After reaching Jerantut station, a short search bring me to Green Leaf Traveller Inn. I was greeted by Kak Nor who was in charge of the guesthouse. A pleasant lady with a friendly smile. After asking her some question on lodging and about Taman Negara, to my dismay, I was stunned by the sheer expensive-ness of visiting this old rainforest in Malaya. To visit Taman Negara, it is better to go with a least 3 - 4 person, as the cost of lodging, guide and food could be share among trekkers. It is interesting to talk to Kak Nor. A humble and deligent person. I would say a motherly figure which every person hope their mother is. As I'm the only guest there, we chated up a bit and I got to know her better. She told me about her life and the life of a guide in Taman Negara. She is actually a Chinese by orgins but was adopted by a malay family and brought up as a muslim. She marry a local and have kids of her own now. To supplement the family, she work for this company who run a tour and guesthouse business in Jerantut and Taman Negara.While chating another guest came into the guesthouse. The guest was a handicap who had problems with his lower body and uses two clutches. He has difficultly climbing up the stairs as the guesthouse was located at the second level. He also has dark complexion, when at first glance, you might think he is Malay, but the fact is, he is Chinese. He and Kak Nor seems to know each other from the way they talk. Kak Nor told me that he met an accident while working on board a ship. Now he sell household posion and also service household call. I did not ask specifically his trip here today was for work or just passing through? Thou I'm curious, but I gather it is better to mind my own business. He was one of those mysterious and strange people I met on my trip (my trip has not even really started yet!) Which was wonderfully intriguing. Despite his handicap, he still continues to wander around Malaysia and sell household posion for a living. That touches my heart. If a person have the determination to set their mind to do something, no matter how bad and provertise the situation is, life will find a way to survive and succeed.
After a long day since my departure from Singapore, I slept in my bunk with three empty beds. I really can't sleep because it was my first night of my journey with the overwhelming feeling of spaces and the "New" world. The experience of taking a "aircon" train with the locals on my way to Jerantut was already a test of challenging situations to come? The feeling of meeting new people with stories of far flung travelers' tales to tell fill my imagination. The landscape, the history and the culture that I read in books have all come alive. It is better than any education I have ever received. The world is indeed a learning hub. It never ceased to amaze me.
That following night after a dinner of mee goreng, I told my plans of traveling north to Kak Nor and The Posion man, The Posion Man actually advise me not to travel by south of Thailand as the civil unrest there is still brewing. I took the advice and decided to go by Hat Yai instead and onwards to the coast of Andaman Sea.
The next morning, I help The Posion Man to get down the stairs as we happened to be checking out our rooms. He gave me some last minute traveling advice and we bid farewell and parted our way. I stood there for a minute and watch him as he limp away on his clutches. Life must be tough on him, and yet instead of taking pity onto himself, he choose courage - The courage to face life as it is, that has chosen for him. As I cross the road towards the bus station to search for my KL ticket, rethinking back, I thought he was here for two reason - to service the guesthouse whenever he passes through here and to lodge for a night before moving off to another place. How does the arrangement really take place between him and guesthouse, nobody knows.
Did I also mention that I saw him put some posion on the kitchen floor last night when I answer a nature call? " )
Travel Info:-
S'pore -> Gemas -> Jerantut by train would take you 8 hrs.
Green Leaf Traveller Inn
No. 2, 1st floor, Jalan Diwangsa, Prkt 3 Jerantut, Malaysia
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