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Saz and Dave's travels
Chapter 1 - Trekking up Gunung Jasar
We woke up early this morning and prepared for our day of walking with a big hearty breakfast. After brekky, at 9am, we went to meet our guide, complete with uncomfortable, falling apart, handmade shoes and feelings of apprehension about the 8 hours of walking in front of us.
After we met up with our guide, Sunny, we set off on the walk we failed to find yesterday afternoon, and within 10 minutes, all three of us were ascending through the jungle path towards "the best birds eye view" of Tanah Rata
It was brilliant having a guide as he was constantly pointing out cool plants, vines strong enough to swing on as well as explaining how many dangerous animals could be found in the rainforest. Learning that we were sharing the area with boars, snakes, tigers and panthers was very reassuring, especially after learning how some guy, 38 years ago, just disappeared while walking his dog up a mountain, no bones have ever been found!
As we reached further into the jungle, the path began to get a lot steeper until it consisted of large steps made up by the roots of the surrounding trees. It was fairly amazing to watch Sunny hop up the path as if taking an evening stroll, while me and Saz were wheezing up the mountain, thankful that Sunny gave us the excuse of the thinner air at this altitude as opposed to us just being unfit!
Having climbed up the mountain for half an hour, the jungle suddenly cleared and revealed an awesome view of Tanah Rata and the surrounding valley. However Sunny quickly informed us that this wasn't the top and set off across a non-existent path, leaving us to think that we had definitely done the right thing hiring someone who knows the area. Ten minutes later, we were all looking across miles of the Cameron Highlands in complete awe, made all the better by the perfect blue sky. The sweat, exhaustion and blisters were definitely worth it just for the view.
We savoured the view for another quarter of an hour before starting the descent down the mountain and to the local tea plantation. On the way down, we were constantly encountering junctions with other paths and at one junction Sunny informed us that one wrong turn could easily result in getting lost in such dense forest that in order to get out, you would have a days walk in front of you to et to the nearest aborigine camp. Scary stuff when Sunny previously had told us that he has quite often got lost.
The walk down the mountain was very steep and slippy and seemed to take forever; however after 2 hours of hard trekking, we reached the edge of the jungle and a path that would take us past a small village and through acres of tea plantations. When we looked back into the jungle once on the path, the vegetation was so thick that we couldn't see any path at all.
After another hour of walking past the plantations, we reached a cafe serving the tea, however it was all a little over priced, so me, Sarah and Sunny waited around for a taxi to take us back to Tanah Rata so we could all have some lunch before attempting the second walk of the day.
Chapter 2 - Trekking up Gurung Berembun
After a quick lunch back at the hostel, me and Sarah wearily wandered back to the tourist information centre to meet back up with Sunny. On the way to meet up however, we both noticed that the clouds had begun to roll in and were looking very ominous, but when we met up with Sunny, he reassured us that we would be able to make it despite the weather and the time (by this time, it was 3pm and map reckoned that our walk would last 4 hours, and sun usually sets at around 5:30 around here, so we were already looking at some night time walking). So off we went to conquer the highest peak around Tanah Rata.
We had been walking around 30 minutes and just reached the start of the jungle path when the heavens opened. Luckily we had just passed a shed where we sheltered for 15 minutes until the rain eased off. At this point, mine and Sarah's enthusiasm was beginning to waiver, but ever the optimist, Sunny convinced us that it wouldn't be too dangerous as in the jungle there is plenty of cover by the canopy. So off we set back into the jungle and although the rain wasn't too bad, we still got soaked fairly quickly. At least we got to use our waterproofs.
The path this time was even steeper than the walk this morning, and a lot of the way was spent clambering up the roots of trees on hands and knees. Sunny clearly had no trouble with this, but we both required a fair few stops to catch our breath. Despite this, we powered to the top in 45 minutes, which we were very impressed by as Sunny's record was only 35 minutes, so not too bad.
At the top, I don't think I have ever felt so exhausted. I was so completely knackered that I even forgot to look at the view. Luckily, Saz caught it on her camera and it didn't look much cop as the clouds had gone so low.
As we were running a little late due to the rain earlier, we just about had time to neck a bottle of water before we set of down the easier route back to town. We made good progress down the mountain too and within 45 minutes had reached a large hut with seats and tables for overnight treks. Here Sunny told us all about the night treks and all the strange noises and sights you can experience as well as the three different noises that tigers can make. It all seemed a little eerie and Sarah really didn't fancy spending the night in the company of so many man eating animals, so I doubt we will be doing that any time soon.
Chapter 3 - Back Home
From the hut, it was a further 30 minutes walk out of the jungle and back into town. Having done all the exercise we had today, the walk through town felt endless and was one of the hardest parts. Eventually we reached the tourist office, thanked Sunny for all his guidance and said goodbye.
Back at the room, both freezing and completely worn out, Saz was devastated to find that our shower wasn't working properly and she would have to make do with a cold shower. Not particularly impressed with that, I used the communal shower and relaxed in the boiling water. I think Saz was a little jealous at that when I got back.
Before we both crashed out of exhaustion, we rushed back to the Indian restaurant we went to yesterday. We both enjoyed a delicious meal accompanied by one of the best strawberry shakes ever!
Chapter 4 - Bed Time
After tea, Saz was still feeling slightly chilled from the cold shower, so we both got cups of tea. I decided to go for a Massala tea as opposed to a cup of Tetley and it was awesome, it was like a normal cup of tea with cinnamon and stuff in it. Finished the evening off a treat, but sent me straight to sleep. I think we lasted about 5 minutes from getting into our room until we both passed out.
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