Taman Negara, the jungle trek!

So after another long journey we finally arrived to Taman Negara, which on the bus was one of the guys that me and Amy went diving with....random, so we were all chatting away and then got told off by this French girl who said we were making too much noise and it was appropriate to be talking on a bus??!!! so already me and Selina had made our first enemy! lol. We made a lunch stop half way which was a traditional Indian lunch where you eat with your fingers!!! on a banana leaf, messy business but was fun! after a lovely 4hr bus ride we then had a 3hr boat ride to get the the entrance of the park and where we were staying! It was a bit like a long tail boat but i always get a bit worried when they insist that you wear a life jacket! But the scenery was absolutely stunning! nothing i had ever seen before! When we arrived at our accomodation we had a traditional malay welcome, they sang us a song and played instruments whilst we walked to reception and then given a free drink, I felt like a celebrity, not a travelling gypsie, how i actually looked at this time! We had an 8 bed dorm to ourselves which was perfect!Throughout the trip all our meals were at a floating restaurant called 'mama chop', and can honestly say it was rubbish food.....plain noodles for breakfast, rice for lunch and dinner.....mmm after 3 days, this is definately not so appetising!
We went on a night safari on uor first night, which there was a thunder storm so the whole rainforest is lit by thunder! luckily no rain!altho i did have my rain mac on and trainers which was the first so far on this trip!me and Selina's torches were pretty rubbish but we did see some scorpions, huge ants, poisoinous caterpillars and some deer, nothing too exciting but was a good laugh.
The 2nd day we climbed 5k up a mountain, which doesnt sound too hard...right??? you try doing it in 35 degree heat and it was so steep we had to hold on to ropes to keep us up! so by the time i finally reached the top i think i had lost a stone in sweat, BUT the views were totally worth it, 360 degree view of the rainforest and you could see Gibbons flying through the trees, none of my photots truely capture this image!Unfortunatly i look a mess in the photos, but at least you can tell i climbed it hey! We then did a canopy walk through the jungle which was so good but not sure how safe, only one person allowed on at one time and one part was literately a ladder suspended on a net over the jungle but the views were good! In the afternoon we had a boat ride through the 7 rapids, we were totally head to toe drenched but was a good laugh, we were on our way to visit a tribe that live in the rainforest. Now this was a totally different way of life, they live and eat off the rainforest, there are 6 families tat live her in huts and shelters they have built themselves, the cheif taught us how they make fires and how they make and shoot the darts to kill their prey...the kids dont go to school and have to live on their own once they are 10 as they are classed as an adult, they all inter breed as well! you would see like 5 yr olds smoking because they think it is good for them as it keeps the bugs away....i suppose its one way to look at it??!! Anyway it was a really good insight into their lives, not sure if its me though lol! The one thing you notice when you are in the jungle is the noise, its like nothing you have heard before its soooo loud!all the bugs and insects singing in chorus! me and Selina were pretty tired after this day so we walked to a swimming hole and just chilled out which was absolutely beautiful!
And this was the last of Taman Negara as tomorrow we were off to the Perhtian islands :) cant wait! Taman Negara has been a definate highlight of my trip, its like nothing i had ever seen before and no picture can show this, a definate must do if you go to Malaysia...