Our Taman Negara Road Trip

Continued from page 3

Park Lodge is beautiful, but too far from the river and action---not that there's plenty of action at the river, but it would have been nice to see boats racing along the river once in a while. Park Lodge is perfect if you want privacy. The surrounding is clean and serene, the hosts are friendly---including the mosquitoes, and hot beverages are free, 24 hours a day.

After a nice cool shower, we walked into the dusking day to the awaiting jeep. Dropping us back to the pick-up point, the driver returned to Park Lodge. We trailed through dried mud tracks, passing a children's school. Then we jigged down on wooden planks placed on mud steps, treaded on uneven ground along the river bank, and lolloped down it. Lastly, we balanced on the unsteady plank that bridged Kuala Tahan Village to Wan Floating Restaurant. Dinner was well worth the adventurous hike.

At the restaurant, we met Angie for the second time, after at Hotel Sri Emas in Jerantut Town. Together, we climbed into the river taxi and crossed the Tembeling River to the Taman Negara Park. We were welcomed by a video show, in the auditorium of The Mutiara Taman Negara Resort.

After the video presentation, we began our night jungle walk. Before even leaving The Mutiara Taman Negara Resort compound, we witnessed a mouse deer searching for food, a peacock wandering the grounds unperturbed by the presence of humans, and some slithering snakes hastily avoiding us.

Deeper in the jungle, we saw all sort of nocturnal creatures, including a family of Samba Deer. Even though there are wild tigers roaming about in the Taman Negara jungle, it is very hard to spot them; they almost always shy away from humans.

Continue to page 5 >>

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