Taman negara adventure!

Hello again,faithfull TenGoophiles ! How have you been?

Hase G and I were at the studio last Sunday, putting the final touches on our upcoming album, Its Time! After the recording session I had to head off to Abiko to catch a rakugo performance by my friend Tonraku. Rakugo is traditional Japanese comic story telling and its a great way to learn about traditional Japanese culture. The dinner box was also excellent and i was invited backstage after the show for some sashimi and fruit.tonraku performs in Abiko every 3rd Saturday. Let's go again soon.

The next day, I set out for Singapore,as the first step in finally getting to one of my dream destinations,Taman Negara, an ancient virgin rainforest in the center of the Malay Peninsula. Though I had been to malaysia several times I still hadn't made it to the great reserve,home to adundant plant and wildlife and hunting ground for a tiny tribe of aboriginal people.

It was great to be back in Singapore, a place many visitors,for some reason, call sterile and boring. For me,it is

a place of wonder and discovery, and no matter how many times Ive been there( about 20) I never get tired of it.This time as usual I stayed in my favorite of the city states neighborhoods ,Little India, where I found(and recorded) some great temple musicians and partook of the splendid south Indian fare.

On Tuesday, I boarded the so called Jungle Train and spent the next 8 hours slowly moving Northward over the Malay Peninsula, reading, writing and enjoying the scenery.stayed overnight in a town called Jerantut where the hotel I stayed at(what great luck!) provided all the info I needed for my sojourn into the jungle.

The next morning, an hour by bus and then a 3 hour motorized canoe trip upriver to the park.

Met lots of good people, and saw lots of wildlife. Monkeys, sambar deer, mouse deer ,widboar,eagles,etc. Also did a cave excursion and found myself completey covered with bat dung!

I hope to go back again for some longer more strenous hikes.

If anyone wants to know more about Taman Negara, how to get there,etc, please send me an email.

Back in Singapore after a harrowing overnight train journey in which i was saved from the frosty air-con by a blanket of newspapers, I went right from the Woodlands immigration terminal to the Sungei Buloh wetlands Resarve where

I enjoyed the mangrove swamp and immense monitor lizards sunning on the extensive trails.

Hope to post again soon.

Avi Landau