Vishnu, the steward, had told me the day before that breakfast would be around 8-8:30 am, but the train had had a small mechanical issue in the night and we were delayed in getting to Merapoh, Malaysia. Breakfast was therefore delayed a little while; that was fine with me since I was still tired from the day before. It was a very pleasant meal and just the right amount of food: gluten-free pastries, coffee, juice, yoghurt and fruit served on a tray in my cabin.

We stopped in Merapoh and disembarked to get into cars to take us to Taman Negara National Park. I’d chosen the Wild Malaysia excursion: the alternatives were a cave exploration and an excursion to learn about and maybe see a rare Malaysia tiger. However, when I chose my excursion months before, the caves did not seem compelling to me and seeing the tiger seemed unlikely. I thought that we would motor thru the park with only a little walking; I also thought I’d be more mobile than I was. 

It was hot and humid morning; I was sweating a lot even as I queued up for a seat in a SUV to take us to the park. I met Peter, our guide, and boarded a SUV with three Asian women and Robin from Florida, who I later learned was a documentary company CEO on honeymoon. The other women were from Taiwan, taking the trip together as a birthday treat for one of them. I cooled off a good bit as we were driven from Merapoh train station to Taman Negara National Park in the air conditioned car. 

The jungle is rich in shades of green, sights and sounds. We stopped to sit behind a blind so that we could do a little bird watching. I did need to apply Ultrathon insect repellent from 3M (Thank you, Scott H; it worked beautifully). Only one bird came that I saw but apparently there were others seen briefly. 

Peter was an ex-lawyer who became interested in conservation. Passionate about natural history, conservation and the viability of the park, he kept us entertained with naturalist anecdotes about the rainforest and the life therein throughout the entire tour.

After bird watching, we went on a short hike through the rainforest at ground level. I did manage okay with my knee but I was dripping from so much sweat that I had to actually wring out my bandana by the time I was done with the walk. Peter was involved in some sort of conservation effort for gibbons and we did have a partial gibbon sighting after our rainforest walk. I thought I saw an arm as it moved through the trees. Peter said that they are very shy and curious animals who likely wanted to get a look at us.

I was grateful for the chance to sit in the SUV as we drove to the next location. There are raised paths and observation towers in and above the rainforest. We took these paths into the canopy. I soldiered on, though I was slower than everyone else, including the 80+ year old lady. It was cooler above the jungle floor and less humid. We walked and climbed a fair distance in our loop around the paths, ending up back at the start of the paths where water, tea, stingless bee honey and cookies were waiting.

I returned to the train and took a much needed shower – fortunately, the train wasn’t moving while waiting for other guests to return from their excursions. After washing some clothes in the sink, I hung those items up to dry and dressed dry clothes to head to a delicious lunch – Kimchi Nicoise salad and seafood fried rice.

Sally was seated at my table at lunch and told me about her cave excursion; it sounded like I might have been better off taking the cooler cave excursion than my jungle walk. After a much needed afternoon rest, I did get up to go to the piano car to have gin and tonics with an Indian gin before the dinner call. The gin was flavored with more rosemary and cardamon than juniper. I think I had that gin in my martini the first night and I did like it in the G&Ts as well.

I was simply not hungry after lunch and my rest; I mean that I had zero appetite. I skipped dinner, intending to just relax in my cabin. Vishnu came by and offered the option of a light dinner – a grilled chicken breast on a salad in cabin with wine – instead of not eating. It was perfect. I was nicely sated, too tired to write and soon went to sleep.