On day three of our stay in Tanah Rata, we tackle trail No. 9. It begins on the outskirts of town.
At the start, the trail is conveniently paved with bricks. Eventually these give out and become a muddy track, with frequent downed trees to negotiate around.
We come across interesting botanical specimens.
There are no markings on the trail, so when it begins to deteriorate, the going gets rougher.
This plant has striking blue leaves.
Something that looks like a coffee bean.
And giant prehistoric-looking ferns. Here’s one in the fiddlehead stage.
Eventually, the trail peters out into an up-and-down titanic struggle against steep hillsides and thorny brush.
We get so lost, we abandon what’s left of the trail and bail out at a vegetable farm.
We get lost along the road, too, despite having navigational doodads on the IPhone. Before we have to resort to cannibalism, we flag down a passing taxi (thank you, God!) and ride in luxury. We save a 13-kilometer walk, mostly uphill, back to Tanah Rata. You gotta know when to fold ’em.
Sight or Insight of the Day – Tanah Rata
We spy some pitcher plants.
These are carnivorous. Besides bugs, they also chow down on any small vertebrates unfortunate enough to fall in. Why does this make us think of the Little Shop of Horrors?