AS you travel plans come plans go, some work out and some don't. I am finding that the most enjoyable way of traveling is to leave the planning and decision making to as late as possible so there is less time to worry about the decision your making and fretting about the other options. This also gives time to relax and talk to people
like Bob. I am pretty sure he is a Vietnam veteran that kind of got stuck in Asia and has thus spent the last 40 years working and the roaming around the region. So much so that almost all his ties with Australia are gone and due to the meager pension that he is given, considers himself an economic refugee, as Australia is no longer affordable for him. These type of travelers are invariably more interesting than your standard backpacker who often obsess about malarial treatment and whether an island is worth going to. But back to the story.
So, I managed to drag my self out of bed at 5:30 to catch the Jungle train which runs from near Kota Bahru in the north west to Gemas in the centre, however I got off at Jerantut which is about 2/3 of the way. I had spoken to the hostel manager the night before and she assured me that there would be a taxi ready for me in the morning. The taxi turned out to be the managers husband in his own rather dated car driving us to the train station, pocketing 10 riggit per person on the side. All cash in hand and no receipt. My guess is that this taxi service is a quick easy way of earning undeclared income on the side. But that is really irrelevant cause the price was reasonable and I got to the train station on time.
The train trip itself was uneventful but very nice. Traveling a varying speeds through Jungle mountain passing villages, cities and rivers make for a very entertaining ride. What can make the trip more thrilling is to hang out of the side of the train while it is moving because the train is getting old, so some of the main doors do not close, so you are free allowing you to fall off with no effort if you so desire. Of course you have to be careful if you don't want to be hit in the head with a stray branch. So I only dared a few small peeks before retreating back inside and settling back into my chair. This whole trip, over 8hours long, goes by reasonably quickly and I arrived in Jerantut at around three in the afternoon where I managed to arrange a bus trip to Taman Negara (Literally 'National Park')that evening. Taman Negara is touted as a 'must see' item and so most tourists go there. There are a lot of tours operators that cater for this offering inclusive tours all entering from the one local village (kampung), Kuala Tahan that feels more like a resort than a village. One recommendation I would make is not to buy a full package tour when you go there. Book the transport as you can book all the extras, as well as walk around for free once your are there for the same prices as the inclusive tours.
On arrival after settling in and booking a night walk, I met a polish girl called Gosia who was looking for someone to accompany her on a walk to one of the hides for an overnight stay. She had tried to go that day but has stopped in her track by a two metre long snake standing up at her (not a common sight even here). As always trying to get away from the pack I agreed. However after putting the plans in motion and waking up early the next morning after a good night sleep,there was a sudden change of plans. Gosia had changed her plan after a late night conversation a decided to go on a overnight tour with a local guide. With nothing better to do I decided to join her, requiring a repacking all my things, adding food and water, in ten minutes. The tour guide, Man, turned out to be fantastic and had been doing tours in the Jungle for twelve, during which he tells you about all the aphrodisiacs in the jungle, his sexual prowess and his unpublishable history. In addition he knows a lot about the flora of the jungle and cooks the best bush meal I have ever had. The walk is through fairly dense Jungle that is estimated at 140 million years old, Your shoes will get wet and dirty as the whole jungle is fairly moist and your are continually crossing small creek as you make your way through the Jungle.
At the end of a long day you a refreshingly greeted by the cave that we stayed the
night in. More of a cavern than a cave, it provide a perfect refuge after a long days walks. It was a stunning conclusion to a day of trudging through walk mud and jungle. I don't think my shoes will ever be clean again. As the night wore on and I was waiting for people to go to sleep so that I could record the Jungle sounds, I sat at the entrance to the cave in the dark watching the fireflies fly around. Initially I thought I was seeing things that weren't there, but after bringing additional people who could also see them I was reassured that it was indeed fireflies.
A beautiful and amazing sight that it kept me occupied for more than an a hour. The jungle is full of amazing creepy crawlies if you give yourself time to see them.The next day we walked out, leaving some of the others who would stay in the jungle another night.It was a good idea too, as after a nice sunshine filled trip back down there river a large amount of rain fell over the Jungle making another day's walk very unpleasant. After arriving back at Kuala Tahan I headed out of the jungle to Jerantut with the hope of catching a train to Gua Musang that night so I could get a local bus to the Cameron highlands rather than taking the expensive tour organised mini bus. However when we got to the train station at midnight to buy a ticket for
2am, the train was booked out and my plans were in disarray. so after much deliberation with a fellow traveller I had dragged along with me, we decided that the only way to get there with speed would be to capitulate and take the mini bus like everyone else. This was good thing too, as I found out later the highway from Gua Masang to Ipoh, while it has been completed, has not been gazetted and so there is no insurance coverage. This is turn means that there are no normal buses traveling that route, hence the need for the mini bus.
Arriving in the Cameron highlands is very interesting and a very different place from the rest of Malaysia. The area has an altitude of around 1500 metres and thus the air is much cooler than in the rest of Malaysia.
The Cameron highlands are also the agricultural centre of the Malaysian peninsula and apparently supply 60% of Singapore's vegetables. The place is full of old beaten up Jeeps, that have a special registration which only allows them to drive the in the Cameron highlands as they are deemed unsafe to be driving on the main roads. As you drive through the mountains along winding roads you pass all the villages and farms which grow almost every vegetable you can think of. Strangely enough due to the tea plantations in teh area, tea and scones are a local speciality for a very expensive, 12riggit for two scones; a standard meal costs around 4ringgit. While the place is beautiful in interesting, the other side of the cameron highlands is that it a huge tourist destination for locals and foreigners alike. This gives the main accommodation centre Tanah Rata a contrived feeling, which hasn't sat well with me. So while the area is beautiful it hasn't been the happiest of places for me. 
I spent one day walking through town and another day taking another Jungle trek with another character Uncle Kele. Like Man he knows a lot about the local flora and takes you on Jungle trails that you would never find yourself. Parts even more difficult to traverse than Taman negara. At the end you reach a nice little waterfall where I snuck up to a secluded pool and jumped in the freezing water for a very quick skinny dip.
Upon return to the hostel and the tourist, I feel I need to get away from the scene were afternoons are spent watching American movies and eating of burgers and chips. So I went into town an had a dinner at a local food stall. After listening to a conversation between three Indian locals, who work in the tourist industry, I struck up a conversation with a local, Morgan. We spent a while talking about living in Malaysia and how he himself had abandoned the quest for wealth and power and was content having a simple life as a freelance tour guide. In fact all the Malay people that I have spoken to seem very happy with there lives and things generally seem to be pretty good here for the people.
On parting he said he knew a local ambulance officer that might have a spare room to stay in, as I had indicated that I wanted to get out of the tourist trap. I was happy about this offer and started planning a complicated set of movements to make the most of this opportunity. This however all fell apart and the ambulance officer had to leave town and I ended up spending the next night at a homestay in a small village just north of Tanah Rata. While it was peaceful and quiet it wasn't quite the experience I was looking for and it cost a lot of money.
I did occupy that day by traveling to the Sungai Palace tea estate. While I was intending to catch a bus, I managed to hitch a lift with a local up the main road to the turn off. From there is was about a one hour walk through the mountains to the to the tea estate, which is very picturesque.
At the tea estate there is a visitors centre with some information and you can also walk through the factory, which is a surprisingly small and simple affair. But the best part is drinking a nice cup of tea overlooking the tea estate, with a fresh cool breeze blowing. The tea estate also has a communal type feel as all the worker lives with there families on the estate and there is even a school and a Hindu temple.The ride home took ages as the bus runs once and hour and I had just missed the bus, then went for a meal and managed to miss the next bus and ended up waiting an hour at the bus station. But I arrived home safely after 3 hours and spent the night reading and listening to the family do their prayers for the day.
Sometimes things just don't fall your way and sometimes they do. Traveling and life
is just like that. With Chinese new year on it way and with nothing planned, I am guessing that I will run into a few more issues in the next few days. But I expect that a solution to each problem will arrive at the time, so I try not to worry to much! Oh! Here is a 15cm long millipede we saw on the hike!
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