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May 26, 2005
Jungle Walk No. 7
"So have you seen any pitcher plants on your treks?" asked Yvonne. It was my last day here, and I was trying to plan the day's activities.
"Pitcher plants? No, I haven't seen any."
"Some of our guests have reported seeing some. You didn't notice any on Jungle Walk No. 1? The one you did your first day here?"
"I was too busy avoiding mud to pay attention to anything else." The possibility of seeing pitcher plants intrigued me, but I didn't want to do the same trek over again. "What other trails might I see them on?"
We studied the trail map, looking for onenot too difficult, yet taking me deep enough into the jungle that I might find my prize.
"You could try Jungle Walk No. 7," she suggested.
I quickly changed into my boots and some long pants.
"I'll see you in a few hours!" I waved.
The trail head is actually located within Mardi, an agricultural center. At the gate, I told the guard I was here to do some trekking, and he let me pass without collecting any admission fees. Despite being given detailed directions by Yvonne, I had some trouble finding the jungle walk. This doesn't look right... and neither does this...
As I stood there pondering my options, I heard hissing noises by my feet. I bent down to see what it was... a snake! Separated by only six inches, I'm not sure who was more alarmed, me or him. He feigned strikes at my boots, warning me to back off. I obliged. It was only a small snake, but it looked like it might be poisonous.
We stared at each other for a few minutes. Finally, it got tired of my company and slithered away through the grass. I retraced my steps, positive the trail started somewhere else. I met a couple other travellers coming up the road.
"Hi, are you guys here to do some trekking?" I asked.
"No, sorry."
"Oh, well do you know where Jungle Walk No. 7 begins?"
"Yeah. Just keep going back that way. It'll be on your left. There's a big sign, you can't miss it."
They were right. The entrance was so well marked, I wondered how I missed it the first time.
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The first few hundred meters of the path was overgrown and difficult to navigate. But it widened eventually. It led to the top of Gunung Berembun, but I told myself I didn't need to go all the way. I'd turn around as soon as I saw some pitcher plants. I heard movement in the trees, and saw a family of monkeys. They must've seen me too, and scampered off deeper into the forest. I went at a slow pace, making frequent stops, and keeping my eyes peeled the whole way.
Unfortunately, this isn't National Geographic, where if they went on a search for a rare white elephant, they'd probably find it. I'm just a regular guy, 24 years old with a degree in computer science, not conservation. I saw plenty of other interesting plants, but in my search for the carnivorous type, I came up empty.
"I didn't see any," I announced when I had gotten back to my guesthouse.
"That's too bad. I think there's a problem with tourists plucking them and trying to take them home as souvenirs," said James. "They really shouldn't do that."
"I suppose. I did see some monkeys though."
"Really? What color were they?"
"Not too sure, I didn't get a great look at them, they sort of ran away as soon as they saw me."
"You're really lucky to have seen wildlife. Most people don't see any."
"Oh, and I also saw a snake." I showed them the picture on my camera's LCD.
"That's a baby king cobra! You're the first guest of ours thats seen one!"
Wow! No pitcher plants, but a baby king cobra! Not bad, I'll take it!
Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!
Posted by markyiin at May 26, 2005 06:21 AM
Comments
man, finding an internet cafe was hard. currently in kota bharu. heading to thailand tomorrow. perhentian islands were really nice. if i'm lucky, i'll be caught up by the end of the day. if not, well, we'll see where i end up tomorrow night.
matt: i think i'm headed from malaysia straight to krabi. i'm probably just going to hit the main sights in thailand and move on. but then again, who knows...
cozy, tree: since early on everyone was telling me to include myself in the pictures, i've been making a concerted effort to do so! i just turn on the self timer and set my camera down on a rock, bush, branch, etc. sometimes it takes like 4-5 tries to get it right!
mojess: i'll have pictures of james up in the next entry.
lisa: haha, darn... i guess i cant cheat then...
jon: unfortunately, i dont possess any dumb brain cells. all mine are top notch, and resistant to alcohol. so your story doesnt apply to me ;) as for money per day... i think i've been keeping it under $20/day lately. transportation costs take up most of my budget by far.
justin: trust me, i miss the internet more than you missed my posts :P
Posted by: markyiin at May 26, 2005 06:40 AM
Hey mark!!! Of course, I'm behind AGAIN. NYC and strep held me back. Damn. Hopefully I'll have time to catch up before a new week begins. Anyway, I can NOT believe that you freakin just stood there and even took a picture of that snake!!! Last time I saw a snake was in San Diego, when a few of us were hiking to this cliff that overlooks the ocean, located near SDSU or UCSD. I forget which one. But even that snake was slithering away and I took the picture from afar. I figure I had zoom anyway so I didn't need to get up close & personal. Besides, I HATE SNAKES. *shiver* Oh and regarding your comment, I didn't really see much of Jersey. I only saw the parts where a friend of mine lives and it wasn't all that great. I began to wonder why it was called GARDEN STATE in the first place. I guess I just wasn't exposed to any other parts. I know what you mean though about things being so close by that you don't have any urge to trek out just to see it. That's how I am with the whole Hollywood touristy stuff. When I have visitors, I don't really show them that part -- my friend does the honors. Never been to Rodeo Drive or been inside Grauman's Chinese theatre or Ripley's Believe It Or Not or the wax museum in Hollywood. LOL I think that's where you went when you were down here in L.A., right? Well, maybe when you're done with your worldly travels, I'll run into you one of these days in the east coast or you'll find yourself in the west coast again. Take care, Mark and stay away from snakes!!! -GEM
Posted by: GEM at May 26, 2005 07:04 AM
King Cobra!!? I have to give you credit for standing there and taking the picture (how much drinking had you done the night before?)You're lucky you didn't meet up with a fully-grown one. I hear they can "stand" up to 5 ft. tall, and are agressive enough to actually chase people down and bite them. Oh, and by the way, you can't outrun them.
Posted by: Jon at May 26, 2005 08:43 AM
Those King Cobra pics are incredible, nicely done!
Posted by: Justin at May 26, 2005 09:06 AM
what a cute little baby king cobra! but i'd agree that i wouldn't want to be close to one.
Posted by: Anna at May 26, 2005 12:35 PM
i Like reading how u are haning with the locals. I think that gives the time in malaysia more meaning. Gte the local flavor. I am sure dirnking with the locals will be a strong memory of the country.
well, do what you want in thailand but there is a lot to see there...a lot. LP prob has a big section on it. I'd give though to spending some extra time there. cause all you have his time...(and the country is cheap!)
Posted by: matt at May 26, 2005 07:35 PM
A baby king cobra seems cute, but six inches to my feet?? I do know about that. Mark, you make me worry!!!
Posted by: mojess at May 26, 2005 09:07 PM
awesome, man -- take the baby king cobra over a pitcher plant any day. (We've got a lot of pitcher plants in MN, and frankly, I never saw what the big deal was. Bugs crawl in and drown, no moving parts... interesting lookin' though)
Posted by: ceric at May 26, 2005 11:07 PM
OMG a king cobra! Um I think I would take pitcher plants over that. At least those don't hiss and bit. Garter snakes, now those a lot cuter!
Posted by: Ditch at June 17, 2005 10:05 AM