We woke up a bit late today, with aches and soars flinches in every inch of our limbs. Luckily we've finished packing the night before, or we'll be busy in and out. Still, we've buckled up to continue our last trek - The Head-Hunters Trail.
we didn't took picture of this notice board so i downloaded it from internet... LOL!The Head-Hunters Trail is a 11.3km trail. The journey starts from the "mysterious" suspension bridge I mentioned in the last part of the 3rd Day post and ends at Terikan River bank. Tourists then have to take a 3 hour longtail boat ride to Bala Losong Longhouse to proceed their activities there.
behold, the "mysterious" suspended bridge of Camp5...The 1st few kilometers of the trail was lead by pebbles path so that tourists wouldn't get lost. We were asked to be very silent and respect every native rules in the jungle as it is belief that this trail was haunted by the spirits in it. We were so silence that we can hear some indistinct animals such as the sound of the flapping wings of hornbills. We've came to the mid of the trail that we have to cross the scariest suspended bridge of all - Monkey Bridge (a type of suspension bridge that made out of ropes only).
step by step, safety first...
isn't it scary? we have no insurance on this~After crossing the Monkey Bridge, we rested in a foyer known as Lubang Cina (Chinese Cave). Lubang Cina gets its name way back about 3 centuries ago. When Chinese traders stops here to trade, unfortunately they get involved in the most fierce Headhunters war. They ran into a cave to hide, carrying their boats and all valuables such as china vases. But in all a sudden, rains start pouring non stop until it flooded the cave entirely. Non had survived then, and since they were all innocents, it is said that the traders' spirits are still wandering around. I actually find it a bit creepy resting at the foyer there.
welcome to Lubang Cina checkpoint... Muahahaha!!!We continued the rest of the trail as quick as possible as we were off schedule. We have finished this exhausting trail before the longtail boats arrived. We hung around Terikan River bank to wait for the arrival of the boats. Some of us chatted in the foyer and others had a dip in the icy river.
tada~ the foyer of Terikan River bank...
nice body!! girls, don't get fainted.. =P3 hours had passed but we've waited for nothing. There was no connection in the middle of the jungle, not even the tour guide's walkie-talkie! In the end the adults made up a stunning decision that we have to return to our base camp, Camp5! This is where our nightmare starts. It is time for us to pack up our naive behaviours and mentally prepare as we knew that we'll spend some longest 5 hours of our lives trailing back in total darkness, which had never happened before since this place was opened for visitors.
just look at the expressions and you'll know how shocked we were...Our priority target was to cross over the Monkey Bridge before dark. We've formed into a line and moved as fast as we can. We managed to cross the bridge just a twitch second before it turned totally dark in the jungle. It was then that the Nature entirely came alive. This is where the real expedition begins. With only the little light source from out torch lights, we have to finish the rest of 6km trail. Owls start hooting, apes start chipper-chapering, bats flocking around, cicadas start screeching, but the worse is yet to be awaited. 30 minutes after thee dark, rains start pouring down heavily without mercy. Some of us were terrified and petrified with this unprepared challenge. In this situation, only the strongest team with strongest spirit could get through it and proudly, we're those!
We managed to reach back Camp5 before midnight but everyone was tired. Despite that we've only took breakfast and some snacks throughout the whole day, still we've walked a total of 22.6km! I'm totally amazed even I was one of the team. We've all dipped in the now freezing river without concerning the coldness of it. It was the feeling of angel approach when diner served, even it is only an instant noodle meal. But now we face 3 major problems - we have to rewalk the 8.8km Kuala Berar trail back the next day, we'll not be able to take the flight in the morning and we were all damn exhausted! We checked-in to the dormitories for the night and fell asleep before we could even think of the aches and cramps that we had. It was one of the best sleep that I've ever had!
by Masqueradez... 14 May 2010...
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