Sunday 1 February 2015

From One Jungle to Another

I've left the trees behind and made it to the jungle of Kuala Lumpur. It's not my favourite city - full of new skyscrapers, glass twinkling in the sunlight, with echoes of the old city squashed into precious corners. The traffic clogs the streets and belches fumes. The main escape, for people who live here, is in the air-conditioned shopping malls, where you can buy Levis, and pants from Marks and Spencer's. I've been up the Petronas Towers, to peer down on it all. Green space is precious here.

I miss the jungle of Fraser's Hill. I spent hours walking the trails, tramping deep into the rainforest. Although the leaflets suggest the paths are wide and easy - they fib. There is much scrambling, over tree roots, down banks to cross tiny streams that race down the hillsides. Everything smells damp - with occasional whiffs of animal.

For the jungle is teeming with wildlife. I was rewarded by the sight of two young gibbons playfighting - too far away to even think of a photograph. Besides I was mesmerised, as they threw themselves around in the trees and never fell to the ground - how did they do that? And I saw wild boar - from a safe distance. I saw the holes where tarantulas hide, ready to prey on unsuspecting birds. I saw an ants nest hung high in the trees. I saw wild ginger - that was the only plant I managed to recognise.

And yes, I was bitten by a leech. There's a first time for everything. I can tell you that the thought of it is far worse than the reality. It doesn't hurt - though it does bleed a lot. And it was worth it to see the gibbons.

The morning before I left, I has a long conversation with the Chinese cook a the hotel. We talked about food, and about the jungle:

'Did you see a tiger?' he said.

'What tiger?'

'Only once, last year, tiger was seen here, at Fraser's Hill. Mostly they live high in the mountains.'

Note to daughters - I promise, I never knew there might be tigers. Being bitten by a leech feels insignificant when I could have been tiger-tea.

7 comments:

  1. Tigers! Leeches! For once I'm lost for words!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've discovered that leeches aren't so terrible. But arguing with a tiger is probably a bad idea.

      Delete
  2. How wonderful and adventurous! You will not feel yourself for a while after getting back to Wiltshire!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At least there won't be leeches or tigers in my lovely forest!

      Delete
  3. I thought I was the only that found KL's shopping centres a bit... too much for my liking. Glad to have found someone who feels the same. :-)

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've been bitten by a leech or two, and I agree they're not terrible. I've never met a tiger and don't want to!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely to catch up with you, Jo. I've read your last post too and had a few pangs as I'd so love to be experiencing what I see in my mind as I read your descriptions. I hope you have some more time there to enjoy it all!

    ReplyDelete