National Park
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| Stop over at Jerantut |
Taman Negara means National Park. Located towards Eastern Malaysia, it is one of the oldest rain forests in the world. I decided to visit there first before moving to the Islands to the East of the country. There was no clear information on how to reach Taman Negara from KL. I then chanced upon a direct connect service from NKS HOTEL & TRAVEL in 12Go which connects from KL to Jerantut and from there to Taman Negara. As luck would have it, I chose a ticket which included a 2 1/2 hour boat ride form Jerantut instead of bus which was one of the highlights of the trip.
A Boat Journey
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| Boat Ride to Kuala Tahan |
When I left KL, I was told that the East coast Islands were out of bounds now due to the Monsoon, so my plan was now to travel to the Central Highlands after the National Park. On reaching Jerantut, we were transferred onto a motor boat. We were a group of 9 people (3 from Spain, 2 from England, 2 Malays and another person apart from me) and it was a pleasant ride skimming through the water with slight drizzles at various times. The sky was overcast and I realized that the North East Monsoon season was truly on. The town we stayed in is called Kuala Tahan and is on the other side of the river from the Park. On disembarking, I walked up to the Hana Guesthouse and checked in into a nice big room with a balcony overlooking a forest area and the back of the local residential school.
Jungle Trek
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| Keeping the monkeys away |
The next day, I joined a group for a full day trek in the rain forest. It was organized by NKS and we gathered together at 10 AM before taking the boat to the National Park office across the river. After registering at the Park office, we set out on the trek. We were a mix of people mostly from Europe - a mother and daughter from Netherlands, a Moroccan and Algerian now staying in France and Belgium, 3 people from Spain, a solo traveler from Germany etc. Nearby the Park office, there was a resort in the rain forest which we had to cross before starting the trek. Interestingly, the cleaning staff had stuffed tigers kept all around the resort which was to keep away the monkeys who would otherwise raid the villas and kitchens!
The trek was led by two guides, one of them from a tribe in Borneo. They were extremely knowledgeable about the forests and explained to us all the different trees and plants, their uses by the indigenous tribes, how to survive in the forests, get water from the trees, make a fire etc. It was great fun.
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| The Group navigating the slope |
The trek was an easy trek, slippery in places, crossing a few streams till we reached the waterfall. Rains kept falling now and then. There is a 2 day one night trek which is very popular but was closed due to the Monsoon season. On our way back, we visited a Batek village which is an indigenous tribe that lives in the fringes of the rain forest. Batek is one of the sub-ethnic groupings of Negrito which is in turn one of the 3 main ethnic groups of the Orang Asli (Original Inhabitants) community in Malaysia. One of the tribe members demonstrated how they make a fire using forest resources and how they hunt monkeys, squirrels using poisoned darts using a blow pipe. We all took turns in blowing the darts and checking our accuracy. Finally we boarded a motorboat and went down the river reaching Kuala Tahan. The river was muddy and in spate and the boats playfully jostled each other, so by the time we arrived we were all dripping wet. It was good fun though and all of us tired, quickly went back to our accommodation for a hot bath and a well deserved rest.
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| Fish and Rice for Lunch |
Kuala Tahan itself was full of guesthouses and a few hotels. It had a small market area, a few restaurants, a school and residential quarters for school students. It is a great place to stay and relax after coming back from trips to the Forests on the other side of the river. I had some lovely homemade food every day in these small hamlets. The next day was a rest day for me catching up on work and the day after I left for the Cameron Highlands via Jerantut through NKS, the same travel agency. The bus to Jerantut took an hour compared to the 2 1/2 hours it took by boat.
Trek Video
