The story began on a bright Friday morning. I packed my bags and was ready to take on the adventure of camping in the jungle. At first, I was reluctant to go but after being cajoled by my persistent friends, I finally gave in. It was a trip for sheer relaxation and nature learning. All six of us – Ainul, Dayang, Farah, Suhaila, Yus and I finally agreed to meet up at the school’s bus stop before embarking on our journey into the virgin forest.
As I was half way walking towards the school, it suddenly started raining. I hastened my steps to the school’s bus stand. Luckily for me, it started pouring when I arrived near the school. Only then, I realized that I was 10 minutes late for the meeting.
“Where have you been? We promised to be here at exactly 11 a.m.,” Ainul barked out.
“Sorry, I had to run some errands for my mom and there was a storm out there,” I explained. “Anyway, we’re all here. So, let’s not waste anymore time. Let’s go,” I quickly added so that Ainul would not dwell on the subject.
Thankfully, the rain lasted for five minutes only. We hopped onto a bus heading towards Indah Park. I was not sure if we were ready for a steep and winding climb up the hill in this wet condition. We arrived at the hillside alas and began to hike up about a mile of the Gagak trail.
It was a harsh climb as we were carrying heavy 10 kilo bag packs complete with sleeping bags, canned food and bottles of mineral water. I was the only one bringing the tent as the others did not possess one. Along the climb we stopped to rest for at least three times. At one place, we encountered a huge snake hissing at us from a bush about 10 metres away. We were lucky not to be bitten by it. We caught glimpse of the beautiful hornbills, bluebirds and a Rufous Collared Kingfisher. After approximately