Life Is Something Like That

The bus to Jerantut took about three hours. The driver drove rather fast, so we reached early. In fact, we didn't need to rush for the earliest bus in the first place. From the bus station, we took a taxi to the NKS cafe. The taxi driver charged us RM5 for the ride when it was actually a less than 10-minutes walk.

After registration at the cafe, we waited for our lunch. After lunch, we waited again for the van to come and bring us to the Kuala Tembeling jetty. Upon arriving at the jetty, another 20 minutes were spent waiting for the boat to arrive. Finally, under the scorching sun, we got to board the boat.

Well, we were the only local visitors on the boat. The others were foreigners. There were two Asians though, from Hong Kong probably. When we were in the van on our way to the jetty, these Hong Kong ladies sat next to me. Well, I thought of throwing in a "hello, how do you do" kind of greet, suspecting that they were Malaysians. But I heard them speaking in Cantonese. And then they buckled up their seat belts. In a van! In the backseat! When we were so cramped! Okay, definitely not Malaysians. I changed my mind. Haha.

Initially, the boat ride felt like something different. But when you sit for three long hours in it, boredom just creeps in. You might even feel sleepy and fall for a short nap. Some would munch on their snacks or occasionally take photos. There was a foreigner who read a book while another was writing her diary. Talk about being hardworking!

When we reached Kuala Tahan, it was already 5.30pm. We checked in to our hostel, and had dinner at a floating restaurant. It really was floating, by the shore, on wooden logs. Then, we got introduced to our guide, Abang Sempoan - we thought he was a native there.

After dinner, we went for our first activity: the night jungle walk. The guide told us to focus on insects, not animals. It was rather dark, so without a powerful torch light, it would be hard to locate them. Anyway, you could hear the loud sounds of the insects. Not really a symphony. More like blaring horns and sirens. Haha. The guide showed us a couple of insects: spiders, termites, scorpion. Nothing very special, except for a sloth and the reflections from deers' eyes - I couldn't really see it though. Oh, we saw a firefly too, briefly.

After the night walk, we still had a few hours to burn before bedtime, so we took a walk around the area. It was a small place, and in less than an hour, we finished rounding the area. There were restaurants, chalets, hostels, and a school. There weren't much happenings in the night, and most of the restaurants were closed by 11pm. So, we ended up sitting at a high viewpoint overlooking the sea, close to our hostel, eating potato chips and nuts.

In the afternoon, we visited the orang asli village. The guide gave some explanations about the tribes and their way of living. The orang asli showed us how they start a fire by using friction and wood. A kid showed us how to use the blowpipe, the tool they used for hunting. We were told that the poison could spread into the animal's circulation and kill it instantly. We even had a try of the blowpipe, of course without the poison. My shot missed the target just slightly. Haha.

After the orang asli visit, we went for rapids shooting. The rapids weren't really a roar, just that the boatman and us would sway the boat when we cross the rapids, splashing water about. It was fun, and of course, everybody got wet. We also went for a swim at a riverside, before heading back for dinner.

Night time, and again, there wasn't much for us to do, except for relaxing and enjoying the breeze and the night. Just like the foreigners did. Looking for supper, we found the Tahan Burger stall. Nothing different. Just another burger stall. Haha. By the way, for most of the night, we really just lied down on our beds, staring at the ceiling, enjoying the air-cond and talking. So, perhaps with a bigger company - more people, you could conjure some kind of activity for the night. Keep that in mind!

After some contemplation, we decided to stay for another night, because we would like to go for another activity, to Lata Berkoh. Plus, since the journey to Taman Negara was a long one, we thought extending another day would be worth it.

Lata Berkoh was a place where you could find cascades. They were beautiful. Even the boat ride to Lata Berkoh was nice. The trees at the riverside provided shade and the water was clear. Quite a scenery.

When the boat stopped, we had to trek along the river to reach the cascade.

The water was very clear that you can see the rocks and fish in the water. The place was cool and shady, you could have a picnic. Or you could tan yourself under the sun at one of the huge rocks. Like one of my friend did. Haha. Some of the rocks could be slippery though. In an attempt to prove the clarity of the water, I took the photo below, but in the process, I slipped into the water and got myself half wet. Fortunately, I did not drop or splash my camera. Phew!

In the evening, we wanted to go fishing at Lubok Simpon. Too bad, the PERHILITAN office where we were supposed to get our fishing license was closed on Friday. We could try fishing at Kuala Tahan, but with the boats roaring about, chances of catching a fish were slim. Hence, we had to cancel our plan. What could we do? Well, we just sort of wander around, aimlessly, till we're tired before heading back to hostel for a rest.

By the way, there were many foreigners there. We were like the few of Malaysians who were there. In a restaurant, we noticed, they were all around - it was like we were in a different country, with us being the tourist instead of them.

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