Mountains, Jungles, Orangutans, Wild Caves, Raging Rivers, and Erupting Volcano
Introduction
This trip report is a summary of a spectacular adventure that took place December 8 to December 31 2010 to the countries of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Trip participants we Kimberly Patterson (my wife), Kessler (my eight year old son), Shaylee (my six year old daughter), my dad and I.
Although the photographs don't do the trip justice, a picture is worth a thousand words, so the photographs will tell most of the story (these are only a few of the 1500+ photographs taken on the trip).
We visited many areas, but since this is a mountaineering site, emphasis on this particular trip report will be on the more adventurous aspects of what turned out to be a remarkable journey. Along the way we met many friendly people, sweated in humid jungles, camped with all kinds of monkeys, climbed mountains, saw giant insects, crawled on our bellies through underground caves, rafted raging rivers, witnessed volcanic eruptions, and went snorkeling, but that was just the tip of the iceberg....
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The beautiful side gorge at Tangkahan; December 22.
December 10: Southern Ridges (Singapore)
After a very long plane ride and after visiting some of the tourist attractions around Sentosa, Kessler, Shaylee, Kimberly, my Dad and I needed to stretch our legs and we took a break from the city and set off to hike the Southern Ridges Trails. We hiked the Marang Trail, the Faber Trail, Henderson Waves, Forest Walk and various other trails. The forest is surprisingly beautiful so close the city and we saw many interesting insects and birds. It was a relatively tame adventure, but we were not used to the heat yet and we sweated much. We ended the hike near a Hindu Temple, which we visited before heading for the Golden Triangle to catch an all night bus to the Cameron Highlands.
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Some of the birds we saw on the Southern Ridges on December 10 2010.
December 11: Cameron Highlands (Perak, Malaysia)
After an all night bus ride from Singapore, we visited several sites and did several walks, including the one to the top of the Rose Valley and to near the top of the nearby peak. It was a nice and cool hike.
It wasn