Taman Negara

On the third leg of their visit, we made our way to Taman Negara, Malaysia's "premier national park."  Molly and Ryan might call this the fourth leg of their visit because they took the opportunity to visit the town of Melaka (or Melacca) for a few days while I stayed in Kuala Lumpur and went to class.  Taman Negara is not a stright forward place to reach.  But the journey is half the adventure, right?  We took a minibus from KL to the town of Kuala Tembling, where we then boarded a long boat for a 3 hour ride up a river to the small town of Kuala Tehan at the entrance to the national park.  To actually get into the park, you have to pay 30 cents to get a water taxi to take you to the other side of the river.  Good thing transportation is super cheap here.  We paid $25 USD to get all the way there (bus and boat).  We could have done it for $16 USD each, but decided to splurge for the minibus instead of the public bus.  In the end the public bus may have been better, but we survived! 

Taman Negara was first protected as a preservation area in 1937, and its huge...4,343 sq. km (1,677 sq. mi).  OK, that's not that big if you are comparing to say Denali National Park, but its big for a small country.  We were fortunate to visit during a less busy time of year and were able to see some wildlife between our "night safari" and day hiking.  A night safari means riding in the back of a truck with high powered lights looking for animals.  We were lucky to see a small jungle cat of some kind, a snake, flying squirrels, some sort of a jungle deer, many monkeys, etc.  More details are in the photo captions....

Bright and early in Chinatown waiting to board our minibus for the 3 hour ride to Kuala Tembling where we would then catch a boat into the national park.  I'm glad I took Dramamine and fell asleep for the whole ride, because Molly and Ryan said it was more than a slightly terrifying ride due to the driver's speed and the condition of the vehicle. 

Recycling?

I love rivers so I quite enjoyed the 3 hour ride up the river though the jungle.... 

...until the Dramamine and late afternoon sun caught up with me and I fell asleep.  Good thing I was wearing sunblock on that arm!

Floating restaurant, there were several of these along the river.

The boat dropped us in Kuala Tehan, a river town on the opposite bank from the national park.  We splurged and stayed at a "real" hotel because they had 3 person rooms, and it would have cost more to get 2 rooms at a hostel/guesthouse.  It was definitely nice to enjoy the pool as the temperatures during the day were blazing and the muddy river with a strong current was not inviting to swim.

Applying our armor against leeches.  This included rubbing salt all over our feet and legs, topped by DEET bugspray, putting on socks, and re-applying salt and bug spray on the outside. 

Additionally, we took the stylish look and tucked our pants into our socks.  It worked, leech free at the end of a 4 hour hike through the jungle.  There was one close call, Ryan spotted a leech 1/2 way into his sock, but a rapid attack with salt assured he was not harmed.

The forest in Taman Negara is 130 million years old (claimed to be the oldest in the world).  None of the Ice Ages had any effect here and this area eluded volcanic activity and other geologic upheaval (according to the guidebook).

We got up early and beat the guided tour groups to the canopy walk.  It was constructed in 1992, and it was actually much more impressive than I was expecting.  We had the whole thing to ourselves so it was great to take our time exploring and enjoying the wonders 45 meters above the jungle floor. 

This move was actually a lot more daring than it looks.  The bridges tended to have a sway to them once you start walking.

This part was a bit terrifying as the ladder walkway did not connect to a solid platform at the top, it only connected with another flat hanging bridge portion. 

OK ecologists, you win if you can tell me what this is.  I have no clue, but its pretty cool looking.

Don't bonk your head on this one.

We visited an Orang Asli camp up the river a little ways.  They demonstrated their fire starting techniques, and how they make their blow gun and dart weapons.   We "ran the rapids" on the way up and the guide was sure to get us nice and wet.  I can't say that I have ever done white water in a wood constructed long boat.

Orang Asli camp, a specific aboriginal group called the Batek people.

Ryan trying his hand at dart blowing.  I tried, but my dart barely made it to the target, and didn't have enough power to stick.  I don't think I would be able to shoot a bird with this technique. 

Mini blow gun weapons meant for your "annoying neighbor."  Or just for tourists to take home and hang on their wall.  Molly and Ryan successfully got 2 back through customs to the United States. 

Another Tropical Island...

On the second leg of Molly's visit, we headed north to the island of Langkawi.  We were apprehensive about going there because it was likely to be very touristy, but it was very beautiful and definitely worth the visit.  Molly's husband had been working on a project in the Gulf of Thailand for a few weeks, so he and his co-worker came and met up with us.  They were happy to be off the ship where they had been living for 3 weeks!  My roomie Tomoko also joined us.  We had a great time enjoying the beach and sunsets and great cheap food.  For two days we rented a car and explored the island (you can easily drive around it in a day), visiting several waterfalls and heading up a crazy cable car to experience the view from above.  Unfortunately, we got a flat tire on the second day,and the car lacked some of the necessary tools to change the tire. But with 2 engineers and a few MacGyver skills we were able to change it and be on our way.  These photos share just a few of the many highlights!

The beautiful beach and Pantai Cenang.  The water wasn't as warm or clear as when I visited the Perhentian Islands, but its hard to complain : )



Twice I found this grasshopper friend on my chair, but he only had one back leg.  How does he do it?

The Langkawi gang, from left to right: me, Rich (Ryan's co-worker), Tomoko (my roommate from Japan), cousin Molly, Ryan (Molly's husband).

Waterfall #1.

Another beautiful beach on our tour of the island.

Waterfall #2.  We took advantage and went swimming at each one!

Our charming accommodations at the Palms Guesthouse.

Langkawi sky bridge at the top of a slightly terrifying cable car ride.

View from the top.

A slightly crazy engineering feat.

Waterfall #3.  We hiked to the top and the river had carved amazing natural rock slides and we played in for over an hour.  Even though it was pouring rain, it was still warm. 

There was this mountain that we really wanted to drive to the top of, but it was completely fogged in, and by then we were chilly.  So we took the offer of "free" tea at the top of this view tower.  Execpt it cost $3 to get to the top!

My First Visitors!

My apologies for the lack of posting lately, but as I forewarned I would be busy with my first official visitors in town!  So now the task to share all the interesting activities we experienced over the past two weeks, hmmmm, that might be difficult because we did so much!

My cousin Molly flew in and spent four days in Kuala Lumpur with me before we met up with her husband who had been working on a project in Thailand.  It gave me a chance to spend time exploring some of the city sites I hadn't made it to yet, and she did more exploring on her own while I was in class.  We visited Lake Gardens (a big park near my neighborhood), and a mosque near Chinatown.  One afternoon, we took the commuter train a little ways out of the city to a protected forest area called FRIM (Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia) and did some hiking around.  You don't realize how noisy it is in the city until you leave and experience the quiet of nature again!  Another evening we headed out to explore the impressiveness of a whole road full of different hawker stalls (street food) and attempt to choke down some durian fruit just to say we tried it.

Instead of boring you with a detailed narrative, I'll just share through photos... 

Fountain in front of the Petronas Towers/KLCC.

Replica of Stonehenge in front of the Planetarium in Lake Gardens.  Quite a random thing to exist there. 

Malaysian flags in front of the National Museum.

Petronas Towers at night.  Molly and I attended a concert in the philharmonic concert hall located in the bottom of the towers.  We didn't see an orchestra though, it was a Malaysian singer/songwriter/guitar player named Yuna who sang in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.  Fantastic night of music!

Molly hiking at FRIM.

Visiting Masjid Jamek (a mosque at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers) we were required to cover our heads and legs.  Fortunately they provided head scarves and robes for us to wear.  The robes were a little large and I kind of felt as if I was dressing up in a wizard costume. 

 

The juxtaposition of the modern high rise city buildings surrounding the historic mosque.




A dim sum master executing his craft on Jalan Alor, and amazing street full of many different types of food from Thai to Chinese to Malay and other goodies like roasted peanuts, durian, and yummy fruit juices.  Food is so cheap at the hawker stalls and most restaurants, that its basically cheaper to eat out every meal than to cook for yourself.  Plus, its so hot here that the thought of slaving over the stove is not so entertaining and is best left to someone else : )  So if I come back to America 20 lbs heavier, this is why!






Street food varieties. 



  More to come about our travels to Langkawi (a beautiful island off the NW coast of Malaysia) and Taman Negara (a huge national park in the center of the country)....

No car, many activities

I better make a blog post about today's wonderful activities because I know things are about to get even more crazy and I probably won't have too much time to recount.  Cousin Molly arrives to visit within a matter of hours (she'll be here for 2 weeks) and my university classes begin on Monday.  In the meantime, today was an adventure of "how many activities can I fit in one day."

I just found out that I've been invited to climb Mt. Kinabalu in mid-October!  This is very exciting because Mt. K is SE Asia's highest mountain at 4,095 m (13,435 ft), and its in Borneo (the northern part of the island which contains the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak).  Rotary here is conducting a district wide service project where all the clubs, of which there are about 72 (?) in Rotary District 3300, work together to execute one big project.  The project is called "A Climb Beyond Disabilities."  They are organizing a climb to the summit of Mt. K for 18 disabled participants ranging from spastic to blind, autistic, Down sysndrome and other conditions of disability as well as volunteers to help them, and then additional climbers.  I have been invited to participate as a volunteer.  The climb-a-thon will raise money for different OKU organizations (OKU in Malaysia refers to people with disabilities).  To prepare for the climb, they have been training with the disabled and other participants every weekend for 4 months by taking them on weekly hikes.  I joined on the hike this morning so they could make sure I was in fit enough condition to participate.  It was nice to get some exercise, but I had to leave my apartment at 6am to take the lightrail train to catch a ride to the trailhead.  It was great to get an early start, beat the heat, and get down before 11am.  The trail was steep and wet but it was nice and cool at the top. 

Enjoying fresh coconut water straight from the fruit and feasting on the coconut meat after a pleasant hike in the jungle.

By 1pm I was back home for a quick shower to turn around and head to an open house gathering.  I was invited by a Rotarian I had never met, nor spoken to on the phone, to join him at his home for a traditional Malaysian Hari Raya open house.  They were very enthusiastic about my attendance and even insisted on preparing vegetarian food just for me, so I couldn't say no to such a warm welcome.  Although it did take some maneuvering via lightrail and taxi through a major traffic jam to a part of the city I had never been to, the welcome was warm and the food was good.  I was the only Caucasian and didn't know anyone there besides the host that I met upon arrival, but a bit later, a few more Rotarians arrived and it was a good learning experience about this holiday gathering. 




Enjoying a Hari Raya open house a Rotarian Jamil's home with Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Kampang Baru.


It was a quick visit because soon there after I was expected at a childrens home a ways away.  Thankfully, the kind Rotarians offered me a ride and I was deposited at a childrens home called Rumah Wake 1.  There are 13 children living here between the ages of 6 and 17.  Today was special because the Rotary Club that has adopted/sponsored them (RC Pantai Valley) was donating provisions and having a tea party.  It was great meet the children and try and answer their questions about Alaska while learning a little about their lives.

How many group photos can I be in during one day?  Meeting the children at the orphanage on a special afternoon.

A little dear who studies hard and enjoys the Disney Channel.

Needless to say, my carefree days are over and a busy schedule has ensued.  I knew it wouldn't last long before my need for an organizer/planner arose again to keep track of all my activities.  So, life here isn't really that different than that in America for me in the regard of keeping  busy schedule and seeing how much I can do in one day.  But this time, I'm just trying to do it without a car!  Maybe this is a good way to counter all the pounds (or kilograms as they would say here) that I'm guaranteed to gain during my time here from the delicious and diverse cuisine.  In Malaysia, the typical greeting is not "how are you?", its "have you eaten yet?"