Monday morning we had to get up bright and early to take our first bus to a city called Jerantut. From there, another bus would take us to the outskirts of the park where we would have to board a boat and travel by longboat canoe for three hours until we reached the town of Kuala Tahan, the jumping off point to actually enter Taman Negara National Park. The trip would take all day and Sean and I were prepared with snacks and plenty of things to do. For much of the trip I looked out the window or napped but I have never been more glad to have a Nook which also entertained me for a lot of the journey.
Lonely Planet describes Taman Negara as “a buzzing leech-infested mass of primary forest over 130 million years old.” It also advised avoiding the wet season and after heavy rains. Unfortunately, we were there in the peak of wet season and stepped off the boat when it was raining heavily. Taman Negara is huge and contains a lot of big animals like tigers (about 200) and elephants (about 600). However, they are very hard to see and most groups just end up seeing footprints. But there are lots of other smaller animals, plants and insects that are common to see so we hoped for the best.
When we arrived at the jetty before boarding the boat, we had to purchase a park pass (30 cents each) and pay for a license for each camera we were going to use ($2/camera). They also advised always wearing long pants and sleeves, bringing very strong insect repellent, packing rain gear and bringing your own headlamps and flashlights. Then we boarded the boat and enjoyed a leisurely ride up river in a long, covered, motorized canoe. During the trip we saw monkeys, water buffalo and plenty of hornbills and kingfishers.
Two advantages of touring during the wet season are the lack of people and the lower prices. Rooms were cut almost in half and the prices of all of the tours and activities were lower as well. We found a really nice place for only about $13/night and we were the only people there. After checking in, we headed back down to the river. Along the shore there were many floating restaurants and tour agencies if you wanted to sign up for a guide. We had some dinner, watched an informational video about the park and signed up for a night safari in the back of a four-wheeled-drive jeep.
The night safari was a lot of fun. Six of us sat in the back of a truck while one guide drove and another sat on the top of the car with a huge spotlight which he used to spot animals. We drove around in the jungle for two hours and saw a small leopard cat, some snakes and plenty of insects. Being in the jungle at night was awesome though kind of spooky and images of Jurassic Park and Anaconda kept coming to mind. The huge palm trees which framed each side of the two-track road were some of the largest I have ever seen and the stars were amazingly bright. After climbing out of the truck, it had been a long day and I was happy to climb into my mosquito net at night. ($7 brunch en route, $3 park fees, $13 room, $8 dinner, $20 night safari) Total = $51 (all prices include 2 people)
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