Endao Rompin part 1 - the Jungle

I love the forest and jungles

For the last four days, I spent every living breathing moment surrounded by bloodsucking leeches, rain, no electricity and small meals of tuna sandwishes, maggi mee and chocolate...and yet I can tell you I am smiling from ear to ear...why?

Let me get more elaborate...

The team got together at 3am...in taman tun where we exchanged plesantries...before we boarded a bus...and had a journey of almost 9 hour to johor (the bus took a wrong road and we had a detour of four hours but it's okays as the company was great and the bus was very comfortable with an allocation of two seat to a person) .


Upon reaching Johor, we had to take another 2hour bumpy mud road ride on a Pajero to the PETA orang asli village where we wait to be transfered by boat to the interior. It was a 45 minute boatride upriver.
And if that is not deep enough...we went in another 2 hours on foot through wet and drain terrain, uphill and downhill. The wet get especially annoying when you are with shoes that will fill with water and become uncomfortable. We all also carried heavy loads of between 15- 23kgs each.

Upon reaching our destination we checked into a no star hotel where we had to set up ourselves like this...

At night, I only had absolutely no electricity so I filled my journals with a torchlight...

so why am I smiling?

am I demented?

well...it was really really great to be exactly 5 hour bus, 2 hour pajero, 45 mins boat and 2 hour hike...away from it all...and just be at peace....and to have sunrise like this...

swim in emerald coloured fish filled rivers like thisand run through an obstacle course of trees, wood and mud in the rain with an umbrella that gets you all drenched wet but is still damn fun like this

and explore fantastic waterfall terrain like this


So was I the only demented one happy? I don't think so...need I say more?

Today as we got out of the jungle...my brother's phone rang...the first time in four days...he picked it up and said...yes, I am back to reality...but then he quickly corrected himself...wait...I am back from reality...the last four days was real...what we have in the city is crazy...

I am so thankful to all my fellow trail trackers ...and to the Lord my God for bringing me there and I truly pray you all will one day be able to find time (I went over the two days weekend and monday's holiday plus an extra leave of work tuesday), find the money(the entire trip cost a mere RM 400), erradicate whatever excuses (there'll always be excuses) and really just go and find nature and reality again...

I am really sick and tired or presuading some of you that there are greater joys in life than making money, cigarettes, beers or the haphazard lights of the city...remember friend...we all came from the jungles...

I can't wait to taste the sweet fragrances of the jungle and drink sweet waterfall water again or bask in the glorious light of the morning sun!

Trail Trekkers...feel free to leave your experiences the last four days here... Hoo Haa!