It's a Jungle out There!

Let's go on a trek, he said. Should be a good time, he said. We'll take a few student's with us and have a spot o tea when we reach the summit (We had Iranian students with us; enough said). He should have said IF we reach the summit. We were in the jungle maybe 1/2 hr before we were lost. The trail was overgrown and though we searched high and low, it was not to be found.

We moved along a river for a while, periodically leaving it to search for a trail. I'm not sure how far into the jungle we got, but either way, it wasn't long before nothing looked familiar to any of the trekkers that had previously been up this mountain. This is one trek where it may have been smart to wear long pants. The jungle was dense and overgrown and my legs got scratched with every step. Not only did no one bring a parang (machete) but the number of mosquito bites on my legs from the knee down number in the thirties.
After talking to the veteran trekkers, I was beginning to understand that in the business of trekking, this is not an uncommon experience, and that as a trekker you must simply accept that you will not always reach your destination. And in spite of the fact that I really wanted to reach the summit, and my legs were shredded by branches, twigs, and other jungle foliage, and what was left of them was devoured by mosquitos, it was still a good time. Being in the wild, away from the city with all it's noise, pollutants, modernity, distractions: love it! When we found our way out of the jungle, we stopped by a little river, had a swim and relaxed in the sun. No tea, though. Our trusty Iranians, Amir and Kourosh, said that tea shall be reserved for those mountains we summit. Fair enough. One super-cool part of trek: I got to see a pineapple growing! Who knew that they grew on shrubs?

All in all, A good time was had, and we were only lost in the jungle for a few hours! If I am progressing in small steps, those occasions where we are, or I am, lost in the wilderness for days are not far away (Like Moses and his people, I shall wander the wilderness for...alright enough of that).
And I say to Bukit Kutu, even as he roars with mighty laughter at our pitiful attempts of conquest, "One day, I shall return, Kutu, and we shall see who laughs longest" (To those interested, you can check out TMC's comments on these treks at his website, www.mchwen.com/blog)

On another note to my faithful readers in the West: You may have noticed that my blog has been compromised. My students have found its location and are now reading it! While in a previous life, this may be cause to completely shut down the blog and start a new, covert blog; here I shall simply say that we (myself and readers in the motherland) should just somewhat sensor some of what is written. By that I mean, let's try to keep things PG, people! (You know who you are...you also know who I am, I guess; and thus you realize that this pertains as much to me as to some of you).
All kidding aside, I will continue to write this with my overseas readers as the intended audience (I guess that is until I figure that there is no one out over the great blue that still reads it).

One concluding note. Last Fri, a bunch of students took Mr. TMC and myself out to Steamboat! It began in class like this: Gab says, "Mr. Varga, you know what steamboat is?" I say, "What am I, uneducated? Of course I do: it's a boat that steams" So with that, Gab and Judith decided to remedy my serious lack of knowledge. As I didn't take my camera, I have no pics, so here goes my attempt to conjure up a visual. It's an all-u-can eat buffet: they've got a bunch of meats, veggies, seafood, all of it raw. There's a pot in the middle of the table with a divider in between (creating two min-pots, if that makes sense). One side of the pot was full of chicken stock, the other, Tom Yam. The pot sits on a burner. You just go over to table of foods, load up your plate and dump your stuff into the pot, let it cook for a few minutes, and voila! It was sweeet! Good stuff! (The cost was about 7.50CAD including a drink). I am definitely going back soon. To all the students that took me out (Gab, Judith, Yu Cheng, Nisita, and local Amir), thank you very much; it was lots of fun.