Lata Berkoh

Initially, I thought spending 7 nights at Taman Negara was overly excessive as people normally stay for only 3. Strangely time passed quickly when we were there.

The hotel prides itself in being minimalistic by not providing television, telephone and internet access in the room. The dimly lit room smelled musty, the floor was always sandy and walls dusty, but nobody seemed to mind. We even had a huge gecko sharing our room.

After an exhausting day in the jungle, I slept like a log except for one night when I heard something scuttle up the wall. The sound of rain pelting on the roof at night took some getting used to at first but soon became music to my ears. We woke up to the boisterous chirping of birds every morning and went to bed hearing wild boars roaming just outside the door. One almost barged into our room when we were eating.

With no work distractions, the blissful week flew past just like that. It was a rare opportunity to get away from it all.

One of our favourite spots in Taman Negara is Lata Berkoh which is accessible on foot (8.5km walk from the park HQ) or by boat. We found it easier to take the river boat which costs RM160 for a return trip.

 

I was there with my friends in 2001. The place hasn't changed at all.


With May Ling in 2001.

 

Lata Berkoh in 2013.

Back again in 2013.

The boat journey from HQ to Lata Berkoh takes about one hour.  The scenic ride along the shallow Sungai Tahan, lined with huge, leaning Neram trees which form an archway over the water, is very therapeutic.

 

The boat comes to a stop by the riverbank and it's another 1.2km trek through the forest to the cascade.

The boatmen will stop at the river bank and wait for your return.

You might even see butterflies along the sand bank.

The short hike through the forest is a pleasant one. The well trodden path flanked by large trees and bamboo clumps leads straight to Lata Berkoh. Be prepared for some uphill climbs along the way.

 
The water here is cool and clear with a brownish tint released from the tannin of the trees. Due to the strong undercurrents at the cascade, swimming is discouraged.

 

 We spent hours by the shore right by Lata Berkoh. While the guys kept themselves busy documenting rare butterflies and bugs, I was more than happy to enjoy the solitude, which in my opinion, is truly rare.

Canopy Walk @ Taman Negara

I had suspicions that the Taman Negara Canopy Walk was not going to feature anywhere in YK's itinerary for he had other things to do. So when I announced on day 2 that I was going to do the walk myself, they tagged along rather reluctantly just to be sure I would be safe.

 

I knew that deep down inside, they wished they were somewhere else because the forest trail leading to the canopy walk wasn't teeming with the kind of butterflies they were anxious to shoot.

Trail leading to Canopy Walk.

Huge tree in the forest.

 Situated 1.5km from the Park HQ, the Canopy Walk stretches 530 metres in length and 40 metres above the forest floor. Originally built for research purposes, it has become a major attraction at Taman Negara and a popular place for bird enthusiasts.



This beautiful Black naped monarch female built her nest on a low branch hanging along the boardwalk. She and her male partner take turns guarding 2 eggs.



If you don't like walking, you can take a river boat to the jetty near the Canopy Walk. 

 

There are lots of steps to climb of course, in order to get to the tree top walk.

If you have sharp eyesight, you can spot creatures like skinks and insects such as this interesting one below.

We paid an entrance fee of RM5 to enter the canopy walk. Luckily there were only a couple of visitors around that morning.  During the weekend, we were told that there was such a long line of people, the waiting time was 3 hours!

It was first built in 1993 which makes it as old as YK now. Stepping on the worn out and sometimes uneven and shaky platform made me nervous. Even though we're protected by the netting along both sides, the bridge swayed as we made our way across, I did not even stop to survey the tree tops around us.

 

There are 9 platforms constructed on the tree top which provide a bird’s eye view of the rainforest's 5 main canopy layers. Only 4 people are allow on each platform at one time.

One of the platforms along the walk.





View from the top.



I don't know if it's a blessing to be on such a long canopy walk  because after walking stretch after stretch of narrow swaying platform, my legs became wobbly. The second leg of the walkway was cordoned off due to damage. While I was happy to end the misery, the guys lamented that they should get a 50% discount!

 

Then there is a steep descent to the base where you can continue trekking deeper into the forest or make your way back to the park HQ.

 

After spending the entire morning here, we decided to break for lunch before going to other areas in search of butterflies. Losing copious amount of sweat in the morning made us crave for ice cold drinks instead of lunch. At the floating restaurant, my noodles wrapped in fried eggs turned out to be disappointing.

 

The weather was particularly hot that afternoon, still the heat didn't stop the guys from running out of the restaurant to shoot butterflies frolicking under the sun.

 

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.

 

Home sweet home

My phone rang at 6.30am! YK just got back from Taman Negara.

I heaved a sigh of relief. I haven’t heard from him the past few days. They were not allowed to bring their phones.

First question I asked when I picked him from school was “How was the trip?”

“Very Fun!” He went on to describe about the family of wild boars (including 3 tiny piglets) that visited their campsite every morning, the deers and exotic butterflies he saw. He talked about how they crawled through the narrow Gua Telinga bat cave, experienced rapids shooting in a wooden boat at Kuala Trenggan and Trenggan River, trekked up Teresik Hill and walked through the world’s longest treetop canopy walk.

At the Orang Asli settlement, they learned fire making techniques and saw how these shy and gentile natives used blowpipes for hunting. The boys slept under the stars by the riverside that night.

We laughed at how they got into mischief and played pranks like all boys do. Then he said he didn’t visit the loo for the past few days….
“What?!" I exclaimed.
“No urge, I think they didn’t feed us enough.”

Enough said. When we got home, he went straight to the loo.

Gone camping

YK has gone camping with the rest of the boys in his cohort. They will endure a 12-hour bus journey followed by a boat-ride to Taman Negara (The National Park). Located in the state of Pahang, Malaysia, it is one of the oldest tropical rainforests in the world, dating as far back as 130 million years. The boys will spend the next four days in the lush tropical jungle, trekking, white-water rafting, climbing hills, exploring caves and visiting the natives (Orang Asli).

As I dropped him off in school yesterday evening, I felt a sense of pride. At 14, he is becoming independent. The night before, he had packed his own haversack. I couldn’t help but sneak a quick peek. Pretty impressive! Everything was nicely sorted out and neatly packed.

On the way to school, I reminded him to look out for leeches and be careful about what he eats. He said in jest “Yah, yah, you’re starting to get naggy you know. Is it because you’re getting old?”

No, I haven’t changed much. In fact, I used to say a lot more. When you were little, you couldn’t get enough of my stories. I had to invent a new one every night before you went to bed. You loved listening and were always asking “Why this, why that?”

It is you who have changed. As a teenager, you’re learning to stand on your own two feet. You need to explore your own needs and voice your opinions and become yourself. This is part and parcel of growing up.

Happy camping, my dear son.