Taman Negara - Into the Jungle

After spending four nights in the city of Kuala Lumpur, we are drawn to the nature that Malaysia is famous for. The Taman Negara National Park is known as the oldest forest in the world, with its jungle being 130 million years old.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, we meet at the meeting point in Chinatown to take a bus from there. On our way, we pass by a group of 'performers' who are probably on their way to a parade for the CNJ. They wear colorful costumes, play drums, and some are in the famous Chinese dragon.

We take a bus for a few hours northeast, and then we board a boat on the river to sail for the next three hours. The ride is really relaxing and we already encounter the first monkeys on the riverbank.

In Kuala Tahan, we rented a wooden bungalow. Since it is currently TET holidays, everything is fully booked and we didn't have much choice. Our hut is only available for one night. We use the afternoon to explore the small village, book a night walk, and have dinner at one of the floating restaurants by the river. The food is not great, but it is cheap. Our night walk is scheduled to start at 8:30 PM, and we are already greeted by a small herd of wild boars in the village. We cross over to the other side by boat, where the Taman Negara National Park begins. The night walk is not long, but really interesting because the guide knows exactly where to look for the nice little animals and insects. We see many large spiders, the biggest ants I've ever encountered, grasshoppers, stick insects, millipedes, beetles, bats, snakes, and several scorpions (my highlight). Many of these animals are also known in Germany, but they are much bigger here.

The next day, we want to explore the jungle in daylight. After breakfast with the Malaysian families and moving our luggage to the new accommodation (another wooden bungalow), we set off to the park entrance around 9 AM. We meet two siblings from Switzerland who were already on the night walk yesterday and decide to hike together. Our destination is the Lata Berkoh waterfall, which is 9km away, and it takes us a solid four hours to reach it. Our hike through the jungle is truly adventurous. After leaving the marked area behind us, we don't encounter any other people for the next few hours. Plaques are attached to the trees, but they become rarer over time. However, you can usually see the small trail. Max has a tough time with the leeches, they clearly prefer him :-D The rest of us mostly have no problems. I can still flick the critters off my shoes or legs in time. And it's sooo humid! Sweat is pouring from all of us, but that's to be expected when stomping through the tropical jungle. Fortunately, we have no issues with insects. Since the distance signs on the signs are not accurate, we consider turning back several times, but we still want to reach our destination. Even though the constant up and down is really tiring. About 1km before the waterfall, we have to cross a river. Actually, I really don't like the idea of wading through a river barefoot in the jungle, but 1. we have no other option and 2. the water is very clear and only reaches mid-thigh. So, off with our shoes and over to the other side. Except for Michael (the Swiss), no one encounters any creatures, and even for him, it's only a leech. On the other side, we take a lunch break on a fallen tree. We have eggs and filled bean buns with us.

After refueling, we continue to the waterfall, and it's really the biggest exaggeration ever. We all agree that rapids would be the better term, but oh well. So that we are back before dusk, we don't stay there for long and prefer to make our way back. Max and I also didn't bring enough water and we're getting really thirsty. So, 9km up and down through the jungle again, until we finally return in the late afternoon.

First, we gulp down a bottle of water and take a shower.
Together with three other Germans from our new accommodation, we organize the next day's journey. We all want to go to the Cameron Highlands. Once the bus is organized, we finally get something to eat.
The next day, we have breakfast together with the Swiss and pack a lunch box (rice, egg, peanuts, sambal) for the journey to the Cameron Highlands, all for 70 cents.