Lubuk Simpon

Having traveled to many places, I've realized that you're bound to make some wrong moves when you've arrived at a new destination, whether it is paying too much for a meal, a ride or whatever.

It happened to us this time in the form of river transportation. We wanted to begin the trip with a visit to Lubuk Simpon, a beach along Tahan River. What we didn't know was it was merely a short walk away. We paid RM60 (USD20) for a one-way boat ride that took less than 5 minutes.


We soon found out that we could walk back to the hotel in less than 15 minutes. We were literally taken for a ride! For the rest of the week, we walked there every day because the forest trail is home to some rare butterflies. And that was the whole reason why YK was there in the first place - to take photographs of the butterflies in Taman Negara.

Indeed there were lots of them puddling at the spot where a group of people had just finished their picnic. The butterflies must have been attracted to spilled drinks or sweat. It was a beautiful sight to behold!

Butterflies puddling.

Shooting butterflies.

 Over the week, we walked to Lubuk Simpon many times. While it is only 800m away from the hotel, the trail is quiet on most days. We only began to see more people during the long weekend.

The trail to Lubuk Simpon begins behind the park headquarters. After the camp site, just follow the  boardwalk that takes you through a forest.

Campsite at Mutiara

Boardwalk.

If you keep your eyes peeled, you'll be able to see hidden gems like ginger flower, monitor lizard, skinks, squirrels, caterpillars and millipedes.

Moth caterpillar.

Ginger flower.

Monitor lizard.

It's extremely humid in the tropical rainforest. Every step you take will send sweat oozing out of your pores. There were steps to climb and thorny branches to dodge, but we were too engrossed with the surroundings to complain. It certainly was a good workout for me. I returned home with toned muscles and a lovely tan.

Up and down...

Surveying the riverbed.