At the far northeast of Malaysia, close to the Thai border, my watch gives 6h AM. The sky is still dark when I get on the jungle train. A scenic railway which goes through and gives life to the interior of the country. A handful of villages and farms are the meagre signs of the human presence in the middle of the dense vegetation which borders the route. In the beginning of the afternoon, I get off the train in the village of Jerantut before catching a bus heading for the Taman Negara national park. A genuine jungle, older than the Amazon or the forests of the Congo, which shows an age of 130 millions years. It withstood the successive deluges, geological variations, volcanic activities and for a long time I hope the human appetite for deforestation.
A number of marked-out trails go into the forest. One of them leads to a series of swinging bridges above the canopy. Another one goes alongside the river in the middle of the inextricable vegetation. A range of plants occupy the low layers of the jungle while long trees point at the sky to catch the sun rays. En route, a myriad of insects creep on the ground. more-than-2-centimeter-long titanic ants frenetically walk on the scenic trail. My foot hesitates when it meets a 15-centimeter-long scorpion. But my most appalling encounter will happen when I will lift my tee-shirt noting a dozen of leeches kindly invited themselves on my belly and my legs. It's not painful but they remain hanged until trebling or quadrupling their volume, force-feeding themselves with blood. To make easier their pumping work, they inject an anticoagulant which puts off the healing of the injury. I will wait for several hours before seeing my tiny wounds close up. Jungle hazards.
The next day, I leave the jungle by boat for a relaxing ride on one of the river muddy waters of the park. Back to the civilized world.
Keyword - boat trip -
Monday 15 September 2008
the leeches of the oldest jungle in the world
By dorian on Monday 15 September 2008, 17:24 - RTW2-Malaysia
Saturday 23 August 2008
3 pearls in the Indian ocean
By dorian on Saturday 23 August 2008, 19:55 - RTW2-Indonesia
3 jewels in a turquoise setting, a well-deserved term to describe Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno et Gili Air. But we almost never set foot on this shangri-la. Although there is an express shuttle between Bali and the biggest of the 3 islands – Gili Trawangan –, we opted for the cheap solution taking the ferry. And to complicate things, we all handle by ourselves: ferry from Padang Bay, chaotic arrival in the Mafia-like harbour of Lembar where arranging a road transport to the Bengsal pier – starting point towards the Gili islands – will go with a great dose of irritation. The deserved arrival in Bengsal nearly sounds the end of the expedition; only 45 minutes left by boat and we finally land in Trawangan. But trouble is not finished yet. To end this unpleasant day, we spend one hour looking for an accommodation to finally find a room 3 times more expensive than in Bali for a lower quality. Can't wait for tomorrow to forget all of that!
The night erases the yesterday inconvenience, we realize the magic of this island. A greenery disc wholly encircled by a blond-sand ring. And an ever-more-incredible wealth hides a few meters away from the shore: an unforgettable coral reef.
We spend the main part of the day underwater. Only equipped with a mask and a snorkel, we let ourselves drift by the current. And each dive displays its share of miraculous visual catches. Although we change island or country, the colourful inhabitants of the Indian Ocean carry on their captivating submarine waltz. But today, an heroine outshines the other reef dwellers. The green turtle robs the limelight from the unicorn- and butterfly-fish. It bestows a constant show. We follow each turtle which flies in the expanse of water. A slow and mind-blowing dance. Swimming beyond the time for some terrestrial mammals who appreciate the joys of another element. Our companion flies away into the blurred blue of the ocean depths. Our memory extends this smooth and slow flight.
Gili is one of the numerous Indonesian jewels, because Indonesia is packed with islands watered by turquoise water and stuffed with fantastic creatures. So many paradises for neophyte or advanced divers. As for me, I fill in my schedule for some future underwater odysseys.
Tuesday 5 August 2008
With the great white sharks...
By dorian on Tuesday 5 August 2008, 21:51 - RTW2-South Africa
The oppressive atmosphere of « Jaws » floats overhead. The outing of the day takes us to the discovery of the great white sharks. In spite of the ultra-touristy side and the sensation to be squeezed in a cage to make the excursion profitable at most, the meeting with a great white shark remains unique and crystallizes a pleiad of feelings: from the nervousness to the fright, from the awe to the admiration. Powerful jaws, several raws of triangle-shaped teeth, a highly-developed sense of smell to pinpoint some micro-drops of blood within several cubic meters of water. Although it's a terrible predator, the danger it represents for man was stigmatized in a really too deep way. The danger indeed exists, but the number of deaths due to the attack of great white sharks doesn't outnumber the 10 people each year – we are far from the hundreds of people which are electrocuted each year with a toaster that doesn't work well.
the trip is running smoothly. Briefing of the participants on the lawn of the center then we go by boat to the diving area. The crew bustles about rigging up the cage to the hull of the boat. Last safety instructions and the first batch of divers slip in the cage. The main instruction is simple not to say childishly logical: do not put the hands or the feet out of cage and this on no account. It smells tuna at the back of the boat... A member of the crew jettisons a head of a fish hooked on a rope and the first creature arrives – the “Jaws” soundtrack carries on its disjointed melody as a musical background. A peaceful and massive swimming before leaping out of the water to seize the bait. A ligthning attack. The half-open mouth lets sparkle its perfect dentition. The divers are in an ideal position. I fidget on the deck. That's my turn. I slip on the weight belt and get in the cage. Insistent music still goes through my mind. From a small corner of the cage I am, the instant is grandiose. Several sharks swim in front of us and prowl around the bait. Another one attacks the foam-rubber protection of the cage.
Each diver will go two times in the cage before the boat makes a detour towards a colony of seals laying down on a small island. A favourite food for the great white sharks. We leave this place to go back to the pier and step again on our so- welcoming earth.
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