“Look at the size of this one,” I said pointing to the leech on my calf. It looked like an inch worm when it attached itself but had grown to the size of my thumb as it filled with my blood. These aren’t the water living leeches of “The African Queen” but live in the jungle vegetation waiting for a host and this guy got me while we were out hiking.
We were at Taman Negara National Park (redundant since 'taman negara' means national park, 60 km by boat from Kuala Tembeling. It is the middle of the rainy season and, no surprise, it’s raining. That's why this is called a rain forest! The river is muddy and high and the boat ride up the Tembeling River took an hour longer than expected. Some of our fellow passengers didn’t have rain gear and they already looked miserable. What were they thinking? We booked with Han Travel because it is the easiest way to access this remote park but we chose the transportation and lodging only option. Our budget room is barely adequate; two beds, a fan, toilet and cold water shower. There are no screens or bed nets.
The forest at Taman Negara is 130 million years old, the oldest tropical rain forest on the planet. The forest has never been logged or burned nor threatened by the Ice Ages. It contains rare species like tigers, elephants, rhinos, tapirs plus zillions of insects – not that you have much of a chance of seeing much but the insects – and of course the leeches.
It rained all night and was still raining this morning. The river continued to rise and the floating restaurants had to be pulled in and moored nearer to the shore so we could reach them. Crossing the river in a motorized canoe was an adventure and once inside the park the trails were a muddy, slippery mess. Even the canopy walkway was closed. You had a choice of getting soaked from the rain or wearing rain gear and getting wet from the inside out. We alternated. The best way to see Taman Negara is on a long trek, a wet and muddy experience even during the dry season – which this isn’t. Hiking and camping with a group isn’t our mug of chai so we decided to take short hikes on our own.
