Taman Negara...

Ok, very, very cool day! So Burnsey, Yee-man and I made it out of KL and headed up to the 4343kms of national park that is Taman Negara. It is gorgeous. In a lot of ways it's very similar to the scenery we saw in Laos and Cambodia except in Malaysia it is much more tropical, dense and humid.

Last night we decided that we were going to try and see some of the park’s wildlife by going on a night safari. We were told that we might see kancils, tapir, leopard cats and of course, scads of monkeys. So Kels gamely climbs onto the roof of the ute, right next to the guide (who she proceeds to natter to like the afor mentioned monkey) and we all keep our eyes peeled for what promises to be simply loads of animals. One spider, a robin and two unidentified (and co-incidentally TINY) birds later we came home, shame-faced with our safari hats ready to go back onto the shelf. Great way to spend $15!!

The next day we decided that we weren’t going to be anyone’s sucker again and decided to attempt the canopy walk amongst the tree tops without the aid of a guide. This of course was a RIPPER decision and I stand by it. We cruised around the rope canopy, 45m above the ground for ages. It was so rad! High on the back of that achievement we decided to trek up to the top of the hill we were on. So we eventually arrived back to the base of the mountain, knackered but happy.

A quick lunch and then out to visit a local nomadic tribe, the Batek. There we learnt how to start a fire in the bush and the blow a poisonous blow dart using a pipe. Yes, much in the manner of a jungle man from the Amazon… or arguably Malaysia. It was SO cool. If I thought I stood even Buckley’s chance of getting it through customs I’d have bought one myself.

Anyway, that’s quite enough dribble out of me. We’re heading up to Penang tomorrow. Made famous for being the birth place of the soon to be great Australian author Zac Alexander… other than that, it’s also the place where we catch the ferry to Medan, Indonesia.

Hope you’re all safe and well, keep in touch hey?
Simone xx