Three hours in, and my muscles were aching with every uphill step. My T-shirt drenched in sweat, my eyes scanning for pesky leeches, I wondered yet again why I put myself through such torment.
But this is a situation I find myself getting into again and again because the sense of joy and accomplishment after a challenging hike outweighs the suffering ten-fold. This time I was trekking the jungles of the Endau Rompin National Park, a 48,905-hectare gazetted sanctuary in the Mersing and Segamat districts of Johor.
You can go on your own but it's advisable to sign up for a package because guides are required if you want to trek deep within the forest. We sign up for JourneyMalaysia's 4D3N Camping Trip. With them, pick-up is from either Kluang Railway Station or Kahang Shell station.
Above: Basic facilities at Kuala Marong campsite. I would recommend Kluang, as the choice of accommodation is better and the famous Kluang coffee at the station is a must-try.
Day 1 — Journey begins
I thought kampung roads were bad but the three-hour journey to the park was something else. There was no problem during the first half but the last 30km of half-sealed dirt road ridden with humongous potholes (some can hold a cow!) was just too much. Never had I felt so relieved as when we reached Kg Peta, the Orang Asli village that is the gateway to the park.
After a simple lunch at our guide's family home, we hopped into a tiny sampan for the trip upriver. We had two Orang Asli guides with us — main guide Lop, 28, a friendly guy with a habit of constantly blinking his bug-like eyes (quite distracting, really) and Choi, 24, a small and quiet guy sprouting a scraggy beard.
After disembarking, we trekked for an hour to the Kuala Marong campsite. The facilities were very basic and the only other guests were three Singaporean students. Lop said there was a swimming hole called Tasik Air Biru (Blue Lake) five minutes away, so off we went for an evening dip as the guides stayed back to pitch tent.
Endau Rompin National Park is rich in fungi diversity. The water was clear, cool and indeed blue. Refreshed, we headed back to camp where the guides were preparing dinner.
Part of the Orang Asli's income is derived from catching river frogs, some weighing up to 1.5kg. The frogs are sold at RM35 a kilo. We had spied some live frogs at Lop's home earlier and asked if we could try them. Lop happily obliged. The frogs were delicious! They had a cod-like texture and tasted like tender, delicious chicken. We licked our plates clean and thanked our cook for the wonderful meal.
Lop asked if we wanted to try our hands at catching frogs, and we jumped at the opportunity. Torches in hand, we waded slowly along the river, scanning the dark horizon for twinkles of reflection from the frogs' eyes.
Big frogs are caught by grabbing them just above their hind legs and smaller frogs by covering their entire body with a cupped palm. I tried catching a small frog but quickly released it after feeling its cold, slippery body. Eeew.
We spent more than an hour traversing the river and saw other creatures — shrimps, tree frogs, bats and various spiders. According to Lop, his people believe cicadas to be guardians of the forest. When they hear their call just before dusk, they stop everything they are doing, whether cooking or bathing, as a sign of respect. This is the code of conduct when they are deep within the jungle.
Gunung Janing Barat boasts a steep mosquito-infested climb. The sound of the cicadas after dark is considered a bad omen, and they would head home immediately upon hearing it.
Day 2 — The long trek
We were to trek three hours to Buaya Sangkut Waterfalls, picnic and trek back. My New Zealand companion balked at the thought of leeches. Prior to this trip, he had never seen a leech, never mind been bitten by one.
Since it was the rainy season, the leeches were everywhere, so we were on leech alert . It's not that I'm squeamish but the prolong itch afterwards is what I dread about these toothy slugs.
The trek uphill and downhill was exhausting. I was bushed by the time we reached the waterfall. We greedily wolfed down our food, checked the damage done by the leeches and recharged our batteries. "Buaya Sangkut" means "stuck crocodile", and Lop explained that the waterfall got its name because a huge crocodile once got caught in the rocks as it was swimming upstream to get to a beautiful princess.
Upih Guling Waterfalls We got back to camp after another three gruelling hours and headed straight to Tasik Air Biru. Our legs were bloody from the leech attacks, but, oh, did the cold waters feel good! We retired to bed early but not after sharing stories around a bonfire on the nearby beach.
Day 3 — Second camp
We were rudely awaken at 6am by a sudden bout of rain. We rushed out of the tent to save our clothes but we needn't have bothered. They were soaked through, and so were we within just a few seconds.
As water started leaking into our tent, we contemplated whether to move the entire tent or just our sleeping bags to the nearby gazebo. Undoing all the pegs would take too much time so we decided to make a dash for it with our sleeping bags and pillows. We spent the rest of the morning sleeping in damp sleeping bags on the cold wooden floor.
Although most of our belongings were soaked, we had a good laugh as we laid out everything in the sun.
Later in the day, we took a leisurely stroll to Upih Guling Waterfalls, 15 minutes away. After that, we packed up to trek to our next campsite an hour away. The Kuala Jasin camp was not as nice as Kuala Marong as it was more modern and had chalet facilities. Once again, we were the only ones there. This time we pitched our tent in the gazebo to avoid another drenching.
The 427m Gunung Jasin Barat nearby was an hour's trek, and since we had nothing better to do, we decided to go for it. After battling a few armies of leeches and mosquitoes, we were rewarded with a panoramic view at the peak. Once again, we retired to bed early.
Day 4 — Goodbye
We packed up after breakfast and hopped onto the sampan, which took us back to Kg Peta. Back at the kampung, Lop showed us how the Orang Asli trapped various animals with their hand-made booby traps. He also let us try our hands at hitting a balloon with a blowpipe. And guess what? I scored a hit!
With a heavy heart, we waved goodbye to our guides and the jungle. Lop and Choi were good company, and it was such a luxury not to have other people and vehicles around. It's definitely a nice change from the hectic city life.
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