Jungle Trek
One of the best days in Koh Chang was when we went on the Jungle Trek. It was nothing like I thought it would be but equally amazing. I was disappointed that it wasn't very viney or I guess how you would imagine a rainforest to be. I didn't see any monkeys or civets (which the island is famous for) though I saw a plethora of large, deadly-looking spiders and huge red ants. Yay!
We first hiked through a rubber plantation. I've never been to one of these before and I really didn't expect to see one on my jungle adventure. However, I found it very interesting. The workers have to collect the rubber at night when it's solidified. I shivered imagining what it must be like to wander around there at night (considering the spiders and ants and other suspicious creatures). Also, our guide let us dip our fingers in the fresh rubber and t dried after a few minutes. He called these "finger condoms" which amused us all.
We were all covered in sweat the minute we started hiking because it was quite humid (hence the rainforest label). We stopped at various waterfalls to recoup. The guide pointed out interesting plants...pineapple, rubber, "incense plants." I saw a red and blue bird and heard some monkeys hooting in the distance. They didn't sound at all like monkeys I've ever heard but more like birds. Hoo-oo Hoo-oo. I woke up to that sound every day on the island. It was nice.
We stopped for lunch near a big natural pool. The guide, Raht, casually suggested that some of us might hike up to the waterfall and spring. It was only 15-minutes away and he told us not to worry about our shoes. We began what became a grueling, slightly-dangerous ascent up a stream in the jungle. Little did we know that the guide had only been there one time himself and that we were the first group he actually took to the waterfall. We were horizontally scaling large boulders and walking through water up to our waist. Up until that point I had just been trying to keep up with everyone. Then the French guy stated, "Never have I imagined I would walk through ze jungle barefoot." I started to get a bit freaked out when the gung-ho Sierra club woman from Vancouver started cursing. "If we were doing this at home, you could bet we'd be signing lots of waivers." We got to a large pool which we had to swim across and then scale some more rocks. All of the guys ahead of me started exclaiming about a huge spider on the rock. I reluctantly pushed on but the spider was nowhere to be seen. I said, "Where did it go?" and the guide said, "I will look for its hole...it should be somewhere in the water." You can bet I was not thrilled to go back through that pool with the water-spider. I didn't even know such things existed.
We finally got to one waterfall and enjoyed it for a few minutes. We'd already been gone an hour and worried that the others had left already so we turned back around. I was feeling a strange burning itch on my leg. We were all panting as we retraced our steps down the stream and over jagged rocks. I showed my bite to Raht who said, "Don't worry, it's just a hair." Whose hair? It seems there are some worms that live on the underside of leaves and if you touch them, they eject a hair into your skin. Lovely. Anyway, he put some ointment on it and said the hair would wash out soon which I am happy to report that it did. Crazy jungle creatures.
As we left the rainforest, we found ourselves back in the rubber plantation again. Then they had a little place where we could see how they made the rubber sap into actual sheets of rubber. It was interesting but the stench was awful and there were so many flies that the air had a slight buzzing sound to it. I really don't think I will ever forget that terrible smell but still it was an experience to be had.
And luckily, no one sustained any injuries from our surprising adventure.
We first hiked through a rubber plantation. I've never been to one of these before and I really didn't expect to see one on my jungle adventure. However, I found it very interesting. The workers have to collect the rubber at night when it's solidified. I shivered imagining what it must be like to wander around there at night (considering the spiders and ants and other suspicious creatures). Also, our guide let us dip our fingers in the fresh rubber and t dried after a few minutes. He called these "finger condoms" which amused us all.
We were all covered in sweat the minute we started hiking because it was quite humid (hence the rainforest label). We stopped at various waterfalls to recoup. The guide pointed out interesting plants...pineapple, rubber, "incense plants." I saw a red and blue bird and heard some monkeys hooting in the distance. They didn't sound at all like monkeys I've ever heard but more like birds. Hoo-oo Hoo-oo. I woke up to that sound every day on the island. It was nice.
We stopped for lunch near a big natural pool. The guide, Raht, casually suggested that some of us might hike up to the waterfall and spring. It was only 15-minutes away and he told us not to worry about our shoes. We began what became a grueling, slightly-dangerous ascent up a stream in the jungle. Little did we know that the guide had only been there one time himself and that we were the first group he actually took to the waterfall. We were horizontally scaling large boulders and walking through water up to our waist. Up until that point I had just been trying to keep up with everyone. Then the French guy stated, "Never have I imagined I would walk through ze jungle barefoot." I started to get a bit freaked out when the gung-ho Sierra club woman from Vancouver started cursing. "If we were doing this at home, you could bet we'd be signing lots of waivers." We got to a large pool which we had to swim across and then scale some more rocks. All of the guys ahead of me started exclaiming about a huge spider on the rock. I reluctantly pushed on but the spider was nowhere to be seen. I said, "Where did it go?" and the guide said, "I will look for its hole...it should be somewhere in the water." You can bet I was not thrilled to go back through that pool with the water-spider. I didn't even know such things existed.
We finally got to one waterfall and enjoyed it for a few minutes. We'd already been gone an hour and worried that the others had left already so we turned back around. I was feeling a strange burning itch on my leg. We were all panting as we retraced our steps down the stream and over jagged rocks. I showed my bite to Raht who said, "Don't worry, it's just a hair." Whose hair? It seems there are some worms that live on the underside of leaves and if you touch them, they eject a hair into your skin. Lovely. Anyway, he put some ointment on it and said the hair would wash out soon which I am happy to report that it did. Crazy jungle creatures.
As we left the rainforest, we found ourselves back in the rubber plantation again. Then they had a little place where we could see how they made the rubber sap into actual sheets of rubber. It was interesting but the stench was awful and there were so many flies that the air had a slight buzzing sound to it. I really don't think I will ever forget that terrible smell but still it was an experience to be had.
And luckily, no one sustained any injuries from our surprising adventure.
posted by Jen @ 1:54 AM
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