Yesterday started with a river cruise to a small water fall area where the water was very deep and the current quite fast over the rocks. We reached a point on the river where it was too shallow for the boat to go on and risked grounding in the rocks. All the boats are powered by motor boat engines. The water was beautifully clear with a brown colour running through t which I thought was similar to rivers in Ireland which have the peat which colours the water. In this case it was tannin from the leaves coming down from the mountain. Like tea really. We started a walk to the cascade which is a nice area for swimming or just relaxing.
On the way we saw tracks from elephants which was fascinating. They make big round. tracks and push everything aside in their path. The guide told us a story of a couple of men who camped near the track one night in their tent. Early in the morning the elephants came through and a baby elephant dragged one of the tents about a hundred yards with one man still in it. Luckily he only broke a few ribs.
Later we visited the Malaysia’s indigent people. They live in the jungle with their children and will accept visitors at times. They live off plants mostly and fruit. Eat the occasional monkey but not often as difficult to catch. They make medicine from plants such as one to cure a fever or another to stop bleeding. The women and children are very shy. They use blow pipes to catch birds to eat. They often don’t know how old they are.
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