Jungle I

eremy barged into the room and announced “Alright, you guys! We’re leaving in 20 minutes!” Feeling the physical effects of the previous night’s excitement, I was a bit slow to react. By the time I got up, only 15 minutes were left. I scurried around the room as fast as my sore quads and calves would allow, and packed everything I needed for our 3-day jungle (Taman Negara National Park) excursion. After a 3-hour bumpy van ride (that the majority of us slept through for obvious reasons) and an awkward half-awake breakfast in a small town, we arrived at a station where wooden motor boats would take us on our 1.5 hour journey up the Tembeling River to our hostel. Based on the heat and humidity, I was thrilled that the boats were covered and the speed was high enough to deliver a very refreshing breeze. The first few minutes reminded me of swamp tours back in Louisiana. As we traveled deeper into the jungle the landscape began to change. The trees got taller and with more girth, the river got windier, and the green hills surrounding became taller. I eventually snapped out of the swamp tour nostalgia and remember that I was entering a jungle in Southeast Asia. The scene in American Gangster when Frank had to travel through the Vietnamese bush on boats to negotiate his initial bulk purchase of raw heroin popped into my head. “You don’t want to go there; they got mosquitoes the size of birds.”

Oh yeah, I forgot. I have a fear of bugs all animals similar to that of a five-year-old school-girl from a the city. I began thinking about the text message that Hanim sent me.

“Enjoy the giant leeches at our national park!!! To remove them, drop liquid steeped in tobacco. Buy a packet of cigarettes (not lights or mentholated). Remove the loosened tobacco into ziplock sandwich bags, pour a quarter cup or less water. Zip up and let steep. When you find leeches on your body, DO NOT pull them away! Instead, pinch some tobacco and squeeze fluid onto leeches, after a few minutes they will peel off. Blood from site will ooze for several minutes but will clot naturally.”

I was conflicted between excitement and anxiety about all of the wildlife that I would encounter.

After Dr. Heng took care of all our lodging arrangements we headed towards our hostel. Our path was partially blocked by a small snake with an orange and white pattern. It hadn’t even been 15 minutes and there was a snake where all of the humans hang out! I got a bit worried about when we would find beyond the concrete path. Our hostel had four bunk beds, a weak fan, and the little AC that couldn’t. We shared the restrooms with small bugs, but nothing I couldn’t handle. When I came outside, Jeremy and Adam were photographing a wild boar that had to be 3 ½ feet tall on all fours and around 400lbs. Before I got over my initial shock, Sarah was ready to go on a hike. By then, everyone knew how I preferred to view nature—through glass tanks or television screens.

I returned from the hike with a sense of confidence. Nothing really scared me. I swatted at bugs here and there, but nothing unexpected. In return I was able to enjoy the sight of giant bamboo that photos could do no justice. There were other amazing trees, exposed roots systems, and interesting plants—some familiar, others exotic.

Dinner was served on a floating restaurant across the river. Each trip across the small river cost RM1/per person (USS$0.33) the same price it is to get from my Villa to the Bangsar LRT station, a few kilometers away. The food was very tasty. I couldn’t get enough chicken satay and fried rice with those special high-heat woks.

We returned to the room to get settled and prepare for the next day. After a couple of hours of hanging out Schuyler yelled “TARANTULA!” I jumped off of the bottom bunk, flew to the opposite side of the room, dashed to the top bunk, and looked away. It was under Jeremy’s backpack. Jeremy and Adam went into military mode (while Schuyler and I cowered in fear) and grabbed shoes and flashlights. Jeremy cautiously moved the backpack and SLAM! “I think I got one of its legs, but he got away. Okay, here’s the deal. I’m going to move this wardrobe. Toussaint, make sure it doesn’t escape to the left. Don’t take your eyes off of this wall, from floor to ceiling. Schuyler: same thing, but on the left side. Adam, you hold the flashlight and keep looking under the bed.”

Jeremy moved the large piece of the furniture. Nothing turned up. It must have escaped through a hole or something. I was so glad that I didn’t actually see it. It wasn’t, in fact, a tarantula but everyone who laid eyes on it was visibility shaken up. Strangely enough I was able to have a good night’s sleep. I guess I was THAT exhausted. In addition, the most relaxing thunderstorm moved overhead. The rain pounded the tin roof of our cabin perfectly. The only problem that the rain presented was leeches for tomorrow’s hike