After buying food for the trip (lunch, dinner, and the next day's breakfast), we trekked across the highway to where our hired vans were supposed to pick us up and take us north. Instead, we were introduced to a major theme of the weekend: waiting. Our leader, a man named Yew Sim, assured us that the vans would be 30 minutes late. An hour and a half later the vans arrived and a second theme became clear: Yew Sim's unique measurements of time and distance.
Other than being late, the vans worked out very well. They weren't big chevys, but they each had 10 captain's seats, working air conditioning (apparently required by law in Singapore) and the drivers were very friendly. The vans gave everyone a chance to meet each other. All but three of us were exchange students. The other exchange students came from Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Lithuania, Canada, and Poland. Matt and I were probably the youngest as Europeans start college later and most of them were graduate students (getting a masters degree is more common there than it is here - the systems are set up differently). Like always talking with students from all over the world (or Europe, at least) was a lot of fun. Everyone is always friendly and gracious, and the hardest and most awkward part is trying to remember names.
We got to the boarder quickly and the passage through was smooth except when the Malaysian immigration officer thought I was a Singaporean employee lacking the proper paperwork. For what was not to be the last time, Simon (the swiss)'s conversational Malay came in handy (he also speaks French, German, Indonesian, and English. Wow, I feel inadequate). Exciting, I got another passport stamp.
It was about a two hour drive to Mt. Pinti. The view from the van showed Malaysia that was noticably less developed than Singapore, but not extrememly so. The roads were smooth, the buildings ranging from shabby to nice. Passing through a rural area, we saw some Palm oil plantations:
Lunch in Johor Tinggi was fish noodle soup for the equivalent of 75 US cents. It wasn't very good - how does "you get what you pay for" work with exchange rates? We picked up 4.5 liters of water each, noted the ominous rainclouds, and piled back in the vans for the final 15 minutes to the trailhead.
At the trailhead, the ominous rain clouds turned into thick ominous raindrops, the type that either go away after a bit, or turn into a downpour. The few of use with ponchos or raincoats congratulated each other and everyone else huddled humorously under umbrellas. Yew Sim made fun of us all, claiming that by the time we all got our our rain gear, it would stop raining.
The hike was through a thick forest - I don't know if "jungle" or "rainforest" is the right term, I'm guessing it had been logged sometime in the past 40 years and and there wasn't super thick undergrowth, but there was an incredible variety of flora: palm trees, spikes on the bark trees, buttressed roots, climbing vines, hanging vines, big leaves. At the end of the trip we'd learn that when we crossed this:
we got on the wrong trail when we climbed up the other bank. At the time we didn't know of course, and kept up the wrong trail, climbing pretty steeply for half an hour while the rain turned from gently pitter patter to full on pouring cats and dogs. Thunder became constant background noise, and the forest turned dark. The poncho that I wore had cost only $2 the day before, but I wouldn't have sold it for $50. I wish I'd bought more.
Although it was 3 in the afternoon, it was as dark as if the sun were setting. It rained harder and we stopped. Time for pictures:
This is with the flash. That's Simon on the right.
Matt and I were having a great time. Being in a rainforest when it's raining is like being at the beach when it's sunny. It's the proper weather for the environment. We were grinning from ear to ear:
Remember the themes of this trip? This is where they come together. We were waiting in the rain (1) because Yew Sim had no idea where we were (2). So we began to climb straight up the hill in the pouring rain, hoping to intersect the trail. It was fun.
But it was also at this point that I got irritated. Several people on this trip were not even marginally prepared: no rain gear, no umbrella, only some soaking wet clothes in a soaking wet backpack. Yew Sim had no map and had been here last a year and a half ago. I expected more leadership from him; I suppose he suspected more independence from us. (I should note that this is not a university sanctioned trip - Yew Sim is an employee of NUS, but arranges these trips independently, because he likes taking exchange students on outings.) But being part of such a poorly run camping trip was very difficult for my be-prepared Boy Scout mentality and expectations. I was worried about the people who literally had nothing dry - how would the night go?
We did find the trail. It wasn't hard to identify, because it had turned into quite the raging creek. Apparently proper water-erosion control techniques hadn't been a concern of the builders of the trail.
The rain did let up settle into an on-off pattern that temped dryness but never delivered. The hike continued to climb up slipperly yellow mud. I stayed at the back with some slower hikers. The promise from Yew Sim that the top was "just around the corner" provided us with two hours of wry laughter as we kept going.
We did make it to the top about 45 minutes before sunset (sunrise and sunset are both ~7:00). The view looking out over Malaysian rain forest made the trip worth it for me (as it always does):
(morning)
(night)
(morning)
Matt might have some pictures of me on his camera - if I get them, I'll post them in an update.
As the rain dripped to an end, we huddled under a tarp, making dinner and friends. We had gotten lost and gotten found, survived a rain storm and climbed a mountain - the communal sense of accomplishment we felt went very well with dinner.
I slept very well.
Part II of this story includes the ironic thematic finish, large bugs, and men in uniform.
(By the way Michael - I need a picture of you in the shirt.)
1 comment:
Excellent post Tom. I enjoyed it a lot.
Though I doubt that the forest had been logged in the past. You see the reason that there is sparse vegetation underneath the rain forest is because the sunlight cannot reach down their properly. So, not very much vegetation grows. Caitlin told me that.
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