Jungle

There is something malevolent about Malaysia’s jungle. There is an air of malaise, if you’ll excuse the pun. When hiking through the jungle it is as if the rainforest is whispering about you. This is what it is saying:


Enjoy your walk Human but don’t get lost and stray from the path or you will perish. Our friends the ants and other insects will eat you. Our creepers will crush your bones and our soil will turn you into fertiliser. You’ll disappear without trace.

This may be the time of the Humans but your reign is short. Your era is measured in thousands of years but we forests have been here for millions and will be around for millions more after you’ve gone. If we blink we’ll miss your time.

You may chop down the forests, burn our trees, poisonous our water, pollute our air and cover our space with cement and concrete but we’ll be back. The seeds of our survival lie dormant under your roads waiting to sprout through the tarmac when the time is right. Our branches will crack your concrete and foliage will conceal your traces. Our leaves will cleanse the air and our roots will restore the rivers.

Soon it will be like you were never here.

So enjoy your walk Human while you can. Mind your step.

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AUTHOR BIO

cartoon of author with an orangutan

David (the one on the left) is the writer behind Malaysia Traveller, sharing firsthand travel advice from over five decades of living and travelling across Asia and the Middle East. Based in Malaysia since 2009 and now in Kuching, he has published 700+ pages, personally visited every place he covers, and uses only his own photos. Readers can learn more on his About Me page. He also shares updates on Facebook and YouTube. He loves uncovering overlooked places even many Malaysians have never visited.