The jungle experience
Ever since I came back from the jungle, friends have been asking me how I found the experience. I find it really hard to answer this, because, well, a trip is a trip lah. Mostly okay with some interesting experiences, a fair amount of work, absorbing new information, and the opportunity to meet lots of new people. I suppose you could say that overall, I had a good time. By my description you can tell I'm not really the excitable type, right? ;)
I packed in a mad rush for this trip, and so, I am a doofus: I forgot to bring my camera. (I can hear the chorus of horrified, "Ireeeene!"s now.) My bus was at 1:30pm on Thursday afternoon and on Thursday morning I rushed out to Giant hypermarket to get supplies. How much more last-minute can a person get? -- don't answer that!
I bought some biscuits, in case of sudden hunger with no food in sight; three pairs of high sports socks, because all my socks are only ankle high; two long-sleeved T-shirts, because I'd been told it's a good idea to wear long-sleeved clothing in the jungle to protect my limbs from thorny trees and pesky insects, and I have NO long-sleeved T-shirts whatsoever; three pairs of track pants, because I also have NO track pants whatsover, and was afraid that the three I'd borrowed from my housemates (one each from Dion, Sharon, and Sock Hui) wouldn't be enough; a torchlight, which was supposed to be powered by "two AA batteries" but which, when I arrived home and tried to insert said batteries, was actually meant to accommodate AAA batteries -- I brought the torchlight along anyway, although for what reason, I don't know, since I couldn't actually USE it; shampoo, because I suddenly remembered my small bottle of "travelling shampoo" was running out; insect repellent, which didn't work worth a damn -- I eventually killed two mosquitoes that were in the process of dining on my blood despite the strong citronella odour in the air; and two bottles of 1.5litre mineral water, because I was instructed to bring those, as if there was no water to be found in the state of Johor.
So I rushed back home, packed in an insane hurry, realised I didn't have any of my usual reporters' notebooks with me, grabbed a random notebook that I did have, and rushed out of the house. Bob gave me a lift to an LRT train station, where I caught a train downtown and ran all the way to the bus depot. Got there with 10 minutes to spare. *pant, pant*
Part of my work there, which you will learn about if you happen to get hold of a copy of "The People's Paper" on a Wednesday (I don't yet know which Wednesday, you'll have to ask my boss that question), included trekking in and out of the jungle, 6km a day. Am so proud of myself for managing that and escaping without any leech bites! Ewww. Also, the hanging bridges were an experience -- most of them the width of a single plank, with not even enough space for two people to pass by side-by-side.
Apart from that, notable experiences would be hearing thud! sounds at all hours of the day and night as durians fell from the trees, and having the chance to sample those freshly-fallen durians. (Durians fall when they are ripe. You're not supposed to pluck them when they're still hanging from the tree branches.) Yum yum.
I got to meet an orang asli (aborigine) man, Pak Cik Awang Kudi, who taught us a few games that the orang asli like to play -- fascinating, tricky things. He was selling tongkat ali, too -- a medicinal herb that purportedly was the original Viagra. Some of the guys tried the tongkat ali and found it very bitter. Why are all the good herbs always bitter? It's the same thing with traditional Chinese medicine.
Anyway, back to my story: I took a dip in Tasik Air Biru's crystal-clear waters with fish swimming all around me, close enough to touch. The name of the place, literally translated, is "Blue Water Lake", but the water looked green to me. I was assured that when you view it from afar, or from the air, the waters appear blue, though. It's so clear that the lake looks deceptively shallow, but once you get in, you realise it's actually pretty deep -- and it's VERY cold!
The very best part of the trip, for me, was the people I met and got to know. The organising committee was simply amazing. They almost bent over backward trying to give me any sort of assistance and information I needed. In fact, they apologised for not being able to provide better accommodation and I was like, hey, I'd half been expecting to camp in tents, so sharing a dormitory with a group of students is fine by me! After all, I'm going to the jungle... it's not like I'd be expecting to stay in a three-star hotel or something :P
Somebody told me I was more approachable than the other journalists who were there, which of course made me feel almost insufferably smug. And before I left, I hugged one student and gave her my contact information, asking her to write to me, and she teared up! Ahhhh... it's those kind of memories that I treasure, not so much the thrills and novelty of the forest experience.