Year of the Durian

Durian Chalet and the Jungle

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Taking the boat to Taman Negara National Forest was Rob’s idea. The boat used to be the only option, but now there is a road that runs from Jerantut to Kuala Tahan, the small village at the entrance to the park. The bus runs four times a day and costs only 7 RM each, but Rob thought taking the boat would be a cooler way to enter the world’s oldest rainforest. “C’mon,” he said, “It’ll be like going down the Amazon.”

The boat is a long wooden canoe powered by what sounds like a lawnmower motor. It takes 2 1/2 hours to cruise up the brown colored river to Taman Negara. Although we did stop at a beach and pick up two Orang Asli guides, it’s mostly a gimmick for tourists. I’m glad we did it though, as it was a highlight of our otherwise slightly underwhelming jungle adventure.

A man and wife fishing in the shallow water
I was still tired from a long day on the jungle train following our overnight bus trip to Kota Bharu. The jungle train sure sounds exciting, but its a bit of a misnomer as its really just an old diesel engine blowing black smoke and chugging through what used to be jungle, but is now torn up mountain sides and countless acres of palm oil. On the river, I had to fight to keep my eyes open and enjoy the beautiful scenery gliding by. Twice we saw monkeys playing on the river’s edge.
 
Kuala Tahan is a small village across the river from the National Park. It’s most unusual feature is the flotilla of floating restaurants and mini-markets moored to the shoreline by a dangerous crisscrossing of ropes, electrical wires, and rubber hoses spouting thin sprays of water. The only way to get to the park is by boat. There are no bridges because the river periodically floods. We saw water marks as high as 70 meters!

 
Rob and I thought it was a good start to our quest for the elusive “Elephant Drop Durian” to stay at the Durian Chalet. The Durian Chalet is a beautiful durian garden located about a 400 meter hike out of town through a rubber tree grove. In the mornings I saw a woman in a turquoise head scarf harvesting the rubber, which is collected in small black bowls. With a knife she cut away a new strip of bark at an angle that would allow the white, latex-ey sap to drip into the bowl. It looked like the trees were bleeding Elmer’s Glue.
At the Durian Chalet we stayed in a small bamboo hut for 25 RM a night. We had mosquito nets, but didn’t need them. Walking around, I saw many durians on the trees. The nice muslim family that runs the Chalet told us that guests were welcome to enjoy any durians that fell, but that the durian season was late this year. They didn’t expect to have any durians dropping for another two or three weeks.
In Kuala Tahan I went to the Ministry of Wildlife Information building, where tourists buy permits to enter the park. Entering the park without a permit has a fine of 5,000 RM. This seems a little silly to me, considering that a permit costs a whopping 1 RM. I suppose the fine is to protect the park from poachers. 
The official had never heard of elephant durian. He thought someone had been telling me a tall tale.  But he put me in touch with a jungle guide, an old man with a crisp English accent and a red bandana. When I told him about the elephant durian, he nodded his head in ascent and said that yes, it was true. If it was durian season, it would be possible to find it, but there were no durians dropping yet. I asked when they would be dropping. He shrugged. “It’s impossible to know. Used to be the durians always fell now, but now with the weather, this global warming, its different.”
gorgeous iridescent blue fern

With no durian around and nothing to do, Rob and I decided to go on a hike. We picked Bukit Indah, as our destination, which means beautiful hill. The trails were very well marked, and actually, most of the way we walked on a boardwalk. As developed as it seemed, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to see this on the top of the hill.
View from Bukit Indah

We’re headed to Kuala Lumpur, where I’m hoping to get more information about the Elephant Durian. I’ve also been in contact with Stinky Spikes, the guy who runs Dedicated to Durians, a blog all about durian in Kuala Lumpur. He’s got some great maps and information about where to go for durian in K.L., so our job should be easy there. Durian buffet, anyone?

Comments

  1. kate claridge says

    I’m trying to book Durian chalet for a trip to Taman Negara in March. How did you contact the owners. I am in UK / Singapore. Thanks for advice.

    Reply

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