1 month in!

Well, Julie and I have been on quite an adventure! We left Cameron Highlands and made our way to Teman Negara, Malaysia's biggest and worlds oldest Rainforest. We signed up for a 3 day 2 night tour. Taking only our rain coats, change of t-shirt/shorts, water, sleeping bag/mat, dishes and bug spray we made our way into the jungle with our guide E (that's his name!) and 3 German guys, who have become our German Brothers. We took a 1.5 hour boat ride (in a perahu, or hollowed out tree trunk river boat) to our starting point.
As the perahu negotiated the murky waters of the Tembeling River, The jungle towered over me on either side and I found my self nervous and excited.

The first thing our guide said to us when we step off the boat and start into the jungle was "So, you're not too worried about leeches?"...all of us just stared down at our bare legs and low socks. I immediately changed out of my shorts and into pants...the others took the risk. Within seconds, we were all ripping the leeches off of our shoes. They were much smaller than I expected, but when they latched on...they weren't coming off without a fight. For the next 2 days, we were all on leech patrol. Julie lost the leech battle...Julie vs. Leeches: Julie 0 - Leeches 8.
The jungle hike was amazing. Sounds of birds, insects, monkeys...trekking through mud, over fallen trees, through creeks and flooded paths, in extreme heat. The thick forest canopy provided heavy shade for the lower vegetation, and protected us from the sun. The trekking wasn't too difficult, although at times I was completely out of breath. We trekked 8KM the first day, and made it to our sleeping destination...a Cave! The cave was unbelievable. It was 2-3 stories high and was so big with different sections, like rooms. We were guests to dozens of bats and rats. We ate dinner by a huge fire and told stories and played two truths and a lie to get to know our German brothers and our guide. I slept surprisingly well that night, although I made sure I was in the middle of the pack! Julie and I were desperately hoping to be woken up by elephants also hoping to sleep in the cave, but no such luck. We admired their footprints from previous nights in the morning and then continued on our way. We trekked another 8 KM on day two, very similar to the previous day...maybe hotter, if that was possible. We were disgusting, no point even bringing a change of clothing. For lunch, we stopped at a river, and had a beautiful swim. I was a nervous wreck the whole time. The water was too murky to see anything and I was sure a snake or something just as terrifying was swimming around my ankles, although E assured me everything was safe. Although we didn't see any large animals as we were hoping too, we could see evidence of their presence. We crossed many footprints and fresh poo. The jungle was so thick, that I couldn't help but feel they were all there, watching us...we just couldn't see them!
It started thundering later that afternoon, but luckily the rain held off until we were out of the jungle and back in the boat...because with rain brings more leeches! As the rain came down, I could only feel complete satisfaction looking into the jungle as we held on through the rapids of the river...The jungle seemed to tell me that it was hiding more secrets than we could discover in a lifetime.
It was wonderful!

The second night of our tour wasn't as exciting. We were supposed to sleep in a village with native Orangi villagers, but when we arrived, we realized that we weren't really going to have a night 'with' the villagers...more like 'alongside' the villagers. Our hut was off on it's own, we made our own dinner, and felt very awkward to be there. We all agreed that we weren't comfortable staying, so our guide took us back to the town, unfortunately Julie and I ended up staying at a hostel with no running water. We were so stinky and gross, but exhausted so went to bed hoping the water would be fixed by morning. Nope! So instead of a traditional shower, we threw on our bathing suites, filled a bucket of water with a water hose, and bathed each other. Hilarious!

Our last day in Teman Negara, we ventured on a canopy walk through the jungle. At first I was terrified as I moved warily along the walkway, holding on to the ropes for dear life. It seemed every time I looked down that the height of the walkway was much more than the proclaimed 90 feet above ground. It felt incredible to be so high up in the rainforest canopy, with the tops of the world’s tallest rainforest trees, tualangs, still towering another 100 feet above me.

After our Jungle excursion, we travelled with our German brothers to Jeruntut, where we were catching a 2:30 am train to Kulahn, and then making our way to Palau Tioman island. We arrived in Jeruntut at 4:30pm and with 10 hours to kill, I thought we were doomed for a long and boring night...but i was proved wrong! We had great night of KFC (the only thing open for dinner!), Many beer, A Dice drinking game played on a bench on the side of the road, and a Karyoke Dance Party for 2 hours that left us running for our train! Julie and I were quite a mess getting off the train, but eventually made our way to Palau Tioman.

We took a 2 hour ferry across the North China Sea to the island, and i can honestly say I've never seen water so beautiful and clear. We spent the next 3 days enjoying beautiful weather on the beach, swimming alongside fish in 30 degree water (like a bath!), and eating fresh BBQ'd fish for dinners. Julie went diving one morning and saw Dolphins from the boat (so jealous!) and sea turtles in the water!!

We are currently in Singapore, and loving it. Although it is pretty expensive, similar to home, it is so beautiful. I can't wait to come back here one day with a few extra dollars in my pocket! We just enjoyed a Romantic meal at the Boat Quay, overlooking the water sipping Singapore Slings. I am in heaven...enjoying every second of my trip! I'll write again soon! I hope everyone is doing well, please email me with updates! Miss you all! -muah