We continued our way through the jungle when we came across a point where two paths forked into different directions. This reminded me of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” where it said – “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.” Well, in this case, we took the well worn path for we would not dare to take the one less traveled by and end up lost.
Road sign in the jungle pointing to us the right direction.
In single file we marched on, sweat soaking our shirts. It rained here the last few days and the ground was muddy at some stretches slowing down our walk. It was unusual to rain this time of the year but the weather had been upside down all over the world, it seems.
These black jungle termites took advantage of the wet cool weather to troop through the ground looking for food. You would not find their white urban cousins doing that in day time even under the shades of trees. They are not as hardy. These jungle termites are dangerous, their bites are poisonous and can give you painful swelling for up to a day. They are however important for the health of the forest chewing up dead and rotten trees to rejuvenate the forest.
We stopped by this tall tree which if I’m not mistaken is called Pokok Kering. Its sap is used by the aborigines to make vanish.
Trees in the original tropical jungle grows straight and tall making for the sky. Every trees fighting for the precious sunlight. Here sunlight is filtering down from a break in the dense foliage.
It is time for a group photo under the giant Tualang tree, the third tallest tree in the world. This huge baby is only about a thousand year old. They can grow up to more than four thousand years old and more than 80 meters tall. Such a giant would take more than 20 people to link their arms round its trunk. It is an amazing tree.
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep” and a little scary too to be wandering off by yourself.
We were surprised to see such a bright colored bean growing on this tree. They also grow much higher up in clusters on tree branches. Our guide told us they are edible but this is not ripe enough to be eaten. These pods can be opened for the edible beans within. They made a wonderful contrast from the homogeneity of the green, brown and grey of the forest.
The group came to an abrupt stop as there was a traffic jam just ahead. There was a puddle of mud that we have to figure out how to negotiate. Our guide laughed at us. He said after the cave, we would not care about getting our legs dirty and would just be stepping through the puddle.
We finally reached the mouth of the cave. Everyone stopped for a breather and waited for the traffic to clear a bit before going in. All of us armed were with a torch for it will be dark inside. We will be entering through this entrance and exiting through the other end.
It was photo session as group after group took the opportunity to pose before the fading sign. Here our pretty smiling ladies revealed their best smiles to the camera.
This guy is standing at the edge of the mouth of the cave staring into the abyss wondering when to make the plunge. It was dark and damp; and the fetid smell of the bats’ guano was emanating from it. After a moment’s hesitation to get our bearing, we plunged into the depth…
To be continued...
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