Taman Negara, Part 2: Bumbun Kumbang and the Abandoned Village
The main event of our Taman Negara jungle trip was a two-day hike to 'Bumbun Kumbang', a hide (stilted house) in the middle of the jungle from which you can watch and listen to wildlife. We trekked with two other travellers we'd just met, Colin and Joey (Seattle and England), which I loved because they provided novel company and lots of cookies.
The trek was challenging, not because of the trail but because of the heat and humidity. 12 clicks took almost 5 hours of hiking time plus food/water stops. However, we were rewarded at the hide when a tapir came to the watering hole just after dark and we were able to watch and listen to him slurping until we went to bed.
Em and I also slipped in a quick hike to the nearby village of Kuala Trenggan to check out a lodge supposedly rampaged by an elephant.
Lonely Planet got that one wrong though - the chalets were indeed torn apart, but by termites rather than an enraged elephant. We got this tidbit from a guy who docked his riverboat at the jetty (just as I was inconveniently having a pee on his beach), and sat chatting with us for a while and offered us coffee. When he left, Em and I jumped in the warm, silty river for a terrific skinny-dip and decided our side-trip had been well worth it.
In the hide the next morning I woke up before dawn and listened as the insect noises gave way to bird noises and then gibbons. I love being in the middle of uninhabited places, especially in the near-dark, being a quiet observer. Reminds me of planting, South America, and the cottage. We hiked out quitely that morning, stopping to look at beautiful insects and to listen to more birds and gibbons. It felt amazing to be in one of the oldest forests in the world, untouched by human or geological forces in over 135 million years.
-the nature-inspired side of Alyssa.
The trek was challenging, not because of the trail but because of the heat and humidity. 12 clicks took almost 5 hours of hiking time plus food/water stops. However, we were rewarded at the hide when a tapir came to the watering hole just after dark and we were able to watch and listen to him slurping until we went to bed.
Em and I also slipped in a quick hike to the nearby village of Kuala Trenggan to check out a lodge supposedly rampaged by an elephant.
Lonely Planet got that one wrong though - the chalets were indeed torn apart, but by termites rather than an enraged elephant. We got this tidbit from a guy who docked his riverboat at the jetty (just as I was inconveniently having a pee on his beach), and sat chatting with us for a while and offered us coffee. When he left, Em and I jumped in the warm, silty river for a terrific skinny-dip and decided our side-trip had been well worth it.
In the hide the next morning I woke up before dawn and listened as the insect noises gave way to bird noises and then gibbons. I love being in the middle of uninhabited places, especially in the near-dark, being a quiet observer. Reminds me of planting, South America, and the cottage. We hiked out quitely that morning, stopping to look at beautiful insects and to listen to more birds and gibbons. It felt amazing to be in one of the oldest forests in the world, untouched by human or geological forces in over 135 million years.
-the nature-inspired side of Alyssa.
posted by alyss at 10:29 PM
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