jungles and tall trees.

jungles and tall trees.

it's easy to miss the refinements of home too easily...but i guess that most of us need to be in extreme conditions to really appreciate what it is that we have. not that we'd take anything for granted, but just that we'd tend to forget how comfortable home really is. a weekend at taman negara isn't exactly one of those extreme conditions that would tend to make you homesick...we were staying in proper chalets, there was electricity, [cold] water, and [lo and behold] satellite television...but it was a good start. there's nothing like broadband and a ps2 to make your life easier. not to mention that the mattresses were to thin and hard, and the pillows were very, very...strange. and did i mention that there was no hot water?

but, but but...despite all that, it was dead fun. aside from the activities that the group had organized, which were really filler material, the 'big' events made it worthwhile.

the boat ride to the camp itself was a precursor for good things. imagine being right on top of the water, with the jungle on your left and right. foilage [i love that word], flora, fauna around you, the sounds of...things that you wouldn't find in the city. it sounds stupid, but calm waters and the serenity of the jungle sort of makes you wish that you could have more time for yourself to just sit down and laze a day away. the same can be said of the people there [in the small town right next to the park]; they've got the amenities that we have, but life's slower paced. at least it looks that way.

the canopy walk, where a suspension bridge apparatus hanging a 100 metres+ above the ground that could only fit about 2 people at a time in spaces of 5 metres or more between them was awesome. rickety bridges? not really. but you're hanging in the air and the only thing between you and a crash onto the ground is a wooden plank placed on top of a ladder which in turn, is covered in net mesh, which, in turn, is suspended with nylon rope. and there was this rope section which was covered with the biggest ants that you'd ever seen. it wasn't the ants that were scary; it was the fact that they could have been biting on the rope that was the terrifying realization.

being able to have [unclean] river spray splashed onto you...and you splashing river spray onto unsuspecting oncoming boats...says it for itself. very wet. cellphone got thrashed because of a strange fear that it'd get stolen if i'd leave it in the room.

visited the orang asli village. some of us were disappointed that they had clothes [funny, this one]. the orang batik, who probably were descended from the afrikaans, with their big, big afros [i'm not being snide here], showed us how to make a fire from a piece of carved bamboo, as well as how to make the perfect poison-tipped blowdart. what was most impressive was the fact that despite the simple tools that they had, they could make one hell of a precise killing machine.

the people made it fun as well. we had our stereotypical paris and nicole in our group, amazingly enough. anyway, this dynamic duo originally intended to sight-see and not do anything otherwise. but to give them credit, they participated in everything and were a lot more sporting than what we'd presumed. but still:

her: "i need help carrying my bag...it's really heavy..."
me: "uh...okay, give it to me [lugs bag]. it's not that heavy at all..."
her: "oh, i don't know...i go to the gym and everything but look at me...i'm so skinny. my instructor tells me that i'm useless".
me: "not hard to imagine why".

like i said, the people made it worthwhile. as cliched as it sounds, making new friends and giving everything a clean shot is awesome.

downside? i've lost my voice and i've thrashed my cell phone. good things don't come easy, i suppose.

but allow me to say that it hasn't been that bad at all.

ooo. my bed.