Hello!

As I write I am currently sat in a long boat cruising up the river to Taman Negara. The boat is around 20 metres long, is wide enough for people to sit in twos all the way from the front to the back and the whole boat sits around 6 inches off the river. Yes 6 inches is all that separates the water with the top of the boat and I actually think that my bottom is below water level on a nice comfy cushion. We will see if it is just as comfy in 2 more hours!

This morning I woke up early having eventually managed to get some sleep after the racket from the roof top bar stopped. I walked to the HAN Travel office and waited an hour for the buses to depart. There were around 8 minibuses leaving, each one of them full of backpackers, mainly couples. Again, my desire to travel with someone special hit hard, only this time I know that Tara and I will be able to explore together next time I go away!

The journey in the mini bus was interesting as I got to see more of Malaysia. As soon as we left KL my feelings for Malaysia changed and I realised it isn't such a dirty and horrible place after all. The roads up to Kuala Tembeling reminded me of the roads in the Alps only this time the sides of the hills were covered in luscious green jungle! The journey was all the better for me as I lied and told them I had to sit in the front as I got travel sick! It was only a little white lie but always a good one to use if you want the best views!

When we arrived in Kuala Trembeling I received all the vouchers for my tour and had lunch. I then had an ice cream as I waited an hour for the boat.

The river we are weaving our way up will take us to Kuala Tahan, my base in the jungle for the next 2 nights. The water is a murky brown colour and apart from the odd old boat on the shoreline I haven't seen anything for over an hour now. The sound of the engine is the only disturbance to a place I imagine is the same day after day and a world where nature is allowed to thrive and grow away from the modern world. The level of the water is apparently very low at the moment and we were warned we may have to get out the boat and push it if it beaches on the river bed! I'm not really up for that haha!

So as we continue to sail and I observe the natural world around me I look forward to the day I can do things like this with my girl. The French man next to me is lovely but he didn't seem too keen on cuddling up like all the other pairs sat in front of us! I guess it's back to taking photos and counting boats for now :)

See you later x

Good evening all :)

It's 8:11pm and I have just put socks and boots on for the first time on my trip! My flips flops simply won't cut it for the jungle night trek... Its a comforting feeling to have my feet enclosed again but it ain't half hot!

The end of the boat ride earlier was every bit as magical as the start. As we got to the Teman Negara National Park I could have stayed on the boat all afternoon, which is surprising after a 4 hour journey!

After a briefing by the guy in charge I got on the back of a pick up truck with some other backpackers from Holland and Germany, thankfully no English are here! Our accommodation, The HAN Rainforest Resort, is actually pretty nice. After floods in 2014 it was all rebuild so it's relatively nice for not very much money! I claimed my bottom bunk in a 4 bed dorm and went out to explore. When I got back 4 smelly, but lovely, German teenage boys were in the room and that was enough for me to pay for an upgrade. Gone are the days where I need to suffer creaking bunk beds and smelly boots! It cost be £20 more to get my own single budget room and I was more than happy to pay it! Especially as when I looked at the leaflet I saw that it would have cost £40 more to book that level of room from the office in KL! Quids in! :)

I have just had dinner and got changed ready for the jungle trek! I'll tell you all about when I'm back. See you later x

Good evening!

10:47pm and I've just got into bed... I am 'starfished' across my double and there is not a cat in hells chance you would get me back in the dorm tonight! However, there are stray cats everywhere here!

The jungle trek was what I would say was a 'nice experience'. It was neither thrilling nor boring and was, I suppose, a good way to spend a night in the jungle. I'm not sure what I was expecting!

As we left our resort in the back of the pick up truck myself and 7 others (4 Dutch, 1 Iranian, 1 Italian, 1 American, 1 French and 2 Turkish) had our flash lights at the ready! What we weren't prepared for was the almighty thunderstorm that kicked off just as we left! With no protection we travelled the 2 minute journey and were soaked when we got down to the river. Come to think of it, this is probably the first rain I have been in for at least 3 Months! I loved it!!!

We waited for it to stop and then crossed the river in a boat. It's approximately 200m to the other side and it's on the other side that is officially the National Park. We walked along a boardwalk through the jungle with our flashlights searching the now wet and damp rainforest. It wouldn't have been a true experience with the rain, right!?

We saw lots of BIG spiders, Grasshoppers and Stick Insects. We then saw a Scorpion!

When we got to the animal lookout guess what... there was nothing there! When I questioned the guide about when he last saw an animal he said 2/3 weeks ago! Considering he does the tour every night I didn't think that was a good success rate!

I then asked him about the infamous elephant that he had spoken about seeing, as if it happened every night! He politely informed me he had seen an elephant twice in his lifetime and never from where we were! Not exactly a selling point then is it I thought to myself!

Anyway... I enjoyed chatting to Jaap and his girlfriend on the way round the walk. I told them all about when Tara and I went to watch the new Jungle Book film and she spent a good 10 mins hiding under her scarf because of the snake! If only we had seen a snake on our walk... Maybe that might happen once in a lifetime too, hey!?

Now though it's time for some sleep. It's an early night being 11:00pm and I don't have to be up early! Bliss!

The jungle chorus is playing well and I look forward to exploring more tomorrow!

Tom x