Malaysia's Nature Exploration:Taman Negara (1)

Taman Negara is reputed to be The Oldest Jungle,The Best Kept Tropical Rainforest & The Great Natural Wonders of the World. It was declared for conservation in 1938 and has become Malaysia's premier and the largest national park which is covering over 4343 square kilometres of primary forest, spans across 3 states Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. It is situated in the centre of the Peninsula Malaysia.

- www.taman-negara.com-

3 May 2007


We gathered in Kranji Mrt of Singapore at 4pm and took the bus 170 to cross over the JB-Woodland bridge Custom and reached the southern part of Peninsula Malaysia. We departed from Johore Bahru KTM station at 7pm and aheaded to the Jerantut Town, Pahang, the centre of Peninsula Malaysia. The train journey took about 7 hours to reach Jerantut Town. It was my first time to sit and sleep in the KTM ( KeretapiTanahMelayu)(
http://www.ktmb.com.my/), the only one and the main train in Malaysia. About 30 of us filled up half of the Superior Night cabinet which provided us a comfortable bed and nice , small private cubicle to rest / sleep.


I couldn't sleep , perhaps it was my first ride of KTM. Perhaps I were too excited about the Nature Adventure Trip. All of us were chatting , playing cards, snapshotting for each other, in the cabinet for the whole night until we tired. When most of them were resting in thier own cubible in the midnight, I was exploring the KTM train myself. I walked from our cabinet (we are in the first cabinet), passed through every cabinet and reached the end of the train , which is the cafeteria and economic class. I saw many backpackers who were having similar cubicle like us. I wonder where will they go ....It was a great experience that so many travelers with different destinations were gathered in the connected cabinets and travelled together...
Tips:
To enter Taman Negara , you have to book through this agent / website with eco tourist package. http://www.cuti.com.my/ or http://www.tahan.com.my/

Taman Negara is one of oldest jungle in the world. Hence it needs well-protection for the fauna & flora. Every Tourist need to pay RM5 /set of camera and also RM5 for the entrance permit.

Malaysia's Nature Exploration: Entrance of the Oldest Jungle (2)

4 May 2007

Around 2am, finally we reached Jerantut KTM station. The Cuti-cuti MAlaysia HAN travel agent were waiting us at the station and fetched us to a temporary guesthouse for wash-up and rest. 5 hours later, we departed to the Jerantut Jetty and aheaded to the Kuala Tahan by a long, narrow, "special boat". It was another 2 hours boat journey.

All of us were so excited to take the ride of the boat. . We saw buffalos sunbathing ; the aborigines children were happily swimming ; some aborigines were fishing ....

The beauty of the natural scenery along the river raised our excitement.

11am, we started to see some floating houses. Yes!Finally we reached the centre of the Taman Negara. We were served by simple buffet lunch but it was delicious!! Everyone were so hungry after a long trip from Johore Bahru to Taman Negara ! haha ...

After the lunch, we were brought to Mutiara Resort , where we would spent 2 nights here. I stayed in a 8 pax double-decker dormitory. I chose the upper deck because I would like to experience the "climping-up" process which i had never try before. haha ...

Malaysia's Nature Exploration : The Stays in the Jungle(3)

Mutiara Resort
~ Where we stayed for 2 nights with the "Residents of the Jungle " !
The Patrol Team : Mr. Wild Boar
The Entertainment Team : Mr. Monkey
The Scary Team : Mr. Big Lizard

Malaysia's Nature Exploration : Ear Cave (4)

4 May 2007
The Ear Cave is just located few kilometres from Mutiara Resort. After check-in to the Mutiara Resort, we had been told by the guide to change cloths for our first activity which was Ear Cave Exploration. But We were never been told that we should wear the old or unused cloths for this activities. After the Ear Cave trip, our cloths and body were covered by wet and smelly "bat defecation ". We were busy washing our cloths in the resort after the exploration. I would not forget that, I had to throw away my lovely new cap after several time of washing as the heavy smell still can't be washed off. But, it was definitely a great & fun experience !

As the name stated, 'Ear Cave' ( Gua Telinga ) , it is one of the limestome caves which has a human-ear-like rock formation cave. Hence, it has many narrow and curve passages like inner-ear structure. The guide gave us these warnings before we entered the cave !
WARNING :
1. Never enter a cave alone.
2. Always carry a spare Torchlight but not head light.
3. Never shout in the cave! If not, the bats will ' shout' to you!
4. Over-sized visitors is NOT advisable to enter Gua Telinga as you may get stuck inside!!!

Malaysia's Nature Exploration : Closer to the Canopy! (5)

4 May 2009

After the Ear Cave Exploration, our first night activities was Night Jungle Trekking.
Since it was too dark, actually we can't see much flora and fauna by ourselves. We depended on the experienced guide who showed us where are the snakes, precious insects and creatures , as well as the natural 'Dark Grow 'mushrooms ! I think I will only watch this precious natural fluorescent mushroom species once in my life time!

5 May 2009

After taking the breakfast, we were going to visit the world's longest 500 metres 'Canopy Walk' which was strung up to 40 metres high above the forest floor. The department of Wildlife & National Parks is taking good care of the health of the natural canopy as well as visitors . No nails have been driven into the trees and the trees are well-protected with the wooden spacers.

There are rules & regulations for the Canopy Walkway to ensure the safety of visitors.
1. Visitors are advised to be at least 5 metres awat from each other on the walkway.
2. Only 4 persons are allowed to stand on each bridge at a time.
3. No running or swaying on the bridge.
4. No Smoking, food or drinking on the canopy walkway.
5. No longer period stop on the canopy walkway.
6. No noise in jungle! Keep it Peace !





We were then proceed to the Teresek Hill after filling-up the energy with the buffet lunch. Teresek Hill ( Bukit Teresek ) is good for Hill-top views. It is only 4.5km length to reach the top , but it tooks us about 2-3 hours . The first part of jungle trail is flat , but it will become steeper and steeper when reaching the top. While we were climbing the hill, our guide was showing us the special species of the trees and the tallest tree in the world , Tualang Tree! He also demostrated to us how the aborigines climb up the the tree-top !

If you're lucky enough and climbing the hill at the right time, you may able to see Mouse Deer or Tiger or Squirrels or white-handed Gibbons etc...But we were not lucky enough in that trip!

At the top of the Teresek Hill, we will able to see the peak of Tahan Mountain ( Gunung Tahan, 2186M) which is the highest in Penisular Malaysia. We were fortunate to see the peak as it is only visible from the Teresek Hill on clear days!

Malaysia's Nature Exploration : The Basis of Living (6)

5 May 2007
It was my first time to visit Arborigines Settlement in Taman Negara as well as Malaysia. The Aborigines troupes who continue to live a nomadic, hunting - gathering lifestyle has became lesser and lesser. The aborigines troupe whom we visited is called Batek. They have dark-skinned and curly hair.
The kids are so cute and they are very happy when seeing us!
They are gentle race of people and willing to share their intimate knowledge of the rain forest and also their beliefs and customs in that jungle. They demostrated to us how to use the blowpipe for hunting and also the most simple traditional way of setting up of fire with branches and dry grass.
We were so amazed that they able to set up the fire within few minutes. We had been tried to use the same way like them , to rub fast and push down hard at all the time. But within few seconds, we surrendered as our hands almost get burned due to the friction & heat before the grass has been burnt ! hahaha !

After that ,we had tried the Rapid Shooting under the guidance of skillful boatman and we had fun ! Since we were wet , we were swimming in the Tembeling river to experience the strong current before we went back to the resort ! It was the highlight ! ( Must Try )

Malaysia's Nature Exploration : Back to the Nature (7)

6 May 2007
Lata Berkoh ~
It is a protected place by government and is not included in the package. You have to arrange the special boat which is only can carry 4 person per trip and it costs RM100 per boat. It is famous of spectabular cascade. It is very comfortable to hear the water current and nature sounds and shady trees.


It has many rocky area. The boat can't bring us to the cascade and it has to stop about 500M below the cascade. There is an easy walking path leads along the river bank and reach the cascade area. If you dare to swim , you can swim there , but hazardours for swimmers as it has strong under-current and very cold water.

When we were walking towards Lata Berkoh, the Orang Asli boatman who accompanied us was collecting the rubbish along the pathway. I was so touched by their awareness of protecting the Nature and Keeping it Clean always. Although it is not a developed or modern city, it does not have any good facilities and entertainment in the jungle, the people are very enjoying the peaceful environment where is their lovely Home!
Tips:
If you're in the right season , you'll able to meet elephants bathing in the river along the way to Lata Berkoh!