10 April

We were up with our backpacks and all that needed to accompany us for our three day trek through the jungle. We opted to find a restaurant where we could grab some breakfast, we tried three but all were closed our last bet was the motel which appeared closed but upon enquiry of the lady there we were quickly handed two menu's. We both opted for omelets with everything in for RM 4.5, after the hearty meal we headed to the docks where the Germans were already waiting clad in army boots, long pants and long shirt, he was showing the signs of being overdressed for this type of tropical weather but then again so were we. After waiting an hour we were given a 5 min talk, handed 1 tin of chicken or fish, one orange, 1 tin of gas, 1 packet 2 min noodles, packet of cookies, fork & spoon, 2 x 1.5L bottles of water, plastic plate and mug, sleeping bag and a sun visor (used to protect your dashboard) to sleep on. All this needed to be packed into our already full backpacks (small daypacks).

We jumped into the boat only to wait for other guests, apparently one of the trekkers asked the operator whether they would be able to find shoes for him to do the hike, they said no problems and they would find it the following morning (today), however he arrived with his size 10, considering few of the men are taller that 1.75 this was a problem. At 11h45 we departed having found shoes and ready to go, up the river we went into the deep inner forest for an 1 ½ hour long boat trip. Along the way we saw wild buffalo, many monitor lizards and birds.

When we reached the place to start walking from, the guide informed us that we need to walk faster than usual to cover the 8 km plus distance to the cave, as according to him in the evening it rains and the cave being large enough to house 200 people attract the elephants who go to the caves for covering during the rains. He therefore needed to make a fire which the elephants avoid. What he failed to mention was that the increased walking speed was actually a synonym for running through the jungle. I don't think I have ever done an 8 km trek at such a pace in my life, taking into consideration that I finished my first 1.5L bottle of water within the first 2 hours. Amazingly both myself and Leanne were able to keep up with the pace, my only disappointment was that we walked at such a speed that we were unable to truly appreciate the beauty of the forest. Also the guide told us to watch out seeing there were King Cobras which to be honest I was dying to find, no luck there, will have to try again in Cambodia - apparently the best place in the world to find them.

We reached the cave after just over 5 hours walk, headed in our own respective directions to find a suitable but distant jungle toilet and to make use of natures ponds for a truly jungle shower or so they said we could but we didn't - very little water and leeches! The cave was enormous, we were in total 24 people sleeping there, to be honest I don't know who slept but my back was killing me. The evening the guide cooked fish, chicken, rice and vegetables. Taking into account he was cooking for the 10 of us under his guidance it was pretty good! We spread out into different groups to mingle and chat, the Chinese family in the background providing us with their religious songs and waving of candles much to many Europeans annoyance.

We met up with two Swiss backpackers, Fabia and lets just call him "V", can't pronounce his name for the life of me. Both completed their Biology degrees in Geneva and have been traveling Indonesia and now Malaysia for two months. V is heading back to complete his one year civil service, he wants to go to Africa to do work on the deadly mutated strain of TB, instead of armed forces training. In Switzerland you now have a choice, previously all men had to go to the army for a year's training and a two month update every five years. Fabia has decided to continue with her tour through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and back to Indonesia for another 9 months on her own. Picture GI Jane and you will know how she looks.