Rafflesia

After an insanely cold and uncomfortable night in a tent in a very noisy rainforest we had a quick breakfast of bread and canned beans we headed down. On the way down we re-visited the giant buttress and the 'worlds largest flower' Rafflesia (bit of information on Rafflesia is below).

Both the boys got leach bites around there ankles. They were told to burn them off.... We used Deetol instead.

After waiting an hour for our ride back to Tanah Rata, we are back in the hotel washing up and resting. Looking forward to the food stalls at the night markets. Apparently, the females of the town spend the entire day preparing sweet and savoury foods to sell at the night markets. Great selection and very yummy.

Rafflesia is a parasitic flowering plant that has no stems, leaves or true roots found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand and the Philippines.
It is an holoparasite of vines in the genus Tetrastigma (Vitaceae). The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the five-petaled flower.
Flowers release a foul odour when they rot and attract insects such as flies, which transport pollen.

Rafflesia is the official state flower of Indonesia, the Sabah state in Malaysia, and of the Surat Thani Province, Thailand.