Jungle Boogie

I decided to go to Penang National Park, I got a cab the few miles to Teluk Bahang where the entrance to the park is. I was looking forward to it and hoping to see some wildlife, maybe some monkeys and some colourful birds. You have to sign in with your details and say where you're heading to so they know where to find your bleached bones if you're attacked by a clouded leopard.

So I set off up the path, keep left for Pantai Kerachut, 3.5 kms. It looked good to start, there was a paved path along by the beach, then a suspended bridge and the path splits two ways. To the left I could see this gully that looked like a washed out river bed going up in steps. It went up and up and up. It kept on going up these uneven steps until I feared I was going to start suffering altitude sickness. At one point an interpretation board showed a gully to the side of the track and explained it had been made by buffaloes that hauled the tree trunks out after logging and that explained a lot about the path I was using. It was so hot and there was nothing, I mean nothing to see. It was hot and as I sweated, I could sense my insect repellant being washed away from me.

The highlight of the journey was this little stream tumbling down the hillside. The path leveled a little bit but as far as I could see, I was still a long way from where I wanted to be and with all the effort, I was running out of the drinking the water I'd brought with me. I decided to turn back.

It wasn't any easier going down, in fact it felt quite dangerous with so many opportunities to slip and break a leg, I was very glad when I eventually got back to the paved path ... and I still hadn't seen a darned thing. 

As I got back towards the information centre I saw a shadow on the path of something running above. It was a long-tailed macaques, in fact there was a small troop of them heading to the houses and the cafe to raid the wheelie bins. I've put one in as an extra. There are also some more shots of the beach and settlements at Teluk Bahang here if you'd like to see them.

Didn't even see Ant and Dec!