On day three of our stay in Tanah Rata, we tackle trail No. 9. It begins on the outskirts of town.
![Tanah Rata](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_7945-1024x768.jpg)
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.
![Tanah Rata](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_7950-1024x768.jpg)
There are no markings on the trail, so when it begins to deteriorate, the going gets rougher.
This plant has striking blue leaves.
![Tanah Rata](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_7954-1024x768.jpg)
Something that looks like a coffee bean.
![Tanah Rata](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_7969-1024x768.jpg)
And giant prehistoric-looking ferns. Here’s one in the fiddlehead stage.
![Tanah Rara](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_7960-1024x768.jpg)
Eventually, the trail peters out into an up-and-down titanic struggle against steep hillsides and thorny brush.
![Tanah Rata](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_7977-1024x768.jpg)
We get so lost, we abandon what’s left of the trail and bail out at a vegetable farm.
![Tanah Rata](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_7970-1024x768.jpg)
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.
![Tanah Rata](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_7922-1024x768.jpg)
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?