We enjoy the "floating restaurants" to eat.

Our modest room at Rainbow Guest House.

Tuesday29October

And hop, 8:00 AM. It is time for us to retry to obtain our essential papers to do the trek. So rebelote to cross the river again, and this time, it's good! The person is present and we can obtain the permits!

And here we are finally all gathered with the other trekkers to prepare our bags.

Here is the package that everyone will have to take (and also bring back because nothing must remain in the jungle, including packaging and other papers).

Irony of fate, we go first to the park office for those who do not have the entry permit...     So we cross the river for the third time.  

And hop, here we go for most to fill out the form that we already filled out this morning.

"Tam" will be our local guide for the two days.

And let's go for an hour of navigation to dock 26 km further.

Lunch is served on site, rice and fried egg!  

We arrive at Kuala Keniam at the UiTM-PERHILITAN research station, which serves as a base for scientific expeditions around the biodiversity of the tropical forest. For us, it will just be a sporty-tourist expedition!

And the single file walk begins.

In this period of late October, the trails are rather wet, or even very wet, both on the ground and in the air... Tam embellishes the walk with some explanations on the fauna and flora surrounding us.

We are 9 trekkers including 3 Mexicans, an American, a French woman, an English woman, a Dutch woman.

Whoa, a big ant! Eddie catches it and hop, tears off its head, and hop, ingests it...   He had never eaten one before, he wanted to try the experience...   It's not good to be an insect when you cross the path of an American...  

It's the jungle, the real jungle.

With its big trees.

And its traces of passage of its most diverse inhabitants. Here, on the trunk of a tree, the scratches of a sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)...

A large millipede, the giant millipede (Trigoniulus corallinus).

And here is a paw print whose owner one should not cross. The black panther... A week before, she attacked a native who escaped with huge scratches on his face...  

Five hours after entering the jungle and nine kilometers of walking, we arrive in this cave which will house us for the night..

About fifty meters from the entrance, we install tarps for the dining area and our mattresses and sleeping bags nearby.

Then, it's shower in the river which, fortunately, is not too cold.  

While Tam prepares the meal, we light a fire. Precaution to avoid big curious beasts... Elephants can also prowl around.

One whole side of the cave is open.

Dinner is served!

Then small exploration of the surroundings. Giant river toads (Phrynoidis aspera) have taken up residence in our cave... Unless it's the other way around...  

Wednesday30October

After a good night on the very hard ground (fortunately fatigue helps to sleep well), we meet for breakfast.

Everyone is here. We will be able to continue our circuit of the day before by branching off this time to the south to join the same Tembering river as yesterday.

Droppings betray the coming of at least one Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) a day or two ago...

Tam continues to educate us about the jungle.

The itinerary is not always made of a simple path to follow. Rivers force us to play tightrope walkers.

Ha. Again a sun bear who wants to be very sure that we share the same territory.

Once again, I give my shoes a hard time...  

Demonstration of how to quench your thirst with the means provided by mother nature. Here, it is a bamboo which, within it, contains enough water for several sips, which will be taken with a straw also made with the right plant.

Whoa! This time, it will not be enough to be a good tightrope walker, you will also have to show the agility of a monkey (and a little arm strength...) to cross the small Terenggan river...   Fortunately, the distance to cross is very short and phew, everyone will take up the small challenge with flying colors.  

The Terenggan river will flow into the Tembeling river where we navigated yesterday.

We arrive at the area where we will be able to have lunch and also scrub ourselves!

Total scrubbing with a swim in the Tembeling!

Then off we go again for a bit of walking to reach a "witness" village Orang Asli where Batek families share their ancestral know-how.

One of the most notable Batek rites is the funeral ritual. It consists of placing the body of the deceased on a platform at the top of a tree. This practice helps the soul travel to the afterlife and protects the community. After the ceremony, the camp is abandoned, symbolizing the end of the cycle and the beginning of the soul's journey to another world.

Short demonstration by one of the inhabitants to make fire with bamboo and shoot with a blowgun with vegetable poison prepared in front of us.

And everyone can try to hit the Wonder Woman doll target...

Only the "trainer" will hit the target!

It's almost the end. We get back into the pirogues to finish the loop of our two days and reach the village of Kuala Tahan.

On the pontoon of Kuala Tahan.

Thursday31October

The next morning in Kuala Tahan, wake up at Rainbow Guest House.

And breakfast in front of the Tembeling river. We will be able to hit the road again and continue our road trip heading north to join the Cameron Highlands region...