Jungle Hike in the Highlands

Yesterday, I decided to set out on a trek on one of the many trails in the Cameron Highlands - there are several well marked trails around the area, so I figured I would brave the rain and set out. It is a rule here at the guest house that you always let someone know where you are going. They mark down which trails people are taking on a white board, and then erase your name when you get home and check back in. My guidebook also suggested taking some emergency supplies, so I packed a big bottle of water, a knife, and an extra shirt. The guide book recommended a lighter - I'm not sure what I was going to light on fire in a rainforest in the middle of a rain storm, so I didn't bother with that. (Later I realized it's probably for leech removal, but don't worry, that's NOT foreshadowing, I did NOT have any leech incidents - I didn't want anyone reading this whole thing waiting for the leeches to appear.)

I have been fine, temperature-wise, in my sweatshirt, but I would need some better rain gear if I didn't want to repeat my Land's End Incident. I needed a rain jacket big enough to cover my backpack, as well, so I went to the store to find a big rain coat. The store I went to had a whole stack of packaged rain coats surrounded by signs in about eight languages saying not to open the packages, so I opted for an "XL", idiotically forgetting about Asian sizing - to wear it over my backpack, I should have looked for XXXL. I purchased the coat and left the shop, walking the rest of the way down the street under covered awnings.

When I finally opened the coat and shook it out, something fell to the ground. Ah yes. Of course. It was my RAIN HAT. The coat did not have a hood, but instead, came with a worthless little cap. 

Me in my rain get-up:

You might notice that I appear to be tipping my hat. This is because, if I did not hold the brim up, it simply laid flat against my face, successfully channeling any water that fell on my head straight down my nose and into my mouth. PERFECT! However, the coat kept me mostly dry and since it was more sprinkling than pouring, I set out for my hike. On my way out of town, I passed through a beautiful park:

The jungle hike almost didn't happen, because once I got out of town, I couldn't find the entrance to the path. Also, to be honest, I couldn't really find my way out of town.

NOT a jungle path:

Ahhh, that's more like it:

I finally found the start of the path and set out. Parts of the path were paved with brick, other parts had random bricks scattered around, and some parts were just mud.

The other side of the bridge looks particularly dark and foreboding in this picture:

The path I chose took me mostly along the river, crossing back and forth a couple times. The river was swollen from the rain, which made is less picturesque than it probably is otherwise:

Embankments with lots of roots are much easier to climb than just mud!! However, I kept being paranoid that one of the roots would turn out to be a SNAKE!!! This is what would happen in the movies; however, all the roots I stepped on were just roots. I checked each one before stepping on it.

Some of the bridges were very pretty:

Looking at the map, I planned to hike the few kilometers out to a forestry station, and then decide whether to take the same path back to town, or exit the forestry station via the access road and then walk along the road back to Tanah Rata.

At one point, I hiked through a very pretty section of pine trees:

Despite my paranoia about leeches, spiders, snakes, and possibly carnivorous plants, my hike was uneventful. The only animals I saw were birds, and I soon got used to scrambling up and down embankments in the rain.

I will be submitting this photo to the Oxford English Dictionary in case they need a picture to go with "lush".

After hiking and hiking (the distance was not far, but the trail went up and down and up and down as it zigzagged back and forth across the river), I reached... TROPICAL NARNIA??

Actually, it was just the exit from the trail to the forestry station. I decided to take the access road out and then walk back along the road to Tanah Rata. The access road was your run-of-the-mill dirt road, and then I crossed a footbridge into the small town of Taman Sedia.

I learned that the name of the town means, "The Garden Which Is Already There". According to local legend, when the founders came across this particular piece of land, it was already populated by such an abundance of birds and flowers that they gave it the current name. The actual folklore says that the garden was planted and tended by fairies. It is a remarkably peaceful and friendly little town - one of the first Malay settlements in the area, rather than towns founded by the colonial rulers. The road I walked down led through several small strawberry farms, and at each one, people called out "Hello!" or waved. Leaving Taman Sedia, I walked the short distance down the paved road to Tanah Rata and back to my guest house, where my name was duly erased from the white board of trekkers.

Though I planned to stay here longer, I went out to dinner last night with a group who convinced me to join them for some further travels, so I will be departing here tomorrow, but I would be quite surprised if I didn't return - I like it here. Today was an exciting day because I got ALL my laundry done! There is a laundry here which will wash, dry, and fold, and since the damp air meant that none of my hand washing was drying, I packed in all my clothes (save one shirt and a sarong) and got it all washed in their big industrial washers. Very exciting!

I have been thinking of Trevor and Kirsten a lot because tomorrow I go to... Georgetown! The city of Georgetown is the colonial capital of the island of Penang, and the second largest city in Malaysia. I have to say goodbye (again) to cool weather and brace myself for 85 - 90 degree temperatures - hopefully I fare better this time!!