Off to the jungle

Hello again,

I spent the last 3 days in Taman Negara National Park and now I am in Kuala Lumpur, ready to start my journey to Tioman. I have booked a sleeping capsule for the night, right at the train station. Now I can pass the next few hours here.

The first exciting part of the jungle trip is the boat ride from the meeting point to the village of Kuala Tahan. We cruised along the river for almost 4 hours in a small boat, which currently has a lower water level than usual. At some places, we scraped loudly over the rocks in the river and even had to stop and push the boat 😅 But these efforts are worth it, as we enjoy a beautiful view of the jungle the whole time. Even here, you can see small monkeys and even some water buffaloes.

I booked the complete package 3 nights / 4 days with a total of 5 tours. In the evening, we will start with the "Night Jungle Walk". Our group consists of 10 people, including Andy, the guide, and everyone is super nice. We see sleeping forest monkeys, some chameleons, and the cute "Slow-Monkeys", a species of loris. The highlight of the tour are four porcupines that almost overrun us as we slowly walk back.

The next day, trekking is on the agenda. We hike to two high viewpoints, passing by the famous Canopy Walk. Unfortunately, it is currently closed as it will be extended until next year.

The hike uphill takes about 45 minutes and is very exhausting due to the increasing heat. The trail consists of very high stairs, rocky sections, and many roots that you have to cross. If you're not careful, you can easily end up in the abyss...

Once at the top, the view is also beautiful!

In the afternoon, we have a tour to the "Orang Village", one of the many villages where indigenous people still live. We are shown how they make fire and hunt animals. Andy (the guide) explains that there are still about 3,000 indigenous people in the entire park and they receive support from the Malaysian government. These people embody a great piece of history and tradition that must be preserved.

In the evening, I participate in the Night Boat Safari. Andy emphasizes many times that it is always a matter of luck whether you see animals or not. Sometimes you drive around for hours and see nothing, sometimes the right 5 minutes in the right place are enough and you hit the jackpot, seeing the elephants. Since they like to stay by the river in the dark, it's not unrealistic to see them now. We drive for about 20 minutes when we spot the huge ears of an elephant sticking out of the bushes on one bank. There are four adults and even a baby elephant 😍

The next day, I unfortunately don't have much luck as the last activity, the Auto Safari, is on the program. We see two pigs (no idea what they are doing in the jungle) and a few squirrels, that's it. Since I have already seen so many animals before, that's okay for me.

I am allowed to sit next to the guide in the car for the entire journey and the nocturnal drive through the jungle with its impressive soundscape was already worth it.

Now I'm looking forward to the sea again and to Tioman, where I will take a diving course 🏝

I hope I don't sink and can report to you soon about my first diving lesson!

Until then, take care and start missing me 😏

Your Safari Guide Mary