Taman Negara is one of the largest tropical jungles in the world. Even though it was not initially on our list, after meeting Lulu, Elena, and Mo (our Italian-Chinese friends) in the Perhentian Islands, we decided to travel together to the Malaysian jungle for a few days.

Our first evening started with a night jungle walk, discovering all sorts of interesting insects, spiders, lizards, and scorpions, as well as seeing one of the most strange/ugly animals we’ve ever seen – an anteater who actually looked like a mix of a bear/pig/panda/rhino and who knows what else. Funnily enough, this beast was having leftover watermelon.. I guess it tastes better than boring ants!

The following day we went on a hike through the jungle and walked on the world’s longest canopy walk – a 500m long suspended bridge up to 50m high above the jungle. At night, after a long and very hot day out, we had a nice goodbye dinner along the river, and then went back to our guesthouse. Once there, since we were not tired at all, we had an “intro to salsa” class led by Pep and Marti ;-), and after that our friends took over by singing some beautiful Chinese songs, as well as a fantastic Chinese opera performance by Elena! The best of Taman Negara was truly spending time with them.

Despite the bitter side of saying goodbye, we are sure that we will see each other again. In fact, Lulu will be coming to NY in November, and Elena and Mo… well we will have to plan something soon! Thank you guys for making us have such a great time these days!

Next destination: escaping the sweltering hot jungle looking for colder climates!