A Change of Scenery

A new day, a new country, a new Paradise island and we arrived at the Perhentians on the north-east coast of Malaysia. However, Paradise was somewhat tainted for Tay and Murph who both endured a 24 hour bout of Malaria (in hindsight perhaps just a stomach bug) which involved Exorcist-style projectile vomiting en masse- delightful! We were back to the wild when Tay and Colly were awoken in their beach shack during the dead of the night to hear the disconcerting sounds of brawling monitor lizards. Once the sun had risen they finally braved the outside. Tay was unsure if she was feverishly hallucinating or if there was in fact, a 6-foot monitor lizard/ dragon/ Godzilla residing outside their front door. Colly's high-pitched stream of profanities confirmed the sighting. While this drama was taking place, Murph and Erin went in search of the great outdoors on a snorkelling expedition, close encounters with black-tip sharks and giant turtles left them speechless with delight and in awe at the wonder of nature, or more precisely the massive size of the turtle's head- beasts of the sea. If you're sensing a pattern, the theme of the island was oversized animals.

After a few days recovery time on the Perhentians we craved a change of scenery from beautiful beaches. However, in order to satisfy our need we had to give up something very dear to our hearts- the Bavarian Love Machine, our beloved German friend. Erik: German dancing changed our lives.

Pure Sex

Us aboard a tree canopy

Next up was the jungle, Taman Negara National Park. We reacquainted ourselves with the sexy trek shoes and headed off to explore. We braved the elements not feeling the need for a guide or even a map. This cocky attitude almost got us into strife when after ascending to the highest peak to see the beautiful view, our descent caused alarm when we found ourselves on barely-there trails with little sign of recent human activity. Panic started to spread throughout our pack when we became concerned that we had ventured onto a 4-day guide-only trek path without a map...a torch....food.....or any idea where we were. Eventually after much inelegant scrambling and abseiling with tree roots we found a small inconspicuous tattered rope which lead the way to safety. The jungle boasted the longest and highest canopy walkway of its kind in the world. Expecting a sturdy bridge we were surprised to find a string of our Dad's garden ladders secured with boy-scout knots, suspended 50m above the jungle floor. We loved every second.

Tree Canopies

Erin adseiling

From the jungle we headed into the cloudy hills of the Cameron Highlands. Staying in an aluminium bunker things were a little chilly and it was back to snuggling under blankets. This time round we ventured into the forest and sensibly elected for the safety of a guide. After learning the medicinal qualities of every plant in the Mossy Forest, we headed to the 'BOH' tea Plantation and factory to learn the process of making tea.

Proper BOH

They realised they were true English girls at heart when by the end of the tour, Tay and Murph had each enjoyed a cup of tea, a scone and a punnet of strawberries. You can take the girl out of England.......The day was topped off with a game of Scrabble.

Us in front of the tea plantations

written by

Murph, Tay, Colly and Erin on July 1, 2006 from Tanah Rata, Malaysia

from the travel blog: The Smug Adventures of Murph, Tay, Colly & Erin

Send a Compliment

Giant turtles, godzila like lizards and jungle treking all sounds like a scene from a David Attenborough programme. Fab. Is German dancing as great as the sartorial elegance displayed by Erik in the photo? Love Mummy G

written by Debe Gillham on July 5, 2006

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