Welcome to the jungle...

Well, here we are....in the tiny village of Kuala Tahan, sitting at the foot of the world's oldest rain forest, the Taman Negara. I'll be honest. I never really knew too much about the place, and I nearly passed it up as a stop in my journey through Malaysia. Fortunately, I think I'll soon find out, I chose to make a pit stop here. Based on the little hiking I did today, I should be in for a treat.

But first, just a bit of a recap on the happenings of the last several days....

On Thursday morning, I set off on a 30-min taxi boat to the Paranhtian Islands. I shot over on the rickety little wood boat with a few others, two being an American girl and an English girl I had met on my travels to the Malaysian border. We arrived to find the much-hyped small island (there are two islands that comprise the Paranhtians, a "big" island and a "small" island, simply named) very quiet. Actually, the place seemed dead! It was almost as if we were going to have the place to ourselves, a big change from the very populated Thai islands I had seen over the past several weeks. It would soon become evident there were more people on this island than we initially observed, but nonetheless, it was still very quiet given the place's natural beauty. Monsoon season, we learned, is just a couple weeks away and the island closes its doors at that time.....so that would explain the aura of a "ghost town" we received upon arrival.

Day 1 on the island was a pretty simple one: we walked around the island, literally. A few hours on foot and we had nearly covered the island's perimeter. What the place has to offer is much what I've seen in the past few weeks--beautiful beach and blue/green waters--but this time, without the traffic. After barely beating the sunset, we came out of the jungle that makes up the island and arrived at "home". Home, for two or three nights anyways, was a simple little bungalow set just far enough off the beach to allow trees to surround us.... A fan room, (versus air-conditioning), cold shower, a stale smell, and a cheap price tag (15 ringit/person, or just over $4 US)--just what we are used to and what we were looking for!

Day 2 on the island is where nature took over. After hearing good things about the snorkeling off the Paranhtians, we signed up for an all-day trip that would include 4 different stops over the course of the day. We were in for a treat. The day went on, and as it did, the stops continued to get progressively better and better....

*First, we saw some amazing coral, some colorful fish, and some pesky jellyfish. Sure, cool stuff.
*Next, we investigated some more coral. This time more elaborate and more decorated, and the fish over abundant. Schools of large fish (unfortunatly I can't identify them yet) passed by, clownfish lurked (Nemo was a clownfish, FYI), and eels tucked themselves into small crevices in the coral. We're starting to get warmed up here.
*Thirdly, our driver took us to a shallow water spot named Shark Point. They weren't kidding when they called it this. We were able to see and swim near 3 good-sized (5 or 6 ft long) shallow water sharks. I'm fairly certain they were "Black Tip Sharks", but can't be 100% positive. In either case, although they are not in any way harmful, it was pretty amazing being in the water with these beasts.
*Finally, we were taken to see the turtles. And I'm not talking small, wimpy things we're used to seeing back home. These were massive sea turtles, 3 and 4 ft in diameter, that swam through the salty water. As they would come to the surface periodically, we were able to swim right up behind them. I was even trailing one close enough that allowed me to give the guy a bear hug as he made his way to the top. What a treat!

Easily, the best snorkeling I have been a part of since I've been in the water.

Day 3 was a lazy day on the beach. After two days of overcast, rain-threatening days, a day of sun was more than welcomed. I type this just moments after I read an email from my old man, explaining that Iowa just saw its first dusting of snow. I'll enjoy the warm sun and sandy beaches while I have the chance!

I made my way back to the mainland on Sunday after a quiet, but very nice, stay on the Paranhtians. Unfortunately, most of my day back on land was spent in a Malaysian police station. No, not because I was the recipient of another fist, but because three Westerners I had met and got to know quite well during my stay were victims of theft in their bungalow. A long story short, they had some encounters with the dodgy management, and it became clear they were not all that welcome at the resort. Upon coming back to their rooms on their last night, with their provided padlocks still intact and windows locked, they found their bags had been filtered through and were lacking iPods, cameras, phones, and cash. Needless to say, all fingers pointed to a staff-driven robbery. So I spent the day with them in the police station as they sorted through the police report....

Speaking of friends, I had made friends with the Malaysian man that worked at the travel shop where we had booked our boat tickets for the islands. Upon arriving back to the mainland and not having accomodation yet booked for Sunday evening, he offered to put me up for the night. Free accomodation? Why not! Turns out his friend (one of the boatmen) lived just 100 meters from the tourist shop and offered me a place to crash for the evening. I arrived to his place around 8pm and joined him and two others for some hot tea....they went on to toss me the keys to the travel shop and told me that I was free to use the Internet if I needed. Talk about hospitality! I was a bit hesitant about their level of kindness after the rough times I had experienced in the previous two weeks (a.k.a. getting robbed, getting punched), but I went along with it. I'm glad I did. They were great people and, although the place was no Holiday Inn, were happy to offer up what they had. Still, I can't wait to post pictures of the room I stayed in....a simple, airy little loft above a local shop....it was a classy joint I tell you....

Monday, I set off solo on the Jungle Railway, a trainline that runs through the jungle and makes its way to Jerantut, the jumping off point to enter the National Park.

Today, I took a 3 hr boat ride into the jungle and arrived in Kuala Tehan (across the river from the park boundaries) around Noon. I managed about a 6 -7 kilometer hike today in effort to warm up for what is to come tomorrow and Thursday.... I set off around 9am tomorrow, with two others I met on my boat this morning, for a trek a little deeper into the jungle's thickness. We will trek about 11 or 12 kilometers and hopefully arrive to our destination around 4 or 5pm. Our destination? A basic, electricity-free hide (as it is called) , a basic shack that sits above a man-made salt lick. The salt lick is meant to attract all sort of different wildlife at night, and hopefully we'll be able to see what nature throws at us tomorrow night. Rats and tamirs are apparently the most abundant creatures we will see, but there should be wild deer, monkeys, and the occasional elephant (although not likely). I've been told that the sounds you hear as you go to sleep make for quite an interesting evening.... I will hike back the 11 or 12 km on Thursday and eventually make my way out of the park.

That's what's new on my end, everyone! Sorry, I am not able to upload any pictures at this time....the Internet is painfully slow here but ironically quite expensive. Once I make it to Kuala Lumpur, the country's capital, in a few days, I should be able to get some images up on the blog.

Until then, I hope you all are enjoying the snow and the Iowa State losses. Sounds like nothing changes!